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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Urban Transportation Planning – Fall 2006
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1635-1776
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Urban Transportation Planning – Fall 2006
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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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Urban Transportation Planning – Fall 2006
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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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Urban Transportation Planning – Fall 2006
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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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Urban Transportation Planning – Fall 2006
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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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Urban Transportation Planning – Fall 2006
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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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Urban Transportation Planning – Fall 2006
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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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Urban Transportation Planning – Fall 2006
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Where Next?
• Red Sox; Medical Complex; South Boston Waterfront District; Cambridge-Somerville
• Suburban sprawl
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Urban Transportation Planning – Fall 2006
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How to pay for it all?
• Federal context• Local taxes
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Urban Transportation Planning – Fall 2006
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Summary
Land useAccessibilityEconomic ActivityEquityEnvironmentSustainabilityEvaluation of what to doEffectivenessFinancing mechanismsEfficiency
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Urban Transportation Planning – Fall 2006
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