This thesis examines the dichotomy of Richmond’s suburban and urban environments within a market environment. In our quest to make our lives more convenient, we have moved outside of cities, increased commutes and cut ourselves off from one another. Ultimately we have lowered our standards of quality in food, products and services by allowing big retailers and chain restaurants to determine a new standard of living. The goal of this works is to create a food hall and market environment that will act as a catalyst to improve the quality of life of Richmonders as well as to draw residents from the suburbs back into the city and revitalize the run down urban areas. The market and food hall will showcase the best that Richmond has to offer. It will support local farmers and business, integrate and encourage community by connecting people, encourage a slower pace of life and act as a center of revenue for the neighborhood and city of Richmond.

This is a project about an old city block. It once housed confectioners, jewelers, restaurateurs, pharmacists, and retailers in street-level parcels with residents in the apartments above. Now, it is home to a barber, a few restaurateurs, and street vendors. Over 200 years of building and development have shaped what is now the north 100 block of E Broad Street and although most of it still stands, it shows the effects of renovations, time, and neglect. This is also a project about paths. As sidewalks move pedestrians along streets they provide paths to retailers, employers, homes, and places to gather and be. Instead of traveling alongside the city block, this project proposes a pedestrian path through it. By stitching together a series of fractured building parcels, the path begins and ends three hundred feet apart at the sidewalks of Broad and Marshall streets. Lastly, this is a project about movement. This bridge between Broad and Marshall Streets serves as a bridge between two different types of places. The collection of parcels that are united in purpose for the sake of this work touch with walls, floors, and ceilings and where they do, create opportunity for passage. Horizontal movement through the city block happens through large volumes defined by planes and program. Vertical movement occurs through perforated shafts and open layers that allow for users to comprehend distance and direction traveled.

Like Alike explores notions of pleasure and beauty through an examination of mundane activity. Pleasure is simple, uncomplicated niceness. Pleasure is forgettable and related to the norm. Beauty is complicated and hardly predicted. Finding beauty in the banal provides an escape from mundane life. The banal, then becomes unforgettable. The nondescript, everyday experience becomes important and gains meaning. Like Alike's electronic format is adapted from the original format of an artist book.

The processes to develop community plans share certain standard activities and stages while remaining distinctive and without pre-scripted procedures. This study documents the process that yielded the South Broad Street Corridor Plan June 2012 draft. The objective is to present the decision-making processes and their connections to the final plan document along with the plan document itself.