Contested Territories Benjamin Peterson R. Kyle Warren
Schools of Thought The University of Oklahoma March 6, 2020
Operation “Clean Sweep”
Boston, MA 08.02.2019
Operation “Clean Sweep”
Boston, MA 08.02.2019
“Methadone Mile” Massachusetts Avenue & Melnea Cass Boulevard South End, Roxbury, Newmarket
“Mass / Cass”
In these messy, social, spatial, infrastructural, political, public, intersections of
Contested Territories What is the role of design? What is the role of designers?
Boston
Boston Architectural College
Boston Architectural College
Mass & Cass
Boston Architectural College
Mass & Cass
Context
MASS AVE
Intersections
Mass Ave Harrison Ave
Albany St Melnea Cass Blvd
N
0.5 M
ile
s
iles
M 0.5 Southampton St
MASS AVE
Neighborhoods
Roxbury Neighborhood
South End Neighborhood
N
Newmarket Industrial Commercial Neighborhood
MASS AVE
Residential
South End Town Homes
Northampton Tower Condominiums
Roxbury Neighborhood
South End Neighborhood
Multi-unit apartments 8 Farnham
N
Residential row homes
Newmarket Industrial Commercial Neighborhood
MASS AVE
Commercial
Hampton Inn and Suites Formerly Cumberland Farms Newmarket Pizza Alltown convenience store
Body shop
Crosstown Center Roxbury Neighborhood
South End Neighborhood
K + V Architects
N
Newmarket Industrial Commercial Neighborhood
Funeral Home Sunoco Best Western Plus McDonald’s Mobil
Planet Self-storage Bubbles Car Wash
MASS AVE
Industrial
Roxbury Neighborhood
South End Neighborhood
N
J + J Metals Paul Revere Transport Newmarket Business Association DB+S Lumber United Rentals
Newmarket Industrial Commercial Neighborhood
Winston Flowers Food PAK Express
BMC - Boston Medical Center MASS AVE
Chief Medical
Institutions
Boston City Hospital Boston University Medical Campus Boston University School of Medicine Boston Public Health Commission
Boston University Medical Center Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health
Roxbury Neighborhood
South End Neighborhood
Biosquare
N BMC Parking Garage Greater Boston Food Bank
Newmarket Industrial Commercial Neighborhood
Boston Fire Headquarters
House of Correction
MASS AVE
BHCHP - Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program
Social Services
Volunteers of America
Woods-Mullen Shelter Emergency Shelter Commission
Roxbury Neighborhood
South End Neighborhood
N
Hope House, Inc.
Boston Methadone Clinic Newmarket Industrial Commercial Neighborhood Victory Programs, Inc.
Community Substance Abuse Centers + NECAT
Southampton Street Shelter
MASS AVE
BMC to Methadone Clinic BHCHP - Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program
Roxbury Neighborhood
South End Neighborhood
N
Methadone Clinic Newmarket Industrial Commercial Neighborhood McDonald’s
Southampton Shelter
Boston Architectural College
BAC Gateway
PRACTICE
CITYLAB CONTEXT
GATEWAY CONTEXT + COMMUNITY PRACTICE
COLLABORATION + COMMUNICATION
COLLABORATION COMMUNICATION
CONCURRENCY
ACADEMIC
A Curriculum of Applied Learning
PRACTICE
GATEWAY
ACADEMIC
6 partners/projects per year “Client� driven deliverables LOU and administrative fee ($500) Pre-design, visioning, design-build Students from all disciplines Advised by practicing designers
PRACTICE
+ KW* (Spring 2019) Breaktime
GATEWAY *At the time, an outreach worker with Bridge Over Troubled Waters- invited to co-teach, offering perspectives from the social services. Kyle is also pursuing doctoral research focused on the affective relationships between the built environment and experiences of trauma.
ACADEMIC
+ KW* (Spring 2019) Breaktime
Where do we locate critical reflection and critical inquiry? What voice do students have as agents in client-partner decisions? What do we mean by “engagement� ? Are we responsible to client-partners? Or, are we responsible to the future occupants?*
*In our experience, these are not always the same-and, they often represent competing interests or agendas
Contested...
Contested... What are the narratives being constructed around Mass and Cass?
Contested... What are the narratives being constructed around Mass and Cass? How do these narratives suggest ways of defining “the problem�?
Contested... What are the narratives being constructed around Mass and Cass? How do these narratives suggest ways of defining “the problem�? Does the definition of a problem dictacte the scope of its resolutions?
Contested... What are the narratives being constructed around Mass and Cass? How do these narratives suggest ways of defining “the problem�? Does the definition of a problem dictacte the scope of its resolutions? How do these narratives move from the social and political into the geographic and spatial?
Contested... What are the narratives being constructed around Mass and Cass? How do these narratives suggest ways of defining “the problem�? Does the definition of a problem dictacte the scope of its resolutions? How do these narratives move from the social and political into the geographic and spatial?
Territories
Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? Judith Butler “specific lives cannot be apprehended as injured or lost if they are not first apprehended as living” Power | The Lives of Infamous Men Michel Foucault “...a beam of light had to illuminate them. What snatched them from the darkness....was the encounter with power; without that collision, it’s very unlikely that any word would be there to recall their fleeting trajectory” The Value of Homelessness: Managing Surplus Life in the United States Craig Willse “When we speak of ‘the homeless,’ we mobilize a pathological category that directs attention to an individual, as if living without housing is a personal experience rather than a social phenomenon.”
