ASSIGNMENT 1. SELECT A SITE

Your site can be anywhere in Boston, but should be a place you can easily visit from time to time throughout the semester. It should be between four and eight blocks. Ideally, it should include more than one type of land use. And it should be a place that intrigues you. Reflect on why it interests you, why you are drawn to it. What questions does the place raise, for which you hope to find answers this semester?

Generally, the more diversity your site has, the more interesting its development over time is likely to be. This is not a hard and fast rule.  If you pick a site in downtown Boston, for example, the uses may be all commercial, but the development over time will still be very interesting.

A land use means a type of use, for example residential (single family homes, apartments), commercial (stores, offices, movie theaters), industrial, institutional (schools, hospitals, churches, post office), recreation (park, playground, golf course). Two different land uses could mean two different kinds of the same use (single family homes and apartments) or it could mean two different kinds of use altogether (residential and commercial).

The text for this assignment should be equivalent to about 600 words (approximately two pages, double-spaced), and must be accompanied by a map of the location with the boundaries of your site indicated.

The assignment is due in class on Tuesday, February 21. Bring a printed copy to class, including a copy of the map. Post the assignment online on your website by Friday, February 24 at 5PM and email the address to spirn@mit.edu. You must also email the address and your text to Andrea Volpe, the writing tutor, and to teaching assistant Lilian Knorr. Late submissions will receive a reduction in grade. There will be no extensions without prior, written, consent of the instructor.

Visit the course website and read about your classmates' selections.