The deterioration of the Central Business Distict (CBD) cities worldwide is a problem which has been extensively documented. As upmarket shops and offices have located to more attractive shopping centres and office parks in decentralised locations, the economic turnover of central city areas has decreased. This has resulted in impaired maintenance and a subsequent deterioration of the visual quality of these areas. Various approaches towards improving the public infrastructure, pedestrian environment, visual appeal and economic value of Central Business Districts (CBD's) have been taken in different countries. They include full pedestrianisation of CBD streets, traffic calming measures, general physical improvements to the public realm such as new street furniture and street surfacing, new public transportation systems and new municipal by-laws, to regulate the behaviour of CBD users. The CBD's of cities in South Africa have suffered a similar fate to a greater or lesser extent. Of particular significance in the South African context, is the increasing presence of informal traders along street sidewalks in the CBD. The CBD is also used by an increasing number of pedestrians. In the case of Durban, a combination of uncontrolled street trading and increased pedestrian movement has lead to a situation of congestion on many CBD street sidewalks. In addition, ill-disciplined taxi and bus drivers have contributed to traffic congestion. This is detrimental for registered street traders, formal retailers, pedestrians, motorists and future investors in the CBD. The aim of this dissertation is to examine and evaluate the West Street Pilot Project in Durban, as a means of revitalising a section of its CBD, and solving the above mentioned problems. The West Street Pilot Project (WSPP) has attempted to ease pedestrian flow by widening the sidewalks and creating nibs or "nodes" for the purpose of street trading. Certain of these nodes have been formed at pedestrian crossings, shortening the crossing distance. It has attempted to improve the aesthetic appeal of the street, by introducing new planting and street furniture and making this part of the CBD hard core more "user-friendly". / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of Natal, 2003.

The city of Durban, themed in the tourist industry as, "South Africa's Playground', has a vibrant and dense cultural mix. It is a sought after tourist destination both locally and on the global scene. The importance of the Tourist Industry is brought to bear in its use as a tool to stabilise the economy. The role of the CBD within the tourist industry is important as it is able to display culture. Since the CBD is a product of an ongoing evolutionary process it has embedded traces of cultural, social, political and economic fluctuations, which are expressed through the built form of the city. In this light, Durban's CBD is a vital asset as it offers a deepened understanding of culture through experience of place. This resource has not been developed to its full potential at present as is evident in the CBD's limited hours of use. Given the context of a society living within an "information age" this study aims to discover which factors contribute toward this phenomenon. Therefore, the research explores the physical conditions of the CBD as well as the social conditions that have been brought to bear through the introduction and evolution of technology and information access. Further, society's dependence on technology and information access and their relationship with the built environment will be explored. The importance of expressing this dynamic relationship within the built environment wtJI be explored. An appropriate means of architectural expression will be established as informed by the study and applied to the local context-of Durban's CBD. / Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

The aim of this thesis is to identify and recommend strategies for the Teachers Centre and to enable it to "reinvent itself in a stagnant and declining market." The thesis commences with a discussion of the literature and theoretical concepts relevant to the study. It considers purpose, internal and environmental analyses towards the identification, evaluation and implementation of strategies. The Teachers Centre, once a growing business entity in a vibrant central business district, is now precariously grasping at straws in a ghost-like environment. The case study paints the dilemma of the Centre. An evaluation of the case reveals weaknesses in management and incongruence with its environment. The absence of direction for the Company has maintained a tenuous financial position in a see-saw pattern between profitability and loss. Based on Company resources, its capabilities and the future development of the City, the management has to seriously apply itself to creating a plan both for the short and longterm to achieve a turnaround situation. The recommendation of strategies at the end of the thesis is as a consequence of the valuation and considers radical changes which will result in improvement to its internal and external operations. The eye opener in the study is for the Board to take a decisive step now to stimulate the Company into a profitable situation or risk further erosion of its assets. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, 2003.

