Leveraging Boston’s Building Boom to Advance Equity

A transit-oriented development on Dorchester Bay is a case study in creating ties to institutions and diverse neighborhoods on the south side of the city.  For the past ten years, Boston/Cambridge area has seen explosive growth due to its global attraction as a center for technology innovation.  Development for “meds and eds” (major hospitals and research institutions) is fueling enterprise districts such as Kendall Square, Seaport, and the planned Allston Enterprise campus.  The challenges each district faces are to keep them attractive and welcoming for all, provide access for jobs and housing to surrounding communities, and maintain the quality of urban design for which Boston is justifiably admired.

Our site for developing a mix of R+D lab space, housing, retail, and community services is a 20+ acre parcel immediately adjacent to the JFK red line station, where metro, commuter rail, bus, and bikeways all make it extraordinarily accessible.  Facing Dorchester Bay and the Harborwalk, the site is part of the Columbia Point penninsula- the home of UMass Boston, and the JFK Library. Responding to issues of resilience and flooding will be key to imagining the potential of this landfill site.

The goal of the studio will be to unlock the potential of this extraordinary site to provide economic opportunity through employment, access to services, new community facilities, and connecting the neighborhoods to the water.