Stepping up and out of the Park Street Station, I feel like I have arrived. Oriented in a perceived north direction per a mental map of the city between Wentworth Campus and Government Center, the landmark Park Street Church greets me to an opening in the sky and ground in the city known as the Boston Common. The two head houses of Park Street Station act as a gated opening, funneling me south toward the Common. Walking, I can quickly orient to two key landmarks of significance to me and the city, being the State House and Hancock Tower, both of which set the wayfinding marks for my journey through the park. A single path calls to my orientation as it appears to run north/south and goes through the center of the green space. These two aspects bring clarity to my city view and plan of the area, giving me ease to explore. The sloped hill toward the State House and Beacon Hill acts as a visual and physical edge that keeps me to lower ground. The other side of the Common appears as a large wall of stone and darkness that creates a mental edge and subsequently removes a triangular section of the park from my mental map. The edges all around the Common become facades with unknown depth and thus form into perceived solid districts all converging into the park. Walking this central path, I expect to be directed toward Copley Square; instead, the path turns at a third node, directing traffic toward the Public Garden. This path of the Common was not entirely legible to my orientation to the city, and thus my choice of path led me in a direction I had not intended or expected. Using Kevin Lynch’s thinking, it is clear that, though my mental map doesn't align as much with reality, it does build a network and simplified understanding of my surroundings that puts ease to my movement and decisions in space.

Transit-oriented, mixed-use, mixed-income communities within cities promote life equality. North Beach Place, an affordable housing block, is located in a highly desirable area of San Francisco. Designed for Urban life, transit-oriented design gives direct access to a trolley line, bus stops, personal vehicle storage, and bike rental. An internally loaded design gives dignity, privacy, and security, with secured gate access and an “eyes on the street” design with shared pathways lined with playgrounds and gathering spaces leading to individual entries. Its urban placement creates a mixed-income neighborhood of homes and apartments, with an infill of hotels, markets, and other businesses, even some within the development, that give equal access to all residents. Should our city planning give priority focus to improving equal access for all?

Implementing pinpointed design corrections to areas of violence in informal settlements works as corrective action while also giving prestige to the residents. The township of Khayelitsha is plagued by a sprawling design that requires residents to traverse large distances under threat of violence. Through a bottom-up approach, a main pathway was planned. Funneling like a superhighway, large clusters of people line the path, giving safety in mass. A wide paved path gives sightlines and an even ground for accessibility. Greenery lines the paths, giving a friendly appeal. Lighting dominates the land at night, with large lamps seen over communal safety nodes and smaller lamps lining the path. With proven beneficial projects like this, who becomes responsible for implementing them?