The document discusses how the topography and land area of Boston has changed significantly over time through land reclamation projects using fill. It also describes how the population grew rapidly, necessitating expansion of the city limits. Boston's street layout became increasingly complex and confusing as the city grew in an unplanned manner. Traffic problems worsened over time as more people drove within the constrained city.
2. Topographic History
Since the founding of the city, the topography of Boston has
undergone more change and alteration than any other city of
comparable size, in fact, the topographic land mass of Boston
Proper increased 230.18% in size from 1630--1890. When the
Boston Proper area was first settled, the land mass measured a
mere 487 acres, and by 1890, the Peninsula measured 1,608
acres. Land mass was added using fill from the mountainous
terrain, which helped to better level out the land for improved
urban success and potential.
3.
4. The Need for Expansion
The Arabella carried Winthrop and his 150 settlers to Boston in 1630. 10 years later,
the population jumped to 1,200.
By 1690, Boston’s population was 7,000.
According to the Census Bureau, the population estimate for the year 2011 was
625,087 for the city of Boston, and 6,587,536 in Massachusetts as a whole. In about
three hundred years, Boston has accumulated 624,937 people.
During the 17th c. according to law, each individual or family was assigned two acres.
In 2010, the projected persons per square mile in Boston was 12,792.7, and the
land in area of current--day Boston was 48.28 square miles.
Hypothetically, if the two acre per resident law was still in effect, the city of Boston
alone would require1,250,174 acres of land for residential purposes alone.
10. A Tangled Web of Streets
Boston is considered to be one of the most confusing city to
navigate.
There is no such thing as “just around the block.”
When Boston was first planned, streets were very easy to
maneuver and understand, and were named strategically, so that
they were easy to remember and locate.
Fore St., Middle St., and Back St., today’s North St., Hanover
St., and Salem St.
17. Swatch of New York City’s
Urban Fabric
Midtown Manhattan south of Central Park
18. Traffic Problems
Big Dig disrupted regular traffic flow caused many
complications. Travel along the Central Artery was constipated
with traffic of up to 190,000 vehicles a day, with an accident rate
that was four times the national average for urban interstates.
The travel time with traffic along the artery was about 6--8 hours
each day in bumper--to--bumper traffic, and a projected doubled
increase in traffic jams and incidents by 2010.
The mean travel time it took Bostonians to travel to work
2006--2010 was 28.4 minutes.
The Central Artery was actually deteriorating.
19. America’s Walking City
Due to the hassle of driving, pedestrian transportation is
incredibly popular in Boston, which is referred to as America’s
Walking City. It is a compact city so it is the perfect size for
pedestrian travel.
According to a report in Prevention magazine in 2003, Boston
had the highest percentage of pedestrian commuters of all US
cities.
13.36% of Bostonians walked to work according to the 2000 US
Census.
Public transportation is another popular choice
20. Safety and Security
Fire risk was very high, especially since wood was the primary
building material.
Massachusetts General Court passed a law that no houses could have
a wooden chimney or a thatched roof.
1653, a law was passed stating that every home must have a ladder
that was tall enough to reach the roof.
All new construction projects were to be built of stone or brick
covered in tile or slate. Violators of this law were charged a fine
equivalent to the value of the structure in violation.
21. Great Fire of 1676
The Great Fire of 1676 was an urbanization milestone for
Boston.
More rigorous fire codes were passed
Boston moved towards larger scale street planning.
22. Summer St. Streetcar Disaster
Nov.7, 1916, Streetcar 393, carrying passengers, crashed through the Summer Street
drawbridge gate, and plummeted into the Fort Point Channel. The disaster left 47 dead.
The accident could have been prevented, had there been proper planning.
At the time of the crash, public service had no laws, rules, or regulations about
streetcars stopping at drawbridges.
Drawbridge gates in the city ranged from 23--48 feet from the draw on bridges, and
had no standards for size, distance, color, illumination, or warning signs.
Before the accident occurred, that same elevated streetcar, had its brakes adjusted,
and was last inspected for safety Halloween day that year, and passed all codes and
tests.
Upon further inspection of the wreckage, there were no defects of the streetcar
that would lead one to believe that the driver was at fault.
