Master's Projects

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Master's Projects

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 38

Urban Design Studio: Habersham County Growth Management and Conservation Strategies

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-12) Davis, Nathan ; Davis, Madison ; Scott, Sierra ; Kaufman, Mira ; Raven, Roxanne ; Beduhn, Lauren

Georgia's land cover change over the past 50 years has been documented in an unprecedented study conducted by the Georgia Conservancy and the Georgia Tech Center for Spatial Planning and Visualization (CSPAV). This study has resulted in Georgia Now and Forever initiative, an ambitious undertaking to educate key decision-makers across Georgia as to the study's findings with a message that intentional, thoughtful decisions around the use of Georgia's remaining undeveloped land are inextricably linked to Georgia's future ecological and economic sustainability. item_description: Georgia's land cover change over the past 50 years has been documented in an unprecedented study conducted by the Georgia Conservancy and the Georgia Tech Center for Spatial Planning and Visualization (CSPAV). This study has resulted in Georgia Now and Forever initiative, an ambitious undertaking to educate key decision-makers across Georgia as to the study's findings with a message that intentional, thoughtful decisions around use of Georgia's remaining undeveloped land are inextricably linked to Georgia's future ecological and economic sustainability. Unsurprisingly, but important to have clearly documented, is the role low density development has played in the significant acreage conversion from agricultural land, forested land, and wetlands. These findings from past development patterns have allowed for the identification of plausible future landcover change trends, assuming business-as-usual development approaches. North Georgia is clearly in the path of major landcover change to low density developed land as metro Atlanta proceeds to "move" northward. This is also an area of significant ecological and carbon assets in the form of our mountain and valley forests, as well as agricultural lands. There is keen community interest in welcoming development-especially diverse and affordable housing choices-but alongside serious advancement in the conservation of the natural landscape. Representatives from the Habersham County, the City of Clarkesville and the property manager of a large conservation tract in the area that includes two riverfront miles of the Soquee River requested assistance from the Georgia Conservancy and Georgia Tech to consider how and where development and conservation can and should occur across their home county of Habersham. There is an understanding among this group that the very conditions that draw new residents to the area-the forests, mountains, streams-are at risk without a concerted effort to include conservation alongside land-efficient development. Given the larger situation in Georgia, the public and political will in the Clarkesville/Habersham area to pursue a larger joint development and conservation priority led to this planning process of identifying strategies for managing local resources in a sustainable way.
Urban Design Studio: Faith Based Affordable Housing

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-12) Delargy, Colin ; Cena, Kortney ; McFarlane, Clifton ; Dominguez, Miriam ; Waheed, Jullanar ; Murphy, Ansley

Well known by now, and getting worse by the moment, is Atlanta’s affordable housing crisis. In the Atlanta case, as in “hot” markets all over the country, jurisdictions are trying to come up with strategies that might work. One such tried here and in other cities is to eliminate single family zoning. Early evidence in its usefulness for addressing affordability from Minneapolis, Seattle, and Portland, however, shows that strategy to be failing. It’s not producing density, the investment required is raising property values and taxes, the red hot “build to rent” markets are displacing neighborhoods, particularly Bipoc and low wealth neighborhoods. And its top-down approach is stripping communities of any input into the process. In short, this solutionist strategy does not work. In Atlanta, the city council decisively defeated it in December. item_description: Well known by now, and getting worse by the moment, is Atlanta’s affordable housing crisis. In the Atlanta case, as in “hot” markets all over the country, jurisdictions are trying to come up with strategies that might work. One such tried here and in other cities is to eliminate single family zoning. Early evidence in its usefulness for addressing affordability from Minneapolis, Seattle, and Portland, however, shows that strategy to be failing. It’s not producing density, the investment required is raising property values and taxes, the red hot “build to rent” markets are displacing neighborhoods, particularly Bipoc and low wealth neighborhoods. And its top-down approach is stripping communities of any input into the process. In short, this solutionist strategy does not work. In Atlanta, the city council decisively defeated it in December. Since we and others remain in a state of crisis, though, the context for this studio investigates strategies for what to do instead. These include coming up with the tools and resources to coordinate use of publicly and non-profit owned land; to maximize conservation of existing stock; and to concentrate densification in already dense areas like transit corridors and existing dense areas. For us, we will explore the potential for faith-based property owners to step up, using their land holdings as a way of underwriting the land cost element of an affordability-serving pro forma. This studio explores the issues and ideas from an overview perspective. The studio worked with four faith-based organizations to go deep, developing case studies to further tease out the issues and opportunities. This work was guided by these organizations, possible by nearby affected communities as well. The work product includes both our overview and the findings from the individual case studies. Students worked in group settings, applying their knowledge across the specializations of housing and community development, economic development, and urban design, along with associated regulatory and resource requirements. The studio progressed from data assembly to analysis, to consideration of alternatives, to suggested courses of action, to a final report and presentation. Stakeholder organizations will review each stage of the work. Students utilized their skills in data management, analysis, communication, and presentation in a cross-disciplinary and community engaged process.
Urban Design Studio: Home Park Neighborhood Strategic Planning

