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School of Architecture

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Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Coding the urban form
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-05-04) Habeeb, Dana M.
    What are the essential characteristics that constitute historic American neighbor- hoods? Do current regulations promote developments that exhibit these essential characteristics? In this thesis I analyze two historic neighborhoods in an effort to un- cover their architectonic principles. By identifying the key components that comprise these places, we can critically analyze whether regulations, such as Historic Preserva- tion Ordinances and the SmartCode, are adequately designed to govern development practices of residential neighborhoods.
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    Designing density: increasing functionality through flexibility in single family neighborhoods
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-04-29) Smith, Alyson Rae
    American cities have only recently come of age in the global sense. Therefore, most of our land use regulations have emphasized greenfield development issues over those of a mature city. The next wave of city building is redensification. This thesis argues that modern day, Euclidian zoning needs to be replaced in order to make the case for a sustainable mix of residential diversity, density, and affordability. Conventional zoning relies on simplistic measures to regulate density and shape the form of neighborhoods. Initially used primarily as a way to make the field of planning appear scientific and rational, these measures do not create functionally flexible neighborhoods for the changing needs of the twenty first century. Urban spaces should be thought of as a language, composed of pieces that evolve with cultural norms. Zoning must evolve to reflect current societal values, with an emphasis on environmental issues, while meeting the needs of changing market structures if cities are ever to sustainably house their populous. Zoning's inflexibility towards cultural shifts uses antiquated assumptions to force contemporary city design into a regulatory straight jacket. Using case studies within the city of Los Angeles because of its history in side-by-side integration of single family homes with a range of residential densities and supportive commercial uses, the thesis investigates three primary questions. First, under what zoning ordinances did the Los Angeles neighborhoods evolve and what lessons in functionality can be taken from their design? Second, looking at both conventional zoning and newer, form-based regulatory techniques, how does zoning affect the variety of housing types available? And third, what would a flexible zoning framework, created to support the future development of an evolving regional urbanization process and a changing social demographic, look like?
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    Chattanooga Downtown Westside 2009
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009) Dagenhart, Richard ; Yang, Perry Pei-Ju ; Cambeul, David ; Duong, Binh ; Hussy, Heather ; Kovacheva, Maria ; Thorn, Robert
    An urban design studio focused on the Westside of Downtown Chattanooga. sponsored by the City of Chattanooga. The studio project had four priorities for which urban design was to provide a framework for the Westside. First was to examine alternative to the grade separated Highway 27 that divides the Westside from Downtown. Second was stormwater management with the aim of reducing or eliminating combined sewer overflows from the Westside into the Tennessee River. Third was to extend the Riverfront Park to and along the River on the Westside, incorporating existing industry and weaving a future mixed-use industrial zone. Fourth, and finally, to explore options for future development of housing and commercial projects anticipating the impact - aesthetic and infrastructural - of the new riverfront park and extensive green infrastructure to define an expanded public domain.
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    Articulating Everyday Space, Denver 2009
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009) Branum, Cassie ; Finkelstein, Aria ; Kovacheva, Maria ; King, Ben ; Lawrence, Nathan
    Denver has fared better than most American cities in the recent global economic downturn. Over the past decade, Denver’s real estate market has not expanded as rapidly as in other fast-growing U.S. cities. The city enjoys a diverse industrial base, including the booming alternative energy and bioscience sectors. On the office front, Denver’s low vacancy rate has changed little in the past year while lease rates have continued to increase. 2007 marked Denver’s biggest year in tourism, adding fuel to an economy which should emerge from the global financial crisis poised for continued growth and prosperity.
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    Terra fluxus: Urban design in the wake of deindustrialization
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-06-03) Bacon, Kevin L., Jr.
    Emerging trends in the re-inhabitation of central cities and government funding of numerous financial incentives have succeeded in making brownfield redevelopment a far more lucrative opportunity for developers over the past decade. However, the redevelopment process itself remains virtually unchanged, maintaining a narrow focus on environmental remediation, site engineering, and short-term market demand. Land use, instead of design, drives the entire process. This approach fails to sustain development and recognize larger redevelopment opportunities based on local and regional context. Despite an increasing amount of public money used to fund incentives, development continues to overlook potential positive externalities presumably to avert risk and increase feasibility. The purpose of this thesis is to re-examine brownfield redevelopment from the perspective of urban design in order to define ways in which design might offer solutions to these shortcomings and play a more critical role in future redevelopments. Using case studies of past redevelopments of former auto plant sites, Landscape Urbanism in brownfield redevelopment, and design proposals for auto plant sites from the GM and Ford closings of 2005-2006, the thesis investigates three primary questions. First, what is the conventional brownfield redevelopment process, to what extent has urban design been involved, and what are the major issues and lessons that can be learned? Secondly, what examples of brownfield redevelopment have integrated urban design to addresses these issues and what are the specific principles that inform design? Finally, how can urban design strategies, based on principles of Landscape Urbanism, lead the redevelopment of brownfield sites?
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    Sustainable Roots: Salt Lake City
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007) Williams, Jeffrey ; Amichandwala, Jimmy ; Brady, Sean ; Rangwala, Huzefa
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    Suburban Revisions
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005-05-18) Durden, Alyssa Shank
    The word revise means to reconsider or modify as with text. If we think of the suburban landscape as a text, the culture of each era left documentation of their values, policies and way of life in the form of transportation networks and other infrastructure, such as Main Streets, squares and public buildings. While evidence of most of the everyday life of individuals of every era gets erased by the following era, infrastructure investments of each era are adaptively reused and remain to tell the story. This thesis documents the adaptive reuse of these suburban frameworks and develops a proposition for the appropriate next layer to accommodate a new culture of inhabitants. Focusing on second generation suburbs, using Gwinnett County as a case study, this analysis identifies three problems of the current suburban situation: the problem of abandoned strips, a demographic shift, and the need for place. As new strip highways develop, old strips decline leaving abandoned shopping centers and declining property values. New development continues to move north and out of the county, and middle class residents, for which existing auto-oriented suburbs were created, move as well. A new, poorer, and more ethnically diverse population inherits the auto-oriented landscape left behind. This phenomenon is particularly concentrated along the southern portion of the Buford Highway corridor. Those with more money move closer to new development, while those with less money have less choice and are found near declining strips with fewer services, poorer quality housing and lower quality of life. Finally, county officials have expressed a desire for defining "the epicenter of Gwinnett." I believe that there is no one "center" of Gwinnett, but a series of places defined by memory, design or events. I propose to improve the situation of these three problems with a light rail line that connects existing places and creates new walkable, livable places to improve quality of life. This connective piece will serve as a social condenser in lieu of a center, provide links between polar populations, and reactivate declining strips while creating a sustainable infrastructural spine for future growth in the region.