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29-419: Southeastern Massachusetts , Cape Cod , and the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard consist of outwash from the last glacial maximum , which left thick glacial deposits of sand and gravel, providing the geologic foundation for a rare pine barren ecosystem. This fire-adapted forest and its coastal components are home to a host of rare species found almost nowhere else in the world. Interspersed among

58-492: A common regional identity and aesthetic. The Farm Coast consists of the towns of Tiverton , Little Compton , Westport and Dartmouth . Institutions of higher learning located in South Coast communities include: The major highways through the area are Interstate 195 (from Providence to Wareham, Massachusetts ) and U.S. Route 6 , which is the older route connecting Providence to Cape Cod . Highway access to Boston

87-867: A pattern of immigration that began in the 19th century and was tied to the whaling industry. Today, many people in Southeastern Massachusetts, most notability Bristol County , trace their ancestry to mainland Portugal and the Azores . Quincy , Milton , and Randolph are all in Norfolk County and are included in the Southeastern Massachusetts definition; they are populated by Irish Americans , British Americans , African Americans , Asian Americans , Arab Americans and Latin Americans . Irish Americans dominate Norfolk County , Bristol County and Plymouth County which has been known as

116-461: Is Bristol County and the Western portion of Plymouth County. The region including Cape Cod roughly corresponds with the location of the historic Plymouth Colony , which became part of Massachusetts in 1691. As Southeastern Massachusetts is not an official designation, its borders are not exactly defined. At its broadest definition, it includes all of Plymouth and Bristol counties (particularly

145-619: Is a region of Massachusetts located south of Boston and east of Rhode Island . It is commonly used to describe areas with cultural ties to both Boston and Providence, Rhode Island , and includes the cities of New Bedford and Fall River and their respective suburbs. Despite the location of Cape Cod and the islands to its south, which are the southeasternmost parts of the state, they are not often grouped in this designation. At its broadest definition, it includes all of Massachusetts south of Boston, southeast of Worcester, and east of Providence, Rhode Island, while at its narrowest definition, it

174-436: Is defined as fifty-two cities and towns from Bristol, Plymouth and Norfolk Counties. The region is geographically defined by Massachusetts Bay , Buzzards Bay , The [ sic ] Taunton River watershed, and its location relative to Boston, Rhode Island and Cape Cod . Bristol County, Massachusetts and Bristol County, Rhode Island are contiguous and are the only counties in the nation where Portuguese Americans make up

203-771: Is provided by Route 24 and Route 79 , both of which end in Fall River, and Route 140 which connects New Bedford to Route 24 in Taunton . On February 27, 2023, MassDOT initiated a project to demolish the southern end of Route 79 in order to facilitate the restoration of Fall River's waterfront. Public bus service is provided by the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority , the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority and

232-731: Is recent, dating to the 1990s, and sometimes confused with the South Shore (a region southeast of Boston that includes eastern Norfolk and Plymouth counties, and does not overlap with the South Coast). The "South Coast" label was born as a public relations effort to counteract the perceived stigma of former terms like "Greater Fall River," "Greater New Bedford," or "New Bedford-Fall River," which conjured images, in many Massachusetts residents' minds, of depressed mill towns with run-down buildings and high unemployment. Local boosters, including The Standard-Times newspaper, began using

261-528: Is the region of southeastern Massachusetts consisting of the southern part of Bristol and Plymouth counties, bordering Buzzards Bay , and includes the cities of Fall River , New Bedford , the southeastern tip of East Taunton and nearby towns. The Rhode Island towns of Tiverton and Little Compton , located in Newport County , are often included within the South Coast designation due to regional similarities with adjacent communities. The term

290-618: The Plymouth/Carver Sole Source Aquifer , the largest drinking water aquifer in Massachusetts. The pace of development has increased tremendously in this ecoregion. Large-scale development proposals and an increase in the number of new homes are altering the quality of life for residents and rapid residential development has led to the fragmentation of the region's natural areas. Population increases have had serious secondary impacts as well, including

319-683: The Providence Metropolitan Area , the South Shore or Cape Cod ; it encompasses the geographic area of Massachusetts that borders Buzzards Bay (excluding the Elizabeth Islands , Bourne and Falmouth ), Mount Hope Bay and the Sakonnet River . Little Compton and Tiverton Rhode Island are often considered parts of the South Coast due to proximity and shared regional heritage; it has been argued that Little Compton and Tiverton share more in common with

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348-576: The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority . South Coast Rail is an ongoing project to build a new southern line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system along several abandoned and freight-only rail lines. The project will restore passenger rail service between Boston and the cities of Taunton , Fall River , and New Bedford , via the towns of Berkley and Freetown . Passenger service to the South Coast

377-1134: The South Coast along Buzzards Bay and the South Shore along Cape Cod Bay ), most of the cities and towns in Norfolk County , and even some towns in Worcester County . At its narrowest definition, it includes all of Bristol County, the western part of Plymouth County and the southwestern part of Norfolk County, with the South Shore and Metro-South areas being counted separately. The terms "Southeastern Massachusetts," "Southeastern New England", and " Southern New England " are much-used by Providence-area broadcasters and other local companies and organizations but are not used as frequently in other parts of Massachusetts. The Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) task force, which concerns Southeastern Massachusetts in its broadest definition, describes: For this effort, southeastern [ sic ] Massachusetts

406-558: The "Irish Riviera". Cape Verdean Americans , Brazilian Americans , Angolan Americans , African Americans , Arab Americans , Irish Americans , British Americans , Portuguese Americans , Asian Americans , Latin Americans , Spanish Americans , Chinese Americans , Russian Americans , Turkish Americans , German Americans , Polish Americans , Swedish Americans , French Americans , Lebanese Americans , Italian Americans , and Greek Americans preside over Brockton, Taunton, Fall River and New Bedford. The following tabular list shows

