ABSTRACT
In and around Boston, the subways, elevated trains, streetcars, and busses of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority traverse urban and suburban environments of every character and kind. The Open City Project administered by the Children’s Museum of Boston and funded by the federal Office of Environmental Education, undertook an intensive investigation of the metropolitan transit system with the help of 45 eleven-to fourteen-year-old residents of diverse Boston-area communities. The project was inspired by recent efforts in the fields of education and design to develop the educative potential of city environments. Project activities were built upon the assumption that for children to benefit from the resources of the city for learning and enjoyment they must be able to move through its public paths with skill, confidence, and a degree of independence. City travel is clearly a requisite to learning from the urban environment.
