Topic: City Planning
City planning and design, built environments, urban planners, parks, roads
Urban Renewal, Highways, and the West End: The Federal-Aid Highway Act at 70 The 1956 federal act which created the modern Interstate Highway System turns 70 this year. Highway construction, like urban renewal, disproportionately affected low income and minority communities. However, highways have not always seen the same criticism as urban renewal. This article considers…
Kendall Square: Urban Renewal to the World’s “Most Innovative Square Mile” The West End’s neighbor across the Charles River, Kendall Square, was designated an urban renewal project area. However, as federal involvement evaporated in the late 1960s, plans for a NASA compound would have to change. MIT stepped in to fill the urban renewal void.…
When Barry’s Corner Said, ‘To Hell With Urban Renewal!’ After learning from the example of the West End, one of the neighborhoods who fought back against urban renewal was the tiny area of Lower Allston called Barry’s Corner. A beloved working class area, Barry’s Corner residents did their best to push back against the specter…
The Inner Belt: The Highway Massachusetts Didn’t Build Modern Boston has been shaped by its finished highway projects: the Central Artery, the Southeast Expressway, the Big Dig. But just as key to the character of the city today is a highway that was NOT built: the Inner Belt. This article explores how people fought to…
Kane Simonian The distinct name of Kane Simonian belonged to the man who either controlled or influenced Boston’s urban development for over 40 years. He managed the city’s first federally funded urban renewal projects under the Boston Housing Authority. In 1957, he became the first director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Simonian’s long, tumultuous, and…
Repurposed Churches and Schools in the South EndA case study on housing in a changing neighborhood As neighborhood demographics have changed in the South End, public buildings and the communities they once served have relocated. Those churches and schools have mostly been preserved in the form of condominiums. However, these units are often high priced…
South Enders vs. The B.R.A.: Urban Renewal in Boston’s South End In post-war Boston, city officials razed several low-income neighborhoods for urban renewal. Among those neighborhoods was the South End, a low-income yet culturally rich area. The story of community resistance to urban renewal in the South End included small victories. But the South End…
Uncovering Lindall Place Tucked away in a cozy nook off Cambridge Street, on the border of the West End and Beacon Hill, tiny Lindall Place can easily be overlooked by passersby. The street is modest in size and camouflaged by the elevated Red Line tracks leading to Charles MGH Station from the Beacon Hill Tunnel…
