Apart from the historic significance of the Freedom Trail, what I enjoyed most was the physical trail itself as an urban design feature. Like following the yellow brick road, you could never get lost on it even if you deviated a bit – you could find it again. You could find it by the map, the pavement or the hordes of tourists usually gave it away!
I especially enjoyed it as a quirky feature to watch on the ground as it changed in material, surface and pattern.
It made me think of urban exploration and how great it would be if cities had more trails, and all the different fun themes you could have for trails and tours.
It also reminded me of that beautiful Melbourne tourism ad, with the people rolling out giant colourful string across the city. I can just imagine a bunch of colour lines across a city, and you could choose any path to follow.
(P.S. The Chaser’s version of that ad, is still pretty hilarious too)
