Project Assignment #3:
Natural Processes
Project Assignment #3:
Natural Processes
map of my site (between Mt. Vernon and |
...and in a natural state, before it was developed |
Start
with a relatively steep hill...
Cover
it with grass and trees...
Bring
the river up to its base...
Freshen
the light and air...
|
Although it is much easier to visualize Beacon Hill in the latter natural state, there is actual evidence, in the forms of maps and written description, as to how the area looked before it was developed. Thus I started considering the natural processes on my site by looking at the map in Figure 1, from the Library of Congress' online collection. It shows that Beacon Hill was originally the largest of three hills -- Fox Hill and Mount Whoredom were the other two. Collectively, the three were called the trimountain. Beacon Hill itself appears to have been higher, broader, and further inland than the others, which were similar in size and on the water. Anne Whiston Spirn explains in The Granite Garden that between 1803 and 1835, Bostonians gradually solved the problem of a rapidly growing population by lopping off the summits of these hills and filling the surrounding Mill Pond to create more land, eventually creating the Beacon Hill recognizable today (18-19). Thus began a grand Boston tradition of making more land by filling the bay. |
Figure 1: "A plan of the town of Boston and its environs, with the lines, batteries, and incampments of the British and American armies." (taken from the Library of Congress' online map collection) |
No maps show any evidence of water on the hills themselves, though it is important to note that before the Back Bay and Mill Pond were filled in, the water was more of a bay than a river and came much closer to where the hill is today. This fact could actually indicate that the land in its natural state would have less of a sylvan and more of a coastal feel. Since Beacon Hill has always bordered Boston Common and many maps from the late 18th century actually label it as part of the Common, however, the land was probably cleared for quite some time before it was actually developed.
How natural elements influenced development
Even so, the natural elements of Beacon Hill, as in any neighborhood, certainly
had a major effect on the way the neighborhood developed. Perhaps the most significant
natural factor in the way the neighborhood was built up is also the most immediately
obvious: the hill. The first houses on Mt. Vernon Street were mansions for the
very wealthy, and those on Pinckney Street were also exclusive, although not
as much so as those on streets closer to the Common. This pattern is no accident.
The wealthy would have wanted to build somewhere physically in the city and
yet isolated from the more unpleasant aspects of the city, a place where they
could see and be seen. Beacon Hill certainly speaks to these desires. It is
well within the city limits, but as one of the only hills in the area, it also
forms a natural boundary with its surroundings. Being higher up, the residents
may have even avoided some of the smells and other pollution of the time period,
and they certainly would have had the best view of the water and of Boston Common.
Thus the top of the hill was developed first, with mansions, and the bottom of
the hill was filled in with town houses. Futhermore, since the Common would
have been a more pleasant neighbor than the housing on the other side of the
hill, that side (Mt. Vernon Street) was settled first and was more elite.
Charles Street being developed as a commercial area has everything to do with
its location as well. At the base of the hill and following the waterfront (as
indicated by its name), it would have been an ideal location for stores because
it would surely have been a major thoroughfare of pedestrian and later automobile
traffic as well as possibly some water traffic.
Beacon Hill today
After the hill was cut away to fill the river, and especially after the neighborhood
was completely developed, Beacon Hill's outward appearance did not really
change. Even so, the dynamic between people and nature on the site has constantly
changed and fluctuated over time as more modern aspects of life, such as cars,
were introduced and as changes in surrounding parts of Boston, such as the development
of Back Bay, influenced nature all over the area. Unlike actual development,
natural processes are never static; people can change their air quality, for
instance, through actions as simple as installing a window air conditioner or
as major as redirecting traffic. Similarly, the environment can ultimately affect
people just as deeply through the gradual erosion of a slope as through an earthquake
or other major event. The natural elements of a neighborhood like Beacon Hill
can be classified as by Anne Whiston Spirn in The Granite Garden when
she says, " It [nature in the city] is the consequence of a complex interaction
between the multiple purposes and activities of human beings and other living
creatures and of the natural processes that govern the transfer of energy, the
movement of air, the erosion of the earth, and the hydrological cycle,"
(4).
Air
|
Of all four natural elements on Beacon Hill, the air actually seems to be the least affected by urban development. A residential district surrounded by water, parkland, and a hospital, Beacon Hill is relatively separated from any current point sources of pollution such as factories or other products of industry. Charles Street does get a fair amount of traffic, which would amount to line source pollution, but it is not as bad as most city streets, and Mt. Vernon, Pinckney, and the other nearby streets are traversed almost exclusively by local traffic. On the other sides, Beacon Street and Cambridge Street are busier and therefore generate more pollution. Although exhaust probably travels up the hill, it probably disperses. In any case, inversions, when polluted air gets trapped in a valley or canyon of tall buildings by a layer of hot air above it, are probably not an issue for Mt. Vernon or Pinckney -- not only are they on one of the few elevated parts of the city but the buildings are also not very tall. Additionally, the air quality is probably improved by the amount of trees and plants on the streets, in Louisburg Square, and nearby in Boston Common. The picture in Figure 2, however, indicates that Beacon Hill's air has not always been so clean. The illustrator actually covers the neighborhood, identifiable as my site by the locations of the State House and Boston Common, with a layer of smoke coming from factories that must have once been present on the Charles River. |
Figure 2: "The city of Boston" (taken from the Library of Congress' online map collection) |
Wind does not seem to be much of an issue in the neighborhood. The Charles River
certainly creates a certain amount of air flow, but since Mt. Vernon and Pinckney
Streets both run up the hill and perpendicular to the river, they probably don’t
receive the brunt of any force from those winds. No manmade structures in the
area probably have a major effect on air flow or wind speed in the neighborhood;
none of the buildings is especially high, and there are no real open spaces.
