Art and the Transit Experience/Creating a Sense of Purpose: Public Art and Boston’s Orange Line

As more and more cities build or modify their transit systems, interest has grown in art-intransit programs, which generally commission works of art for or engage artists in the design of transit systems. Supporters of these programs believe that they can “integrate creative values into such places . . . where thousands of people circulate and encounter each other every day”—thereby improving these environments for users and enticing riders back to public transportation (Mara 1981: 201).