Urban narrative and reinvention in Hicks-Logan-Sawyer : creating an effective gateway to a vital New Bedford

Abstract

New Bedford, Massachusetts famously experienced two major waves of prosperity, as the worldwide capital of the whaling industry in the early 19th century, and then as a major textile production century decades later. It continues to be one of the most important fishing ports in North America, but the fishing industry has not been enough to support the city's economy, and its fortunes have deteriorated in the post-industrial era. This thesis examines the role that the redevelopment of Hicks-Logan-Sawyer, one of the city's post-industrial neighborhoods, plays in the city's revitalization efforts. New Bedford is fairly close to the economic hub of Boston/Cambridge, but it is not currently connected to these cities by passenger rail. The South Coast Rail project, long planned but faced with perennially elusive funding, will connect New Bedford to Boston via a new multi-modal transit hub on the edge of Hicks-Logan-Sawyer. Now one of the most underdeveloped regions of New Bedford, Hicks-Logan-Sawyer has large expanses of developable land, beautiful mill buildings, and a waterfront location. Most importantly, with the construction of the rail, Hicks-Logan-Sawyer will function as the gateway to the city for tourists, residents, and participants in New Bedford's existing and emerging industries. There is currently no clear vision of how to generate interest in Hicks- Logan-Sawyer in the near future, and this thesis asks what Hicks-Logan-Sawyer needs become a successful gateway to a revived city. On a conceptual level, this thesis explores Hicks-Logan-Sawyer's role in New Bedford's image and how that affects its status as a gateway. On a more granular level, it suggests interventions that allow Hicks-Logan-Sawyer to effectively function as a physical and conceptual gateway to the rest of the city, and how New Bedford can use the neighborhood as a catalyst to actively promote a new chapter of the city's storied narrative. It explicitly addresses the ways in which a new gateway to the city at Hicks-Logan-Sawyer finds its place in support of broader forces of revival occurring city-wide, including new creative and industrial uses and a well-preserved downtown beginning to show signs of life after many years of decline.