Did you know that Boston — as in the actual city — is actually quite small, while it could be argued that the metro area stretches for hours in several directions? How did it get this way? And why are so many distinct municipalities sandwiched together? Turns out there's an answer. Or several answers. Garrett Dash Nelson, head of the Leventhal Map & Education Center At The Boston Public Library, is here to explain how forces as disparate as pilgrim culture, school snobbery, and taxation (of course) shaped the region's fractured political geography. 

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