Public discussion about real estate development on parcels adjoining the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway is being polarized by “debate” over the height and shadow impact of one proposal for one Greenway site. By concentrating public discourse around the Greenway so narrowly, Boston risks overlooking the issues that have the greatest potential to improve the public realm in this part of our city: vibrant ground-level uses along the entire length of the Greenway, active 24-hour street life, and “connectivity” between downtown neighborhoods and the waterfront.

In addition, the very form of the Greenway itself is still far from what was imagined when the Big Dig began. This district was originally intended to be a series of discrete urban rooms framed by a series of medium-size landmark buildings that would cover tunnel ramps, reinforce the cross streets’ edges and bring activity to the open spaces.

A study called the Greenway District Planning Study Use and Development Guidelines is currently being finalized by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA). Released for public comment in late May, the BRA’s planning study and development guidelines, which will be considered by the BRA board at a public meeting on Tuesday night, articulate public policy for any future development on and around the Greenway. The Boston Society of Architects recently assembled a task force to review the BRA’s proposed policies. The task force concluded that although the guidelines’ fundamental assumptions about building heights and uses are sound, the BRA must strengthen these important policy recommendations to:

  • Enhance connections between the Greenway and its surrounding neighborhoods through greater attention to the specific type and location of street-level commercial uses. The BRA should conduct a market study to identify what would be most desirable for the anticipated future residents of the Greenway–small grocery stores, home-furnishing stores, neighborhood services, restaurants or other retail uses?

         

  • Advance development on the Greenway itself. Building on the highway-ramp parcels is critical to connecting neighborhoods once separated by I-93 and still separated by the Greenway.

       

  • Gain a better understanding of the underutilization of the Greenway. The Greenway in its current state is vastly underutilized in comparison with the Harborwalk, especially in light of the considerable public investment in its creation. The study and recommendations should address the root causes of this disuse.

The Boston Society of Architects’ members have been actively involved in advocating for design excellence on the Greenway since the mid-1980s (when the idea for replacing an elevated interstate with a park system first arose) and helped develop the original planning principles for the Greenway, as both members of organizations such as the Artery Business Committee and as individual abutters.

We believe that if guidelines for the development of the Greenway are made more clear and purposeful, the City of Boston can greatly enhance residents’ quality of life, strengthen important cross streets, and divide the Greenway into the cogent, useable, and vital urban parks that were imagined when this project began.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority board of directors will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at City Hall to consider adoption of final development guidelines for the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

Lawrence A. Chan is president of the Boston Society of Architects.