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The objective of this creative project is to create a new type of shopping environment that will constitute not only a shopping facility but a scenic attraction for the city as well. The Shopping Garden provides an image for the city in which it is located; it becomes a meeting place or center for various activities that improve the physical and social environment.One of the most important ideas is to add more natural elements, such as natural lighting, ventilation, and natural views into the shopping environment. The concept of "garden" takes the traditional Chinese garden as a reference point, with its philosophy of the relation between man and nature. The idea of divided green spaces and courtyards can be seen in the roof and terraces of the Shopping Garden.Functionally and conceptually, this project suggests how an urban type shopping center can compliment or enrich its urban context and how it could be developed. / Department of Architecture

A significant problem for small cities is a lack of a sense of community. In some multicultural cities, land use in such categories as residential, commercial, industrial and educational forms separate uses or locations. Such segregation leads ultimately to a city stagnation which eliminates the essential life of vibrant and healthy cities. People commute from zone to zone only when necessary. Each territory is connected by automobile. Therefore, there is no interrelation which can cause discontinuity and fragmentation. The business zones are vacant at night because nobody lives there. People in the residential zones have few public facilities and places for diverse activities outside their houses within an intimate distance. Nevertheless, to eliminate segregation is not an answer. Each function improves when segregated at a certain level, but it also requires a close interaction with the other functions in order to maintain its vibrancy. / Department of Architecture

One of the top priorities in American cities has been the improvement of business conditions in downtown shopping areas. Downtown Indianapolis, as other American cities is involved in economic revitalization in order to be able to compete with rapid suburban expansion. This revitalization effort seeks to attract more people to the city core.Downtown economic development is integrally related to the urban space revitalization. Since the beginning of cities, open spaces have been regarded as an important public amenity for providing quality urban environments. Open space provides the life of community and a place for human activity.As an entertainment center, Indianapolis can not just develop new sophisticated buildings, it needs also to comprehensively revitalize the open spaces. This project is an effort to demonstrate how urban environments located in the core area that have easy access, security, and comfort and also are joyful and attractive place for its citizen and guests.In this creative project, the designer/planner proposes an open space improvementconcept and program that can be implemented in the south-western section of downtown Indianapolis. The concepts derived m analyzing the potentials and assets that exist in the area today and responding to known future developments.The major goals of thesis project are:1 . Strengthening the pedestrian loop through out the project area in order to create a continuity of pedestrian spaces.2. Creating a pedestrian mall along five blocks of Illinois Street as a major effortto provide a pedestrian oriented environment.3. Creating a pedestrian corridor to connect the Circle Center Mall complex withthe Hoosier Dome and Convention Center.All planning and design concepts that are recommended in this project will reinforce the assets that already exist. The recommendations proposed within are meant to serve as "idea pieces" to aid in the planning and design of revitalization of downtown Indianapolis. / Department of Urban Planning

