A history of Boston’s Emerald Necklace
In this Boston Globe article written by Malcolm Gay, we learn the history around Frederick Law Olmsted’s* vision for Boston’s Emerald Necklace. Focused on creating green infrastructure, and public access to nature for all people, Olmsted’s vision for the Emerald Necklace was somewhat of a utopian fantasy that never fully came to fruition. Now, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, and the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site (Brookline) have begun a year long project called “Olmsted Now” to focus on more equitable programing for parks across Boston. A mix of new ideas, with some of Olmsted’s vision aim to restructure Charlesgate Park and save a small bridge from the Olmsted era. This article sheds light on Olmsted’s brilliance and accomplishments, but also on his ignorance and preconceptions surrounding true racial and class equity in the park systems.
*Full disclaimer, although Olmsted is known for shaping the landscape architecture field, he was also a great promoter of exotic plants and created some of the problems we have today with invasive species.
The article is linked above and embeded below, and for more information on Seneca Village—a settlement of Black Property owners that were uprooted for Olmsted’s Central Park vision— see below.
Columbia- “Mapping the African American Past” information on Seneca Village
New York Times op ed by Brent Staples about an exhibition on Seneca Village from 2019
