[4] The narrow one-way network and irregular grid arrangement of the streets make the interior urban spaces of Bay Village relatively quiet and pedestrian-friendly, due to sparse automobile traffic.

[citation needed] The Bay Village Neighborhood Association (BVNA) is very active in controlling urban nuisances, such as traffic, litter, graffiti, and pet wastes (an approved dog walking area is located next to Eliot Norton Park).

The BVNA is also known for organizing Spring and Fall Cleanup days, a book club, and the Bay Village Annual Neighborhood Block Party.

[10] Fayette Street, named for the American Revolutionary War soldier Marquis de Lafayette, has numerous houses dating from the Federal Period.

Visitors can see evidence of this today by noting the location of the basement windows in some of the buildings on Fayette Street, as well as arches opening to horsewalks that ran under the houses to stables in the rear.

The American writer Edgar Allan Poe was born at the edge of Bay Village; his parents were both actors in the Theatre District nearby.

In 2009, the intersection of Charles and Boylston Streets (two blocks north of his birthplace) was newly designated "Edgar Allan Poe Square".

As a result of that terrible tragedy, major changes were made in the fire codes, and improvements in the treatment of burn victims, not only in Boston but across the nation.

"Phoenix out of the Ashes" A smaller inscription in the lower left corner says, "This plaque crafted by Anthony P. Marra, youngest survivor of the Cocoanut Grove fire".

[28] One of the condominium developers has claimed that the new placement of the plaque is closer to the original location of the infamous revolving door at the entrance to the nightclub, which had become jammed in the panic and had trapped many victims.

[26] According to the 2012-2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the largest ancestry groups in ZIP Codes 02116 are:[31][32] As of 2016[update], Walk Score rates Bay Village as the fourth most walkable neighborhood in the City of Boston, which itself is rated the third most walkable city in the US, and has a high Transit Score as well.

[34] Several MBTA rapid transit stations are located just beyond the boundaries of Bay Village, which is also served by several local bus routes.

In addition to the larger metropolitan Boston publications, several local weekly newspapers are distributed free in Bay Village.

The Boston Courant covered the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Downtown, Fenway, South End, and the Waterfront neighborhoods of Boston, and included dedicated real estate listings for South End / Bay Village, and events calendar listings.

This latter newspaper has had some coverage of Bay Village, and is of interest because of the close proximity and historical connections to the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

[35][36][37] In addition, the Bay Village Neighborhood Association occasionally distributes its free quarterly newsletter in the area, and back issues can be downloaded from its website.