In 1893, a decision to widen Harrison Avenue to make more room for transportation forcibly displaced dozens of Chinese residents and businesses—an early example of inequitable planning. Today, the Phillips Square Plaza stands on the exact site of this displacement and remains a symbol of spatial justice in Boston’s Chinatown.

After decades of disruptive infrastructure projects that failed to address the neighborhood’s need for culturally resonant public spaces, the Boston Department of Transportation initiated the Phillips Square design project in 2024 to return the land to the Chinatown community.

The plaza itself is only 5,450 SF, but it is infrastructurally and culturally complex. The physical site encompasses a dense, aged labyrinth of high-pressure gas lines, steam pipes, electrical conduits, and communication cables, requiring strategic design intervention. Environmental analysis confirmed acute microclimatic stress: the plaza is 10°F warmer than adjacent areas in summer, while winter winds create a 15°F cooler wind-tunnel effect. The design team analyzed these challenges to create a vibrant community gathering place in the city’s heart.

From Displacement to Belonging

Anchored in an extensive trilingual (English, Mandarin, Cantonese) participatory process, the design team engaged over 750 participants through surveys, interviews, focus groups, pop‑ups, open houses, and design charrettes.

To maximize engagement, the team met residents, businesses, and community members where they were. This included extracurricular design sessions at the local community centers, as well as community gatherings for the neighborhood’s elderly population in popular locations like dance and tai chi classes, and tea gatherings. Residents and community leaders also participated in an immersive design workshop at Sasaki’s studio. The charrette was organized into language-based groups, with each table supported by a diverse team of designers, facilitators, and interpreters to ensure inclusive, comprehensive dialogue.

Of the hundreds of engaged participants, 33% were Chinatown residents and 82% identified as Asian, representing the neighborhood’s core demographic while centering the voices of elders, youth, residents, and small businesses. The process revealed a unified demand for cooling structures, greenery, and safety measures, while prioritizing authentic expressions of the neighborhood’s diverse cultural identity.

A Collective Vision

Working together, the team and community developed visionary concepts to explore desired spatial elements. Each concept was iterated based on feedback, serving as tangible prototypes for the community to visualize, evaluate, and shape the final design. 

To address extreme heat, the design introduces a prominent shade structure with misting fixtures for evaporative cooling, providing year-round comfort and extreme-temperature resistance. Thanks to funding including the CPA (Community Preservation Act) grant, the design adds seven new trees, 800 square feet of new planting area, and 680 square feet of shaded space, along with the misting stations. Improvements like planters and below-grade stormwater storage are surgically integrated into narrow “avoidance zones” between utilities to enhance environmental performance without compromising safety.

As a stage for cultural heritage and celebration, the plaza integrates multilingual signage, paving patterns that recount neighborhood history, and a shade canopy inspired by community visions from the focus group. The open plan accommodates Chinatown’s vibrant events year-round, from market days to the Lunar New Year parade, August Moon Festival, and Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

Implementation and Impact

The final design reclaims the plaza as a permanent open space designed with and for the community, meeting residents’ needs while overcoming infrastructural complexities. The design creates a vibrant community gathering place in the city’s heart—green with memory, open to celebration, and grounded in care. Long-term stewardship will be secured through a detailed, co-developed maintenance and activation strategy supported by a new public-private partnership to oversee programming and care.

The plan is near ready for implementation and slated to break ground in 2027. The Phillips Square project exemplifies environmental and social justice through community voice, climate resilience, and cultural placemaking.