The public realm initiative for the Boston Seaport District, USA

Abstract

Urban  space  planning  and  design  is  a  complex  task  for  both  architects  and  public   agencies.   Urban   renewal,  in   particular,  with  its  intricacy  of  activities  and  related  economic  and  social  attributes,  and  with  its  continuity  (or  discontinuity)   from   the   spatial   and   temporal  life  of  the  city  and  its  natural  context,  entails  potential  risks  of  failure  that  need  to  be  evaluated  and  managed. The impact of urban renewal on its local community is the key indicator of a successful intervention,  with  its  social health  measured  by  the  ability  of  retaining  former  residents  and  activities  next  to  the  new  uses  and  inhabitants  that  the  regeneration  inserts  into  the  transformed  urban  fabric.  Such permanence acts as a sort of cultural “sediment”  to  guarantee  the  solidity  and  quality of  the intervention.