A N I DOBBINS
W O R K S A M P L E
2.43%
1820
1835 1826
1857 1852
1867 1861
1871
1878
1891
1881
1940
Back Bay resiliency Back into the Bay lab
1910
8.77%
1820
1835 1826
1857 1852
1867 1861
1871
1878
1891
1881
1940 1910
15.7%
1820
25.3%
1835 1826
This project was done to explore GIS skills through a resilience study. The specific neighborhood studied is Boston’s Back Bay. The study mapped the history of the Back Bay by aligning and tracing historical maps, and then took a look at the future of the neighborhood’s ability to weather the coming climate changes by layering factors of sea level rise, elevation, impervious surfaces, and population demographics.
1857 1852
1867 1861
1871
1878 1881
1891
1940 1910
1820
40.4%
1835 1826
1857 1852
1867 1861
1871
1878 1881
1891
1940 1910
1820
1835 1826
1857 1852
1867 1861
1871
1878 1881
1891
1940 1910
45.7%
29.5%
1820
1835 1826
1857 1852
1867 1861
1871
1878
1891
1881
1940
1820
1835
1857 1852
1867 1861
1871
1878
1891
1881
1940
1820
1910
1867 1861
1871
1878
1891
1881
1940
1820
1910
1835 1826
1835
1857 1852
1867 1861
1871
1878
1891
1881
1940
1820
1835 1826
1910
98.2%
1835
1857 1852
1867 1861
1871
1878 1881
1891
1940 1910
1820
1867 1861
1871
1878
1891
1881
1940 1910
1857 1852
1867 1861
1871
1878 1881
1891
1940 1910
100%
1835 1826
1857 1852
96.4%
1826
97.1%
1826
1857 1852
93.1%
1826
1820
1835 1826
1910
49.4%
1820
45.8%
1857 1852
1867 1861
1871
1878 1881
1891
1940 1910
1940 1910
2019
Storrow Expansion 100%
Re d n La ins g Be
50%
1820
13
1840
1860
1880
1900
1920
1940
INFILL
os Ra
il
ro
ad
s
Cr
str Con am
m
a cl
on
i at
Mil
l D
In the 3 years between 1878 and 1881, 44% of the Back Bay was filled in
s
uct
Ba
y
ion
Infill Complete
Impervious Surface & Green Space Only 41 out of 400 acres are pervious
Elevation Map Low lying neighborhood
Sea Level Rise
As shown below, sea level rise alone does not pose much threat the Back Bay.
Contours Below 10’
Peak Water Level
6
7.4 Feet
Peak Storm Surge
4 2
Storm Surge
0
ed rv ed se ct Ob edi Pr
Water Level (Feet)
8
High Tide
-2 -4
Sandy (and Boston’s Luck) -6 Sandy (and Boston’s Luck)
Water Water Level Level (Feet) (Feet)
~5 Hours
8 8 6 6 4 4 2 2 0 0 -2 -2 -4 -4 -6 -6
Hurricane Sandy Actual Event
Low Tide
Peak Water Level Peak Water Level 9.4 Feet 9.4 Feet Peak Storm Surge Peak Storm Surge
High Tide High Tide
Storm Surge Storm Surge
Low Tide Low Tide
If the Storm had hit at High Tide
Vulnerable Coverage by Emergency Shelters Within a Quarter Mile
22.0%
Within a Half Mile
89.2%
This image highlights tracts that contain vulnerable populations and calculates how much of those tracts are within a certain distance to an emergency shelter
urban planning critique
the neoliberal condition of the seaport district this zine is a study of the Seaport District, a historic shipping and loading neighborhood, that has been recently taken over by lifestyle apartments and financial and pharmaceutical buildings. the project aims to critique the ways in which community is emboldened or curtailed by the policies and planning choices in the neighborhood, and analyzes the political, economic, and social motivations behind them. a full version is available online at: https://issuu.com/dobbins.ian.m
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contents 1. the ideology
“WHAT IS AN 2. before the seaport UP-AND-COM3. the seaport district ING NEIGH4. the seaport has a scale issue BORHOOD 5. the architecture AND6. theWHERE public realm IS 7.IT COMING the branding FROM?” 8. the future
THE SEAPORT
DISTRICT Physically, the Seaport is a peninsula, with the Fort Point Channel, the Reserved Channel, and the harbor surrounding the land on three sides. In terms of connectivity and urban fabric, I would consider the Seaport to be a peninsula but on different terms. There seems to be an isolated nature to the Seaport, one that can be explained by its aforementioned history. The parking lots and railway yards cut off the waterfront from South Boston aka Southie, the historically working class history that was mostly inhabited by the citizens who worked on the waterfront. The harbor and Reserved Channel still act as the two other sides of the peninsula, but the Fort Point Channel is erased by three currently accessible bridges that connect the Seaport to the Financial district.
