Contemporary Use
As the Fens park is within an area of Boston that includes such sites as Northeastern University, Boston Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, the Boston Latin School, the Museum of Fine Arts, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Simmons College, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Harvard Medical School, and the numerous other institutions that comprise the Longwood Medical Area, it is a valued and much-frequented green area within the city.
The Fenway Civic Association works with public agencies to enhance and improve this parkland, reduce vehicular traffic, and protect precious urban resources.
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy is headquartered in the park and operates a year round visitor center. Their mission is to restore and maintain the Emerald Necklace Park System through public and private partnerships.
The Fens has become a popular gay cruising spot.
Read more about this topic: Back Bay Fens
Famous quotes containing the word contemporary:
“I have the strong impression that contemporary middle-class women do seem prone to feelings of inadequacy. We worry that we do not measure up to some undefined level, some mythical idealized female standard. When we see some women juggling with apparent ease, we suspect that we are grossly inadequate for our own obvious struggles.”
—Faye J. Crosby (20th century)
“Americans have internalized the value that mothers of young children should be mothers first and foremost, and not paid workers. The result is that a substantial amount of confusion, ambivalence, guilt, and anxiety is experienced by working mothers. Our cultural expectations of mother and realities of female participation in the labor force are directly contradictory.”
—Ruth E. Zambrana, U.S. researcher, M. Hurst, and R.L. Hite. “The Working Mother in Contemporary Perspectives: A Review of Literature,” Pediatrics (December 1979)