Thumbnail History of Boston

Urban Transportation PlanningMIT Course 1.252j/11.540j

Fall 2006

Frederick Salvucci, MIT Senior Lecturer

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Urban Transportation Planning – Fall 2006

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History of Boston Transportation and Analysis of Historical Developments

Image by Alex Maclean. Used with permission. www.landslides.com

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Urban Transportation Planning – Fall 2006

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Pre 1620

• Glaciers

• Rivers

• Codfish

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1630

• Charles River

• Mosquitoes

• Drinking Water

• People (Religious Minority)

• The Bible

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Unusual Commitment to Education

• 1635• Latin School

• 1636• Harvard

• 1800sHorace Mann

• 1865MIT

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1635-1776

1795

Neck

Cambridge

Mill Dam

South CoveTown Cove Bird Is.

0 1/2 MileN

Charlestown

BostonMill Pd.

Mill DamWest Cove

1995 water Area filled after 1795

1795 land 1995 shoreline with no historic changes shown

CastleIs.

SpectacleIs.

1630

South BostonSouth

Bay

Back Bay

Gravelly Pt.

Bird Is.

Apple Is.

0 1/2 MileN

Governors Is.

Noddles IslandCharlestown

Shawmut Peninsula

Hog Island

Charles River

1995 water Area filled after 1630

1630 land 1995 shoreline with no historic changes shown

Figures by MIT OCW, adapted from Nancy S. Seasholes and Amy Turner, "Diagramming the Growth of Boston", in Mapping Boston.

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1635-1776

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1635-1776

• Trade• Fishing• Ship Building• Bad Soil• Cattle• Smuggling• Tax Evasion• Relations with “Indians”• Military Relations with England, French, & Indians

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1776 --> War of 1812 --> 1830s

0 1/2 MileN

1852

1995 water Area filled after 1852

1852 land 1995 shoreline with no historic changes shown

Somerville

East Cambridge

East Boston

South BostonSpectacle Is.

R.R.

R.R.

Mill DamBoston

CharlestownMillers River

Wood Is.

Basin

Jeffries Point

Prison Point Bay

1880

1995 water Area filled after 1880

1880 land 1995 shoreline with no historic changes shown

0 1/2 MileN

East Boston

Boston

South Boston

Calf Pasture

Fort

Poin

t Cha

nnel

Commercial Pt.

South Bay

Spectacle Is.

R.R.

Charlestown

Mystic Wharf

Figures by MIT OCW, adapted from Nancy S. Seasholes and Amy Turner, "Diagramming the Growth of Boston", in Mapping Boston.

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1776 --> War of 1812 --> 1830s

TradeShip BuildingSlave TradeIceClipper ShipsFilling of Mill PondWar with Mexico

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1830s - 1870

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1830s - 1870

• Canals• Rail• Bicycles• Mills, Cloth• Civil War• Filling South End, Back Bay• Commuter Rail• Street Cars• Immigration (1848 Potato Famine)

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1830s - 1870

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1870 - 1900

• Sprague & Siemens• Streetcar Networking• Electric Power• 1894 First Auto in Hemisphere• 1897 First Subway in Hemisphere• Streetcar Suburbs & Downtown

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1900-1945

Figures by MIT OCW, adapted from Nancy S. Seasholes and Amy Turner, "Diagramming the Growth of Boston", in Mapping Boston.

Mystic Wharf

East Boston

SouthBostonFlats

Boston

Charles R. Dam

Dry Dock

Castle Is.Marine

ParkSouth

Bay

CharlesRiver

Charlestown

1916

1995 water Area filled after 1916

1916 land 1995 shoreline with no historic changes shown

0 1/2 MileN

1934

0 1/2 MileN

CharlesRiver

Boston

East Boston

Orient Heights

Airport

Governors Is.

Reserved Channel

Apple Is.

Old Colony Parkway

ColumbusPark

1995 water Area filled after 1934

1934 land 1995 shoreline with no historic changes shown

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1900-1945

1914 World War I1920’s; Model T, Auto Explosion, Zoning1930’s; Depression1940’s; World War IISubways and the Survival of Rail Transit

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1900-1945

• 1914 World War I• 1920’s; Model T, Auto Explosion, Zoning• 1930’s; Depression• 1940’s; World War II• Subways and the Survival of Rail Transit

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1945 - 1965 Postwar

• Oil, Autos, Highways, Suburbs• 1956 Interstate Highways• 1959 Southeast Expressway opens; Old Colony Rail closes• 1964 Expansion of MBTA

-- Riverside Green Line-- Orange Line tunnel under river-- Red Line extension to Quincy

• Transit and urban density• Prudential, British properties, John Hancock• Back Bay and Downtown

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1965-1972

• 1960s Reaction to highways• Boston Transportation Planning Review• Enhance the City as the Priority

-- Stop Destructive Highways-- Promote and Improve Transit-- Control Parking-- Promote Environmentally Benign Highways:

The Big Dig• Economy, Equity, Environment

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1972 - present

Boston

Airport

SubaruPler

Columbia Point

Charles River

1995

0 1/2 MileN

1995 water

1950 land

1995 shoreline with no historic changes shown

0 Orient Heights

East Boston

Boston

South Bay

Columbia Point

Spectacle Is.

1950

South Boston

Flats

Airport

1/2 MileN

1995 water Area filled after 1950

1950 land 1995 shoreline with no historic changes shown

Figures by MIT OCW, adapted from Nancy S. Seasholes and Amy Turner, "Diagramming the Growth of Boston", in Mapping Boston.

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1972 - present

Post-Office Square by the Friends of Post Office SquarePark rededicated in 1997 as the Norman B. Leventhal Park at Post Office Square

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1972 - present

• 1973 Interstate TransferReorganize MBTA

• 1968-1990 Diversification of highway construction industry

• 1991-present Big Dig; South Boston Transitway• Revise Mass Pike, MBTA• Continued commuter rail expansion

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Where Next?

• Silver Line• Blue Line• North to South Station rail• Stuart Street• Urban Ring• Better bus service, transfers

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Where Next?

• Red Sox; Medical Complex; South Boston Waterfront District; Cambridge-Somerville

• Suburban sprawl

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How to pay for it all?

• Federal context• Local taxes

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Summary

Land useAccessibilityEconomic ActivityEquityEnvironmentSustainabilityEvaluation of what to doEffectivenessFinancing mechanismsEfficiency

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