Architecture Commons^™

The Operation Was Successful But The Patient Died: The Politics Of Crisis And Homelessness In Post-Katrina New Orleans, Evan Casper-Futterman

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

On July 4^th, 2007, a small group of housing activists set up a tent city encampment in a plaza adjacent to New Orleans City Hall. The action resulted in the creation of Homeless Pride, a small group of politicized Plaza residents. Six months later, hundreds of homeless people were moved from the park, and it was fenced off. Using archival videos, interviews, and news media, this thesis analyzes the opportunities and constraints that activists, service providers, and local officials faced in light of two intersecting and overlapping contexts. The first context is the immediate crisis of the levee …

Public Space Planning As A Catalyst For Dweller Initiated Slum Upgrading: Ahmedabad, India, Christopher Bystedt

Master's Theses

This research observes how public space planning can improve slum upgrading projects, focusing on two case study slums in Ahmedabad, India.

The inclusion of formal public space planning into slum upgrading schemes can act as a catalyst for dweller-initiated housing improvements. While municipalities that choose to upgrade their slums are primarily concerned with supplying bare necessity infrastructure—such as water, sewage, and paving—most upgrading schemes ignore the reality that slum communities are complex, integral components of the urbanization process. These settlements deserve and necessitate comprehensive design and planning services which will integrate the community into the larger urban fabric.

This thesis …

Downtown Revitalization Strategy Report For Glenrock, Wy, Mary Phillips

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Downtown Revitalization Strategy Report for Glenrock, WY

Mary E. Phillips

The following project submitted for the Master of City and Regional Planning Professional Project is the Downtown Revitalization Strategy Report for Glenrock, WY completed November 25, 2009.

At the onset of the project, the Town of Glenrock, WY was recognized as an Aspiring Main Street Community, and sought guidance to become a Certified Main Street Community. This Strategy Report was prepared to provide an implementation plan for revitalization of the downtown following the Main Street Approach, as well as for achievement of a Certified Main Street Community status by …

A Baseline For Downtown Transit-Oriented Development: Planning For Success In The Loyola Corridor, Peter Bennett

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) in downtown areas is a distinct form of new development, creating walkable districts and 24-hour neighborhoods. A new streetcar on Loyola Avenue in the New Orleans Central Business District was planned to encourage new development in the area. By analyzing the current land uses and values, projections of future change predict over $500 million in added value. For this development to become a successful TOD, policies must encourage uses that generate ridership and increase walkability. Although the Loyola corridor has many historic attributes of a transit-oriented downtown, it currently lacks neighborhood identity. The new development associated with …

Upper Salinas Headwaters Conservation Plan, Justin T. Saydell

Master's Theses

The Upper Salinas Headwaters Conservation Plan is an effort to understand the cultural and ecosystem resources in the region, develop tools for conservation planning, and suggest a strategy and plan of action for implementation of those strategies. The plan covers a 218 square mile area between the Santa Lucia and the La Panza mountain ranges, south of Atascadero and east of the City of San Luis Obispo. The Conservation Area consists of rugged terrain made up of vast-relatively untouched open space. The area consists of several different vegetative communities including oak savannah grasslands, mixed hardwood and oak stands, shrubland, wetland …

Racetrack Engineered Surface Project Initial Study And Mitigated Negative Declaration, Christina M. Keller

Master's Theses

The Professional Project addressed here is an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration for a project proposed by the staff of the Del Mar Fairgrounds pursuant to legal mandate by the State of California Horse Racing Board.

The “Project” subject to documentation under CEQA consisted of removal of the top seven inches of the existing dirt surface on the Del Mar Fairgrounds horse racing track and temporary storage of the material on the practice track infield; installation of a new drainage system, rock filtration system, permeable asphalt layers, and seven inches of engineered surface material; widening of the track in the northeast …

From "The Projects" To Houses : Physical Redevelopment, Poverty Deconcentration, And Resident Self-Sufficiency Impacts On Public Housing Residents At Hope Iv Developments In Camden, New Jersey, Michael C. Brown

Dissertations

Since 1992, public housing authorities (PHAs) throughout the United States have been building public housing rental and owner-occupied housing in place of demolished or rehabilitated distressed public housing and simultaneously attempting to deconcentrate poverty and improve self-sufficiency among the affected residents. The distressed housing is usually dilapidated, poorly designed, poorly constructed, poorly maintained, and poorly managed; the residents are very poor, are in constant fear of crime and violence, and have little hope. Previous attempts to address these problems have been piecemeal and often inadequate.

