Architecture Commons^™

Crazy Rich Karachi — Where The Streets Are Paved With Gold, Murtaza Irfan Ali

MSJ Capstone Projects

Karachi happens to be Pakistan’s economic powerhouse but the irony is it never received its fair share of development. Which is why, to this day, I have no clue where to park, when I visit the southern district of the city. The random and sporadic parking has costed me with a hundred scratches and 2 pairs of side-view mirrors during the course of a year. So to find exactly where I could safely and “legally” park, I set out to find some answers.

Numerical And Semi-Analytical Estimation Of Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient For Buildings In An Urban-Like Setting, Anwar Demsis Awol

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Urban building arrangements such as packing density, orientation and size are known to influence the microclimate surrounding each building. Studies on the impact of urban microclimatic changes on convective heat transfer coefficient (CHTC) from a stock of buildings, however, have been rare in surveyed literature. The present study focuses on numerical and analytical investigation of CHTC from building-like models with homogeneous set of equal and unequal planar and frontal densities. Consequently, the study discusses the CHTC response in relation to broader changes in the urban surface form. Part of the process involves the development of a simplified one-dimensional semi-analytical CHTC …

The Museum Of Experiential Living Art: Strategic Plan, Danielle D. Delia

Museum Studies Projects

How can a museum support the new work of artists? Can a Tri-fold business plan offer a sustainable way to support an artists in residency program? Will the local community welcome a new museum into their town? What will be the benefit to the local economy? This capstone project presenting a strategic plan proposes the development of a new art museum located in Buffalo New York called, the Museum of Experiential Living Art (MoELA). The purpose of MoELA is to support practicing artists through an artist in residency program; by providing dedicated time, space, tools, materials, housing and nourishment while …

Mandela Splash Pad Pre-Construction Plan, Levi Sandbulte

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

In the construction industry, it is the responsibility of the general contractor to take the architect’s ideas and turn it into a real building. Many times this requires ample communication and several drafts. This efficient execution of this process is vital to the completion of a successful project. In this project, I practice this communication process. The challenge presented by the owner is to build an affordable splash pad, and without impacting the construction schedule of the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) that is being built on the same property at the same time. This proposal gives the owner a …

Suitability Assessment For Integrated Urban Development In Makkah City Of Saudi Arabia, Mislat Alotaibi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Makkah – the third most populated city in Saudi Arabia with a population of 1,684,408 according to the 2010 demographic survey conducted by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics – is experiencing urban sprawl, which can be defined as an unplanned urban expansion that might degrade the environment and diminish the aesthetic view. This is a persisting problem in Makkah driven by multitude of processes involving the random expansion in its undeveloped land and the removal of its historic mountains surrounding Al-Masjid Al-Haram (the Holy Mosque) in an attempt to push the city limit of urban capacity within its administrative …

The Effects Of Urban Development And The Incidence Of Flooding And Discharge Changes From 1956-2016: A Case Study From Juan Diaz Township, Republic Of Panama, Virgilio De Jesus Quintero Rodriguez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The increase in flood occurrences in the Township of Juan Diaz has affected thousands of families and hundreds of businesses and has negatively impacted the lives of thousands of residents, who expect the worse every time there is a prolonged period of rain. Some of the residents lose their appliances, cars, furniture and houses every year. This study examines the relationship between urban development and flooding. Also, it addresses the influences of topography, green cover, population changes, runoff changes, and social dynamics on this relationship. This study implemented the use of thematic cartography, geographic information systems (GIS), personal interviews and …

Lost In Translation? Assessing The Intercultural Sensitivity Levels Of Planners In The Dallas- Fort Worth Area, Eihua Corinne Olivia Shaw

Planning Dissertations

The inclusion of minorities in the public participation process is one of the greatest challenges within the field of planning. However, the political structures around public participation make it difficult for practitioners to respond to the challenges and needs of an increasing number of cultural minority groups in urban regions. Scholars have advised planners to be more sensitive to the needs of minorities, but there are no tools in the planning field to evaluate cultural sensitivity in practice. This dissertation examines public participation related to intercultural sensitivity. In particular, this research adds to a better understanding of the role of …

The Genesis And Development Of Deathscapes In America -- A Story Of How Chicago And Louisville Cemeteries Demonstrate The Shifting Rationale Of Cemetery Placement During The 19th And 20th Centuries., Thomas D. Cleven

