| FUP| | First-Year Urban Program |
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work that city: fenwayprevious|next
The Fenway area of Boston may become familiar to FUPpies for its hoppin' club scene and the centrally located Green Monster. However, FUP would like to expand FUPpies views of this neighborhood. Perhaps the biggest challenges facing Fenway right now is commercial development. Mayor Menino's vision for the area is to create an "urban entertainment zone with parking facilities." As Fenway is already one of the most densely-populated areas of Boston, residents fear that such extensive development has already brought more traffic and pollution than the neighborhood can handle. (Case in point: try to ride the M2 shuttle to the med school while a game is going at Fenway...the Sox will win a World Series before you get to the med school.) To make things worse, community advocacy groups refuse to work together, giving businesses free reign to develop, despite residents' opposition. Kenmore Square: The commercial hub of Fenway, this square also happens to be the nearest Store 24 to Harvard. Try Boston Cookies...they're vegan, they're made locally, and they even taste good! Museum of Fine Arts: Incredible collection of Egyptian art, as well as early American, contemporary American, and Asian arts. They've got mummies! Not only that but they have the largest museum of Japanese art and swords outside of Tokyo. The newer western half was designed by IM Pei of BPL, Hancock Tower, Government Center fame. Northeastern University: Northeastern University used to have a reputation in FUP solely for its law school, which has a strong tradition of gay rights law. The school is also known for its co-op work programs that require students to take time off from school to work in their field. But like Harvard, NU is growing so rapidly--both in numbers and in space -- that the student community has started to spill over in the Mission Hill area. Though traditionally a commuter school, the past 10 years have seen a major push for on-campus housing. The recent announcement that NU would build new dorms to allow a larger student body drew negative criticism from many residents, both because of the late-night noise and also the increase in market rent prices. (Like Marty says, More people want housing there, so landlords can charge more.) Also, after the Super Bowl students rioted, leaving the brother of one student dead. NU has seen 6 student deaths this past year.) The Emerald Necklace: It's green. It's a necklace. It's a series of parks designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the designer of Central Park and capitalist social planner who receives star billing in Lit'n'arts B-20: Designing the American City. Gardner Museum: Pretty paintings, pretty garden, poor security if you ever want to steal a painting. In fact the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum was the victim of a clever art theft whose perpetrators remain a mystery to this day. Read about it online. Boston Latin High School: Currently a stepping stone on the road to dismantle affirmative action in the nation via the decision regarding the McLaughlin family, who sued the school system when their daughter was rejected from this test school even though her scores were higher than those of some of the minority students accepted. The court ruled that Latin did not show reason enough to have made this selection, and the girl was admitted. Boston Latin's strict quota system was overturned for a system which tries to ensure that the school is as diverse as its applicant pool, instead of as diverse as the school system as a whole. Longwood Medical Area: This 210-acre medical complex is home to Harvard's med school, as well as a number of other hospitals and universities. To minimize traffic, MASCO operates several shuttles to and from local parking lots. They also offer a free shuttle line (for Harvard students) from Harvard Yard. Also, the new 12-story Merck biotech building at Emmanuel College has caused quite a ruckus among residents. These sites aren't on our Work That City Tour, but may be of interest to talk about as you walk:
-Fenway Community Health: This local health clinic was founded by community activists in 1971 in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston, Mass. Their mission is: "to enhance the physical and mental health of its community, which includes those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, the people who live and work in our neighborhood, and beyond." Fenway also operates the nations first community-based HIV research program. -Fensnet Internet Community -Fenway Cultural District -Fenway Action Coalition -Fenway CDC -Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum -Boston Latin School -Museum of Fine Arts -Northeastern University -The Emerald Necklace -Fenway Community Health -Huntington Ave Development -MASCO (Longwood Development) -Map of Longwood Medical -Boston Redevelopment Authority previous|next |
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