The Revitalist

A portion of Peters Park in the South End is set to become Boston's first official dog park. The Friends of Peters Park has raised over $130,000 towards the $250,000 renovation of what is currently a dirt patch surrounded by chain link fence. The planned park will have dog fountains at just the right height, double entry gates, and designated big and little dog areas. The South End seems like the right neighborhood for the city's first dog park, with its large canine population, multiple stores catering to their needs, and a very dedicated group of owners. I hope that it's a roaring success and inspires other neighborhood groups to put together their own parks.

We would all like to think that having a dedicated dog area will cut down on conflicts with non-dog owners, but I'm not so sure. The bottom line is that we all live in pretty close quarters; and whether we like it or not, the dog owners in the community bear the responsibility for making daily interactions as smooth as possible. I think it's great that an independent group is taking the initiative to raise the funds and organize such a park. It is just the kind of controlling-your-own-destiny action that more dog owners need to take.

If you thought excavating the Big Dig in the middle of Boston was complicated, imagine building a new subway line through central Rome. After decades of feuding the city and the archaeologists are collaborating on a 15.5 mile project (costing an estimated $375m per mile). The two camps worked together to site stations in places less likely to disrupt major sites, and the city agreed to allow archaeologists to survey sites before the mechanical excavators moved in (this is in contrast to workers demo-ing their way through the Diocletian Baths without letting the preservation office know). Even though the cost is exorbitant (and really, how could it not be?), it seems like a win-win situation. The archaeologists are surely salivating at the opportunity to dig the ancient city, and it has to be more efficient to accomodate planned surveys early in the construction than to have unexpected work stopages.

By the way, if you haven't seen it, the Mass Historical Commission has a nice exhibition on the Archaeology of the Central Artery Project.

Two recent NY Times articles profile a pair of high profile people in the world of preservation and planning.

Now that there is some water under the bridge, so to speak, some people are starting to look at the legacy of Robert Moses, the man who lead NYC through urban renewal, with fresh eyes.  Three exhibitions opening soon will explore different aspects of Moses' initiatives and their positive and negative impacts. It's an interesting time to look back on the subject because several projects have been around long enough that they are in their second lives, like Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village recently bought by MetLife for rehab. Also, Anthony Flint, one-time Globe reporter turned urbanist thinker, is working on a book about the relationship between antagonists Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs due out next year. Looks like it will be interesting.

 Also, the Times was nice enough to give NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission Chairman Robert Tierney some time to defend himself. He and the Commission have been the objects of much criticism lately for what is interpreted as their inability to defend the city's landmarks against big money developers. Tierney says, "There is just an enormous responsibility to keep intact what we already have, keep it healthy, used, and animated. That said, we make discretionary decisions all the time. You can't designate everything. Choices have to be made." While Tierney points out the political intricacies of his job, I think we would all like to see our preservation commissions doing just what the article title says: distinguishing the remarkable from the merely old. And we would like to see them stand up to famous and demanding neighborhood activists as well as to the politically connected, deep pocketed developers.

Yesterday's Globe had an interesting article about the blacksmiths that are keeping the MBTA on the rails (the cool photos that accompanied the article aren't online anymore—photo archive anyone?). The six blacksmiths fix anything and everything that goes wrong with the trains and tracks, as well as manufacture standard and custom tools. Not surprisingly, you just can't buy parts for some of the older trains anymore. It's a great example of how, despite our modern age, traditional crafts are still relevant to the world we live and work in. Unfortunately, it's also a window into the machinations of the MBTA: "In 1995, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority got rid of its blacksmiths while trying to save costs. Over the following five years, however, they were hired back, their jobs too important to the health of the 110-year-old system." The article suggests that the six blacksmiths working now are working at capacity. Should the MBTA increase their apprenticeship program? Was firing the blacksmiths (the only ones who can make many of the needed repairs) a false economy? The next time you're on a train with a "disabled train up ahead" think about these guys.

Yesterday I received my reminder mailing that the Edward Tufte one-day course Presenting Data and Information is returning to Boston next month. I'm tempted to go again. We have sent everyone from our office to the course. It is an eye-opener on the power of visual display and inspires us to communicate more effectively everyday.

 

 Along those lines, CoolTown Studios is launching their Cool Places Flickr pool. These are photos (anyone can contribute) that are meant to document and inspire good places: the "Wow, I wish that was in my neighborhood!" photos. CoolTown believes in the power of community conversation; so if you have a Wow place in your neighborhood, share it with the world and maybe they'll be inspired...

 

This isn't related to urban living, but it's an interesting exercise in comparative display: What Does 200 Calories Look Like? (via Dynamist). Each of the examples is staged on the same plate/bowl, so that they are comparable to each other. Personally, I would like a little human-scale context, so that I could  get a sense of whether I think that's a big or small portion. But besides being a cool display, it does make you think about the classic combination of food and design.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino's proposal to move City Hall to the industrial waterfront in South Boston is a little like moving out of the neighborhood just at the moment real estate prices shoot up. 