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Today, most construction projects require a systematic site qualification based on a suitability analysis utilizing parameters such as slope, soil type, elevation, distance to open water, and distance to transportation. The proper siting determines the success of a project in terms of project stability and longevity. However, has this suitability analysis exist for one of the most significant phases of humanity – death. Historically dead bodies seem to have been placed without suitable qualification being many cemeteries have created environmental problems for the living. Hence, with which placement rationale has been used comes to mind. With a varied array of …

Alleyway Revitalization: Planning For The Park Street - Pine Street Alley Between 12th Street And 13th Street, Paso Robles California, Mitchell Spector

City and Regional Planning

Alleyways generally refer to two kinds of paths. The first is a narrow pedestrian path between the walls of buildings in an urban environment. This type of alley is generally short and straight, although it may change in elevation. The second type of alley is a very narrow urban street or single lane. This is often used by slow moving vehicles and is more pedestrian friendly than a regular street. These alleys can be used as service roads for a variety of land uses and serves as a secondary vehicular network. It is very common in America to view alleyways …

Annual And Seasonal Variation In Hydrologic Performance Of Ecoroofs Of Multiple Depths, Portland, Or, Ashley Michelle Baker

Dissertations and Theses

It is essential that cities adopt new approaches to stormwater management in the face of changing precipitation regime. In some locations, ecoroofs have been incorporated into city plans as a stormwater control measure, and thus their real-world performance under current conditions can assist with adequate planning. In this study rainfall retention data collected during a three year period, between 2014-2017, is analyzed for 75mm and 125mm ecoroof plots in Portland, Oregon, USA. There is no difference in annual rainfall retention performance between the shallower and deeper plots. However, the 36% mean annual retention of the ecoroof plots is a significant …

Leap Of Faith Megaprojects: The Effect Of Civic Dialogue On Megaproject Legacies In The St. Louis Region, Nathan Theus

Theses

Megaprojects are unique capital improvements that are defined by their large-scale development plans and construction budgets. Industrial Belt cities, like St. Louis, are no stranger to these projects, and both government actors and private developers have walked hand in hand in planning and constructing megaprojects, while assuring the general public that the benefits would always outweigh the costs. Though there has been considerable quantitative research analyzing the statistical economic effects of various megaprojects, there has been relatively little discussion on other, specifically, qualitative means of analysis. This paper will examine the role civic dialogue has on the perceived and real …

Intermodal Transit Terminal: Integrating The Future Of Transit Into The Urban Fabric, Guy Vigneau

Masters Theses

The very foundation of transportation relies on its ability to efficiently move people and goods through a transitional space. Transportation hubs are key to achieving this goal. However, many transit terminals are outdated or poorly designed to fit the needs of the modern world. At the core of this thesis are two overarching questions. First, how do we design intermodal transit terminals so that they successfully integrate into an existing urban fabric? Second, how do we design for innovative modes of transportation, such as hyperloop technology? This thesis explores how architectural design can recover existing transit connections within an urban …

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing At The Local Level : A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Practices In Louisville, Kentucky., Steven P. Sizemore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research project is an immersion into the beliefs, ideas, meanings, values, and feelings of actors engaged in shaping local housing policies. The dissertation examines how discourse constitutes and shapes the knowledge of policy actors engaged in fair housing policies and practices in Louisville, Kentucky. I argue that policy discourse is the site where social problems become framed, bounded, and transformed into action. Therefore, if the objective of the Fair Housing Act’s mandate for HUD and its recipients is to operate programs in a manner that “affirmatively furthers fair housing” (AFFH), it is essential to understand the discursive acts …

Is Transportation Planning Effective? A Critical Review Of Long-Range Regional Transportation Planning In The United States, Razieh Nadafianshahamabadi

Civil Engineering ETDs

The Federal-Aid Highway Act requires urban areas with a population greater than 50,000 to create Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to ensure that funding for transportation projects and programs are based on a continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive planning process. A major responsibility of each MPO is the creation of a long-range transportation plan (LRTP) that addresses the transportation needs of a metropolitan region over the next twenty years or more. While long-range regional transportation planning goals have grown to include a wide range of concerns and technical methods for evaluating planning scenarios have advanced substantially over the past 50 years, there …

Have You Seen The Poop Fairy?, Sergio Lozoya

Architecture and Planning ETDs

This research seeks to understand the effectiveness of the There is no Poop Fairy campaign through a public survey of dog owners. The There Is No Poop Fairy campaign was initiated in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2014, with the goal of getting dog owners to pick up and properly dispose of their dogs’ waste. The Rio Grande is contaminated with E. coli bacteria that originates in part from dog waste, which is carried to the river through storm water. Levels of E. coli in the Rio Grande have decreased dramatically within the past few years, coincident with the campaign. The …

