Project description by jury

The project proposes the reintegration of a roadway and a river through a new green infrastructure that incorporates multi-modal transportation and public recreation. Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace was a pioneering model of urban green infrastructure from the 1880s that has been fragmented by elevated highways built in the last century. This urban operation restores the Charlesgate green area as a critical link in Boston’s regional park system across 1km of new shared-use pathways, over 20km of reconnected greenway and 300m of restored shoreline.

The requalification of the area includes new pathways and mobility connections that also enable roadway viaduct maintenance access for lift and vacuum truck, public areas with rain gardens for roadway water runoff storage and treatment, as well as habitat for pollinators. The river’s edge is reshaped to protect from floods, reduce erosion, and provide riparian habitat for animal and plant species. The involvement of actors from the public and private sectors ensures the economic viability of the project.

Jury appraisal

The Holcim Awards jury North America was fascinated by the project’s vision of a “re-discovered” symbiotic urban green infrastructure able to provide a multitude of social and environmental benefits to the city. The project is the result of a participatory design process that involved different stakeholders to find shared interests and offered an opportunity for a shared investment. This approach is a decisive strength of the proposal that enhances the project’s economic viability since the requirements of multiple funding agencies and local communities are astutely considered. The jury acknowledged the impressive scientific work underpinning the proposal that makes the project highly realizable and its methodology replicable. The thorough analysis of why other revitalization attempts had failed was commendable in the context of enhancing the long-term viability of the project. All in all, through punctual strategic actions, the Charlesgate project avoids the spectacular in favor of the practical.