Next Stop Wonderland: T.O.D. and transformation

Growing concerns about housing shortages, a desire to achieve equitable economic development throughout the region and a commitment to the protection of natural resources, led the governor to create the Office of Commonwealth Development. The mission of the OCD is to care for the built and natural environment through creative economic development strategies and the thoughtful integration of built form, open space and transportation systems.The Wonderland transit station on the MBTA Blue Line is located at the center of a series of underdeveloped parcels in public and private ownership adjacent to Revere beach. Once the site of the Wonderland Amusement Park, thought to be America\’s first theme park, a series of storms culminating in the blizzard of 1978 effectively brought an end to the amusement industry there.Its position as the terminus of the Blue Line, the probability of a new commuter rail stop nearby, proximity to the beach and a number of potential large scale development parcels make this an ideal opportunity to explore transit oriented development concepts. The Town of Revere views the area as an untapped opportunity to attract a mix of uses that have the potential to transform and reinvigorate a portion of the city that once played host to the entire New England region.The studio will approach the project at a variety of scales through the integration of all of the major design and planning disciplines. In addition to providing the city and the Office of Community Development with a range of strategic planning options, the studio will propose a variety of formal interventions. These interventions will include the exploration of mixed-use building typologies, the design of the public realm and majorinfrastructure components including the proposed commuter rail station and potential modifications to the road network. The studio is open to planning, architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture students with the understanding that the final product will be specific physical designs in addition to land use and zoning recommendations, urban design guidelines and economic development strategies.