How We Can Preserve and Inherit Historical and Cultural Elements in Urban Landscape Design -A Case Study of Franklin Park Redevelopment in Boston

摘要

The loss of historical and cultural elements in urban landscape projects during the process of urban development and urban renewal over the last two decades is obvious and mournful.However, profit-oriented development strategies and policies make the situation worse and worse, meanwhile, very few people think about how we can preserve and inherit historical and cultural elements in urban landscape design.This paper explores and demonstrates a process-based methodology of design,which considers a long span of history of the site, utilizes existing infrastructure, maximizes preservation and inheritance of the historical and cultural elements, and solves the issues of connectivity, accessibility, identity, and need for contemporary programs.Through analysis of an academic design studio project, Franklin Park Redevelopment in Boston, which I did in the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, this process-based design methodology is well demonstrated and explored.I argue that only if we respect the site's history and culture, and think through every step of the process of development instead of a profit-oriented and arbitrary strategy, historical and cultural elements in urban landscape can be well preserved and inherited.In conclusion, this paper, by closely examining the process-based design methodology, sheds new light on how we can preserve and inherit historical and cultural elements in urban landscape design.