February 19th boards.pdf
THE SCENARIO Young adults are more apt to rent in the city than buy a home in the suburbs home because: • They are crippled by massive amounts of student loans • The uncertain job market makes the city a safer option • They are unable to take out a mortgage US Census data from 2013 shows that: • The seasonally adjusted annual rate of single-family house sales in 2013 was 13.3 percent lower than the previous year. • Multifamily homes, a good portion of it high-rise apartment building, accounted for 40% of all new construction (highest rate of multiplex construction in centuries). The Nielsen Company is projecting that 62% of millennials prefer to live in mixeduse communities found in urban centers. [Frizell]
“These days the market is driven much
more by people who are either choosing to live in the city or in the near-in suburbs, particularly people who are just getting their first job or don’t have confidence that their job is going to last long enough to warrant buying a home” - Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America.
“The 25- to 34-year-old age group is
focused on living near their peers. They want be socially engaged and live near work. They want to reduce their automobile use. All of those things aim at high-density, urban-type living .” - David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Homebuilders
“that dream of a land in
which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone … It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. ”
THE AMERICAN DREAM.
TRENDS.
- James Truslow Adams, “The Epic of America”
WHAT ARE THE RESONS FOR OMITTING CARS FROM OUR CITIES?
WHY DO WE HAVE CARS IN OUR CITIES?
MODERNISM.
“Cities are created by and for traffic. A city without traffic is a ghost town. ”
QUALITY OF LIVING.
– Robert Moses
AMERICAN CITIES WITHOUT THE NEED FOR THE AUTOMOBILE.
“We wouldn’t have any American economy
without the automobile business. That is literally true . . . This is a great business that has to go on. There has to be places for cars to run, modern roads. In order for this to be done properly people must be inconvenienced who are in the way. ” - Robert Moses
PRECEDENTS.
ENVIORMENTAL.
ARE THERE ANY CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES OF PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED URBANISM?
WHAT CITY AM I GOING TO FOCUS ON? The reclamation of space currently devoted to the car-oriented infrastructure would have a massive impact on the quality of life in Providence. If the I-95 underpasses were to be bridged, it would allow residents to walk from their homes in the West end and Federal Hill to the Downcity area. The city would be allowed to flow continuously form one neighborhood to the next. If the tangled knot of on- and off-ramps that make it impossible to travel between the Jewelry District and the Waterfront was unraveled and made porous, it would allow the city of Providence to directly access Providence Harbor. The connection of Routes 6 & 10 currently separates the neighborhood of Onyville from the rest of Providence; filling this in would reconnect the neighborhoods. These changes would create a more united city. The neighborhoods surrounding Downcity would become more functional and desirable places to live as they would have direct access to the heart of the city. In return, Downcity would become a more vibrant and active center.
SEATTLE OLYMPIC SCULPTURE PARK
HISTORIC.
PROVIDENCE, RI INCORPORATED: 1623 MAP: 1636
PROVIDENCE, RI.
N PROVIDENCE RIVER 1,000’
0
2,000’
CURRENT. PROVIDENCE, RI INCORPORATED: 1623 MAP DATE: 1832
PROVIDENCE, RI
CURRENT FIGURE GROUND MAP DATE: 2014
CONDUIT URBANISM N PROVIDENCE RIVER 0
1,000’
2,000’
PROVIDENCE RIVER
PROVIDENCE, RI INCORPORATED: 1623 MAP DATE: 1870
N
0
1000’
2000’
N PROVIDENCE RIVER 0
GEHL ARCHITECTS
THE BIG DIG
Particular Considerations
Project Overview
Given the current projections indicating that over the next fifty years 90% of Americans will be living in cities will place an unprecedented demand on urban areas to provide a comfortable and sustainable living condition for a greater population. This migration into cities is sparked by economic feasibility for a changing middle class as well as a cultural shift in a younger generation whom are redefining the American Dream in coordination with a desire to live in cities rather than the suburbs. However, with the embodiment of the automobile as part of previous generations definition of American Dream, we find it easy to overlook the faults of constructing to the scale of the car as long as we can get from our front door to our desk with the least amount of steps in-between. Therefore, automobile infrastructure continues to have a tremendous impact on the development of American cities.
expressways are engineered to the scale of the car and are not a part of our habitable cities. In a setting where the economy of land use is in astronomically high demand, priority should be given to spaces for people. Yet, highways were and continue to be constructed in a way that mutilates the urban fabric, gravely lessoning the spirit of place as well as the quality of life. Automobile orientated infrastructure divides neighborhoods, separates the city from its waterfront, and acts as a boundary that constricts development. These gashes through the urban fabric give no regard to the continuity of the city, reducing the sense of community.
