Architecture Commons^™

Public Space And Well-Being: An Empirical Study Of Central Park In Old Louisville., Maryam Entezam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Urban green spaces have been receiving attention in urban planning and the health profession in the 21^st century as environmental elements that contribute to well-being. This dissertation explored the relationship between green space usage and individuals’ physical, mental, and social well-being. This empirical research focused on Central Park in Old Louisville to examine how residents use the park and whether it contributes to the well-being of residents. After exploring the existing literature, I identified four well-being indices: (1) perceived health (PHI), (2) health outcome (HOI), (3) mental well-being (MWI), and (4) social well-being (SWI). Frequent Park usage is expected …

Metamosque – Envisioning The Mosque As A Virtual Public Space, Alaa Albarazy

Theses and Dissertations

Historically, the mosque was not only a space for a communal prayer but also a place for building a community. Today, however, with conflicts and diseases fragmenting society, people are less able to gather physically in large spaces. Out of necessity, people rely on technology to get together and interact virtually. In this context, my research challenges the notion of the mosque as a physical space, proposing, instead, its extension into virtual space. Recent global events pose the question: Can the metaverse offer an opportunity for the mosque to reassert itself as a public space. I propose that a MetaMosque …

Ecological Restoration Parks In Xi’An, China: An Evolving Type, Han Yan

Dissertations

This dissertation examines four urban ecological restoration projects used as public spaces in the city of Xi'an, China. The overall goal is to understand the social and ecological implications of the site features at both design and planning scale and define what is ecological restoration in China's urban context. The result of the research shows that the top-down planning initiatives approach for establishing ecological restoration sites in urban areas that meet the need for more public open space in addition to restoring healthy urban ecological systems is very different from the definition of what is traditionally understood as "ecological restoration". …

Designing With Users: A Participatory Design As A Community Engagement Program In The City Zoo, Yulia Nurliani Lukito, Nevine R. Kusuma, Enira Arvanda, Zafira R. Ummah

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

This article discusses a participatory design project that aims at creating a collaborative design among architectural students, visitors, and zoo management in designing street furniture and selfie spots in city zoos. Participatory design is used in the design process to get the users’ and designers’ interpretation of the space, improve design outcomes, and increase the community awareness of their surroundings. As part of the Universitas Indonesia Community Engagement Program, the zoo design project fosters a collaborative design between the university and zoo community and supports the educational, conservational, and recreational goals of Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta. Designing street furniture and …

Recovering Untold Stories: Everyday Lives Of Women In Republican Istanbul, 1930-1960, Zehra Betul Atasoy

Dissertations

This research explores the everyday lives of urban women from various social strata in Istanbul between 1930 and 1960. It designates the implications of the Republican reforms in urban spaces and concentrates on untold stories of women who belonged to varying social settings and professions. The everyday life of the city became more complex with the increase in participation of women during these decades. This research examines the myriad ways in which women asserted themselves in the urban fabric, following three threads. First, women's leisure and economic activities in the newly built public squares are investigated. Then, industrial workers and …

Apollo And Columbia: Landscape As Power In Washington D.C. And Versailles., Beau Cameron Burris

Landscape Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

The grounds of the Palace of Versailles and the urban fabric of Washington, D.C. are monumentally scaled, richly mythologized landscapes of power. Through massive baroque geometries, both sites impress order on the vastness of space, reframing it for the glory of their respective creators. Within these grand spaces, symbolism and iconography provide narratives of conquest, violence, glory, and fear. Stories of seemingly immortal men emerge from classical traditions of architecture and sculpture. Louis XIV and the presidents and war heroes of the United States have become god-heroes in bronze and stone, presiding over palatial grounds and public space as if …

In Partnership? Pedestrian Plazas In New York City, Topal Vardi Topal

Dissertations

Traditional public spaces —such as public parks, streets, and public squares—have long been part of the urban landscape. In today’s congested cities, however, creating such public spaces is difficult because they require capital investment, vacant land, and ongoing maintenance. Possibly in response to these obstacles, new types of urban public spaces have emerged.

Pedestrian plazas, one of these new types, is the topic of this research, with a focus on the New York City Plaza Program, which was the first such program in the U.S. For this research, the design, management, and use characteristics of five completed pedestrian plazas were …

Understanding The Dynamics Of Public Space: Zoning, Urban Design, And Use Value. A Case Study Of Downtown San Francisco, Joaquin Cabello Silva

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper seeks to understand how zoning, urban design, and use value control the dynamics of a city and the public space, from the way they are shaped, to the way they are built, and finally to the way they are used. In this research the first step is to recognize that the strategies of zoning in a city are a way of governing and guiding the development of the space, followed by the urban design—which is a more tangible way of interpreting the different rules because it is the actual form zoning takes—to then see how they generate an …

Not Parking Lots But Parks: A Joint Association Of Parks And Transit Stations With Travel Behavior, Keunhyun Park, Dong-Ah Choi, Guang Tian, Reid Ewing

