Buildings, benches, and forks in the road symbolize a series of decisions and shape pedestrian patterns and behaviors. Taking a moment to appreciate Boston’s built environment will lead to enhanced pride for our fair city, and your observations and narration will delight your friends (at least those with an arm chair interest in urban design and who have grown accustomed to journeys with you taking just a little bit longer). Oh, to be an urban planner whose purposeful missions are peppered with stops to peek down alleys and critique the skyline!
Boston’s architectural mix and walkability make the city a playground for aesthetes and history buffs. A casual stroll through Boston’s downtown business district offers over 300 years of perspective on planning and design, but how do we, today, move and react as players in our ever-evolving urban context?
• Relax on a bench in one of a handful of brick oases near City Hall (no, not that brick oasis) uncut by roads and preserved by walls of low- to mid-rise brick buildings.
• Hearken back to the time when shopping on a grand boulevard was a family affair, and move with the tide in the Downtown Crossing pedestrian mall that once hosted trolley traffic as well:
• Find a shaded nook within the curves and hilliness of Boston Common. Veer from the pedestrian walkways connecting Back Bay with Downtown, Beacon Hill, and other neighborhoods, and claim your own swath of green space.
Next time you breeze past a building or search for a private place to sit down with your lunch, pause to look for contextual historical clues. Faded lettering on a store’s façade and obsolete trolley tracks offer glimpses of Boston’s past and make the process of arriving at a destination more enriching (and provide limitless Google image search fodder for the curious!). Just think: as we use our thoughtfully prepared urban environment, we contribute to the next wave of transformation.