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-12) Master, Michaela ; Yohanis, Samrawit ; Hudson, Joel ; Noe, John ; Lieu, Seung Jae ; Neaves, Thomas ; Yuxiang, Zhao ; Rollins, Miles

Nestled between Georgia Tech and Atlantic Station (and between the Connector and Northside Drive), Home Park neighborhood leadership has provided planning frameworks through the years, ultimately approved and incorporated into the City of Atlanta’s own plans, that aim at maintaining neighborhood integrity and quality of life for its residents amidst change forces all around. This update will respond to these challenges by exploring their impact on neighborhood futures and also provide recommended short-term actions that signal reassertion or reimagining of neighborhood values. As such, students will be called upon to work in group settings, applying their knowledge across all specializations, emphasizing syntheses among them. The neighborhood will provide forums for reviewing and providing feedback to our progress and shaping these interests. Their organization is committed to carry out a long-term, inclusive, transparent, and community-engaged program. item_description: Nestled between Georgia Tech and Atlantic Station (and between the Connector and Northside Drive), Home Park neighborhood leadership has provided planning frameworks through the years, ultimately approved and incorporated into the City of Atlanta’s own plans, that aim at maintaining neighborhood integrity and quality of life for its residents amidst change forces all around. This update will respond to these challenges by exploring their impact on neighborhood futures and also provide recommended short-term actions that signal reassertion or reimagining of neighborhood values. As such, students will be called upon to work in group settings, applying their knowledge across all specializations, emphasizing syntheses among them. The neighborhood will provide forums for reviewing and providing feedback to our progress and shaping these interests. Their organization is committed to carry out a long-term, inclusive, transparent, and community-engaged program. Examples of the neighborhood’s range of interests include; o Reviewing useful proposals from earlier planning work o Tackling housing-related issues like conservation, affordable housing options, and impacts of short-term rentals o Framing development options along corridors (10th Street, 14th Street, Hemphill, and Northside Drive), including traffic control options o Exploring urban design initiatives for strengthening neighborhood identity, ped/bike-oriented streetscape, and connectivity and SPI-8 parking priorities o Analyzing, as an empirical matter, how closely the City follows neighborhood master plans, with an eye towards strengthening the influence of those plans The studio work includes data assembly and analysis, the consideration of alternatives, suggested courses of action, and a final report and presentation. Community stakeholders were intimately involved in each stage of the work. As a framework planning/urban design exercise, the studio covered issues and opportunities across the full spectrum of planning specializations including: data collection, recordation, analysis, visualization and presentation in a cross-disciplinary and community involved processes, transportation planning, land use planning, open space planning, urban design and zoning.
High Performance (Sub)urbanism

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022) Dunham-Jones, Ellen ; Rakha, Tarek ; Jassu, Joel ; Adhikari, Priyanka ; Alshahrani, Tariq ; Vigario Coelho, Karina ; Datla, Sahithi ; Harrell, Olivia ; Jain, Pulkit ; Jayasimharao, Ranjitha ; Kesh, Devaki ; Khodagholi, Shima ; Menon, Athulya Usha ; Mody, Aayushi ; Mohgaonkar, Aishwarya ; Naik, Tanmay ; Ongole, Harshini ; Poddar, Dishaddra ; Ravindran, Ajay Manjunath ; Son, Hyowon ; Subramanian, Karunya ; Vanmali, Aishwarya

This studio report documents the redevelopment proposals of six teams of MS urban design and MS high performance building students to advance DeKalb County's 2020 Memorial Drive Revitalization Plan. The report is intended to help community members envision change and discuss ways to improve the economic, social, and environmental performance of this corridor between I-285 and Stone Mountain.
Jobs Justice Climate: Redevelopment Proposals for North Dekalb Mall and The Gallery at South Dekalb

