This study reveals the potential for urban design where multi-modal transportation corridors intersect. An overarching challenge to urban design and planning relates to the impact mobility has on the social, environmental, and economic health of America's cities, including Indianapolis. In response to this challenge, this study explores transit-oriented development, a strategy based on the principle that transportation and land use are closely related and should therefore be planned in coordination, as a viable alternative to current practices that force transportation to follow rather than inspire and enhance development.Two primary phases constitute the study. The first introduces the principles of transit-oriented development. This phase also highlights some of the urban design opportunities that stem from this alternative strategy and examines and evaluates how effectively transit-oriented development principles work in various American cities.The second phase explores how these principles may be applied to the city of Indianapolis and demonstrates how one site within the city can serve as a model for coordinating various modes of transportation with adjacent land use. This phase consists of selecting a demonstration site within the city, researching the existing and historical make-up of the site, and developing a master plan for the site. The master plan is based on two primary goals-to create a safe and efficient transportation node and to create a unique and vibrant urban "place" that functions as both an origin and a destination. / Department of Landscape Architecture

The City of Indianapolis, in wanting to become the amateur athletic capitol of the United States, needs to provide appropriate housing for training athletes and their coaches in order to fully realize the city's goal of creating the optimum amateur athlete environment. This project provided a master plan for an athlete housing complex located in the peripheral downtown area along the Canal, and near several sports training facilities. A major purpose of the project was to approach the housing site development utilizing Latin American Spanish Colonial planning-design concepts adapted to a North American urban site. Thus, the proposed housing and its site plan serve not only as a living environment for visiting athletes, but as an enduring post- X Pan American games commemoration of our respect and friendship for the people of Latin America. / Department of Landscape Architecture

This is the documentation of my thesis in which the project designed was a cultural center for Indianapolis, Indiana. Large theater, medium size theater, an amphitheater, a gallery, shops and studios, exhibition areas, restaurants, and parking structure.The cultural center is proposed for the part of white river park. It is bounded by Washington Street on the south, White River on the west, Blake street on the north, and the Blackford street on the east.The site chosen was of particular importance, since the activities that would take place in the cultural center would attract more people to white river park.The Indianapolis cultural center would act as a catalyst for the cultural development of the Indiana State. / Department of Architecture

Civic engagement is a critical function of a democratic society. Citizens have a civic duty to participate in processes- simple and complex- that contribute to a healthy and successful quality of life. Planning provides the necessary structure for citizens to prioritize the issues that need to be addressed by government. Without planning, policies and programs cannot be created and implemented that enhance the quality of life of citizens. The Neighborhood Partnership Center Program and the Neighborhood Resources and Technical Services Corporation were created by the City of South Bend, Indiana as opportunities for residents to affect change in neighborhoods. This study examined the theory and practice of civic engagement and planning, and then applied them to the NPC Program and NRTSC in the Rum Village Neighborhood in South Bend, Indiana to determine if they were models for fostering civic engagement. The selected criteria were inconclusive in proving the NPC Program and NRTSC fostered the degree of civic engagement activity that the City of South Bend intended the programs to produce. / Department of Urban Planning

The decline in patronage, decrease in building density, and loss in property values suffered by Downtown Muncie, Indiana is a result of competition from shopping malls. This deterioration will continue unless there is a concerted effort by citizens, property owners, and the city to promote commercial revitalization of this area.The National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Center suggest that communities can achieve commercial revitalization through a four part program which combines organization, design, promotion, and economic restructuring. Mary Jo Ruccio of the National Development Council, suggests that commercial revitalization cannot be successful unless the approach includes a comprehensive plan that addresses a downtown's unique problems.In order to create a functional commercial revitalization strategy for Muncie's downtown, the commercial district's history was reviewed, the existing buildings were surveyed, published historic preservation plans and commercial revitalization plans ware reviewed, and a variety of funding sources were studied. These efforts led to the development of a commercial revitalization strategy that is patterned after the Main Street Center's program. A major component of this strategy is the Downtown Commercial Revitalization Network that is recommended to act as a steering committee for a Downtown Development Director whose sole purpose is to direct downtown revitalization. The strategy recommends residential adaptive-use of the second stories in downtown buildings to promote economic development, and to preserve the historic structures. Low-interest loans with design standards are recommended to provide funds to create this housing stock without damaging the historic fabric. This will supply downtown with regular customers, thus strengthening existing establishments, creating the need for new businesses downtown, and diversifying the economic base.This strategy can be applied to the current downtown revitalization efforts by the City of Muncie. The ideas and general theories can also be applied by small Indiana towns which suffer from economic problems. A comprehensive plan that is tailored specifically for a downtown which account for the organization, design, economic, and promotion needs of downtown will set the course for successful commercial revitalization. / Department of Architecture

