November 7, 2005 (Vol. 2, No. 5)

Student Maps Future of Boston Transit

One sleepless night, just for fun, geology major Andrew Lynch began sketching his vision of what the Boston subway system might look like in the future. He never dreamed his drawing would be featured on Boston Magazine's website alongside those of professional architects from the area.

"The Next Big Thing" feature invited architects to send in drawings of futuristic projects for the Boston area. Lynch's drawing "MBTA in the year 2050," which was the only student submission chosen, depicted expansions on numerous subway lines into surrounding suburbs.

"The next large urban project Boston should undertake should be to expand the subway system dramatically," says Lynch. "Expanding lines into the suburbs will cut down on traffic and allow for smarter, transit-oriented development."

Lynch, a Boston native, transferred to Lehman this fall because of the College's G.I.S. (Geographic Information Science) program. "I'm interested in urban planning," he says, "and one of the issues with urban planning is transportation planning."

MBTA in the year 2050 (Click on map to get a closer look.)

As a hobby, Lynch photographs abandoned buildings around the Boston and New York City areas, which he displays on his website (www.vanshnookenraggen.com). In addition to studying what he loves at Lehman, he is also impressed with the beauty of the campus itself. "It's a great juxtaposition of gothic with modernism," says Lynch. "It's simple, and it works."

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