Thesis (M.Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 162-164. / This thesis develops the master plan, urban design guidelines, and housing models for two of the residential sections of Westway, New York City -- a 178 acre landfill project proposed for Manhattan' s Hudson River shore. The thesis also makes suggestions for the design and uses of the waterfront parks and open spaces adjacent to the residential areas. The thesis' s designs are developed with concern for making Westway appropriate for its waterfront site and urban context; expressive of a world-city meeting the water; and accommodating to the broad cross-section of people who can be expected to live in the project. The author's design methodology -- consisting of the analysis and synthesis of elements of New York City's residential tradition; principles of Modern housing design; and waterfront precedents established in New York City and in cities abroad -- forms the basis of an approach to the design of cities and their extensions which is presented in the conclusion. / by Roy Strickland. / M.Arch.

The strict divisions of city spaces created by physical urban planning disintegrated under transformations of capitalism and its accompanying crises of overaccumulation, social urban planning was elaborated to more effectively control the capitalist city and to reintegrate the increasingly blighted areas of the once popular amusements into the economy. / This disciplined reintegration, unsuccessfully attempted in New York City's Times Square since the late 1920s. is finally being realized by the redevelopment forces that began shaping the city's spatial practices in the wake of the fiscal crisis of 1975. The development projects undertaken in midtown Manhattan following the recovery from the fiscal crisis are transforming the renowned Times Square theater district into a strikingly different urban environment. The new politics of redevelopment under the regime of flexible accumulation are almost exclusively oriented towards economic development that is equated with speculative property investments, rebuilding Times Square to promote the global city's finance monopoly. Denying the existence of the public realm and celebrating free market laissez-faire policy, the 42nd Street Development Project, under the guise of removing blight, is eliminating the undesirable and underprivileged from the new image of the Bright Lights District. Times Square as a center of the local popular culture of Broadway theaters, cinemas, restaurants, billboard spectaculars, and public celebrations, has been lost as a public space. In the redevelopment projects now imaging the Crossroads of the World, the lost city of the past is recreated through the commodification of its collective memory, fashioning a Disneyfied spectacle for the global urban center. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This study examines the reuse potential of industrial land and infrastructure left abandoned or otherwise underutilized. The goal of this study is to open discussion and dialogue into such cases in North American cities that currently are liabilities and offer guidelines and methods for approaching preservation and reuse of such properties in a manner that contributes to community health, safety and welfare while maintaining historical character and significance.Abandoned or underutilized industrial land and infrastructure often pose significant environmental, safety, and land-use liability issues for municipalities. The application of creative reuse ideas centered on the notion of preserving industrial character, while creating new housing and recreation options for citizens is a major opportunity for communities struggling to cope with the negative aspects of these properties.The design project portion of this study was performed as part of an `ideas competition' conducted in 2003 by the `Friends of The High Line,' a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving a 1.5 mile stretch of abandoned, elevated rail bed in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan Borough, New York City. / Department of Architecture

No description available.

“Path and Place” is the design of an ‘infill’ building, primarily residential, on a vacant site in New York City. The central concern was an attempt to satisfy the elusive criteria for a home as a special place. Secondarily, it was important enhance the community with a lively place. Emphasis was placed on access to outdoor areas such as the courtyards, roof gardens, and balconies. ln these areas. it is possible to have a range of interaction among residents and neighbors. One may be an observer of the public scene, or a participant in a shared garden, or a shopper in a public market. The scale of the project is compatible with mid-rise apartment buildings surrounding the site. The structure reflects that it is built over a railroad cut which runs at an angle to the street grid. Construction is of repetitive pre-cast concrete load-bearing walls and concrete slab floors. Double-thick walls are used not only to carry utilities, but to separate one residential unit from another both physically and symbolically. There are 56 apartments varying in size from studio to large work/live units. The ground floor areas contain shops, a restaurant and a retail greenhouse. A second building is planned for the adjacent vacant site, to function as a research facility for urban agriculture. Both buildings contain courtyards—the residential one open and the research facility’s covered—which encourage pedestrian circulation from one main street to another. The roofs are used as gardens for the residents and the research facility. / Master of Architecture

This thesis explores an alternate typology for a residential high rise in the Hudson Square neighborhood in Manhattan. The units that make up the building are organized with stairs and corridors placed along the interior perimeter of the unit which both bound the central floor space and expose it, creating a layered vertical circulation space around a central, permeable core. The collective organization of units within the building recapitulate their interior organization to form the building object creating a whole that is governed by the same organizational rules as the parts. The building is created as an object in the city meant to frame the duality between transparency and reflection, between lines and surfaces and ultimately between exhibition and anonymity. / Master of Architecture

The Urban Renewal Program was an offshoot of the Federal housing Act of 1949, which alloted Federal funds to cities for redevelopment and slum clearance. Critics of urban renewal believe that the real intent of this program was redevelopment of the Central Business District, although officially the goal of the program was to provide a decent home and a pleasant living environment for the people. The result was improvement of inner city areas at the cost of uprooting and displacement of its residents.The Federal Urban Renewal Program ended in 1973, but local governments retained the option to use this strategy to revitalize neighborhoods. The politicians and planners of New York City have retained their faith in the Urban Renewal Program. They have modified the original program and concepts and are currently using it successfully to increase the housing stock and improve neighborhoods.The approach to urban renewal in New York City is very different from the preconceived notion that large scale demolition is the only method of implementation of an urban renewal plan. The scale and type of action varies according to specific needs of an area. Demolition is done only when necessary so that minimal relocation is required.Although provision of housing is the main thrust of the Urban Renewal Program, urban design issues are considered when preparing an urban renewal plan. This is a jointeffort by Federal, City and State agencies together with citizen input to create a better living environment for the people.This thesis analyses the reasons for this success through a discussion of case studies of current urban renewal projects in New York City. The focus of this research is on the neighborhoods of Arverne and Edgemere located in the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. This study traces the planning process for these two urban renewal areas from their inception to the current status and identifies how urban renewal can be beneficial for the social and physical environment, and how it can be used as an effective planning tool. / Department of Urban Planning