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021-06-21) Dunham-Jones, Ellen ; Jassu, Joel ; Alfali, Hala ; Barnum, Chris ; Heidelberger, Erin ; Kama, Prerana ; Goncalves, Vitor ; Nanda, Sakshi ; Patel, Harini ; Pham, Quynh ; Raytchev, Luben ; Rudder, Jennie Lynn ; Yu, Zhexin (Josie) ; Zhao, Haungzhe

Hypothetical redevelopment and reinhabitation urban design proposals are presented for both shopping malls to help the local DeKalb County Commissioners and their constituents envision and discuss options of what change might look like guided by Green New Deal goals.
Retrofitting Suburbia's Missing Middle

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-05-04) Dunham-Jones, Ellen ; Bharadwaj, Aditi ; Doyle, George, IV ; Gao, Wanli ; Jassu, Joel ; Khalid, Emily ; Kroi, Eleni ; Kumar, Shreya ; Macbeth, Josh ; Wang, Jun

What if affordable, missing middle scale intergenerational housing and retrofitted intersections were designed to address the loneliness epidemic, autonomous vehicles, climate change, and the shrinking middle class? Four teams of graduate students received stakeholder input on their proposals to each of these topics at the intersection of By Pass Road and Jackson Highway where Covington, GA meets Newton County. The proposals are intended to assist Covington residents and those with similar suburban intersections envision how they might be relocalized to be more community-serving.
Equitable, Ecological, Transit-Oriented Development

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019) Dunham-Jones, Ellen ; Alawamleh, Yasmeen ; Ashok, RajhaSurya ; Dave, Neerja ; Duan, Ruiyan ; Ghosh, Debmalya ; Huang, Shuyi ; Johnson, Jennifer ; Li, Siqi ; Ma, Hoaxing ; Moo-Young, Tiffany ; Majid, Moutushi ; Oh, Yeinn ; Siodmok, Naomi ; Xu, Jingxin

What if the proposed MARTA light rail down Campbellton Road to the proposed new transit hub near the Greenbriar Mall were designed to drive revitalization in the area that was equitable and ecological? Six proposals by teams of Georgia Tech MS in Urban Design graduate students present different answers to that fundamental question. These proposals are intended to help community members and stakeholders envision a range of possibilities and foster conversations about desired futures.
South Downtown Atlanta: Improvements to the Public Realm

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018) Dunham-Jones, Ellen ; Alzaabi, Mariam ; Choi, Jiho ; Dickinson, Coston ; Dodson, Christy ; Hong, Fenghuan ; Khandekar, Tejas ; Lancaster, Zachary ; Ling, Tianqi ; Rickles, Carley ; Stephen, Sam (Sam Stephen Raj Baskar Sundara Raj) ; Vijayanand, Karen ; Xue, Bowen ; Yao, Zeyue ; Zha, Yilun ; Zhang, Wenyue W. (Winnie)

A report by the fall 2016 MSUD studio of proposals for immediately implementable and longer-term improvements to the public realm in South Downtown Atlanta and the Government District. Designs for 14 scattered sites focus on issues of Curb Management and Streetscaping; Placemaking and Building Social Capital; Eco-Infrastructure and Urban Heat Island and the establishment of gateways at key entry
Reconnecting Westside Chattanooga

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018) Dunham-Jones, Ellen ; Huang, Jiaxuan ; Kesarkar, Veda ; Khalid, Bushra ; Krinsky, Jules ; Liu, Yijing (Sam) ; Morgan, Erica ; Sooryanarayanan, Chandru ; Srinivasan, Smritika ; Wang, Minye (Alice) ; Wei, Snow ; Yu, Jin

A report by the fall 2016 MSUD studio of proposals to retrofit the damage done to Westside Chattanooga by urban renewal in the 1960s. Student teams proposed various redevelopment strategies for US 27, the aging housing projects, and the riverfront industrial properties with the goal of reconnecting the Westside to Downtown and to the river.
Cascade Road: Can We Grow the Neighborhood and the Tree Canopy?

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018) Dunham-Jones, Ellen ; Alzaabi, Mariam ; Choi, Jiho ; Dickinson, Coston ; Dodson, Christy ; Hong, Fenghuan ; Khandekar, Tejas ; Lancaster, Zachary ; Ling, Tianqi Bruce ; Rickles, Carley ; Stephen, Sam ; Vijayanand, Karen ; Xue, Bowen ; Yao, Zeyue ; Zha, Yilun ; Zhang, Wenyue W. (Winnie)

A report by the fall 2017 MSUD studio exploring how to subdivide a heavily wooded, sloping site in a mature suburb so as to both maximize tree canopy and diversification of the existing housing types. The study makes recommendations for revisions to the tree ordinance and development of taller and thinner building types.