435-400: The 12 government divisions of Southeastern Massachusetts which have been officially granted the right to use the city form of government along with the official name in use by each municipality. Institutions of higher learning which serve Southeastern Massachusetts communities include: South Coast (Massachusetts) The South Coast of Massachusetts (sometimes stylized SouthCoast )

464-630: The Massachusetts Chapter joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program to assist in nest site creation and nest monitoring, and habitat protection. The pine forests are also home to numerous species of birds and insects. Two other large, contiguous examples of this ecosystem remain in the northeastern United States , which include: Southeastern Massachusetts Southeastern Massachusetts

493-595: The South Coast also has the largest Portuguese American population in the United States. In recent years, an unofficial sub-region of the South Coast known as the Farm Coast has been used to describe the cluster of rural towns that are situated on the northern coast of Buzzards Bay; these towns are considered to be the last coastal farming communities left in Southern New England and share

522-405: The depletion of the water table by water supply wells and the potential pollution of the aquifer. The development has also led to the suppression of natural wildfire, necessary to maintain the pinelands' rare habitats. Damaging recreation, such as off-road vehicle use on pond shores and in fragile pine barrens, was also on the rise but in recent years the area has also seen an increase in awareness of

551-586: The importance and fragility of the ecosystem and a corresponding increase in the number of groups working to protect and preserve the natural bounty. Sabatia kennedyana , New England boneset , golden hedge hyssops , pitch pine , and scrub oak , among other plant species, are found in this region. The federally endangered Plymouth red-bellied turtle is a star attraction in the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens. With fewer than 600 of these federally endangered turtles remaining,

580-599: The largest cities in Southeastern Massachusetts and are close to one another in size. All four have a strong Portuguese presence. In 2000, 43.9% of Fall River residents identified as being of Portuguese heritage. This is the highest percentage of Portuguese Americans in the country. Most of the population claims to be of Azorean origin, many from São Miguel Island. There are smaller, but significant presences of other Portuguese-speaking communities, such as other Azorean Islanders, Portuguese from mainland Portugal, Madeirans, Cape Verdeans, Brazilians, and Angolans. In 2000 New Bedford had

609-623: The late 1990s, and other media have followed suit, albeit not without some protest by longtime area residents who protested the manufactured name. Other newspapers serving the area include The Herald News of Fall River; " The Standard Times " with an online entertainment subsidiary "southcoasttoday.com" of New Bedford; the Sakonnet Times ; the Taunton Daily Gazette ; The Providence Journal ; and, for regional coverage, The Boston Globe and Boston Herald . Much of

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638-408: The over 500,000 acres (80 km) of fragmented pine barrens are dozens of coastal plain ponds, frost pockets, a wide variety of shapes and sizes of its signature tree, the fire-dependent pitch pine , the endangered Plymouth red-bellied turtles and other globally rare plant communities on top of deep deposits of glacially-deposited sands which filter and protect several sole-source aquifers including

667-574: The past thirty years, and new transportation improvements (commuter rail, Route 44 and Route 3 & 24 improvements) continue to attract more growth. Southeastern Massachusetts comprises several clearly defined sub-regions, including the South Shore , the South Coast and the Tri-City area around Brockton , Attleboro and Taunton . Despite the diversity within the region, the fifty-two cities and towns all have common concerns and opportunities. Taunton , Brockton , Fall River , and New Bedford are

696-814: The plurality of the population. This is due to the Portuguese-American population, the Portuguese-Brazilian population, and the Portuguese-Cape Verdean population that came to Southern New England in the 19th century to do the much needed whaling work; in fact, New Bedford is called "the Whaling City." ...[it] is home to approximately one million people residing in over 1,300 square miles (3,400 km ). We have been adding 10,000 new residents and consuming 4.7 square miles (12 km ) of undeveloped land each year for

725-414: The regional identities of Westport and Dartmouth (and to an extent Fall River ) than the rest of Newport County . East Taunton is sometimes considered the northernmost extent of the South Coast region; however, it does not include the entire city of Taunton . The South Coast region is typically associated with its distinct industrial heritage pertaining to textile, whaling, and fishing industries;

754-484: The second highest percentage of Portuguese Americans with 38.6% of residents reporting that ancestry. New Bedford is also 8.0% Cape Verdean, 4.39% African American and 7.1% Puerto Rican , and 3% were other Hispanics, In 2000 it was 75% White alone. Like most of the state, Southeastern Massachusetts is ethnically, racially, linguistically, and religiously diverse. However, Portuguese-speakers are especially well represented in this area (especially Bristol County) due to

783-505: The term in the mid-1990s in an effort to attract business to an area with "the Cape's climate," "better infrastructure" and "relatively low land prices," according to Standard-Times publisher William Kennedy. There are 15 Massachusetts municipalities that are almost always included in the South Coast (total population: 306,588). Two Rhode Island towns may also be included. The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management also includes

812-647: The towns of Dighton , Seekonk and Rehoboth within its South Coast regional service area; however, these communities are more often associated with the Providence Metro Area or Greater Taunton Area than the South Coast. The entirety of the South Coast resides within the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District . By its most literal definition, the South Coast only includes cities and towns in southern Massachusetts that may not be considered parts of

841-590: Was originally discontinued in 1958; efforts to restore passenger rail service began in the 1980s. After decades of false starts, construction began on July 2, 2019, with a projected cost of $ 1.047 billion. Service is expected to begin in mid-2025. The city of New Bedford offers passenger ferry services to Martha's Vineyard and Cuttyhunk Island . The term "South Coast" reportedly began with weather forecasts by Todd Gross on WHDH-TV in Boston. New Bedford's local daily newspaper , The Standard-Times , picked it up in

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