Rebuilding Karachi-Bulldozing One Livelihood At A Time, Haddiqua Siddiqui

MSJ Capstone Projects

The story revolves around Pakistan’s powerful mafias who illegally occupy state and private property, mostly in urban areas and unclaimed land. They are backed by the police, bureaucracy and politicians. This is a norm in countries where these encroachers occupy a piece of land for as long as they want without any legal right or documents. These encroachers occupy the property for weeks, months or even years before voluntarily leaving it for a better spot or being forcefully evicted by city authorities. Saddar, the city’s center; is considered a safe haven for these land grabbers. For decades the heart of …

The Water Tanker Mafia, Yousuf Sajjad

MSJ Capstone Projects

This is a thesis about the Water Tanker Mafia in Karachi. The citizens of Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi suffer from an acute lack of water for drinking and domestic use. To cover for this lack of water, there is a network of tankers, run illegally but also with a large degree of connivance with parts of the state in Karachi, that provides water to the citizens of this city. This paper seeks to explain this network, its history, organization and the infrastructure in Karachi that it supports or in many cases, supersedes. This paper places the Karachi water tanker mafia …

Gilgit-Baltistan At The Cross Road Of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (Cpec), Zulfiqar Ali Khan

MSJ Capstone Projects

This capstone project focused on the in-depth analysis of the role and impact of this multi-billion-dollar project on the politically deprived region of Gilgit-Baltistan. This region is the gateway to CPEC as it is the only region of Pakistan that shares border with China. The geographical ties, tributary and trade relationship and even family relationships between Gilgit-Baltistan and the Xinjiang region of China dates back centuries before the creation of Pakistan and the post revolution China.

The project has been designed and implemented in a way that GB’s role is to provide the services of road and some other services …

Streets Of San Francisco: An Analysis Of The City's Transportation Network, Complete Streets Guidelines And Policies, Ian Xavier Connolly

City and Regional Planning

Transportation is a key element to everyday life, providing an efficient connection and movement of goods and people. While there are different modes of transportation, motor vehicles are still the preferred and highly used option, providing people the luxury of traveling to farther distances on their own time and in their own comfort. However, in a country where cities are increasingly becoming cores of pedestrian traffic, motor vehicles make these places less walkable, as well as produce pollution through their use of gasoline. At a time when we must continue to consider the safety and environmental aspects of transportation, we …

Campus Design: Assessing Outdoor Spaces At California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo To Improve Student Experience, Meha Patel

City and Regional Planning

The outdoor space of university campuses is an aspect of design which still remains, to a certain degree, uncharted. There are merely not enough relevant case studies and research in creating foundational principles which adhere to the design of a functional outdoor space on university campuses.

The success of the student body for a college, academically and socially, is dependent on creating a welcoming and holistic learning environment for students to thrive. Social spaces bridge the gap between the built and natural environment, therefore, providing proper physical components in an outdoor space becomes vital in creating a desired environment which …

Live-Learn Cal Poly: A New-Urbanist Vision For A More Livable And Sustainable Campus, Emily Huang, Justin Wong

City and Regional Planning

Universities across the nation have begun a mixed-use initiative in an effort to densify campuses and diversify retail and housing choices to increase student residency on campus. The movement to model the built environment after traditional mixed-use urbanism has been shown to improve capital flow within the local submarket on campus, foster flexible learning environments to support student success, and reduce automobile dependency. In order to reflect Cal Poly’s Master Plan moving forward, this report intends to follow the guiding principles outlined in the Master Plan while proposing sustainable and efficient land use designs to accommodate future growth at Cal …

Chrysalis Creek 2019 Bank Of America Merrill Lynch Low Income Housing, Ivy Zhao

City and Regional Planning

Chrysalis Creek provides 40 affordable housing units for very low- and low-income families in Templeton, California. A chrysalis refers to the third stage of growth, where a caterpillar metamorphose into a butterfly. The project name represents the transformative stage in life for families grow in strength, independence, and stability. Chrysalis Creek is the place where families will thrive and be well supported with resources for success.

Chrysalis Creek is a collaborative effort between architecture, planning and business administration students from Cal Poly. The Cal Poly team is working with Peoples’ Self-Help Housing as the development partner. Peoples’ Self-Help Housing is …

Enhancing Dublin's Emergency Road Network For Hazard Preparedness In The Event Of Natural Disaster, Ritu Muralidharan

City and Regional Planning

The purpose of this study is to assess and analyze the City of Dublin’s current emergency road network and provide recommendations to improve emergency evacuation in the event of natural disasters in the City of Dublin, California.