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Faculty Publications

Urban design literature says that public open space in a station area could promote walking and other types of physical activity, enhance place attractiveness, and increase property values. In the context of station areas, however, there is a lack of empirical studies on the relationship between the presence of parks and sustainable travel behavior, which is one of the primary goals of transit-oriented developments (TODs). This study examined the impact of park provision on transit users’ mode choice in three U.S. regions: Atlanta (GA), Boston (MA), and Portland (OR). This study utilized multilevel multinomial logistic regression to account for hierarchical …

Fences: Physical And Socio-Cultural Boundaries, Vanessa Baehr

Senior Projects Fall 2018

Fences, walls, and lines exist around the world, across many cultures, and are generally universally understood symbols of defense, inclusion, and exclusion. Barriers are created intentionally and their purposes vary. Fences can act as a tension or relief between public and private spaces. Physical barriers can been seen as metaphors for social dynamics and relations; boundaries can be reflections of both our internal and external landscapes. Incorporates fences / walls from a number of perspectives; historical, anthropological, archaeological, and cultural. Inspired by a reflexive moment in moving to a new town, buying a house, having a garden, and wanting a …

A Simulation-Assisted Workflow For Outdoor Thermal Comfort Design In Downtown Syracuse, Pouya Zhand

Architecture Senior Theses

Cities are not just about the buildings and skylines. Cities are also about the space be­tween buildings (the ground in figure-ground). More importantly and fundamentally cities are about people and the life that happens between buildings. Simulation tools can inform the design of attractive public spaces by pro­viding insight about the environmental conditions.

Excess Capacity: Shared Space Possibilities In An E-Commercial Suburbia, Christina Lulich

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Identity And Urban Design: The Path To Meaningfulness In The City Of Concepción., Laura Yazmin Rodriguez

Focus

In her research leading to this article, Laura Rodriguez studied the urban design and place making qualities of the University of Concepción campus in Chile. Based on interviews with a select group of experts and field observations, the results indicate that the campus' strong meaning within the city image is partly due to its original conception as an overall consistent project and as part of the city grid and life.

Situating Urban Moving Images: Illuminating Place, Annie Dell'aria

Graduate Student Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Syllabus: Public Space Design Plus: Integrating Sustainable Design Through Exploration And Research, Carolina Aragon

Sustainability Education Resources

This studio focuses on the integration of sustainable technologies into the design of a public space on campus. We will explore this integration at various scales: the human scale, the site scale, and the campus scale ––while covering subjects like materiality, people’s behavior, and innovative sustainable solutions for landscape applications. The work of the studio will be a combination of creative exploration and research supporting this exploration. The methodology will include experiential learning ––learning by doing, research through direct observation, and research using library resources. Through research and use of library databases, students will gain a broader perspective of the …

Spatializing The Corridor, Mengru Li

Architecture Thesis Prep

The goal of this thesis project is to develop a model for a public corridor that would serve as the basis for the future development in the planning of a new district.

The Reclamation Of Public Parks: An Analysis Of Environmental Justice In Los Angeles, Allison Rigby

Scripps Senior Theses

People who live in cities are far more likely to suffer the physical and psychological effects of urban environments--high noise levels, automobile emissions, toxic industrial waste, crowded living conditions, and a general scarcity of open space. Combating these issues, public parks do more than provide recreational space. They are fundamental to any efforts focusing on urban revitalization, social justice, and sustainability. In downtown Los Angeles, public parks are rare, especially in low-income communities. Several new public parks have reclaimed abandoned land, unwelcoming spaces, and the City’s brownfields. After years of intense private use and neglect, spent land has been reinvigorated …

Connecting Cayucos: Visions And Actions For Public Space, Spring 2014, Crp 553 Project Planning Lab

City and Regional Planning Studios and Projects

This document expands upon the principles set forth in the County of San Luis Obispo’s Estero Plan (2009) in the context of public space and develops site-specific recommendations to support future implementation of public space plans for Cayucos, California. This plan includes an existing conditions analysis, general goals and principles, site-specific visions and actions, as well as supporting conceptual diagrams. The main purpose of this plan is to reflect the community’s desire to preserve, protect, and enhance the public spaces of Cayucos.

Is The Public Invited? Design, Management And Use Of Privately Owned Public Spaces In New York City, Te-Sheng Huang

Dissertations

Researchers in urban planning, urban design, landscape architecture and sociology often criticize the increasing privatization of public space in the US for limiting the diversity of uses and users. Privately owned public spaces in New York City have received this critique. However, careful empirical research, with onsite observations of specific spaces and interviews with building managers, architects and city officials, is still largely lacking. Nor have researchers systematically investigated the full range of design features and management regulations and practices that do, or do not, serve to exclude certain kinds of activities and occupants. This study does precisely that as …

Espacios Sucre: Interdisciplinary Program To Develop A System Of Small- And Medium-Scale Interventions In Public Spaces, Daniel Belandria, Fabio Capra-Ribeiro