Anthony Flint (former Globe journalist, now at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy) makes a convincing case in a recent op-ed in the Hartford Courant for why City Hall should stay in Government Center. Now, on the cusp of the blooming of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, City Hall is suddenly in a very desirable location and is still at the hub of the Hub. Flint argues that the Mayor should focus on reinforcing the rebirth taking place along the Greenway (and not just on the SB Waterfront). He suggests a top down overhaul of the City Hall building, incorporating elements of the original design that were cut from the project, and reconnecting Hanover Street with Cambridge Street (i.e., restoring the street across what is now the Government Center Plaza). With an active street connection, the installation of elements that were originally planned, and insisting on a top-quality MBTA station on the plaza, Government Center could become alive. Flint has a very optimistic view of the possibilities (I, too, would like to see Haymarket rival Seattle's Pike Place, but I'm not holding my breath), but he makes some very interesting suggestions. I hope City Hall is listening...

I couldn't resist the Big Belly logo (left). The Big Belly in Faneuil Hall (right).

The Back Bay Architectural Commission has given the heave-ho to the City's new solar powered trash compactors. So much for supporting the green revolution. In fact, that seems to be the problem, the Big Belly cans are too green (literally)  for the Back Bay's historic integrity. A commission member is quoted as saying, "Here you have this historic street with historic streetlights and furniture, and then you have this ... thing." That thing holds about 150 gallons of trash (roughly five times that of a standard trash can), is totally enclosed so that no trash spills out onto the street, uses solar power to compact the trash into a 40-pound brick, and only needs pick-up once or twice a day (some downtown cans require 15 pick-ups or more in a day). The Needham company, Seahorse Power Co., that designed and sells the Big Belly says, "What does a historic-looking solar powered trash compactor look like?" Thankfully, they are already working a more compact design that will be available in green and black (presumably a less offensive color) that will be tested on Boston's streets in March.

CoolTown Studios posted Friday about cities taking an anti-chain store stance. They link to a NY Times article about the scourge of chain stores expanding beyond Manhattan and into the indie hinterlands of Brooklyn and Queens. Not surprisingly there are a lot of people who are less than enthusiastic. CoolTown also mentioned that San Francisco had passed an ordinance requiring that chain stores undergo greater scrutiny in the development approvals process. Apparently, the ordinance defines stores with 12 or more locations as "formula retail" that will undergo additional permitting reviews and actually be banned in certain areas of the city.

The chain store question is obviously a hot one (and chains do have their defenders). I'm not surprised to hear Brooklyn hipsters grumbling about the loss of funky storefronts. And I can certainly see that a city has a vested interested in maintaining a particular look and feel. And I can see why people want new and interesting places to live/shop/eat/work. But an ordinance like San Fran's worries me. While it isn't going to limit the local cafe owner who wants to open two or three satellite locations, it does place restrictions on his ability to grow his business. Maybe San Fran can afford to be picky-choosey about what businesses it wants, but is this a good strategy for municipal health/growth?

The NY Times makes an interesting survey of what kind of house you can get for $300,000 around the country. The answers? (left to right) A one-bedroom condo at the Gulf Shores Surf and Racquet condo complex in Gulf Shores, AL. A five-bedroom farmhouse in Bar Harbor, ME. And a one-bedroom loft condo in the Pearl District in Portland, OR.

 A quick search of homes in the Boston Metro area on boston.com for $280,000-320,000 price range (albeit a wider search than the NY Times') turned up a pretty wide variety. You could get a single-family in neighborhoods like Dorchester, Hyde Park, Somerville, Charlestown or condos in Brighton, Roxbury, the North End, Jamaica Plain. They range from spacious houses that scream fixer upper ("contractor's dream") to smaller but more polished places.

The Globe reports on a conflict over affordable housing on Martha's Vineyard. The story is a classic example of a resort/second home community pricing out its service workers. The town of Edgartown had approved zoning exceptions that allow qualifying low income families to build homes on lots that are too small under current zoning. The lots and houses are offered at affordable rates. But the neighbors are protesting that the increased density will disrupt the rural/wild nature of the island and affect wildlife. It would be a viable argument, except for the fact that only four houses were permitted—hardly an endangering level of density. One couple even went so far as to outbid (by a factor of seven) for one of the lots. They claim that they will help the displaced family find a more suitable location, although that hasn't happened yet. The reality is that the second home owners appreciate the island for its peaceful seclusion, but they have to acknowledge that there are people behind the scenes that make the island hum (whether by working in the shops they rely on or by working in the native industries—fishing—that give the island its desirable character). By desperately trying to preserve their enclave, they are destroying it by pricing the natives off the island. They have to get beyond their own selfish desires and do what's right.