Architecture Commons^™

Riverview Community Park Commoning Plan, Haley B. Keene

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

Riverview Community Park began as an illegal DIY skatepark in the Maymont neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. Now, although it is a city park, it is still entirely managed by volunteer community groups (skateboarders, the neighborhood Civic League, and a community garden) who view the park as a creative, experimental community-led spatial project. Due to a dearth of communication between the three groups, the park has suffered political strife between the groups and a chaotic physical atmosphere. This plan utilizes a commons governance framework and participatory, asset-based community design to usher in a new era of enhanced collaboration, common narratives, and …

Trolley Line Trail Creative Placemaking Plan, Courtland Caldwell

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

The Trolley Line Trail is a planned multi-use trail along the historic Richmond-to-Ashland Trolley corridor. The purpose of this plan is to identify potential creative placemaking locations and installations to highlight the trolley's unique past and present. This plan sets forth a vision for creative placemaking by gathering community feedback, analyzing properties along the Trolley Line Trail, and making recommendations for placemaking and public art. Ultimately, the recommendations laid out in this plan aim to preserve and acknowledge the community's unique identity while creating a safe, accessible experience for all users.

Weathering The Storm: Navigating Urban Ecologies Of Communication In Times Of Crisis, Austin Hestdalen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project explores cities as urban ecologies of communication in which crises emerge and are given significance within the dialogic relations cultivated among public actors attempting to make a living, together, within the shared historical-cultural contexts of everyday life. To describe cities as urban ecologies of communication is to describe them in terms of urban communication and its interdisciplinary foundations in the study of rhetoric, philosophy, planning, policy, architecture, sociology, geography, and media. The first chapter introduces the challenges of urban risk and crisis management within the complex ecologies of communication constituted by cities and reviews how ‘risk’ and ‘crisis’ …

Evaluating Urban Parks Accessibility And Equity: A Case Study Of Hartford, Ct And New Haven, Ct, Natalie Roach, Mara Tu

Honors Scholar Theses

Public parks provide cities with environmental benefits, positive health effects, recreational opportunities, community building, educational spaces, and public amenities. However, certain populations have been systematically denied their fair share of these benefits because of unjust practices in the creation and maintenance of urban parks. With a lens of environmental justice, the goal of this research was to assess park quality and accessibility of two Connecticut cities, Hartford and New Haven, by gathering publicly available information as well as using GIS tools.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has an existing ParkScore rating system that evaluates the quality of a city’s …

La Sostenibilidad De La Reconstrucción 2014-2019 Tras El Gran Incendio En Valparaíso: Una Mirada Desde La Habitabilidad, Resiliencia Y Preparación En La Gestión De Desastres, Dana Kulma

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The beautiful port city of Valparaíso, Chile is home to 42 colorful hills that overlook the Pacific Ocean. This unique city, however, is also home to multiple disasters, including urban and forest fires, tsunamis, landslides and earthquakes. This descriptive study explores the case of the 2014 “mega-fire” that destroyed 3,000 homes and affected the lives of 11,000 residents. Through five semi-structured interviews and the review of several academic and official documents, the present study analyzes the process of post-disaster reconstruction, seeking to understand the habitability and the resiliency of the reconstructed houses and neighborhoods. In order to understand the challenges …

Feeling Green: The Benefits Of Green Space On Urbanites' Mental Health, Kathryn A. Hoagland

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

This investigation intends to determine the best methods for incorporating public green space into dense urban areas, for the betterment of residents' mental health. Data from studies showing differences in the prevalence of anxiety and depression in urban and rural areas are discussed alongside data from studies looking at the effect that certain types of green space might have on mental health. While there is no exact consensus on the extent to which nature has positive effects on mental health there is enough of a correlation to argue for the implementation of public green spaces in urban design, in order …

Progressive Commemoration: Public Statues Of Historical Women In Urban American Cities, Melanie D. Chin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Women who made notable accomplishments are underrepresented in commemoration. Some American cities have brought women to the forefront of becoming visible through commemoration in statues. This thesis compares the commemoration of historical women in four different American cities. Stakeholders hold the key to implementing and changing public policy to increase the visibility of women and people of color in public monuments. Cities which lack representation of women and people of color may learn from and follow the efforts of a leading city to achieve lasting and effective change in representing those who historically been underrepresented.

