Rebecca Grzyb

Rebecca Grzyb

In sketching my map of Harvard, I realized that the features of Cambridge that I can see clearly in my mind’s eye vary depending on the location. For instance, I am very familiar with the subtle curve along Garden Street because I walk up and down the street nearly every day, yet I am not familiar with the buildings and houses along Garden Street. Interestingly, I am familiar with the placement of buildings in Harvard Yard, but less so with the buildings’ orientation to the rest of campus. Since I seldom frequent the River Houses by foot, I am unfamiliar with the many streets that separate Harvard Square from the Charles River. After looking at an official university map, I began to recall many of the shops that I had forgotten about along, for instance, Mount Auburn Street. Nevertheless, I struggled to remember how it all fit together. The sinuous roads throughout Cambridge are disorienting. Overall, my map depicts a truncated version of Cambridge. I wonder if my depiction of Harvard’s campus and Cambridge, more generally, suggests that I perceive the area as a resource (instead of as a rich landscape). That is to say, I feel connected to the places I walk to, but not necessarily to the paths that I take to get there.