The highway, here, also acts as a buffer. Unlike historical examples where highways cut through low income or predominately minority neighborhoods, Interstate 90 actually acts as a guiding line as to where develop will go. Almost every plot north of the line is developing quickly into skyscrapers with much more planned for the future. By having those who enter the Seaport carefully funneled through a few limited arteries, who is allowed in can be managed in a very subtle way. Unless you are walking over from the financial district, the streets are largely unforgiving to pedestrian access, and does not inspire any bicycle travel either. So you either need a car to enter, or you need to work in the financial district. This is an economic barrier emerging.
“I FELT LIKE I WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE WALKING THERE, I HAD TO LEARN WHAT STREETS TO WALK ON” =INTERVIEWEE WHO WORKED IN THE SEAPORT
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the seaport moat financial district
the harbor I-90
USPS
parking lots, etc
THE SEAPORT HAS A SCALE ISSUE IF AT ANY TIME PLANNERS HAD BEEN ASKED TO DESIGN CITIES THAT WOULD MAKE LIFE DIFFICULT AND DISCOURAGE PEOPLE FROM BEING OUTDOORS, IT ... WAS FOR ALL THE CITIES DEVELOPED IN THE 20TH CENTURY ON THIS IDEOLOGICAL BASIS =JAN GEHL
This is the welcoming into the Seaport from almost any angle; long, wide roads with very little happening at the pedestrian scale. There are sidewalks though, and even a few bike lanes that I enjoyed while documenting the neighborhood, however they were severely under utilized. Jan Gehl, in studying public life, pointed out that people are no longer on the streets in cities with highly developed economies, as there are fewer people who have to sell trinkets, work, or do errands on the street to make a living. The highly developed economy is ever present with the financial logos and rapid development everywhere, but there is still more towards understanding why the streets are empty. Gehl also points out that we can only recognize human activity at around 100 meters, and then
hear loud human expression at 35 meters, and then understand emotion at less than 22 meters. It is only within 7 meters however that genuine conversation can take place. Clearly, the length of these streets far exceed 100 meters, the larger ones exceed 35 meters and the smaller ones mostly exceed 22 meters. Even the sidewalk in the top right is pushing 7 meters. Gehl stated that we are geared towards looking ahead of us, and down rather than up, and that communication with the street happens in the first two stories, is feasible from the third and fourth stories, and then is completely lost from the fifth floor and above. Where the Seaport excels in verticality, it also succeeds in removing dozens of floors from the urban fabric below.
THE PUBLIC REALM There is very little in the Seaport to remind you that you might be a citizen of a country, state, township, or any other collective body. The public “dog park” in the top row is a sad peak into the life of a resident pet of the Seaport, but an even sadder look at how much public space is allocated to the people as well. Although the newly installed Pier 4 park and “Public Green” exist within walking distance, pets are not allowed and so they are relegated to do their business on a fake fire hydrant on astroturf the size of a parking space. There are no public schools in the Seaport, no public swimming pools, no community centers, and no public libraries. The only explicit reminder (roads, sewage, and other services being more subtle
ones) that a state still exists is the courthouse and the very present police. This works well with the neoliberal ideology, as it outsources the cost of security. The courthouse sits in the Northern corner of the Seaport, like a watchtower over the whole site. The only state presence here is punitive. This helps the neoliberal ideology also gather public support ironically, as it reinforces the idea that you should be unhappy with where your taxes go, when you fail to see any public good coming from them. By removing your imagination for a public, you start to see yourself as an individual rather than as something more. This individuality can turn into isolation, and this isolation can become loneliness, and this loneliness can be capitalized on.
“IN A CAPITAL-ALIGNED STATE, IT IS IN THE STATE’S INTEREST TO SHAPE INDIVIDUALS’ SOCIAL IMAGINARIES TO EMBRACE THE DISCOURSES OF THE FREE MARKET AND INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND TO DOWNPLAY COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY” = KATHERINE B. HANKINS
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THE BRANDING To capitalize on the loneliness, the apartments of the Seaport market a lifestyle rather than just a couple rooms and some kitchen appliances. All the advertisements below seem to offer stability, community, or escape. When you feel alone, you want to fit in and, if you can afford to buy it, you will purchase a ticket into a certain social space for $2,866. Will it solve your feelings of isolation? Probably not, but that’s why they include gym memberships and maps to the nearest restaurants.
“PEOPLE WHO NEED HOUSING DON’T NEED IT MARKETED TOWARDS THEM”
Miscellaneous Renders Three sets of renders showing the same site with temporal changes, completed while working for STIMSON studio, and a set highlighting detail options at a private residence on the subsequent spread
17
Cape Cod Hospital Summer, Fall, and Winter
Private Residence 9am, 1pm, and 3pm
19
Fence Detail from the Kitchen
Deck Detail
Fence from the Driveway
Alternate Charred Fence
Spa View
Patio View