The End

 The Piece of the greenway that I spent a few weeks studying is interesting in several ways. First, as I said when I started, the park that was just opened this October marks the end of the Big Dig project and era in Boston. Although, the parkway and it's speedy traffic are still a real barrier, it is now a new threshold for the city that can be crossed in many different ways. The meaning of this space will evolve over time and may someday blend into the city seamlessly.  Part of it's continued evolution will be the construction of an office and Hotel on Parcel 1B, which will block the picturesque view of the Bridge. this will change the scale of the park making it about the  streets that border it and no longer an arm off the monumental bridge and tunnel below. I have while sitting in the park wondered weather the space that was reclaimed at such a high cost really makes an ideal park or weather the gesture is a result of the land being unstable for at least a few years. When it has settled and we feel confident the tunnels are secure i wonder if the belt will be taken over by buildings.

Research Idea and Favorite reading

Territorial markings. Joint households and urban communal dwelling.

So who's stuff goes where and why?

Many, if not most young professionals today live with others their same age in a family home or apartment. These living situations are unique opportunities to look at behavioral marking patters. as a group, this population has limited control over their environment. most of us pay to much for too little to live away from home.  For some though these shared dwellings are home. I would like to look at how it is different for this group than for people who still maintain a home base elsewhere. Are the marking patterns different? are different levels of privacy required? how about the levels of ownership?

Many different stories may emerge and my main goal is to identify an array of factors that are at play in these unique environments.

I think that many of the readings Will be helpful in a variety of ways. I think that the chapters from Lang will be the most supportive.  These chapters have been very helpful for me in deconstructing personal space. The need to mark or change the environment is very interesting to me and i think i will enjoy it.

Identity

The Design (as I see it)

The greenway is an example of a carefully designed urban open space. Today I spent the day walking around the park and looking for clues to the design intentions of the space. The first aspect of the park that I wondered about was the layout of the paths. there seems to be a deliberate hierarchy between the two main parallel arteries. The path along the city side is narrow and gravel while the path along the north-end side is wide and paved. the smaller more intimate space seems to be for solitary use. there are a few benches and a lot of shrubs. When I walk down the path I usually see individuals eating alone, reading or taking a nap. these individuals seem uninterested in people watching and do things that limit their engagement with others like sit sideways, cover their face, or lean back. This space feels small and private. the path is only in view of the main sidewalk for a brief moment and the direction of pedestrian traffic is usually moving past it. the shrubs create a nice symbolic shelter for this space. They are about three feet high, concealing most of your actions while seated or laying down. They also provide a visual barrier, blocking out the city and street traffic. The unpaved quality of the path also seems to be a deliberate indicator of it's secondary status.

The Larger corridor feels almost like an airport terminal or a porch. I related it to an air port terminal in that the behavior of the occupants seems similar. People wander more or less from one end to the other and if they see a spot that suits them they stop to rest, read or eat. some people are in a rush to get from point A to point B, but most seem to be people with a little bit of time to kill. It is very interesting to watch them navigate the space. Many take a few steps and then pause as if they are testing the location to see if it suits them. they often look around and see if there is another "empty" space that looks more appealing. Sometimes they move there, some times they stay put and sometimes they move on all together. Weather someone stays or not seems to be related two two factors, weather and the population density. When the weather is nice (not too cold or windy) and there is a good number of people (around twenty or so) people seem to stay in the space more often and for longer. One day when the sun was out I observed the largest number of people in the space I counted 31 seated people. Interestingly, I saw that they were all grouped along the north side of the park where it was sunniest. The park layout then seemed to be determined not by the view but by the sun exposure. sitting on the northern edge provides the maximum amount of sun exposure while the view from there back into the city is mostly composed of parking garages.

I think the porch feeling comes from the layout of private and public space. The causeway overlooks the lawn as if it were a front yard. once people enter the open park space they come into view of thoes seated in the causway or portico area. This area is also semi-sheltered and completly open on one side with smaller more restricted passageways on the back side.

The best views in the park are observed from the center looking either East or west. at one end is the old Custom House and the other the Zakem Bridge. The view is choreographed so that when you are walking from one district to the other you cross over the park space and look into it as you pass. Almost everyone i observed does this. Your eye seems to be guided by several stimuli, first the human activity in the space (children playing, people laying out and so on) and secondly by the lines of the park. the park is gently curved and the the major lines seem to radiate out from the two nodal view points. Each seems to be the vanishing point of a perspective of the space. There are a network of secondary lines that point both into the space as well as up. the lattice and grout lines point subtly in these directions. They feel like the pencil strokes that add depth and dimension to the composition.

The interior space also seems to have an element of privacy to it. the enges of the park are slightly raised around it providing a bout a two foot space of privacy above the grass. By this I mean that if you lay flat you would be hidden from outside traffic and if you were sitting you would be only partialy exposed. The space is not closed off but has a distinct feeling of being enclosed. people seem to feel comfortable to let their children and pets roam about the space. there is a slight grat to the lawn that makes it more comfortable and interesting as well the slope makes sitting and grouping eaiser and forces the user to engage the terain when walking accross it.

Description

The park consists of three main zones, a narrow wood chip path with shrubs, an open interior lawn and fountain space and a stone concourse with a lattice covering and cafe tables and chairs. The metal lattice work points from the North End back into the city. unfortunately the view looking back is of a parking garage.

This space seems very popular and gets a lot of foot traffic along the diagonal path that cuts across the lawn. The lawn and fountain are slightly depressed and the concourse raised. The table and chairs can be moved freely as they are not tied down. Mostly they are lined up along the edge of the fountain.

I have observed three basic types of people that use this space. they are the exerciser, the lunch -breaker and the tourist. Each use the sight in different ways, one for walking/running, another to rest and another for pictures.

I have chosen a table to make my observations from that seems to have a clear view of all of these activities.

Introduction

The Rose Kennedy Greenway just opened this past weekend. The park system represents the completion of the Big Dig and the city of Boston's commitment to introducing new urban green space. I chose the strip of the park to write about that is at the Zakum Bridge end of the greenway. This portion lies between the North End's Hanover St and Downtown's Haymarket. It has become an interesting pedestrian intersection and an enjoyable park space.