Similarly, nothing should have a profound affect on the temperature. I noticed
a number of wall air conditioning units sticking out of houses, and, as in any
urban area, some streets have a fair amount of traffic, but overall the temperature
is probably no different from what one would expect in a developed residential
neighborhood and not a whole lot different from what it would be if it were
not developed at all.
Water
|
"A new and correct plan of the town of Boston, and provincial camp." (taken from the Library of Congress' online map collection)
|
The Charles River is without question the single most important factor
in this category. Charles Street mimics the twists and turns of the shoreline
that once was, and because of this shoreline, it was developed as a major
road and commercial area. Its beginnings can be seen in Figure 3, where it is called Southhacks Street. The view of the river certainly helped make Beacon
Hill such prime real estate. I found no evidence of any other water ever
flowing through the area. Pinckney and Mt. Vernon Streets both run straight
up the hill, meaning that they probably did not follow the course of a small
stream. No maps indicate any such streams either.
Thus rainwater has probably always run down the hill into the river. Now, the storm drains on the houses go underground, but the ultimate destination of the water is probably still the river. Nothing on Mt. Vernon or Pinckney Streets seems to have a major effect on the surrounding water quality, and in the big picture Charles Street probably does not have a major effect either, despite the traffic. |
Earth
The topography of Beacon Hill is intrinsically connected to its history. The pattern of houses and development on Mt. Vernon and Pinckney Streets is clear evidence for that assertion. The slope, steepest at the base and more gradual at the top, is unique in the mostly flat city of Boston. Although it has been cut and changed over the years to ease building and to fill in the shore on the other side of Charles Street, the hill still retains its character. The shape of the hill also explains some of the interestingly shaped houses, since building a straight row on a steep slope is not an easy task. In general, despite being cut, the hill seems to provide a very sturdy foundation for the houses, as there is no evidence for any erosion or slipping. Additionally, although Boston is not immune to earthquakes, no major ones seem to have hit the neighborhood.
|
The Red Line of the T runs under Beacon Hill, as shown in Figure 4, intersecting Mt. Vernon and Pinckney Streets below ground as it goes from the Charles/MGH stop to Park Street Station. At some points above the Red Line, the noise and shaking are evident when a train goes by underground, but in Beacon Hill this is not as significant an issue because the train is so far below the street, especially near the top of the hill. Many of the houses also seem to have basements or entrances partially below ground, probably partly because of the slope. |
Figure 4: Map of the MBTA Subway System (click link to zoom in; this takes you to the MBTA web site) (taken from the MBTA web site)
|
Life
|
Figure 5: Louisburg Square (taken from the University of Massachusetts Ecological Cities Project)
|
This final natural aspect of a neighborhood is not lacking in Beacon Hill -- the streets are lined with trees, and Pinckney and Mt. Vernon are connected about halfway up the hill by Louisburg Square, a small, enclosed, green park shown in Figure 5. Since it is closed off, the grass is lush and the trees and bushes are very healthy, but at the expense of neighborhood enjoyment. Spirn points out one intriguing aspect of plant life in the neighborhood: the trees get larger and fuller as one travels up Mt. Vernon Street. At first it appears as though the trees at the top of the street are just older than those at the bottom and on Charles and Pinckney Streets, but they are probably actually the same age. The difference is that the trees on Charles and Pinckney Streets are constricted in small areas of soil surrounded by concrete, so the roots have little room to spread out; Mt. Vernon, by contrast, has more room for tree roots since the houses are further from the street, and some even have lawns. Additionally, the bricks are set in sand, which means the roots can spread more freely, a fact immediately noticeable by pedestrians who have to pay close attention to where they walk (Spirn 177). |
Despite the trees and the small park, the only major animal life in the neighborhood
seems to be typical urban wildlife such as pigeons, squirrels, and other small
animals. In such a close residential neighborhood, there is probably also a
fairly high density of dogs and cats as well.
Perhaps the most significant factor in the life of Beacon Hill is not immediately recognizable as such: the people. Both the residents and visitors who shop along Charles Street or just come to see the architecture and soak up the atmosphere truly make the neighborhood come alive. People are rarely considered a factor in natural processes, and manmade structures even less so, but it seems evident from this exercise that the city does not displace nature but rather adds another dimension. Built irresponsibly, it can detract from nature and create an unpleasant or even hostile environment, but even a neighborhood like Beacon Hill, which has been greatly shaped by human hands, can work with nature to make a habitat well-suited for human life.
