The logistical operations and the spontaneous memorializing that followed the bombing of the Boston marathon illustrates how the healing of a city mirrors the healing of a bodily wound. Unlike the body however, the marks left behind may be of the city's own designs, namely in the form of a permanent memorial.

In The Image of the City, 1960s era Boston is described as “a city of distinctive districts, and in most parts…one knows where one is simply by the general character…” Pulling from the wealth of interviews he conducted with the city’s inhabitants, Kevin Lynch continues, stating, “Here place is never in question.” In fact, the imageability of these districts is so remarkable that different sections of the city can be quickly recognized, even from a single photograph taken anywhere within a neighborhood.