Given the projections of city population growth over the next fifty years, designers should give priority to the human scale in order to create a sustainable and vibrant living condition that is still dense and urban. In turning a critical eye to In order to create a higher quality of urban life, our nations infrastructure, the approach to this Americans need to re-evaluate their relationship scenario will be to imagine cities without the need with the automobile. Automobile infrastructure, for automobiles. Considerations can be made for utilizing existing highways, on-ramps, tunnels, like all infrastructure, responds to a scale that is and bridges. not human. Six lane highways, overpasses, and
Historic As a city constructed of many historic and significant buildings particular considerations must be given to the existing fabric of Providence. This new intervention should not only be respectful, but also responsive and interactive. The new cannot overshadow the old. It must engage in it in a way that retains the historic character while making it a part of the contemporary context.
Mixed Use Mixed-use design gives more meaning to an individual building, having multiple functions to house. This also gives each mixeduse building a more meaningful role in the community. Mixeduse allows for more public programs such as retail space, restaurants, and performance space to exist on the ground floor. This both allows for easy accessibility for the public but also for a vibrant and active street front. More private program can exist above (such as residential and office space) that can Density One feature that makes cities such a sustainable mode of living take advantage of the amenities on the ground floor. Providence (compared to suburban and rural) is density. Density allows a already has some great examples of mixed use, such as the greater population to live in close proximity to other people, 1828 Providence Arcade renovations of 2013, which introduced goods, and ideas. This allows for a more economic transportation ground floor shopping with micro-lofts above. This language measures (walking or public transit). It also allows for a more needs to be continued and implemented throughout the city. economic distribution of goods, resources and services (such as public schools). In the city of Providence, density is lacking. Walkability In the “Downcity” area, there is an unusually large amount of Being such a small city, Providence should be very walkable. unused open space, most of which is designated for parking. Walking throughout the Downcity area is fairly common The infill and densification of Downcity as well as its immediate (although not the most inviting in some places), but walking surrounding areas would increase the urbaness of the city, giving from neighborhoods to neighborhood is much less popular. This has to do with both car oriented infrastructure and topography. it more value and vitality. People have become dependent on the car for getting form place t place, even if their destination is down the street. The new intervention should provide walkable means form neighborhood to neighborhoods that is safe, welcoming, and pleasant.
Project Site For the purposes of this thesis, Providence is an ideal location for an area of study and intervention. Being one of America’s earlier cities, Providence is a city rich in historical significance. It was once a major location for commerce, trade, and industry for the entire country. The city was drastically changed post WWII when it (like so many other American cities) was subject to Robert Moses’ ‘car priority’ urban design style. These changes ravaged and scarred the urban context. The state capitol has suffered through years of neglect and abandonment, and this has garnered it a bad reputation. Since the 1990’s, the city has been scrambling, trying to get back on its feet again. In recent years Providence has started to pick itself back up and move forward into the twenty-first century. Though small in size, it is a city that is filled with culture, excitement, and activity. It is a city that has developed
a very unique (what Jane Jacobs would call) heartbeat. Being home to so many artists, writers, sculptures, and works of magnificent architecture, it has been dubbed the nickname “The Creative Capitol”. Providence is once again a point of interest for residential, retail, and commercial development. The city was named Providence by its founder, Roger Williams, who sought for the new town to be a refuge for all seeking freedom of thought, belief, and expression in the new world. He sought to create a utopia based on the happiness of the individual. By our standards today, we would consider Providence to have been progressive and forward thinking. Back in the 1636, it was considered radical. Could radical thinking today be considered ‘ahead of its time’ fifty years from now?
