Nick B's Essay

Nick Bregenzer
1/8/07
Urban Infrastructure


Cities are constantly growing, how are architects dealing and helping with the congestion problems of the cities. As In most cites the amount of space is always an issue, due to the large quantity of people living an area. Boston especially has trouble with traffic congestion because the way the city was originally constructed, and was not designed to support its current population. Architects and designers of Boston are constantly trying to find ways to solve traffic problems, construct new buildings, and preserve its historical value, which can be very expensive and time consuming. One project that now is under construction is the “Big Dig,” it is designed to help reduce Boston traffic problem. The Plans for the construction began 12 years ago, and the project was projected to take 10 years but construction is still under way, and is now estimated to take a total of 15 years for completion. This construction is not only very time consuming but also very expensive and the projected budget was far less then the actual expense. Architects are also constructing new space efficient buildings that maximize their use, in smaller areas. They are also making buildings with multi uses, such as combining commercial and residential in the same building to spread the human activity out among the day instead of having it congested at certain parts of the day and lifeless at other parts of the day.
Several citizens of Boston agreed, when they were asked weather they thought that Boston had congestion problems. They explained that it was very time consuming driving to work in the morning, during rush hour and aggravating dealing with the traffic. Some were hopeful that the Big Dig would solve a lot of the over-crowding city’s traffic problems, but some others stated that the Big Dig was a waste of time and money, and would do little to solve the city’s problems.
In the end Boston may never solve their congestion problems, but city planners, architects, and developers are all working together to help reduce the congestion of the city while keeping its historical significance in tact. Although it may be time consuming and expensive, it is necessary in order to keep Boston moving.