September 2022, August–October 2024
In partnership with LivableStreets Alliance (LSA), CultureHouse helped engage community members around the Dorchester Greenway project over the course of 2022 and 2024.
The Dorchester Greenway (DOT Greenway) is a proposed 0.75-mile park on top of the currently-inaccessible portions of the Red Line tunnel between Park Street and the Ashmont Station. The project, which has been under discussion for over 8 years, would extend the success of the existing public plaza and gardens at Shawmut Station.
In June 2023, the City of Boston received a grant to fund the first step in creating the DOT Greenway. In 2024, the city began the structural analysis and brought us on to engage community members about the project. We were asked to conduct three engagement pop-ups through the fall of 2024. These pop-ups allowed us to to share project updates from the city, and helped maintain community awareness and support.
Open Streets Dorchester 2022
September 22, 2022
At Open Streets Dorchester, we reintroduced the community to the idea of a new greenway between Shawmut and Ashmont stations! Armed with renderings of the project, free plants, our classic trampoline, and questions about the neighborhood, we sparked people’s curiosity about the new greenway with interactive informational and feedback interventions.
Asphalt Mural Block Party
August 18, 2024
We popped up at Fields Corner Main Streets’ celebration for a new mural in Fields Corner to talk to community members about the greenway project. We used this event as an opportunity to test out new engagement tools including a string map to collect demographics, bead voting, and velcro amenity voting. We spoke with approximately 44 people and heard great feedback from everyone who visited.
Ashmont Friday Market
September 13, 2024
Similar to our pop-up at the Mural Block Party, we brought our string map, bead voting, and informational posters to the Ashmont Friday Market organized by Greater Ashmont Main Streets. We heard from people who were curious about maintenance plans, wanted new places to walk in their neighborhood, and wanted access for people all over Dorchester to the site.
Codman Square Farmers Market
October 12, 2024
Our final engagement pop-up was a collaboration with the Codman Square Neighborhood Council. The event was at the Dr. Loesch Family Park just a few streets away from the site of the future greenway. We brought our engagement tools and trampoline to ask people questions about the project while having some fun!
Partners
