The document discusses the decline of suburbs and rise of urbanization. It argues that introducing mixed-use neighborhoods into disconnected parts of cities can help reintroduce livability and encourage people to move back downtown. The methodology section outlines the process of defining urban and suburban characteristics, collecting images, collaging ideas at multiple scales from master plan to individual units. It evaluates projects like Borneo Sporenburg for creating community through density and closeness of uses. The document presents charrettes and designs for a mixed-use neighborhood with amenities to attract residents back to the city.

1. THESIS STATEMENT/CONCEPT
For more than half a century, it’s been the “American Dream”
to move out of the city, buy a plot of land to call your own, and
build a place to raise a family - to set down roots. Over the
years, this ideal has become blurred to the point where the
suburbs cannot sustain the spread of the population. Traffic
has become a huge problem as suburban residents commute
to the downtown, and people are feeling less connected to the
city - get in the car in your garage, drive on the interstate to
the downtown parking lot near your office, work all day, get
back in the car, back into the garage at home - never really
connect to anything but the bucket seat of the SUV. Through
this daily exodus, cities are suffering by becoming ghost towns
after the 9-to-5 crowd heads home in the evenings, leading to
an increasingly less vital downtown area.
By introducing mixed use neighborhoods to parts of the city
that are somewhat disconnected, a sense of livability can be
reintroduced to the city, making it a vibrant and active area,
encouraging people to move back downtown, helping the city
become a place where people can feel at home.

2. METHODOLOGY
DEFINING WHAT SUBURBAN AND URBAN•
MEAN
COLLECTING A CATALOG OF IMAGES•
THAT DESCRIBE THE DEFINITIONS
COLLAGING IMAGES TO ILLUSTRATE•
IDEAS
START TO WORK ON SCHEMES THAT•
INCORPORATE THE SPATIAL IDEAS
COLLAGE OVER THE SCHEMES•
PRECEDENT ANALYSIS REVISITATION•
WORK IN DIFFERENT SCALES (MASTER-•
PLAN, PUBLIC SPACE OF NEIGHBOR-
HOOD, UNIT)

3. URBAN - WHERE SOMEONE COULD LIVE AND ACCESS MOST OF
THEIR DAILY NEEDS AND WANTS WITHOUT THE NEED FOR A CAR
(NOT TO SAY THAT CARS ARE NOT ALLOWED OR ACCOUNTED FOR,
JUST NOT NECESSARY). AN URBAN AREA DOES NOT NECESSARILY
HAVE TO BE A MAJOR METROPOLITAN AREA IF IT MEETS THE RE-
QUIREMENT ABOVE.
SUBURBAN - LESS CENTRALIZED PLACES WHERE A CAR IS NECES-
SARY FOR DAILY FUNCTIONS - VERY FEW THINGS ARE ACCESSIBLE
BY WALKING. HOUSING IS USUSALLY SINGLE-FAMILY STYLE, DE-
TATCHED HOMES. BY THE HOMES BEING DETACHED, PEOPLE HAVE
AN IMPRESSION THAT THEY HAVE MORE PERSONAL SPACE.
NEIGHBORHOOD - A MIX OF URBAN AND SUBURBAN; COMBINING
THE WALKABILITY OF THE CITY WITH THE MORE INDIVIDUAL SPA-
TIAL FEATURES OF THE SUBURB. INCLUDES RESIDENTIAL AREAS,
RETAIL, COMMERCIAL, SERVICE AMENITIES, COMMUNITY SPACES,
ETC. ALL WITHIN A CITY LOCATION.
LEXICON

4. TERMS OF CRITICISM
IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD SUITABLE FOR FAMILIES?•
DOES IT PROVIDE MOST (IF NOT ALL) AMENITIES THAT THE SUBURB PROVIDES?•
DOES IT PRESERVE THE CHARACTER OF DOWNTOWN BY ACKNOWLEDGING THE CONTEXT•
OF THE EXISTING URBAN FABRIC
DOES IT ALLOW FOR RESIDENTS FLEXIBILITY/CHANGE AND GROWTH?•
DOES IT ALLOW FOR MULTIPLE METHODS OF INTERACTION BETWEEN RESIDENTS?•
DOES IT PROVIDE OUTDOOR SPACES THAT ARE ACCEPTABLE PLAY/RECREATION/•
RELAXATION SPACES?
DOES THE PLACE AND SPACES CREATED BY THE DESIGN ENCOURAGE AN AFFIRMATIVE•
ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, “WOULD YOU LIVE DOWNTOWN IF YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY
TO LIVE HERE?”

5. SITE
MAJOR HIGHWAYS
DOWNTOWN CENTER
SCIOTO RIVER
PROJECT SITE

6. SITE
FIGURE GROUND DIAGRAM OF SITE AND
IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS

10. DIAGRAM OF ADJACENT ACTIVITIES/ ATTRACTIONS/ AMENI-
TIES (GREEN = 5 MIN WALK, YELLOW = 10 MINUTE WALK,
RED = 25 MINUTE WALK)
SITE

11. SITE
CONTEXT AROUND SITE

12. DENSITY

13. BORNEO SPORENBURG, AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
CREATES COMMUNITY THROUGH
CLOSENESS
“THE DEVELOPMENT DEMON-
STRATES THAT FAMILY HOUSING IS
NOT INCOMPATIBLE WITH DENSE
URBAN AREAS.”1
1 - http://www.cabe.org.uk/case-studies/
borneo-sporenburg

14. BORNEO SPORENBURG, AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

15. ‘8’ HOUSE, BIG ARCHITECTS

16. MASTER PLANNING

17. TRANSITION STUDIES

18. SECTION STUDIES

19. CHARETTE #1 - BBQ, BIRTHDAY, BLOCK PARTY

20. CHARETTE #1 - BBQ, BIRTHDAY, BLOCK PARTY

21. CHARETTE #1 - BBQ, BIRTHDAY, BLOCK PARTY

22. CHARETTE #1 - BBQ, BIRTHDAY, BLOCK PARTY

23. CHARETTE #1 - BBQ, BIRTHDAY, BLOCK PARTY

24. CHARETTE #1 - BBQ, BIRTHDAY, BLOCK PARTY

25. CHARETTE #1 - BBQ, BIRTHDAY, BLOCK PARTY

26. CHARETTE #2 - PARKING GARAGE RENOVATION

27. CHARETTE #2 - PARKING GARAGE RENOVATION

28. CHARETTE #2 - PARKING GARAGE RENOVATION

29. CHARETTE #2 - PARKING GARAGE RENOVATION

30. CHARETTE #2 - PARKING GARAGE RENOVATION

31. CHARETTE #2 - PARKING GARAGE RENOVATION

32. CHARETTE #2 - PARKING GARAGE RENOVATION

33. CHARETTE #2 - PARKING GARAGE RENOVATION

34. CHARETTE #3 - PATH TO THE PARK

35. CHARETTE #3 - PATH TO THE PARK

36. CHARETTE #3 - PATH TO THE PARK

37. CHARETTE #3 - PATH TO THE PARK

38. CHARETTE #3 - PATH TO THE PARK

39. OVERALL DESIGN - INTEGRATING DETAILS WITH BIG PICTURE

40. OVERALL DESIGN - VIGNETTES

41. OVERALL DESIGN - VIGNETTES

43. OVERALL DESIGN - VIGNETTES

44. OVERALL DESIGN - VIGNETTES

45. OVERALL DESIGN - VIGNETTES

46. OVERALL DESIGN - VIGNETTES

47. OVERALL DESIGN - VIGNETTES

48. OVERALL DESIGN - VIGNETTES