An Integrative Approach to Urbanism

The frame, almost resembling a piece of modern art, reveals the underlying layers of brick and paint under the currently recreated walls of the African Meeting House in Boston's African American National Heritage Site.

These concrete city contexts, theoretical frameworks and digital tools all contribute to the process of dissecting the incredibly complex and rich phenomenon of urbanism. While there are many ways in which one can interpret and approach the phenomenon, the framework of a palimpsest is one that is incredibly flexible and widely applicable to many of the urban settings we live in today. With the simultaneous, dynamic influences of time, geography, institutions, culture and even the individual inhabitants within, using the lens of the palimpsest allows us to approach urbanism in a comprehensive and integrative manner.