REVERE COASTAL DISTRICT | BOOK OF IDEAS

HARVARD UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN | URBAN PLANNING STUDIO | SPRING 2015

Second Semester Core Urban Planning Studio

Studio CoordinatorAlex Krieger

Studio InstructorsBaye Adofo-Wilson, Janne Corneil, Daniel D’Oca, Kathryn Madden

Teaching AssociateMelissa Alexander

Teaching AssistantsNing Pei, Marcus Pulsipher, Rob Wellburn

StudentsFaisal Almogren, Maira Blanco, Isabel Margarita Cantada, Shani Carter, Elena Chang, Sohael Chowfl a, Katherine Curiel, Megan Echols, Marco Gorini, Fernando Granados Franco, Carolyn Grossman, Warren Hagist, Tamara Jafar, Nathalie Janson, Elliot Kilham, Russell Koff, Francisco Lara Garcia, Samuel LaTronica, Alexander Lew, Paul Lillehaugen, Stephany Lin, Xinwei Liu, John McCartin, Dana McKinney, Meghan McNulty, Marcus Mello, Andres Mendoza Gutfreund, Alexander Mercuri, Cara Michell, Vanessa Moon, Yvonne Mwangi, Paige Peltzer, Lucy Perkins, Nina Phinouwong, Rebecca Ramsey, Carlos Felipe Reyes, Aline Reynolds, Jennifer Saura, Emma Schnur, David Schoen, Laurel Schwab, Courtney Sharpe, Apoorva Shenvi, Brodrick Spencer, Anna White, Sarah Winston

AcknowledgementsSpecial thanks to Mayor Daniel Rizzo; John Festa, Director of Economic Development; City and State Offi cials; and the many residents, businesses, and non-profi t organizations of Revere that engaged with the students.

TABLE OF CONTENTSBEACHMONT STATION06 Beachmont Downs Paul Lillehaugen 08 Beachmont Kicks Off Yvonne Mwangi, Rebecca Ramsey10 Beachmont Waterwalk Brodrick Spencer12 Creating Capital Square Megan Echols14 The New Sales Creek Marco Gorini, Cara Michell

BELL CIRCLE18 Bell Center Warren Hagist 20 Bell Square Elena Chang 22 An Invitation to Bell Circle Tamara Jafar, Stephany Lin 24 Re-Envision Bell Circle Alexander Lew 26 Revere Connected Vanessa Moon

NECCO SITE30 Destination: Necco Park Courtney Sharp

32 Necco Crossing Maira Blanco34 Necco Reinvisioned Meghan McNulty, Aline Reynolds36 Work It! Revere John McCartin, Annie White

OCEAN AVENUE SOUTH40 Bringing Back the Boardwalk Emma Schnur 42 The Pier at Revere Beach Russell Koff 44 Revere Belvedere Sarah Winston46 “See the Sea” at Revere Beach Village Isabel Margarita Cantada48 Towards a Resilient Future: Ocean Avenue Fernando Granados Franco50 A Walk on the Beach: Ocean Avenue South Laurel Schwab, Francisco Lara

PROPOSED COMMUTER STATION54 Bridging the Tracks Alexander Mercuri, David Schoen56 “One if by Bus, Two if by Rail” Sam LaTronica, Marcus Mello58 Revere Revolution Shani Carter

WONDERLAND 62 Reclaiming Wonderland Carolyn Grossman, Apoorva Shenvi64 Revere Community College Faisal Almogren, Sohael Chowfl a66 Wonder Island Jennifer Saura68 Wonderland Dana McKinney 70 The Wonderland Promenade Katherine Curiel

WONDERLAND MARKETPLACE74 Flight Industrial Nathalie Janson 76 On the Rise Nina Phinouwong78 Reimagining a Marketplace in Wonderland Paige Peltzer, Carlos Felipe Reyes80 Revitalizing Revere Andres Mendoza Gutfreund82 Wonder Grid - Connecting Revere Elliot Kilham84 Wonderland Square Lucy Perkins

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDIOFrom Wonderland to Beachmont, the City of Revere has tremendous potential to defi ne its future. Revere’s Coastal District has spectacular beachfront and transit access, but also must contend with climate change, storm risks, vacant and underutilized properties, and low lying marshes. This part of the City has long been home to diverse, immigrant communities, but these neighborhoods tend to be separated by linear road and rail systems, as well as the now vacant properties.

With the partnership of the City of Revere, the Harvard Graduate School of Design launched a planning studio focused on Revere’s Coastal District in Spring 2015, serving as a precursor to the City’s multi-year initiative “Plan Revere.” This book of ideas presents development concepts for the areas in and around Beachmont Station, Bell Circle, Necco, Ocean Avenue South, a proposed Commuter Rail Station, Wonderland, and Wonderland Marketplace.

Over an eight-week period, 45 graduate planning students were responsible for creating development plans for these seven different sites. Part of this process

involved engaging the community to deepen the students’ understanding of local issues and to help give voice to community ideas and perspectives. The students’ prior research on coastal resiliency techniques also helped inform their proposals. In an iterative and overlapping process, the students advanced design ideas while engaging the community, continuously learning from the feedback and their multiple visits to the site, before fi nalizing their plans.

The students designed a variety of strategies to engage different segments of the community. A highly visible, informal means of soliciting input is the use of short surveys and mapping activities, positioned to intercept people at the local MBTA stations, grocery stores, and community events. Some students visited small shops and restaurants to hear the business owners’ perspectives. Focus group discussions, one-on-one meetings, and telephone interviews allowed for more in-depth or targeted conversations. To reach the online community, students designed a website www.enagerevere.com where they blogged on studio activities, conducted opinion surveys, and linked into the City’s social media sites.

Overall, the studio reached hundreds of people, including residents, small business owners, youth and immigrant groups, City and State offi cials, and real estate professionals. The Beachmont Improvement Committee, Revere Chamber of Commerce, Revere on the Move, Revere Youth in Action, The Neighborhood Developers, Women Encouraging Empowerment, and many others generously gave their time in this effort. A Community Open House on April 23, 2015, at Revere City Hall provided a forum for showcasing the draft ideas and gaining further input.

From this engagement, the students have generated a range of development programs, street confi gurations, parks, and community facilities. Working as individuals and in pairs, they tested concepts for the various sites, in many cases employing creative strategies to withstand storms and the potential for sea level rise. The students imagined different ways of connecting through and across this part of Revere and beyond, whether by bicycle, transit, vehicles, or on foot. Renderings, three-dimensional models, and other graphics convey how Revere’s Coastal District could look in the future.

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