“How we begin to represent our work impacts how we assign value and make decisions. By using different diagrammatic techniques of designers we reveal events, agents, actors, and forces within the city of Boston that influence the current situation along Mass and Cass. The use of traditional techniques allowed for the findings to present themselves in ways which could be understood at a broader scale but explored in peculiar ways.�
“As a way to understand what led to the current situation surrounding “Mass and Cass” events beginning with the closing of the long island shelter to “operation clean sweep” were documented and then analyzed through timelines. These timelines identify events not as singular moments along a line but broadens their documentation to frame them within the larger geographic, social, and political context of Boston, and challenges who’s time is being associated within the recognized events.”
T. EC OJ PR
ILDING OF THE NEW B RID S. BU G GIN E IS BE EX PE C
E CLOSED IND EF IDG BR ED IN THE S IN LIV HE AND BRIDG SL
O
D TE
S. YEAR 2-3 KE TA TO
1
GE ID BR
GE ID BR
D
LONG I ERS. SLA ELT N SH ND. THOSE W A LONG H SL I D.
LE HOME SS ARE M EY. ITL R WERE FORCE O E LT RECAUTI D O EP
W TEMPO RA O TO R DT VE EVACUATE THE Y I O T C L Y O L I S R E NA
D
DEMOLITION OF TH E LO NG ISL AN D
ISL AN MARTY WALSH COMMITS $ 50 M ILLI ON TO TH EL ON G
SS IS
S ES SN PLE AT 112 SOU T O H HA ES S PE MP EL LES TO ME TERS OPENED AD N HEL DIN HO TS G LESS EN A OME M EH
U YD DA AT S. ER ELT SH . HE ION FT CAT SO LO FE SA A
TO
TH D TO ATE REL TS EN CID IN IS.
BEDS. 120 ER TH O N
EET IN G
IN SE
H TT
. ST
K AS
2
EAN SWEEP OCCURS T ATION CL HIS SA . OPER ME D MILE A Y . 3 ONE 4P AD EO PLE ETH W GE OF .3%. HOUSING C NM A O R S T E P UT TO RE L AVE DO IONA AR TE BLA NAT ME RE CA . S LO THE T G WITH PEOPLE ON EE TO EN THE S SPEAKIN D SE FTER TRE TH LM PO ET D” A A OP RA BO ROA YOR ON HOMELESS UT 4% ERY THE MA NESS TH S1 OV R TO EC EC SE VISO HOMELESS TO “ W R O A I T AD O ND S FOR EA T“ U T I T T OOM HE IRS ITI ES DR HIG SF ON M ISE N` HO NA RV TO E R O T F F H S E D H E O B DR M UP OS E L E R 150 SS. UG SS SB THE DS TO THE H O EN M U NO 100 BE ELES OP G A OPENS S IN O END VETERAN AND C . Y AN T DD H IAL L R P O NIC S A FFIC ION T O HO ITY TO HOUSE HUN R AC ACIL M D R AN WF ED NE SO M FAILS. TWO N ES A F R E W NC OG TR PR EA FOR THE CITY TO T A CH ING
BOSTON GETS APPROVAL TO RE BUILD LON G IS LAN DB RID GE ,. AT TACK ON S UFFO LK CO UNT YC OR REC TIO BOSTON`S N NO UMBE R OF FF HOM ICE ELE RB SS MARTY WAL YS PO SH VI EV SITS P U MET E LA HA T I ON DO MARTY WAL SH A NE I POIN N MI CR BOSTON HE TS L LE ALTH AIL AN CAR AB D EF ER RE OR NS HO T SOUTHAM ME EIN PTON A LE SHE SOUTHAM SS LTE PTO RE MARTY WA N STR X E P LSH AN ET SH AND NO UN ELTE MARTY W CE ALS HA S NN ROXBUR OU YR ELA PUBLIC UN M
“The maps provide a geographic understanding between Mass and Cass and the city of Boston. The maps contest boundaries of space. They reveal how the impact of events in one location are not restricted to its formal borders and its consequences can extend beyond the legally drawn lines of territories.�
Contested Territories “Concrete Pillows� - Mauricio Alarcon Displacement of Individuals experiencing Homelessness 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Homeless Shelters and centers Healthcare centers for homeless
Land Use Massing
Legend Residential Commercial/Industrial City Owned State Owned Boston Medical Center Fiat Boundary Bona Fide Boundary N
Scale: 1” = 400’ 0’
100’ 200’
400’
800’
This strategy of mapping is being used to identify the major districts of the area. Doing this generates an idea of what the general purpose of each vicinity is and how that impacts those within the district. An example, industrial/commercial district`s purpose is for production of goods and generating cash flow, less people will be living and exploring in this area creating less demand for public attractions and parks. However, it is important to realize there are still people living within the commercial/industrial district, meaning they have a smaller variety of parks and other leisurely public places to go within their local vicinity. A smaller number of facilities means more people from different backgrounds must share and negotiate the spaces they have access to. Being more limited emphasizes the fragility of public space as all it takes is one outside force to entirely change what may be happening somewhere that is accessible to everyone.
Contested Territories Spring 2020
New work and new relationships generated by previous work Mass Cass 2.0 New partners and new coalitions Maintained and enhanced dialogues
Contested Territories Spring 2020
New work and new relationships generated by previous work Mass Cass 2.0 New partners and new coalitions Maintained and enhanced dialogues