Planning for emergency preparedness, especially in the aftermath of the wildfires in Paradise and Montecito, California, is more relevant than ever. Learning from these disasters highlight the importance of preparedness, as well as the consideration of roadway capacity and conditions to evacuate during emergencies. This study analyzes the volume, capacity, density, and travel time to determine the capability of a mass evacuation in …

The City Of Pasadena: Circulating Without A Car, Caroline Bender

City and Regional Planning

This senior project will provide an analysis of the current bike infrastructure in the City of Pasadena and the Metro Bike Share program that was removed. This data collection and analysis will act as a basis for a proposal of improvements to the current infrastructure that would allow for the success of a bike share program and will present design guidelines for the proposed improvements. These proposed improvements would ultimately guide the City of Pasadena to achieving their vision for the city’s transportation system.

Sidewalks To Nowhere: A Tool To Prioritize Pedestrian Improvements, Ho Yan Lai

Master's Theses

Walkability as a concept that captures the ability to walk from one place to another has multiple dimensions. Between traversability to being a proxy for better urban places, there are also numerous measurements of walkability that attempts to quantify certain or all aspects of walkability. It is, however, unclear, through a review of available literature, how these measurements of walkability relate to each other statistically. This methodology focuses on generating a framework for analysts to evaluate and prioritize pedestrian infrastructure. WalkScore™ (WS), HCM Pedestrian Level of Service (PLOS), Average Nodal Degree (AND), and Intersection Density are the four metrics selected …

Inventory Of Aging-Friendly Pedestrian Environment, Qijun Zeng

Master's Theses

The dimension of humanization has been neglected for decades. Planning themes such as automobile and transportation have erroneously occupied a dominant position. While public space, pedestrian activities and urban space as a gathering place for urban residents have been placed in a very minor position. As motorization in contemporary cities develops, the overall pedestrian environment of cities is deteriorating, and the street spaces are seriously lacking in the care and consideration of pedestrians, especially the vulnerable groups. Urban design generally, and pedestrian environment in particular, has a significant influence on pedestrian activity. Also, with the aging of the Baby Boomer …

Improving Bicyclist And Pedestrian Safety In Riverside, Ca, Ryanne Browers

City and Regional Planning

There is great potential within the City of Riverside to increase the number of pedestrians and bicyclists. Currently, the largest barrier to this increase is user fear for health and safety. The geographic location of Riverside, which funnels pollutants from the Greater Los Angeles Area into the region, contributes to the region having very few good air days. This creates a barrier between those who potentially would walk or bike from actually doing so due to health risks.

The City of Riverside has identified in its Bike Master Plan that it currently has twice as many bicyclists than the national …

The Reinvigoration Of Oakland Neighborhoods Through Public Art Installations, Riley Anderson-Barrett

City and Regional Planning

The driving factor behind this project is my interest in how public art can drastically improve areas with somewhat little tangible change. With the implementation of a few key pieces, an area can gain recognition, triangulation, and life. Recognition begins when the location becomes recognizable and memorable, as opposed to being yet another mundane street corner or node. Making a location memorable and recognizable sparks the interest and desire for people to come visit the area. Having these pieces can generate interest and triangulation, which is when people come together to experience or converse about whatever it is drawing them …

Carousel Mall Redevelopment, Marissa E. Tietz

City and Regional Planning

The purpose of this project is to design a successful plan for the redevelopment of Carousel Mall in San Bernardino, California. In order for this project’s outcome to be successful, there are several aspects that need to be considered. Since Carousel Mall is an abandoned mall it is essential that we understand how it got to that place. To best gain that understanding, the first chapter of this project will look at the history of mall form and how it shaped the malls we know today. This chapter will also help understand why malls in America began falling and how …

Revitalizing High Street Through Pedestrianization, Laura Traffenstedt

City and Regional Planning

The purpose of this Senior Project is to recommend to the City of Moorpark a pedestrian-only street in their downtown district, specifically on High Street. This report will explore case studies of other pedestrian-only streets and plazas implemented in cities around Europe and the United States. These case studies will exemplify the importance of the addition of a partial pedestrian-only street on High Street in Moorpark, California, and the positive impacts pedestrianization in downtowns can have on communities. The project will include an amendment to Moorpark’s Downtown Specific Plan to include specific language on pedestrian-only streets/plazas.