Faculty Publications

With the accelerated growth of most Venezuelan cities, many of them show precarious settlements where residents seek to resolve their housing needs while services, facilities, and public spaces in particular hove been neglected. This is the case in Caracas and within the Municipality of Sucre, the second largest in size and population of the whole country. In this context. the Espacios Sucre Program, an interdisciplinary initiative with the main purpose of building networks of public space in both small and medium scales, not only works to confront the deficit but also to relate the contrasting areas of the Municipality and …

Art, Public Spaces And Private Property Along The Streets In New Orleans, Renia Ehrenfeucht

Renia Ehrenfeucht

In this article, I investigate how and why a street art controversy that emerged in post- Katrina New Orleans was transformed from a dispute over property transgressions to a broader struggle over the meanings of art amidst the city’s devastated condition. The controversy began when a street art initiative by the New Orleans artist Rex Dingler invoked a backlash of anti-graffiti activism. In response, local artists began painting on the walls. When the locals were joined by artists from different cities, the discussion intensified about the merits of street art as well as commentary on and reflection of a city …

Technocarpet: Supporting A Culture Of Congestion, William Andrew Weigand

Architecture Senior Theses

"The TechnoCarpet is a public space sited in a future of resource scarcity, climate disruption, and urbanization. It provides support facilities and cultural amenities necessary to sustain super dense urban populations. I establishes an internal frontier for the city as a means to provoke density, by creating an escape from it. The TechnoCarpet is a model for parks in the 21st century."

A Sacred And Secular Landscape: Empowering Social Agency, Shreya Shah

Architecture Senior Theses

"I contend that landscape can provoke an idea for a productive, public space using the people of the city as social agents to create a sensitive rather than oppressive water remediation system. By inventing a program that uses landscape as a water remediation space as well as landscape as a religious and social space, the project will exhibit the idea that social agents can inform a change in the water pollution crisis."

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 …

Bridge_Works, Chris Driscoll

Architecture Senior Theses

Building typologies are generally well defined and functionally specific. A church is for worship, a house is for living, and a theater is for performing. In certain instances, these basic building typologies have been combined to form composite structures such as mixed-use housing/retail projects, or a house on a boat. The opportunities created by composite typologies have allowed for broader economic development, more complex and integrated programming, greater utility and richer social structures. A specific combination of typologies--the mix of infrastructural bridge with housing/retail/public space--has produced a few historically successful models[...] Over time, the bridge was developed from a simple …

Constructing The Sidewalk: Municipal Government And The Production Of Public Space In Los Angeles, Renia Ehrenfeucht, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris

Renia Ehrenfeucht

The process of creating public spaces has been one of defining what constitutes public activities and how they can occur. This was as true for the sidewalks as for spaces such as the roadbed, parks and markets. The sidewalks in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were used for commercial, political and social activities. During this period, the Los Angeles municipal government and urban residents constructed hundreds of miles of sidewalks along with other street improvements. In response to differing claims to the sidewalks and varying interests in the purpose of the streets, the city began to emphasize pedestrian …

Connective Ecology: Reclaiming The Postindustrial Urban Landscape, Thomas Smith

Architecture Thesis Prep

"This thesis contends that by considering the urban landscape as an evolving, interconnected network, much like an ecosystem, architecture can create flexible, accessible public space as part of a larger scale system which affects as well as responds to specific physical and social forces of the contemporary postindustrial city."

Mps Movement Public Space, Matthew R. Kanewske

Architecture Senior Theses

"Portland provides an opportunity to examine the way this can relate to formal construction because cities' primary sites of public spaces will be integrated with the flows of movement, but this creates a dichotomy between the nature of site as a singular entity and the requirements of multiplicity required by a system. In this lies an opportunity for architectural invention of new forms of communicative public space."

Fertile Fragments: An Improvisational Urbanism For The Evolving Urban Edge, Matthew Duggan

Architecture Thesis Prep

"Often cities are developed and designed on a parcel by parcel basis without an overall master plan. Urban actors (architecture, planners, developers, municipalities, engineers, artists, etc.) are responsible for what happens on their land alone. While this can result in a series of discrete separate enclaves it is also possible to graft new developments into/onto existing ones. This thesis contends that fragments of urban form can be guiding catalysts for subsequent urban growth and transformation. It intends to explore the possibilities opened up when urban actors leave behind partial or fragmentary works for others to elaborate upon."

A Waterfront Reclamation, Allen Rossignol

Architecture Thesis Prep

"Due to industry changes, once prosperous maritime towns have been abandoned. The cities have been left as they were and have not adopted new functions or uses for their valuable asset, the water's edge. Although the city's maritime history and culture attract people, the public has turned its back on the waterfront resulting in non-urban, non-public spaces such as parking, run don properties and abandoned storage sheds. This disjunction between the city and the waterfront needs to be addressed."

"A city's waterfront can be reclaimed through the Archtiecture of Recreation in which the facilities and space are designed to heal …