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ANNE WHISTON SPIRN:
Picture nature.

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Picture the Charles River in
Boston and the city beyond.

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Maybe you grew up in a
small town or in the suburbs

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where big trees like those
on MIT'S campus are familiar.

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Imagine nature in the city.

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Maybe you think of roads and
parkways shaded by large trees.

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Or maybe running barefoot in
the mown lawn of a city park.

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It may be somewhat
harder to think

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of a weedy vacant lot on
the side of a highway,

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but it's just as
crucial to recognize

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the importance of natural
processes here as here,

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in Frederick Law Olmstead's
Emerald Necklace.

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After all, both are part
of the built landscape.

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Every place in our cities
was built upon a site formed

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without humanity's touch.

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It's almost
impossible to see now,

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but the very ground
on which MIT stands

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was placed there by people.

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Street trees in Beacon
Hill are obvious markers

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of nature in the city.

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Whereas in Boston's
Chinatown there

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may appear to be none at all.

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But look more closely.

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Natural processes don't
always announce themselves,

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and they aren't
always beautiful.

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Natural systems in the city are
far more than potted plants.

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Nature persists, even
when boxed in or ignored.

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And ignorance of natural
processes can be catastrophic.

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Understanding requires
careful observation,

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a search for clues to the
life of a tree, for example.

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And an open mind to
integrate significant details

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into hypotheses.

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Think about sets of systems,
such as plants, air, and earth.

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Animals, the flow of water,
the play of sun and shadow,

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and wind.

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And how the interrelated
histories of these systems

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have shaped the city's past.

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And how they'll
shape its future.

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After all, like MIT, the Boston
region may be historical,

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but it is far from timeless.