Topic: City Planning
City planning and design, built environments, urban planners, parks, roads
Roosevelt Island: An Urban Planning Experiment in NYC’s East River Roosevelt Island has had many names and purposes since Europeans first began to settle New York City. After centuries as an isolated island for inmates, hospital patients, and impoverished New Yorkers, Roosevelt Island underwent a makeover in the late 20th century. It became a mixed…
The Salem Downtown Renewal Plan: Part 2, Changing Times, Embracing Preservation By the 1970s, opponents of the Salem Redevelopment Authority had made their voices heard. As the national attitude towards urban renewal changed, Salem was an early adopter of a new strategy. Rehabilitation, preservation, and creating a city identity became important pieces of a new,…
The Salem Downtown Renewal Plan: Part 1, A Close Call with Destruction In the 1960s, historic downtown Salem faced the wrecking ball. With changing economic conditions and a belief in demolition before renovation, 82% of downtown was under scrutiny. However, thanks to grassroots activism and a few well placed allies in the public eye, Salem…
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…
