The experience and image of American elevated railways : rapid transit infrastructure in the urban consciousness

At the turn of the twentieth century, elevated railways were built out of a practical need to literally "elevate" traffic above the street. In most cases, these lines served two distinct purposes. They served existing neighborhoods with reliable and rapid access to the center of the city. In addition, they made feasible the creation of new communities that enhanced growth of the city itself. Built out of steel, iron, and sometimes concrete, these lines were utilitarian but often employed distinctive, architecturally significant station and structure designs. Although the negative effects were universal -- Els were noisy, blocked sunlight, and contributed to urban decay -- due to local context, response to the elevated lines in Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia differed among those who used, maintained, and lived by the line. For some, the line was a backbone of community commerce or memory; for others, the line was a very present symbol of political incompetence or apathy. In Boston especially, collective memory of these structures is continually evolving in online communities, the El's legacy heightened among transit enthusiasts. In other cities, such as Philadelphia and Chicago, the transit agency's reliance on these elevated lines has led to recent pushes for reconstruction, transit-oriented-development and community reinvestment. In these latter two cities, recent El-related projects indicate that city planners and transit officials have renewed hope in the vitality and capacity of elevated rail transport; and recent station renovations have acted in kind, emphasizing as much as possible light, celebratory historical architecture, and universal access.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Hansen, Gordon Benedict

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Sam Bass Warner.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/49701

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/49701