A tale of two alleys

I was at the Boston Architectural College last week for a talk by Arlen Stawasz, a young architect who is thinking about climate change, and used a fellowship to spend a couple of months late last year in The Netherlands and Bangladesh. His site, Exploration of Sea Level Rise, features photos and videos showing aspects of how these two very different nations approach their mutual dilemma, the impact of rising seas.
On my way in, I looked at Boston’s Public Alley 343 and Public Alley 344 are directly across Boylston St. from each other. A part of PA 344 is a Green Alley, made with permeable asphalt and paving. It collects and filters rain water from the roof, as well. The estimated cost was between $100,000 and $500,000. I have no idea how much it normally costs to pave an alley. But around $500,000 seems to be the going rate for porous alleys; Boston’s Porous Alley Project will cost $300,000 to $500,000, says this source.

I photographed both PA 343 and PA 344. Guess which is which.