ORANGE line it is!

final poster

Poster

Chosen Site

South Station
Atlantic Ave & Summer St Boston, MA 02110

Parking
Parking Spaces: 226
Average Weekday Availability:
Parking Rate: Variable rates beginning at $5/ 30 minutes. Overnight maximum of $30/day
Accessible Spaces: 8
Bike Spaces: 8
Managed By: LAZ Parking
Comments:Overnight parking is available. LAZ Parking is responsible for parking lot snow removal, maintenance and fee collection.

Subway Lines
Red Line
Silver Line

Commuter Rail Lines
Framingham/Worcester Line
Needdham Line
Franklin Line
Providence/Southon Line
Fairmount Line

Bus Lines
6- South Station - Haymarket Station Via North End
7- City Point - Otis & Summer Streets Via Summer Street & South S…
441 - Marblehead - Haymarket, Downtown Crossing Or Wonderland Vi…
441W- Marblehead - Haymarket, Downtown Crossing Or Wonderland …
448 - Marblehead - Downtown Crossing Via Paradise Rd.or Humphrey…
442 - Marblehead - Haymarket, Downtown Crossing Or Wonderland Vi…
442W - Marblehead - Haymarket, Downtown Crossing Or Wonderland …
449 - Marblehead - Downtown Crossing Via Paradise Rd. Or Humphre…
455 - Salem Depot - Wonderland Via Central Sq., Lynn
455W - Salem Depot - Haymarket Via Loring Ave., Central Sq., Ly…
459 - Salem Depot - Downtown Crossing Via Logan Airport & Centra…

what goes into the program-initial thoughts

Proximity and handiness. Ways to encourage people to opt for public transportation; program should contain componants that provide for people daily tasks: dry-cleaners, post office, bank branch, gorcery store, shore repair, pharmacy, creche, etc... This way, instead of spending extra time on running errands throught the day, one does it all on one's way to work, and by thus revive the node.

Thesis Statement II

What?

Gradients and Decentralism. Designing the transition from different means of transportation modes existing in a node, in order to reshape and create seamless transitions from commercial/public into residential/private. Therefore, this thesis will propose a series of prototypes that seek to maximize the positive relationships between housing in the city and public transportation nodes, by dealing with the different scales involved in such an operation, and exploring the different way such integration could be executed allowing the node to develop into an extension of the urbanization pattern of the city.



Why?

Cities nowadays expand in a growing rate mainly due to the increase in population. In order to provide for their healthy development and sustainable growth a Synergy between public transportation and housing in urban areas must be created. Such Synergy will allow for better integration of the city’s additions to the overall infrastructure of the city, “normalizing” the urban expansions and establishing a continuous transition between old and new. Instead of emphasizing the development as a “quick fix” of a burning need, the new urban additions (housing) will better assimilate into its surroundings, offering a desirable solution for its residents. Proximity to public transportation nodes will be then considered as a plus rather than a noisome limitation, and no longer be associated with the lower class of our society. Therefore, the main questions which I will answer in my thesis are: what types of transitions are appropriate in such node? how will these transition translate into a rich program that could integrate the node into a successful extension of the city?



How?

I will investigate nodes in the outskirts of the city of Boston. After understanding the constraintes that exist in such "Last Stops", I will determine what elements go into such a program that accounts for the different scales of this urban intervention I am offering. I will then Develope a programs that connects the various transitions (subway-->railroad-->bus-->bike paths-->walking paths-->residential) creating a gradient, facilitating for these transitions such that a "smooth" transition is putting some order into this dynamic enviromet.



Sources?

The city of Boston will serve as my site. I have not determined a final site location yet, but i'm leaning towards Alewife or Braintree. For my precedent, I am looking at the works of John R. Stilgoe and J.B. Jackson. My intension is to learn how the railroad systems inform the lanscape of America and influenced the developement patterns in the country. Then, I will lay out criteria for determining successful transitions from nodes to residential and from there draw out my principles for the programmatic features the make these interrelationship work/ fail.


Why is it important?

I believe that my thesis offers a valuable contribution to architecture and urban planning. This is a very important problem that pertains to multiple areas: politics, urbanism, social studies, economics, etc. Understanding the relationship between public transportation and urban housing and consequently providing a solution, is vital to cities’ development.

Current Reading- by John Stilgoe

Train Time: Railroads and the Imminent Reshaping of the United States Landscape
The first of three books on the immediate future, this one emphasizes how deep-pocket capital has already reinvested in the railroad industry and already reshapes American landscape and life.









Metropolitan Corridor : Railroads and the American Scene

examines the United States railroad environment in the years between 1880 and 1930, focusing on railroad travel, the perceptions of train passengers, and the constituents of the rail corridor itself, everything from power plants and industrial zones to railroad yards, grade crossings, suburban depots and the first landscapes shaped by railroad abandonment.