1,000’
2,000’
THE SETTING
UNEMPLOYED
EXISTING CONDITIONS
CHILDREN BELOW THE POVERTY LINE
FAMILIES
NEIGHBORHOOD CULTURAL MAP
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME
POPULATION DENSITY
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FOR EACH NEIGHBORHOOD
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD COSTS
THE AREA OF INTREST
CONCEPT DRAWING
AREA OF INTREST
WALKING DISTANCE
PROGRAM BREAKDOWN
POINTS OF INTREST:
THE POSSIBILITIES
CITY INFILL
PARK SYSTEM
URBAN RIVER
TRANSIT AND PROMENADE
“These days the market is driven much
more by people who are either choosing to live in the city or in the near-in suburbs, particularly people who are just getting their first job or don’t have confidence that their job is going to last long enough to warrant buying a home” - Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America.
“The 25- to 34-year-old age group is
focused on living near their peers. They want be socially engaged and live near work. They want to reduce their automobile use. All of those things aim at high-density, urban-type living .” - David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Homebuilders
“that dream of a land in
which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone … It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. ”
THE AMERICAN DREAM.
TRENDS.
- James Truslow Adams, “The Epic of America”
WHAT ARE THE RESONS FOR OMITTING CARS FROM OUR CITIES?
WHY DO WE HAVE CARS IN OUR CITIES?
MODERNISM.
“Cities are created by and for traffic. A city without traffic is a ghost town. ”
QUALITY OF LIVING.
– Robert Moses
AMERICAN CITIES WITHOUT THE NEED FOR THE AUTOMOBILE.
“We wouldn’t have any American economy
without the automobile business. That is literally true . . . This is a great business that has to go on. There has to be places for cars to run, modern roads. In order for this to be done properly people must be inconvenienced who are in the way. ” - Robert Moses
PRECEDENTS.
ENVIORMENTAL.
ARE THERE ANY CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES OF PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED URBANISM?
WHAT CITY AM I GOING TO FOCUS ON? The reclamation of space currently devoted to the car-oriented infrastructure would have a massive impact on the quality of life in Providence. If the I-95 underpasses were to be bridged, it would allow residents to walk from their homes in the West end and Federal Hill to the Downcity area. The city would be allowed to flow continuously form one neighborhood to the next. If the tangled knot of on- and off-ramps that make it impossible to travel between the Jewelry District and the Waterfront was unraveled and made porous, it would allow the city of Providence to directly access Providence Harbor. The connection of Routes 6 & 10 currently separates the neighborhood of Onyville from the rest of Providence; filling this in would reconnect the neighborhoods. These changes would create a more united city. The neighborhoods surrounding Downcity would become more functional and desirable places to live as they would have direct access to the heart of the city. In return, Downcity would become a more vibrant and active center.
SEATTLE OLYMPIC SCULPTURE PARK
HISTORIC.
PROVIDENCE, RI INCORPORATED: 1623 MAP: 1636
PROVIDENCE, RI.
N PROVIDENCE RIVER 1,000’
0
2,000’
CURRENT. PROVIDENCE, RI INCORPORATED: 1623 MAP DATE: 1832
PROVIDENCE, RI
CURRENT FIGURE GROUND MAP DATE: 2014
CONDUIT URBANISM N PROVIDENCE RIVER 0
1,000’
2,000’
PROVIDENCE RIVER
PROVIDENCE, RI INCORPORATED: 1623 MAP DATE: 1870
N
0
1000’
2000’
N PROVIDENCE RIVER 0
GEHL ARCHITECTS
THE BIG DIG
Particular Considerations
Project Overview
Given the current projections indicating that over the next fifty years 90% of Americans will be living in cities will place an unprecedented demand on urban areas to provide a comfortable and sustainable living condition for a greater population. This migration into cities is sparked by economic feasibility for a changing middle class as well as a cultural shift in a younger generation whom are redefining the American Dream in coordination with a desire to live in cities rather than the suburbs. However, with the embodiment of the automobile as part of previous generations definition of American Dream, we find it easy to overlook the faults of constructing to the scale of the car as long as we can get from our front door to our desk with the least amount of steps in-between. Therefore, automobile infrastructure continues to have a tremendous impact on the development of American cities.
expressways are engineered to the scale of the car and are not a part of our habitable cities. In a setting where the economy of land use is in astronomically high demand, priority should be given to spaces for people. Yet, highways were and continue to be constructed in a way that mutilates the urban fabric, gravely lessoning the spirit of place as well as the quality of life. Automobile orientated infrastructure divides neighborhoods, separates the city from its waterfront, and acts as a boundary that constricts development. These gashes through the urban fabric give no regard to the continuity of the city, reducing the sense of community.
