Memorable, Legible, and Accessible Cities: Co-Stewarding Historic Preservation and Public Transportation Agendas in Boston and Hong Kong

This thesis seeks to understand how planners, designers, and policymakers can identify and leverage shared goals between historic preservation and public transit planning to support a memorable, legible, and accessible public realm. Preservation and transportation agendas are often described as inherently opposed to one another, and are generally administered through separate bureaucracies. Rather than being in opposition, I argue that the goals of preservation and transit accessibility are well-aligned through a shared commitment to serving the public interest and fostering sustainable development. I explore this alignment by analyzing how two coastal cities, Boston and Hong Kong, have accommodated transit needs alongside the cultural legacy of their built environments—resulting in positive and negative impacts on achieving sustainable development goals.

Insights from Hong Kong and Boston neighborhoods, gleaned through interviews, on-site observations, and mapping exercises, inform a set of opportunities for better fostering the synergies between historic preservation and transit planning. These recommendations, organized around opportunities for collaborative governance structures and processes, seek to improve the usability and enjoyment of public transit system and historic sites to create memorable, legible, and accessible cities for the long-term.

Melissa Hill Thesis Advisor: Jeff Levine

Building the New Stadium Complex: Three Case Studies of Place, Process, and Best Practices

In this thesis, I explore three case studies of team-driven or team-involved mixed-use districts near National Football League stadiums. Using primarily document analysis, archival, and personal observation sources, I develop narratives of the places and processes associated with Titletown, Patriot Place, and Westgate Entertainment District.

I investigate the financial and zoning environments in particular and theorize on the implications of this new trend in sports real estate. I conclude with suggestions of how best to navigate the new developments coming to cities across the United States. I propose that in this new era where pro sports and mixed-use real estate are inseparable, municipalities must be aware of their opportunities and constraints in order to negotiate optimal spaces for their futures. Further, while there can be substantial benefits to this mixed-use development, cities and developers must pay special attention to equity and displacement concerns and should not consider these new spaces to substitute for a rich public realm.

Melissa Isidor

Thesis Advisor: Holly Harriel