WEBVTT

00:00:00.879 --> 00:00:02.337
ANNE WHISTON SPIRN:
Picture nature.

00:00:07.940 --> 00:00:11.113
Picture the Charles River in
Boston and the city beyond.

00:00:14.220 --> 00:00:16.990
Maybe you grew up in a
small town or in the suburbs

00:00:16.990 --> 00:00:19.937
where big trees like those
on MIT'S campus are familiar.

00:00:23.780 --> 00:00:25.166
Imagine nature in the city.

00:00:30.410 --> 00:00:33.568
Maybe you think of roads and
parkways shaded by large trees.

00:00:38.540 --> 00:00:42.114
Or maybe running barefoot in
the mown lawn of a city park.

00:00:45.990 --> 00:00:47.780
It may be somewhat
harder to think

00:00:47.780 --> 00:00:52.110
of a weedy vacant lot on
the side of a highway,

00:00:52.110 --> 00:00:54.170
but it's just as
crucial to recognize

00:00:54.170 --> 00:00:58.390
the importance of natural
processes here as here,

00:00:58.390 --> 00:01:01.780
in Frederick Law Olmstead's
Emerald Necklace.

00:01:01.780 --> 00:01:05.990
After all, both are part
of the built landscape.

00:01:05.990 --> 00:01:09.490
Every place in our cities
was built upon a site formed

00:01:09.490 --> 00:01:11.780
without humanity's touch.

00:01:11.780 --> 00:01:14.230
It's almost
impossible to see now,

00:01:14.230 --> 00:01:16.320
but the very ground
on which MIT stands

00:01:16.320 --> 00:01:17.576
was placed there by people.

00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:23.380
Street trees in Beacon
Hill are obvious markers

00:01:23.380 --> 00:01:26.420
of nature in the city.

00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:29.680
Whereas in Boston's
Chinatown there

00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:32.090
may appear to be none at all.

00:01:32.090 --> 00:01:33.990
But look more closely.

00:01:33.990 --> 00:01:37.330
Natural processes don't
always announce themselves,

00:01:37.330 --> 00:01:38.924
and they aren't
always beautiful.

00:01:42.900 --> 00:01:47.890
Natural systems in the city are
far more than potted plants.

00:01:47.890 --> 00:01:51.526
Nature persists, even
when boxed in or ignored.

00:01:54.680 --> 00:01:57.402
And ignorance of natural
processes can be catastrophic.

00:02:00.300 --> 00:02:03.290
Understanding requires
careful observation,

00:02:03.290 --> 00:02:05.810
a search for clues to the
life of a tree, for example.

00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:12.170
And an open mind to
integrate significant details

00:02:12.170 --> 00:02:15.190
into hypotheses.

00:02:15.190 --> 00:02:24.500
Think about sets of systems,
such as plants, air, and earth.

00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:38.750
Animals, the flow of water,
the play of sun and shadow,

00:02:38.750 --> 00:02:39.310
and wind.

00:02:41.950 --> 00:02:44.460
And how the interrelated
histories of these systems

00:02:44.460 --> 00:02:46.976
have shaped the city's past.

00:02:46.976 --> 00:02:48.350
And how they'll
shape its future.

00:02:52.110 --> 00:02:57.390
After all, like MIT, the Boston
region may be historical,

00:02:57.390 --> 00:03:00.120
but it is far from timeless.