Where is North End now?

Blog #3:

An excerpt of a tenant from Jane Jacobs treatise stated something what nobody else were able to say or had the knowledge of to know and why North End perceived to be what it was:

“Nobody cared what we wanted when they built this place. They threw our houses down and pushed us here and pushed our friends somewhere else. We don’t have a place around here to get a cup of coffee or newspaper even, or borrow fifty cents. Nobody cared what we need. But the big men come and look at that grass and say, ‘Isn’t it wonderful! Now the poor have everything.”

This statement validated what Jacobs was emphasizing in regards to the principles that is shaping current city planning and rebuilding a community.In The Death and Life of Great American Cities, she commended North End in Boston in regards to the efforts of the community in restoring the area. The effort to of the businesses and families to fund the rehabilitation in the neighborhood to was astonishing to Jacobs. Jane Jacobs further described in her work that the streets of the North End helped to keep the neighborhood safe because of the small, manageable blocks, which provides constant foot traffic, allowing for more people to keep a watchful eye on everyone in the area.

Where is North End now? I was able to find a blog dedicated solely for the work of Jane Jacobs. This blog entry discusses and captured the essence of North End in Boston current condition. 

The outskirts of North End Boston were described to be the oldest neighborhood in the city, in which is the home for many Italian communities. Pedestrian safety is clearly emphasized, with a foreground of the cobblestone with one lane traffic. The street is sheltered with mixed-use residential on top and retail space at the bottom. It was described that over 10,000 residents resides in a 250 acres in the North End. The area is very dense with plenty of mixed uses, which Jane Jacobs believed to be her ideal type of city. The subway station is merely a minute away to the area of North End. Stalls of fruits, vegetables, meat, and spices were arrayed on the streets for the farmers market. With the emphasis on pedestrian, bicycle and bike share systems were available to the public. As Jane Jacobs described in her book, there are many “eyes” on the street, which provided a safe environment. Coffees, gelatos, cappuccinos, pizzas were all right in the strip of small shops with outside seating, stimulating a sense of place in the community. There are no skyscrapers, but rather small or human scale buildings, pedestrian plazas, and streets field with people, music, and art. Within a square mile, clothes, restaurants, schools, and churches, arts center, and a community college were explored upon.

A matter or a concern that is presented at the end of this blog is the increasing demand for housing in the North End neighborhood. The ambient of the neighborhood and the fact that everything is within walking distances, many people are interest and quite enticed to live here. With the basic knowledge of supply and demand, North End will not be able to provide. Unless there is a plan to renovate the area to accommodate the demand, which can be seen as anticipated destruction in the rise gentrification.

The main lesson I have taken away from Jane Jacobs chapter is that planners should not only plan or design a city merely for its “looks”, but design or plan with a purpose. Examine and analyze what works for a particular city because I do agree that particular solutions does not always work for all of the cities. Focus and emphasize the strongest points of a city and work much harder in developing and improving their weakest point.

By: Jenizza Badua

References:

http://www.janejacobsinthewoo.org/blog/2016/7/21/if-you-lived-here-youd-be-home-by-now-will-it-be-the-west-end-or-the-north-end

http://rootsliving.com/?tag=north-end

http://www.savenorthendwaterfront.com/