Voices Of Cully: A Case Study Of The Living Cully Weatherization And Home Repair Project 2.0, Lucy J.T. Cultrera

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Cully neighborhood is situated in the Northeast quadrant of Portland, Oregon. It is 2.75 square mile plot of land and home to roughly 13,000 people. In addition to being one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Portland, it is the most densely populated, with the smallest amount of parkland per capita. Over the last two decades, home value has increased 203% in Cully, compared to a 90% citywide increase. Amidst these development trends are stories of incredible resilience, resistance and activism from the affected community. My project is a case study of one anti-displacement initiative, which was developed and …

Interpreting The Roman Squatting Tradition, Shaun J. Mcgann

Senior Theses and Projects

This thesis addresses the rich tradition of urban occupations, also known as "squatting", in Rome, Italy. I argue that Roman squatting had its origins mainly in the Social Center Movement of the late 1970s and a preceding wave of occupations aimed at garnering affordable housing. In order to provide a context for these social movements, I first briefly describe the urban development history of the city since the late 1800s. The Roman pattern of urban development favored private interests and land speculation in a manner that resulted in overconsumption and the marginalization of a large sect of the population. In …

The Fall Of The 1977 Phillies: How A Baseball Team's Collapse Sank A City's Spirit, Mitchell J. Nathanson

Mitchell J Nathanson

Too often, the Philadelphia sports fan has been dismissed as a lout, a boorish dolt immune to reason, his vocabulary whittled down to a singular “boo.” This is particularly true when it comes to Phillies fans, who are more likely to turn on their team than any other in the city. Although the Eagles, Sixers and Flyers may hear it from the rafters when they’re not going well, only the Phils will hear it when they are. The strained relationship between the city and the Phillies, however, has deep historical and sociological roots; roots that directly correlate with the city’s …

Smart Growth: A Buffer Zone Between Decentrist And Centrist Theory?, Dorothy Stewart, Lorcan Sirr, Ruth Kelly

Articles

The context for planning at the turn of the 19th century, in a newly industrialized world, was based on the need to find solutions to overcrowding and dire urban conditions. Planning decisions made in the post-World War II period were primarily motivated by the desire to reconstruct war torn cities. The forces of influence for planning and development in modern advanced capitalist societies are arguably set within the context of sustainable development. Many developed countries have witnessed a dramatic change in their territorial structures. Urban centres are extending into rural areas and surrounding hinterland, where large tracts of land are …

Financing Difficulties Stall Linkage In Providence, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"When the India Point Club luxury condominium development, scheduled to be built on the Providence waterfront, was announced in 1987, there were many local skeptics who said it was too expensive for the Providence market. After all, selling penthouse condos overlooking the dirty Providence River for over $1 million was quite ambitious--and some said impossible."

Notable Efforts To Meet Emerging Housing Needs, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"This is a landmark year in the historical development of housing in the nation, ad Rhode Island almost became a part of this bigger picture. One noteworthy event has already taken place, and two special birthdays are observed throughout the year."

Helping Communities Determine Development, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The word uppermost in the minds of many communities these days is 'development,' a process that manifests itself on the land in the form of the built environment. Alarmed at the speed with which land is being used--and often abused--communities are being faced with touch decisions on how to cope with development, either by directing it, managing it or even stopping it."

Designing The Cityscape, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"A new structure has recently been erected in the Providence downtown, and criticisms of the building's design continue to fly. An editorial in these newspapers, for example, referred to the 'failed example of quickie construction with a outsized Erector set.'"

Accepting The Townhouse Idea Requires New Attitudes, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"To change actions is easy; to change attitudes is more difficult. This is a truism that one finds whether one deals with race relations, sexual equality or ethnic stereotypes. It is also true in housing."

Roger Williams Project-Potential Industrial Site?, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"In a neighborhood analysis done in 1969, the Providence Department of Planning and Urban Development stated it succintly: "The Roger Williams public housing project contains some of the poorest quality housing in the area."

