SOP to Surrender

The first design exercise in the Elements of Urban Design studio focused on South Boston, an urban core in transition along the southern edge of downtown. Once marked by underutilized land and industrial infrastructure, the district has in recent years transformed into one of Boston’s most expensive neighborhoods. Yet this development pressure is counterbalanced by the site’s acute vulnerability to sea-level rise projected within the next 50–100 years. Our proposal introduces a standard operations procedure for remediating contaminated brownfields, enabling growth while embedding climate adaptation strategies that embrace rising waters through festive and resilient public interventions. The framework establishes conditions for new housing, public spaces, and mixed-use development. At the metropolitan scale, South Boston is uniquely positioned to complete the Emerald Necklace through targeted infrastructure projects, extending it into a continuous ecological loop of public space. Phased implementation strategies illustrate how the district can evolve into a livable, adaptive, and ecologically integrated waterfront for future generations.