This creative project consists of a historic sites and structures inventory and preservation planning recommendations for the town of Auburn, Indiana. It is prepared in a format similar to that of the Indiana Sites and Structures Inventories prepared for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Office of Historic Preservation, by Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana. The text discusses the methodology used in the collection of the inventory data, the evaluation procedure and recommendations for the establishment of historic preservation districts, along with alternative methods for their implementation. The inventory data is organized by proposed districts, followed by a listing of most significant structures outside of the proposed districts.Also included, is a brief history of Auburn and a discussion of the predominate residential architectural styles as found in Auburn. Included in the Appendices are a complete listing of those areas of Auburn outside of the proposed historic districts identified; information on potential historic districts dating from the 1920's to 1930's; and planning data, which includes a summary of the current zoning ordinance, and population and housing data. / Department of Urban Planning

There were two starting points for this Creative Project. First, the idea of integrating photography in the design process, not only as a means of later documentation, but as a creative tool. This is a relatively new and unexplored field, thus few resources about the topic could be found. However, I was sure that this unique approach to design was worth exploration and decided to pursue it.The other idea came from research on revitalization of downtown areas which was triggered by my initial confusion and reorientation in a different culture where so ma-iv of the characteristics of urbanity were missing that I was so used to. The changes that have occurred in America's historic centers today are usually considered unavoidable and have resulted in a lifeless downtown area that seems to be the normal status. I believe that this is not just the decay of an important district of the town but, more importantly, the total loss of communication on a human level where the spatial demands of the automobile have become more important than human interaction.With those two ideas in mind I was searching for a site that would fit both. I have been living in Muncie. Indiana, long enough to understand the daily routine of the town, and the search for ideas that would lead to a change here was constantly on my grind. After some research on the entire downtown area I found an appropriate site and developed a proposal that integrates both my ideas and creates a vision of what could be. / Department of Architecture

This study has presented a comprehensive study on the growth, change, and architectural character of an Ohio River town between 1816 and 1996 using New Albany, Indiana as a case study. The evidence suggest that the majority of New Albany's physical growth occurred between 1838 and 1859, and also between 1953 and 1977. The economy of New Albany transformed several times through the course of its existence. New Albany was first supported by the ship building industry. Many boat manufacturers established ship yards along the banks of the Ohio River in New Albany. The ship building industry in New Albany became non-existent in the early 1970s. The glassmaking industry that replaced the ship building industry was also located along the banks , of the Ohio River.The early twentieth century and the closure of the glass-making industry began a transformation of the location of industries in New Albany. When hardwood companies established plants in New Albany, several were attracted to the undeveloped, flat land in the northeastern fringe of the city. This process of development in the north and northeastern section of the city still continues today.The architectural character that was established in New Albany in the late 1800s remained until the early 1960s and urban renewal. Many historic structures in New Albany were demolished in the 1960s and early 1970s. Much of New Albany's architectural character today was constructed during that period. However, New Albany still retains several historic buildings, and increased preservation efforts has lead to the rehabilitation of many of them. / Department of Architecture

This project will address the environmental and social issues associated with conventional community planning and propose solutions to these through written documentation as well as through masterplan-scale concepts of a proposed mixed-use project using principles derived from the New Urbanist movement. The site chosen to display these conceptualizations is that of the existing Delaware County Fairgrounds located in Muncie, Indiana. Two concepts for a traditional neighborhood development shall be the graphic product of the project. The concepts shall be used in a comparison of the potential for New Urbanist design principles applied within the confines of existing zoning and development regulation and New Urbanist-derived design principles applied in an unrestricted setting. The concepts will be used to illustrate the potential of the site as a primarily residential space. / Department of Landscape Architecture

The purpose of this project was to apply the Quick Response System II (QRS II), developed by Alan J. Horowitz, Center for Urban Transportation Studies, University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin, to the city of Muncie, Indiana.The QRS II model is one example of recent computer models intended for micro-computers, which may be useful for smaller cities with limited planning staff or computer capabilities. The main point is to be able to forecast the impacts of urban developments on highway traffic and the impacts of highway projects on travel pattern.QRS II determines the total number of person-trips generated by each zone of the study area. It accomplishes this step for three trip purposes: home-based work, home-based nonwork, nonhome-based trips. It then distributes these trips from any given origin zone to any given destination, converts highway person-trips to vehicle-trips and assigns them to the links in the highway network based on travel time, and finally split the number of person-trips between transit and automobiles. QRS II also was used to determine the impact of new construction on the surrounding street system.The purpose of the pro t was not to do a complete transportation study. It was rather a test application of QRS II using the 1980 census data of the city of Muncie. We simply tried to get QRS II set up, running, and calibrated according to the findings of the model. The following chapters show the theory behind it, the different outputs, the advantages and limitations. / Department of Urban Planning