Sharing Ideas For A Better City, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It was billed as 'Rebuilding the Medium-Sized North American City,' and representatives from nine cities throughout this country and Canada assembled in Providence to discuss ideas, ingredients, processes, and problems related to restoring the physical fabric of the city."

Farewell To The Bucklin Bldg., Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"How does one write an obituary for a building? Does one concentrate on its architecture and long history, or does one single out the actors and forces which killed it? The current razing of the Bucklin Building can only bring sadness to the heart and the need to express, in a few, final words, a tribute to a fine and familiar structure."

Momentous Decision: Capital Center Project, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It may very well be the most important decision facing Providence in this century; it would provide new commercial space approximately one and one-half times that found in the present downtown; it would remove black and ugly 'dead' space (parking) from the foot of the state Capitol and replace it with acres of greenery and enhanced riverfront; it would provide better access into the downtown and facilitate the east-west flow of traffic; it would drastically alter the focus of the downtown; and it would greatly increase the tax base of the capital city. The Capital Center Project, with its proposed …

Downtown Buildings That Link Us To Our Past, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It is sickening and it is sad. A building that has withstood the ravages of time throughout its 103 years of life deserves a better fate; yet there it stands, disembowled and broken by the wrecking ball. The Hoppin Homestead Building on the Westminster Mall will soon be only a memory, and its site will be marked by that ubiquitous asphalt reminder of our automobile addicted age--the parking lot. Is this the cure for old buildings in a downtown that is moving on the road to regeneration?"

More Inner City Jobs, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Congressman Henry S. Reuss of Wisconsin has given the answer most succinctly: "The most straightforward way to help cities is to provide jobs...From a city's standpoint, jobless citizens make no contributions to a community's revenues. But they add greatly to its costs for welfare, crime, and assorted ills."

Various Alternatives To High-Interest Crunch On New Home Building, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The recent announcement by two major savings and loan mortgage lenders in California of higher home mortgage rates portends a problem already evident in the country--the inability of an increasing number of Americans to buy their own homes."

Superlative Atlanta, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"With the passing of each year a new superlative is added: the third largest convention city; the third city in the post-war period to construct a rapid transit system; the second busiest airport in the world; the safest mass transportation system in the country; and with direct flights to London in the offing, this major commercial, industrial and financial center of the Southeast can truly claim to be a New International City. Atlanta is all of these."

Soul City Deserves To Succeed, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream--a dream of equal opportunity and justice for all. An assassin's bullet prevented him from realizing his dream. His friend and well-known leader in the civil rights movement also had a dream--a dream to build a new town in which the injustices of society would be lessened. Today, in the rolling farmland country of North Carolina, Floyd McKissick is working to fulfill his long sought dream."

Parallel For Providence To Consider, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"They have done it here. The Grand Opera House has nearly been restored and it is now the Deleware State Performing Arts Center. A lively activity center located on the recently opened, pedestrianized Market Street Mall, the Grand is serving as a major focal point in bringing life back to downtown Wilmington."

New Office Building Is Good News, But Questions Of Planning Raised, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The latest piece of news concerning a possible new office building for Providence is just another example of the renewed interested in the downtown of Rhode Island's capital city. Revitalization, resurgence, renewwal--call it what you will--there is no question that the prognosis for the ailing city center is excellent and the "patient" is now on the road to recovery.

The Benefits Reaped From Block Grant Fund Will Increase, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 signed into law by President Ford was a landmark piece of legistlation. It provided federal money for communities in block grants, with each local community making its own decisions as to the distrubution of these funds in areas such as housing, parks and community facilities."

Impressions Of Providence, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"A recent Letter to the Editor of this newspaper pointed out part of the problem of our capital city. Whether one agrees with the writer or not, it is important to consider what he said because this is the image of the city which he carried away with him."

City Land Bank Would Promote Industrial Development, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"On the 19th of May, in the city of Providence, 200 properties were offered for sale to the public. These were properties on which owners were in default of taxes and which the city hoped to sell in order to get them back on the tax rolls, as well as to collect back taxes. Only 21 of the properties were sold."