Given the projections of city population growth over the next fifty years, designers should give priority to the human scale in order to create a sustainable and vibrant living condition that is still dense and urban. In turning a critical eye to In order to create a higher quality of urban life, our nations infrastructure, the approach to this Americans need to re-evaluate their relationship scenario will be to imagine cities without the need with the automobile. Automobile infrastructure, for automobiles. Considerations can be made for utilizing existing highways, on-ramps, tunnels, like all infrastructure, responds to a scale that is and bridges. not human. Six lane highways, overpasses, and
Historic As a city constructed of many historic and significant buildings particular considerations must be given to the existing fabric of Providence. This new intervention should not only be respectful, but also responsive and interactive. The new cannot overshadow the old. It must engage in it in a way that retains the historic character while making it a part of the contemporary context.
Mixed Use Mixed-use design gives more meaning to an individual building, having multiple functions to house. This also gives each mixeduse building a more meaningful role in the community. Mixeduse allows for more public programs such as retail space, restaurants, and performance space to exist on the ground floor. This both allows for easy accessibility for the public but also for a vibrant and active street front. More private program can exist above (such as residential and office space) that can Density One feature that makes cities such a sustainable mode of living take advantage of the amenities on the ground floor. Providence (compared to suburban and rural) is density. Density allows a already has some great examples of mixed use, such as the greater population to live in close proximity to other people, 1828 Providence Arcade renovations of 2013, which introduced goods, and ideas. This allows for a more economic transportation ground floor shopping with micro-lofts above. This language measures (walking or public transit). It also allows for a more needs to be continued and implemented throughout the city. economic distribution of goods, resources and services (such as public schools). In the city of Providence, density is lacking. Walkability In the “Downcity” area, there is an unusually large amount of Being such a small city, Providence should be very walkable. unused open space, most of which is designated for parking. Walking throughout the Downcity area is fairly common The infill and densification of Downcity as well as its immediate (although not the most inviting in some places), but walking surrounding areas would increase the urbaness of the city, giving from neighborhoods to neighborhood is much less popular. This has to do with both car oriented infrastructure and topography. it more value and vitality. People have become dependent on the car for getting form place t place, even if their destination is down the street. The new intervention should provide walkable means form neighborhood to neighborhoods that is safe, welcoming, and pleasant.
Project Site For the purposes of this thesis, Providence is an ideal location for an area of study and intervention. Being one of America’s earlier cities, Providence is a city rich in historical significance. It was once a major location for commerce, trade, and industry for the entire country. The city was drastically changed post WWII when it (like so many other American cities) was subject to Robert Moses’ ‘car priority’ urban design style. These changes ravaged and scarred the urban context. The state capitol has suffered through years of neglect and abandonment, and this has garnered it a bad reputation. Since the 1990’s, the city has been scrambling, trying to get back on its feet again. In recent years Providence has started to pick itself back up and move forward into the twenty-first century. Though small in size, it is a city that is filled with culture, excitement, and activity. It is a city that has developed
a very unique (what Jane Jacobs would call) heartbeat. Being home to so many artists, writers, sculptures, and works of magnificent architecture, it has been dubbed the nickname “The Creative Capitol”. Providence is once again a point of interest for residential, retail, and commercial development. The city was named Providence by its founder, Roger Williams, who sought for the new town to be a refuge for all seeking freedom of thought, belief, and expression in the new world. He sought to create a utopia based on the happiness of the individual. By our standards today, we would consider Providence to have been progressive and forward thinking. Back in the 1636, it was considered radical. Could radical thinking today be considered ‘ahead of its time’ fifty years from now?
1,000’
2,000’
THE SETTING
UNEMPLOYED
EXISTING CONDITIONS
CHILDREN BELOW THE POVERTY LINE
FAMILIES
NEIGHBORHOOD CULTURAL MAP
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME
POPULATION DENSITY
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FOR EACH NEIGHBORHOOD
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD COSTS
THE AREA OF INTREST
CONCEPT DRAWING
AREA OF INTREST
WALKING DISTANCE
PROGRAM BREAKDOWN
POINTS OF INTREST:
THE POSSIBILITIES
CITY INFILL
PARK SYSTEM
URBAN RIVER
TRANSIT AND PROMENADE