Based on recommendations by the National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing in 1992, the …

Santa Maria Bus Stop Improvement Plan, Jessica Wafer, Erin Gorman

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

The Life And Death Of An American Block: A Dialogue With Entropy, Micah Daniel Antanaitis

Masters Theses

My goal in this thesis is to frame, through design, an existing environment in a manner that fosters the witness and embrace of the reality and beauty of decay—which acts as a marker of the passage of time. My intent is to engage in a careful renewal of a neglected, and largely forgotten, urban landscape, which does not ignore its temporal context. My hope is to explore the full potential of the life cycle of buildings and discover the lesson of mortality in modern American ruins.

Things fall apart. This is a simple truth about the physical world that humanity …

Strip Development And Community: Maintaining A Sense Of Place, Andrew Kelly Carr

Masters Theses

Abstract

Strip development eases communities’ economic troubles by providing jobs and cheap goods at the expense of a sense of place and social fabric. Four factors are critical to the dissolution of place in strip development: mobility, standardization, specialization, and technology. (Randolph Hester)

Mobility gives people the freedom to move over distances with little constraint; a consequence of this is a produced sense of rootlessness within many communities.

Standardization creates placelessness in communities by the repetition of form and function.

Specialization diminishes comprehensive knowledge of place and complex social and ecological thinking.

Technology may divorce people …

Rooted In Place: The Role Of Design In Small Town Identity, Todd Owen Sparks

Masters Theses

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Longstanding critical theories on place, memory, and identity can begin to address critical questions that residents, civic leaders, and designers are currently facing in twenty-first century small town America. The rapidity with which many rural communities are now transforming is unlike any previous phase of transition; due in large part to a vastly expanding globalized economy and mass culture. Anonymous, exchangeable environments are quickly becoming a standard …

Integrating And Applying Conservation Development Principles To Commercial Sites: A Business Park In Bristol, Tn, Christopher Lee Chandler

Masters Theses

Abstract

Throughout history, land has been treated as man's platform for development and expansion into new territories and the basis for our current infrastructure. Understanding existing properties and characteristics of the land has become imperative to successful development and strong networks that connect human beings to one another. As we discover ever changing natural tendencies, we are prone to rethinking the way in which the land is engaged from a developmental and conservational standpoint. Coexisting with natural processes of the earth and the land is of utmost importance to the success of human systems using it as a base for …

Inhabiting The Periphery: A Dialogue Between Individual And Site, Robert Oliver Kown

Masters Theses

What is a periphery? We can think about this word in more than one way. First off, peripheries are places that exist as spatial conditions in cities, They indicate edges and places that have been left behind. Spaces that have lost their meaning. But in this thesis I will use the word in another way as well. What does the periphery mean for us today? What are those parts of our lives that have been marginalized, and how can we begin to reclaim what has been lost? It is the aim of this thesis to address these issues of the …

Greenway Design And Planning For Healthy Communities: Case Study Of Knoxville, Yilin Shi

Masters Theses

Abstract

Greenway design and planning have become a multi-functional, multi-objective approach to address social, cultural and ecological concerns. Traditional greenway design and planning have focused more on ecological, historic and recreational values. However, the current focus of greenway planning is also shifting to community health, which includes both physical health and emotional health. This thesis focuses on physical health. This concern arises out of observations on obesity and physical inactivity as two of the most serious health problems in the United States which greatly threaten the quality of life in the country. Greenways can help address the issues of obesity …

Planning Growth - Preserving Character, Nathan Daniel Oliver

Masters Theses

Gateway communities are the towns, cities, and communities that border public lands such as national and state parks, wildlife refuges, forests, historic sites, wilderness areas, national forests, and other public lands. They offer scenic beauty and a high quality of life that attracts millions of Americans looking to escape traffic congestion, fast tempo and uniformity of cities and suburbs. Gateway communities provide food, lodging, and business for Americans on their way to public lands. They serve as portals to public lands and therefore play an important role in defining the park, forest, or wilderness experience for many visitors. Their beauty, …

The Historical Influence Of Railroads On Urban Development And Future Economic Potential In San Luis Obispo, Adrianna L. Jordan

Master's Theses

Abstract

The Historical Influence of Railroads on Urban Development and Future Economic Potential in San Luis Obispo

Adrianna L. Jordan

Today the sound of a train passing through San Luis Obispo may be intermittent and faint, but persistent nonetheless, a reminder that the railroad (displaced eventually by the automobile and accompanying expansion of highways and road systems, and later by air connectivity) was a significant force in the development of the City of San Luis Obispo. The sound of railroads evokes a sentimental reminder of the past, but the railroad’s continued presence in the city, cutting through its urban fabric, …

Open Space Planning; Utilizing Green Infrastructure To Preserve Community, Cynthia V. Reynolds

Master's Theses

Current sprawl development patterns typical of contemporary development in the United States are unsustainable. The uniform development guidelines prevent context sensitive community design, degrading our communities and consuming large amounts of natural and cultural resources. Significant progress has been made in reorganizing community planning towards sustainable development practices. However, these alternatives still work under the misconception that there is a disconnect between planning open space networks and planning development. Through a comprehensive land use planning approach, this project explores combining concepts of landscape ecology, green infrastructure planning and conservation subdivision patterns to design an integrative open space/community network.

