Urban Landscapes at Risk

Designed Urban Ecologies Studio

Instructor: Brad Goetz

Spring 2013

Sea-level rise and climate change present unprecedented risks to the diverse populations that inhabit cities around the world. This is an undeniable fact of our time and one that, to quote Jeff Gooddell in The Water Will Come, “will reshape our world in ways that most of us can only dimly imagine.” However, in this time of uncertainty, aren’t we obligated to imagine? I believe we are, and not only in a catastrophic sense, but with a speculative hope and measured optimism for the future as well. In order to imagine a more just and resilient future for the built environment, we must first understand our current predicament.

These issues certainly demand swift action, yet the circumstances that have led to our coastal vulnerability accrued over the course of centuries. So where do we begin when the cornerstones of so many economic, social, and political systems are built on coastlines and atop soggy marshes? Clearly, the problem stems deeper than the physical location where land, water, and city meet. The analysis phase of this studio investigated the complexity of this problem on a global and systemic scale through data visualization, which informed later investigations into the project site, the Gowanus Canal, in Brooklyn, New York.

Climate Change And Urbanization

FEEDBACK LOOP

Over half the world’s population now lives in urban environments. The causes of climate change and urbanization are inexorably linked into a continuous feedback loop.

POPULATION GROWTH IN THE LOW ELEVATION COASTAL ZONE (2010)

Even as coastlines and infrastructure become more threatened by sea-level rise, populations continue to grow significantly within 10 meters of elevation from sea-level.

City Growth Boundary Informal Settlement Growth And Receding Wetlands

Filled Land Over Time

Filled Land Today

Climate Risk Populations

Cities often develop on filled land, thereby subsuming coastal ecosystems that could otherwise mitigate flooding. This trend exists in both developing and developed contexts around the world. In some developing nations, such as Bangladesh (above), rapid growth manifests as informal settlements, which lack basic infrastructure for living, not to mention flood protection. Developing nations and economically underserved urban populations will be disproportionately affected by climate change and sea-level rise.

Compound Sites and Converging Systems

Senior Honors Research Thesis

Advisor: Jane Amidon

Fall 2015 - Spring 2016

Infrastructural networks extend across vast regional landscapes but converge in urban areas where their scale and function threaten to disrupt and disconnect the local communities they serve. How can urban infrastructure be more carefully planned, designed, and integrated with the public realm in order to foster social equity and make our cities more resilient? This research project explores the question through historical analysis and contemporary evaluations of the of six public infrastructural landscapes in Boston.

These sites, which are connected by complex legacies of environmental degradation and displaced people, are emblematic of the city’s development over time. Over the course of a century, the impetus behind infrastructure planning shifted wildly from public spaces for social and environmental reform, to transportation infrastructures as divisive instruments for urban renewal, to the current reclamation of the city’s environment and public realm.

Despite progress, challenges lie ahead. Lessons drawn from these sites can inform efforts to adapt Boston for the looming effects of climate change and sea-level rise.

SHAWMUT PENINSULA (1630)

RAILROADS AND STAGNANT MILL PONDS (1850)

PARK NETWORKS (1915)

PUBLIC SPACES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL REFORM

BACK BAY FENS SANITARY INFRASTRUCTURE AS PUBLIC SPACE (1878)

CHARLES RIVER DAM ESTUARY BECOMES FRESHWATER RECREATIONAL BASIN (1910)

HIGHWAYS AND EXPRESSWAYS (1950)

MULTI-MODAL TRANSIT (1980)

WATERFRONT AND BEYOND (2008)

URBAN RENEWAL AND TRANSPORTATION PLANNING RECLAIMING THE PUBLIC REALM

CENTRAL ARTERY EXPRESSWAY (1950)

STORROW DRIVE DIVIDES ESPLANADE AND BACK BAY

MDPW MASTER HIGHWAY PLAN (1948)

HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION MORATORIUM DECLARED BY GOV. FRANCIS SARGENT (1970)

BACK BAY FENS

WATER TRANSPORTATION

CHARLES RIVER ESPLANADE

TURNING POINT

SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR COMPLETE (1987)

BIG DIG INFRASTRUCTURE MEGAPROJECT CONSTRUCTION BEGINS (1991)

ROSE KENNEDY GREENWAY BIG DIG COMPLETE (2008)

SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR ROSE KENNEDY GREENWAY

WASTE

DEER ISLAND SPECTACLE ISLAND

CHARLESBANK CITY’S FIRST RIVERFRONT PARK (1888)

CHARLES RIVER EMBANKMENT CHARLESBANK EXPANDS (1910)

CHARLES RIVER ESPLANADE EMBANKMENT EXPANDS (1928)

SPECTACLE ISLAND LANDFILL (20th CENTURY)

SOUTHWEST EXPRESSWAY CITY CLAIMS AND CLEARS 100 ACRES IN ROXBURY AND JAMAICA PLAIN (1966)

SPECTACLE ISLAND HORSE RENDERING PLANT (19th CENTURY)

DEER ISLAND INTERNMENT CAMP COLONISTS INTER 500 NATIVE

BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA NATIONAL AND STATE PARK

DEER ISLAND PENITENTIARY (20th CENTURY)

FEDERAL CLEAN WATER ACT COURT RULING INITIATES BOSTON HARBOR PROJECT (1972)

MASSACUSETTS WATER RESOURCES AUTHORITY ESTABLISHED TO OVERSEE BOSTON HARBOR CLEANUP

SPECTACLE ISLAND LANDFILL RECLAMATION COMPLETE (2006)

DEER ISLAND SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT HARBOR CLEANUP COMPLETE (2000)

CONSTRUCTED HYDROLOGY OF THE STONY BROOK AND MUDDY RIVER

BACK BAY FENS

MUDDY RIVER AND JAMAICA POND FILLED LAND

MIDDLESEX FELLS RESERVATION

CHARLES RIVER REGIONAL WATERSHED

CHARLES RIVER ESPLANADE FILLED LAND

BACK BAY

EMERALD NECKLACE

NEPONSET RIVER

WARD STREET HEADWORKS

COLUMBUS PARK HEADWORKS

10 MI. OUTFALL TUNNEL

CHELSEA CREEK HEADWORKS

BLUE HILLS RESERVATION

GREATER BOSTON REGIONAL OPEN SPACE NETWORK

SPECTACLE ISLAND

GREATER METROPOLITAN PARK SYSTEM CITY PARK SYSTEM

HARBOR ISLANDS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA PARKWAYS AND FERRY ROUTES

COLLECTION AND DILUTIONGREATER BOSTON WASTEWATER NETWORK

NUT ISLAND HEADWORKS

ANNUAL INCOME DISTRIBUTION ALONG THE SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR

ROXBURY

SOUTH END JAMAICA PLAIN

SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR MBTA NETWORK

$10 - 30K

$30 - 53K

$53 - 72K

$72 - 100K

$100 - 176K

DOWNTOWN’S SUBTERRANEAN EXPRESSWAYS

ROSE KENNEDY GREENWAY FILLED LAND (VULNERABLE)