THIRTY-FIVE

Image © Jose & MidJourney

Two distinct realities in a city that made me reflect on complexity.

These last two days were fully dedicated to my daughter in her effort to move into a rental apartment with friends, as she starts her third year in college. The beginning of the school year is always a rush for kids, young adults and parents alike, and it places an enormous amount of pressure in a city when it’s done in a large scale, it’s sort of the film “Everything, Everywhere All at Once”. I did part of the work of moving stuff from our basement using our car, but today I had to rent a U-Haul for the larger stuff (yesterday they were sold out of vans). So, I too added to the “Allston Christmas” effect that the city is so used to, but it all went well. You could see the thousands of trucks moving around, but people were civil, parking was available when needed, a lot of parents and folks wearing t-shirts from volunteering organizations that come out this time of the year to help with the chaos. While last evening there were tons of empty boxes everywhere, today they were gone. I would not be surprised if this year, and the move -out day that happens earlier in the year, ends up producing the most amount of trash, that based on the ‘recycle and reuse’ truck I saw travelling around the Fenway area, I hope it is not all ending up on the landfill.

While picking up the van at the Mass Av., you pass by the Melnea Cass Blvd area, by the Boston Medical Center and the Pine Street Inn, one of the largest homeless shelters in New England. This area is often referred to as “Mass and Cass,” is the result of a complex interplay of historical, economic, and social factors. The scene is of tension and despair, I had to stop at the traffic light and told my daughter to look away, idiotic when you think of it. You can see the weight of addiction, mental illness, poverty, but there are hundreds of stories in that messy chaos, and each one is unique and heartbreaking. You may choose to drive away as fast as possible, to keep your windows closed, to focus on anything but the scenery around you, but the image lingers and makes one think of the inequalities that persist and the work that still needs to be done to support those who are most vulnerable, despite all the work that is being done by plenty of smart and caring professionals. Boston once had a “Long Island” facility, dating back from the early 20^th century, it became known for its facilities that catered to people with mental health issues and those struggling with addiction. But then in 2014 the bridge was deemed structurally unsound, and it was closed, later collapsed. Because this was the only access, it led to an immediate evacuation of all residents and staff, the city never recovered and I hear the new Mayor wants to rebuild the bridge and build a 35-acre campus offering long-term care, mental health treatment, housing assistance, and addiction recovery. The folks in the Quincy area are opposing the project, this might not happen. And the “out of sight, out of mind” approach has not proven effective long term.

I want to think that those that choose to work on those complex problems have their hearts in the right place, and have sound business and people skills, and understand the impact of their decision in people, families, businesses and cities for years to come, people trained in dealing with the utopia and the dystopia of cities.

Design has a place to play in this system level thinking and doing of cities, and I know many designers that dedicate their lives to it, but this type of work requires perseverance, resilience and a long-term approach that some designers don’t appreciate, solutions require a deep understanding of stakeholders and their true ‘pains and gains’, and the capacity to test and learn via many iterations with those impacted, it is hard work, many times completely invisible, in a truly collaborative effort, not for the faint of heart. I thank you sincerely if you are one of these people.