Cultural Integration Plan, Jasmin Kayhour

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Complete Streets: An Analysis Of San Jose Streets; Urban And Suburnan, Katie Villela

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Waterfront Revitalization: Baltimore, San Francisco, And Seattle, Lindsey L.M. Miller

Master's Theses

The urban waterfront areas of the United States have grown increasingly neglected and derelict due to changes in traditional industrial uses and their physical severance from the downtown core. A revived interest in urban living has brought downtown property values up, including waterfront areas, and has jump-started a movement towards waterfront revitalization. In an effort to understand the specific characteristics that make some waterfront revitalization projects more sustainable over time than others, this paper employed a case study approach. Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, San Francisco, and Seattle’s Central Waterfront were selected for analysis based on three specific perspectives: recreation; development; and …

City Of King West Broadway Master Plan, Christopher Anderson Read

Master's Theses

This document is a professional project and academic companion piece

completed to partially fulfill requirements for the attainment of a Masters in City

and Regional Planning at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis

Obispo. The project is the City of King West Broadway Master Plan (Plan). The

Plan was completed over the course of a year for a real-world client (The City of

King) and provides new form-based code recommendations in the Plan Area.

The Plan is included as Appendix A. The companion piece is intended to provide

additional background research that was conducted during the planning process,

but omitted …

Santa Maria Bikeway Master Plan, Petra Tica

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Santa Maria Character Building, Rebecca Bustos

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Shop Santa Maria: A Toolkit For Supporting Local Businesses, Benjamin Matlock

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

San Miguel Senior Housing Due Diligence Report, Anastacio Martinez, Michael Hanebutt

City and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Expanding Planning Public Participation Outreach Through Social Networking, Wesley Brian David Harris

Master's Theses

Public participation is not a form of civic responsibility that it once was. With not only fewer people taking part in the public participation process, there is a trend towards an older (45 years and older) group of residents that come to such meetings or workshops. Plans, such as Specific Plans or General Plans often take years to implement and require all generations to give feedback on what is needed for the future. Additionally, within the last decade, there has been a rise in social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter. These websites emerged as informal virtual places for …

Planning Connected: Using Online Social Networks To Improve Knowledge About Places And Communities, Aaron Parker Ray

Master's Theses

The advent of Social Networking Systems (SNS) has introduced new possibilities for planners to refine and extend conventional engagement and data-gathering techniques by leveraging user-contributed, spatially-referenced content freely available online. This study examines the use of SNS content as community input, complementing input gathered through traditional participatory processes such as workshops, public comment hearings, and charrettes. Four case studies of recent community planning projects in the United States are analyzed, comparing the data gathered from traditional participatory processes with available SNS content related to each project study area, to determine to what extent the inclusion of SNS data would improve …

Changing The City Landscape: From Garages To Second Residential Units, Scott Andrew Robidoux

Master's Theses

The City of Santa Maria, located between San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara in California, is experiencing rapid population growth, cultural transformation, and growth in household size. The growth rate of the city has been a consistent 20% for the past 20 years. Culturally, more than 70% of the almost 100,000 city residents predominantly identified as Hispanic or Latino in the 2010 census. The household size has consistently increased for the past 20 years; currently it is 3.52 people per household.

An issue which is becoming a growing problem for the city is the prevalence of illegal housing in the …

A Case Of Reclaming Ruin: Beyond The Hype & Hyperbole Of New York's High Line, Bryan D. Eck

Master's Theses

As a result of economic, social, and cultural changes, cities across the country are looking to outdated and abandoned infrastructure for use as public space. The primary objective of this study is to comprehensively examine one such project, the High Line in New York City, to contribute to the body of literature related to urban transformation, reuse, and analogous projects. In this thesis, the High Line was analyzed as a case study and examined in-depth, through an array of data gathering methods. A historical study of the site was conducted through archival research. A typology, and subsequent description, of the …

Go Farm, Goleta: Urban Agriculture Protection For Eastern Goleta Valley, Eli M. Krispi

Master's Theses

This paper explores two potential land use planning strategies that can be used to preserve and enhance the economic viability of agricultural operations surrounded by suburban development in Santa Barbara County’s Eastern Goleta Valley: buffers between agriculture and other land uses, and agritourism. In the case of buffers, academic literature is examined to determine how effective buffers are at various tasks (filtering runoff, mitigating dust and wind, providing habitat, etc.) and how to construct buffers to maximize their effectiveness. Land use plans and codes from several California jurisdictions are studied to see how buffers are put to use. Academic literature …