CONDITIONS
CONTEXT
DESIGN AND SOCIAL ISSUES
TESTIMONIES

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Census Tract 1001.pdf (From U.S. 2000 Census).


CONDITIONS:
This residential area is sandwiched between the eastern campus of the Boston State Hospital property and Blue Hill Avenue. Eleven one-block streets run roughly parallel to one another here. Each connects Harvard Street to Blue Hill Avenue. Residents of this community often refer to the neighborhood as "Dorchester in the Franklin Field or Franklin Park area."

The neighborhood is comprised primarily of three-family homes spaced closely together. The former Audubon School on Harvard Street closed in the 1970s and was converted into an apartment complex – the only one in the area.

In 2002, several homes in this area and along Blue Hill Avenue underwent renovations. There are, however, still pockets of land, sheds, and buildings in the neighborhood that appear underutilized and uncared for.

Conditions of individual streets:
Several of the residential roads have a distinct character. Donald is a short street comprised entirely of triple-deckers in good condition with little trash. Homes on Fabyan Street are spaced much farther apart, with significant vacant land in between. The northwestern end of Fabyan Street in particular (near the State Hospital site) is sometimes littered with broken televisions, abandoned car seats, and tires. Vacant lots remain on both sides of Wilcock Street.

Unlike homes on other streets in the neighborhood, which are three- and four-family residences, homes on Brookview Street are almost entirely one- and two-family homes in good condition with unified setbacks and a similar triangle-topped design. Brookview Street is typically clear of unwanted trash.
 
A vacant lot on Courtland Street has been a site for illegal dumping for more than two decades. The City of Boston held a "yard sale" in this area to sell vacant lots to abutters for between $500 and $1000 each. In 2002, abutters hoped to collectively purchase this lot and make it into a garden and a playground (Jeff Lemberg, "At this yard sale, you buy the yard,"The Boston Globe., March 31, 2002).

Re-Vision House:
On 38 Fabyan Street lies the Re-Vision House for young homeless mothers and their children. A working greenhouse and productive urban farm are associated with the shelter. The greenhouse is 14' by 84' and operates all year long. It is designed to run off of heat from compost materials stored at the farm during the winter. Compost temperatures can climb to 150 degrees, even in cold weather.

The farm employs some of the women living at Re-Vision House as farm interns and sells produce to neighbors at a farmers' market and also to members of a Community Supported Agriculture group and restaurants. Farm produce can supply much of the food needed by the shelter and fosters an atmosphere of self-sufficiency among residents.

In the spring of 2002, Re-vision House staff members worked to establish a partnership with Lena Park Community Development Corporation to explore possibilities for urban agriculture within the Boston State Hospital site.

One of the two bright yellow houses associated with Re-vision House is an emergency shelter with a six-month maximum residency period, while the other home permits guests to stay for up to two years. 
 
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CONTEXT:
Demographics:
The census tract that includes the Harvard/ Morton area of Dorchester also includes part of the Franklin Field area directly to the east. According to the 2000 Census, this area is comprised of 98.5% minority residents. Children under the age of 18 comprise 36.5% of the population. Approximately 79% of residents are black, 24% are Hispanic, and 7% are white (note that some residents are more than one race). Almost 77% of housing units in this area are renter-occupied. The median household income for the area is $23,524 and almost 36% of residents who work are dependent upon public transportation to get them to their jobs.

Boston State Hospital site:
The neighborhood borders the eastern campus of the Boston State Hospital site, which has had a significant negative impact on the surrounding neighborhood during the more than 20 years it has been vacant. In 1985, when the first Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for the redevelopment of the Boston State Hospital property first reached out to the surrounding community for their input, 71% of residents agreed that "crime of all types has increased in the neighborhood in the last five years" (Citizens Advisory Committee for the Boston State Hospital site, "Boston State Hospital: critical choices ahead," 1985). Residents associated this increase in crime with the amount of unproductive land in the neighborhood.

Unlike the edge of the hospital site that runs along Morton Street, the Harvard Street edge has no vegetated buffer. Thus, the deteriorating conditions of the hospital site have not been shielded from the surrounding community. On the other hand, when the residential development at Harvard Commons is completed at the Boston State Hospital site, the effect on the neighborhood may be positive. Residents and local organizations hope that Harvard Commons will help to make the neighborhood safer, more attractive, and more active.

Access to greenspace:
As mentioned above, residents live in close proximity to the new Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary. However, they must travel through derelict sections of the former hospital site in order to access the Center from Morton Street. Although the Harvard/ Morton area of Dorchester is geographically close to Franklin Park, residents have difficulty accessing the park. The Boston State Hospital property and the Boston Parks Department Maintenance Yard block the way. Access to Franklin Field/ Harambee Park is much better, although people must cross six-lane Blue Hill Avenue in order to visit the playground.

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DESIGN and SOCIAL ISSUES:
Streets such as Fabyan and Greenock Streets experience dumping on vacant lots and corners. Many homes in the area are in poor condition and require repair work.

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TESTIMONIES:
"There's a lot of property out there. And what happens to it will spell success or failure for neighborhood revitalization" (Charlotte Kahn, member of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for the redevelopment of the Boston State Hospital site, 1985).

"There was always fear that something detrimental to the community would be built on that land" (Royal Bolling, Sr., State Senator and member of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for the redevelopment of the Boston State Hospital site, 1985).

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