This proposal is a catalogue of considerable contextual issues that inform the architect about values, environmental qualities, and principles, found within existing building structures of an American downtown. It is the intention of this collection to help the architect considering a broader range of ideas in a new single building to be designed, with the intent of improving foremost the public quality of a future building in the downtown.The main architectural questions embrace the definition of the contextual influences, dimensional and non-dimensional, and the clarification what type of influences remain under the control of the architect.It is my overall premise that buildings in downtown are indeed of "higher quality" when they reflect the surrounding rules, i.e., when the architects, clients and any other powerful participants of the building enterprise know about the additional ideas that have been established around the proposed site. The downtown is often the oldest part of a city where first housing, first trade, growth, and the idea of neighborhood had its roots, where it all began. I specify downtown still as the traditional center of a community, a center, not defined so much geographically or architecturally as it is socially.How can a future best building become a piece of the existing downtown environment as an ideal. Is there such an ideal answer? Or is the downtown itself a conglomerate of random individual and uncompromising Inventions?What is the basic language, the common traits that all buildings in downtown shareMarkus Vogel, May 1997•What parts of a building are of importance in becoming a part of downtown and what reasons can we identify for attaching importance to those parts?What generates form, use and expression in downtown buildings which we consider as being a successful part of the place.Out of these questions, a catalog of influences will be presented, a reference framework of 21 issues, notions, and contextual influences, divided into dimensional and non-dimensional influences. Each of the influences analyses a single aspect out of the pool of qualities of downtown buildings. The consideration of non-dimensional contextual influences without any obvious visual dimensions such as contextual symbolism, questions of aesthetics, and behavioral aspects is of special importance. In defining the references the following set of questions serve as a guideline:A) Why are the notions important and where are they coming from?B) How can we look at them in downtown Indianapolis?C) What are the related suggestions and implications for a design study?The research includes visual, graphical and oral analysis whereby downtown Indianapolis serves as an example and as a resource city. The target groups includes senior students of architecture, architects and the community, or any other public client involved in design decisions or design reviews which supervise new developments in downtown.It is the position of this paper that only a consideration of all contextual influences together in one building may create what utopists could consider an ideal building. Aware of this heavily difficult ideal, an overview on those constraints that are not sufficiently under the control of the architect will be given in order to clarify the dualism between the ideal outcome and realistic possibilities. This proposal is therefore the creation of a methodology which defines questions and issues rather than providing the answers, describing final design implications.In conclusion, I assume that the belief and the application of such a contextual framework is characteristic of those people interested in particular and individualistic design responses rather than those individuals preferring universal and broad rules honoring all kinds of manifestoes that can be found in the pluralistic mishmash of present day's architectural theories. / Department of Architecture

The phenomenon of suburbanization has contributed significantly to the decline of many larger urban centers in many countries. As a result, many cities have experienced deterioration of infrastructure, a climate of disinvestment, and other consequences such as population losses, high rates of unemployment, increased poverty rates, fiscal distress, housing and neighborhood deterioration, and a negative image. In response to the impact of suburban expansion, public and private sector entities have implemented downtown revitalization programs intended to attract more people and restore diverse socio-economic, historic, and cultural functions to the core. The city of Indianapolis, like many others, has been involved in revitalizing its downtown city core to reverse the decline that took place following the World War II. Using a partnership of a proactive city government, strong neighborhoods, good public services and concerned private corporations they came together with one goal in mind: to restore a critical element of the city that being a regional shopping center in downtown core.This creative project researches the history of the mall and evaluates its present attributes and liabilities. It also offers possible strategies of using the Circle Centre Mall as a part of a balanced downtown urban system specific to its core. Lastly, this study will present some of the possible strategies and solutions, which can be used to stimulate downtown, street-level businesses integrating Circle Centre Mall's positive impacts in the process. It also contains an analysis and discussion of other components of the downtown revitalization programs, including: economic benefits; downtown urban spaces; skyways systems; facilities connectors; and the decision-making process.From this analysis, conclusions will be drawn that present facts and solutions about keeping the positive impacts of the Circle Centre Mall co-existing with growth of other downtown businesses, specially at sidewalk level, thus supporting the overall activities of the downtown core. / Department of Urban Planning

This project reveals the potential for new connections and an enhanced sense of place identity to serve as catalysts for the revitalization of the derelict urban environment. Gateway Park in Gary, Indiana was chosen for the project site and has been redesigned and expanded in order to bridge the gap between downtown Gary and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Particular attention has been paid to connecting the project site to proposed regional greenway systems while illustrating the natural and cultural heritage of Gary. Additionally, the project site has been designed to fit within the framework of Northwest Indiana's Marquette Plan and transit-oriented development vision, while incorporating diverse programming to attract a wide variety of site users. The final design proposal rests on a historiography of the project site, a literature review investigating place identity and 'placemaking,' a study of relevant precedent projects, and extensive inventory, analysis, and concept development. / Department of Landscape Architecture