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Subway Spaces As Public Places: Politics and Perceptions of Boston's T

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Subway Spaces As Public Places: Politics and Perceptions of Boston's T Subway Spaces as Public Places: MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE Politics and Perceptions of Boston's T OF TEC HNO10LOGY by JUN 3 0 2011 Holly Bellocchio Durso Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning ARCHIVES in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Planning and Master in City Planning at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY June 2011 @2011 Holly Bellocchio Durso. All Rights Reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT the permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of the thesis document in whole or in part. Author C Department of Urban Studies and Planning May 19, 2011 Certified by Associate Professor Annette M. Kim Department of Urban Studies and Planning Thesis Supervisor Accepted by Professor Joseph Ferreira Chair, MCP Committee r Department of Urban Studies and Planning Subway Spaces as Public Places: Politics and Perceptions of Boston's T by Holly Bellocchio Durso Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning on May 19, 2011 in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Planning and Master in City Planning ABSTRACT Subways play crucial transportation roles in our cities, but they also act as unique public spaces, distinguished by specific design characteristics, governed by powerful state-run institutions, and subject to intense public scrutiny and social debate. This thesis takes the case of the United States' oldest subway system-Boston's T-and explores how and why its spaces and regulations over their appropriate use have changed over time in response to public perceptions, political battles, and broader social forces. I use data collected from historical newspaper archives, published reports, and official agency records to detail how the city's subway authorities-first the Boston Elevated Railway Company, then the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), and presently the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)-have sought to manage and shape these unique underground spaces and simultaneously maintain an image of order and control within them. My research reveals and more closely examines three major factors that have influenced the changing controls over subway space usage in Boston: (1) the highly specific design constraints and unique physical aspects of the city's subway spaces; (2) evolving values and ideologies embedded within the transit agencies that are continuously seeking to promote a positive image of themselves; and (3) persisting public perceptions of subway spaces, many of which revolve around historical fears of the unknown and unfamiliar. By highlighting these complex hidden processes at work within Boston's underground realm, this thesis promotes a careful re- examination of a heavily used yet underappreciated urban space for the purposes of better understanding our experiences with and connections to the city. Thesis Supervisor: Annette M. Kim, PhD Title: Associate Professor of Urban Planning Thesis Reader: Robert M. Fogelson, PhD Title: Professor of Urban Studies and History Thesis Reader: Terry S. Szold, MRP Title: Adjunct Professor of Land Use Planning 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis represents the culmination of five intense years at MIT, a journey that I would not have survived without the love, laughs, and guidance provided by a number of friends, family members, and support figures. I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to cross paths with so many inspiring people along the way! First, I must thank my wonderful thesis advisor Annette, for believing in this research topic when no one else did and helping me to develop it into something I could be proud of. Thank you also for giving me the incredible opportunity to be involved with SLAB, which has become an integral part of my years at MIT and left me with many unforgettable memories. Your thoughtful feedback and caring approach have pushed me to think more deeply and helped me to grow as a planning student and a global citizen. I am also very lucky to have found Robert Fogelson, who has served as my generous, honest, and dedicated academic advisor, mentor, and friend for the last four years. I cannot thank you enough for having shared your expertise and enthusiasm for urban history with me, and having always gone out of your way to help and support me in my professional and personal endeavors. Thank you also to Terry, whose candid and seasoned insights on this thesis and in class projects have provided me with invaluable academic and professional guidance that I will continue to draw from for years to come. To my amazing husband Erik: your love and support have kept me sane, fed, and miraculously happy through this crazy process. I don't know where I'd be without you. I hope that in a few years when you are writing your master's thesis I can be half as wonderful as you have been to me. Mostly, this is for and because of my parents, Matthew and Lisa, who have given me everything I have. Without your unwavering love and belief in me I would never have made it to this point. The desire you instilled in me to learn, to absorb and understand all that I can, and to excel is the greatest gift I have ever received. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: Subways Are Places, Too ................................................................................................................... 9 Research Questions and Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 11 The Evolution of This Study .................................................................................................................................... 12 Thesis Outline ......................................................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 2: Delving Underground ...................................................................................................................... 17 A Brief History of Subway Management in Boston .......................................................................................... 17 Research Methodology and Limitations ................................................................................................................ 21 CHAPTER 3: Noticing the Unnoticed: Literature that Digs Deeper .................................................................. 25 The Production, Perception, and Meaning of Everyday Spaces........................................................................ 25 Public Space: Use, Democracy, Regulation, and Fear...................................................................................... 27 Public Perceptions and Institutional Values in Urban Transit Systems............................................................. 31 CHAPTER 4: Design as a Departure from Fundamental Transit Concerns ........................................................ 35 Beginning with Safety, Ending with Other Priorities........................................................................................ 35 The Fight for an Accessible Underground .............................................................................................................. 39 "VehicularSex Appeal": Promoting the Image of Comfort and Luxury ........................................................... 44 CHAPTER 5: Making a Statement and Maintaining Order in the Physical Realm ............................................ 53 Subway Aesthetics: From Commissioned Works to Community Art .................................................................... 53 Graffiti and Leafleting Challenge the Institution............................................................................................... 62 Creating "Uncontroversial" Spaces: The MBTA, Advertising, and Limits on Free Speech ................................ 66 CHAPTER 6: Subway Musicians and the Underground Fight to Be Heard ....................................................... 75 The Formalization of Boston's Subway Music Program ................................................................................... 76 A Time of Uncertainty, Unification, and Negotiation........................................................................................ 81 Continued Threats to Subway Musicians...............................................................................................................84 CHAPTER 7: The Dreadful Legacy of "The Subway Microbe" ........................................................................... 89 Gendered Rhetoric and the Rise of Nuisance Regulation: Smoking and Spitting ........................................... 90 A Civic Problem: Littering and Cleanliness .......................................................................................................... 105 Underground Underworld: The Ongoing Specter of Germs and Disease...........................................................111 CHAPTER 8: Protecting the Public from Fears of the Unknown ......................................................................... 115 Harmless Juvenile Disturbances versus Serious Youth-Led Crime ....................................................................... 115 Racial Tensions, Discrim ination, and Violence .................................................................................................... 121 The Rise of Sexually Motivated Crime and the Formation of the Transit Police ...............................................
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