This study attempts to find a correlation between commuting modes in Washington DC and characteristics of the city and the people that they serve. It investigates why some census tracts have experienced increases in the commuting share of alternative transportation, such as public transit, walking, and bicycling, while others haven't. Findings demonstrate that demographic variables such as percent Hispanic and foreign born were the strongest predictors of change in commute mode share followed by distance to train station. Land use variables demonstrated weak correlations with variations in mode share due most likely to a lack of density gradient within the study area. The creation of variables to determine land use mix by census tract posed technical challenges as well. Recommendations include policy addressing rising demand for more diverse transportation systems be implemented and further research be conducted on creating more accurate land use variables to include in the model.

Degree awarded (2003): MA, Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, George Washington University / This thesis focuses on the issue of dissonance in the interpretation of atrocity at museums and other cultural heritage sites. The existing debates in the field are outlined in an extensive literature review encompassing general and specific references. The basic conceptual framework of the dark tourism phenomenon is elaborated through case studies in Washington D.C., illustrating the variety of interpretative dilemmas faced by museum directors and curators. The cases include the permanent exhibition at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Enola Gay exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum, and the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall. The identified controversies are analyzed, and recommendations for mitigating existing conflicts and suggestions for future research are offered. / Advisory Committee: Prof. Donald E. Hawkins (Chair)

No description available.

DC United is one of Major League Soccer's most decorated franchises, yet it still plays its home games within the crumbling confines of RFK Stadium. This structure and the surrounding parking lots sit vacant for most of the year, though they occupy a prime site along the Anacostia River. In this project, I am proposing to incorporate a new metro station, transit hub and commercial development into the design of a stadium for DC United along the northern portion of the site. By providing services and amenities that do not currently exist in this part of the city, this endeavor could be a viable year-round resource for the community. / Master of Architecture

Beginning in 1981, a job analysis was conducted of approximately 810 officers holding non-supervisory ranks within the uniformed field sector of the United States Capitol Police. Data was gathered through a Task Inventory Method and analyzed by use of Combined Occupational Data Analysis Program(s) (CODAP). The primary purpose for doing the analysis was to provide force management data about the work characteristics of the force having applicability to the evaluation and modification of existing training programs aimed at recruit and experienced officers. Included within this paper is an original system, developed by the author, for interpreting CODAP JOBDEC output which presents data from selected variables in a format organized to facilitate interpretation by readers having no prior experience or training in CODAP JOBDEC analysis. / M.S.

Urban designers are trained to think systematically, to simultaneously see the big picture for numerous human systems in the city—including multiple modes of transportation, barriers faced by the city's inhabitants, and food and waste systems—and synthesize them into a coherent design. However, many urban designers use architecture as their sole means of shaping our cities, rather than employing other design disciplines as well. One solution to this limited focus on the built environment is "landscape urbanism." First appearing in the 1990s, landscape urbanism is a theory that argues that the best way to organize a city is through the design of its landscape, rather than the design of its buildings. At its best, landscape urbanism encourages a new way to understand cities: through the horizontal domain that acts as every city's connective tissue. At its worst, landscape urbanism can emphasize a purely aesthetic view of nature in the city, rather than recognizing its full potential as an additional functional system within the urban landscape. This failing of landscape urbanism can be addressed by its next evolution: ecological urbanism. As MIT Professor and Landscape Architect Anne Whiston Spirn writes in The Granite Garden, we need to recognize nature as "an essential force that permeates the city." By embracing the presence of nature's processes within the city, we can create an ecological urbanism that combines human and natural systems for the betterment of both. "The realization that nature is ubiquitous, a whole that embraces the city, has powerful implications for how the city is built and maintained and for the health, safety, and welfare of every resident" (Spirn). Currently, the Anacostia River and the neighborhoods to the east are neglected parts of Washington D.C., and most of the river's tributaries are buried underground. This neglect is similar to cities' historic disregard for the productive processes of nature, settling instead for a superficial, idealized abstraction of nature in the city. What if the city decided that instead of viewing urban streams as a nuisance that needed to be hidden, the Anacostia River and its tributary system could provide a beautiful, functional, and memorable organizational structure for the East of the River neighborhoods? Highlighting the presence of this large natural system within the city could be an opportunity to develop an "urban ecology" and frame our future relationship with nature. Using Washington DC's Anacostia River, its tributaries, and the East of the River neighborhoods as its framework, this thesis explores a possible step past landscape urbanism by advocating for an ecological urbanism that demonstrates how human and natural systems can work together in an urban environment in a way that is ecologically productive, regionally connected, and mutually beneficial. / Master of Science / Urban designers are trained to think systematically. They must simultaneously see the big picture for numerous human systems in the city—including multiple modes of transportation, barriers faced by the city’s inhabitants, and food and waste systems—and synthesize them into a coherent design. However, many urban designers use architecture as their sole means of shaping our cities, rather than employing other design disciplines as well. One solution to this limited focus on the built environment is “landscape urbanism” which recognizes that cities (like landscapes) are constantly undergoing processes of change. First appearing in the 1990s, landscape urbanism is a theory that argues that the best way to organize a city is through the design of its landscape, rather than the design of its buildings. At its best, landscape urbanism encourages a new way to understand cities: through the horizontal domain that acts as every city’s connective tissue. At its worst, landscape urbanism can emphasize a purely aesthetic view of nature in the city, rather than recognizing nature’s full potential as an additional functional system within the urban landscape. This failing of landscape urbanism can be addressed by its next evolution: ecological urbanism. As MIT Professor and Landscape Architect Anne Whiston Spirn writes in The Granite Garden, we need to recognize nature as “an essential force that permeates the city.” By embracing the presence of nature’s processes within the city, we can create an ecological urbanism that combines human and natural systems for the betterment of both. “The realization that nature is ubiquitous, a whole that embraces the city, has powerful implications for how the city is built and maintained and for the health, safety, and welfare of every resident” (Spirn 5). Currently, the Anacostia River and the neighborhoods to the east are neglected parts of Washington DC, and most of the river’s tributaries are buried underground. This neglect is similar to cities’ historic disregard for the productive processes of nature, settling instead for a superficial, idealized abstraction of nature in the city. What if the city decided that instead of viewing urban streams as a nuisance that needed to be hidden, the Anacostia River and its tributary system could provide a beautiful, functional, and memorable organizational structure for the East of the River neighborhoods? Highlighting the presence of this large natural system within the city could be an opportunity to develop an “urban ecology” and frame our future relationship with nature. Using Washington DC’s Anacostia River, its tributaries, and the East of the River neighborhoods as its framework, this thesis explores a possible step past landscape urbanism by advocating for an ecological urbanism that demonstrates how human and natural systems can work together in an urban environment in a way that is ecologically productive, regionally connected, and mutually beneficial.

This dissertation examines six major points: 1) it argues that Jefferson is an architect of the United States Capitol, having direct and final say over its design; 2) it asserts that Jefferson set two nationally influential models of architectural taste as part of his movement to reform American architecture, first in Richmond as the Virginia State Capitol and second in Washington as the United States Capitol; 3) it explores those models to define what Jefferson called “cubic” and “spherical” architecture; 4) it suggests that Jefferson used his political appointments to maximize his influence over the design of the United States Capitol in order to ground the building in classical sources; 5) it surveys the sources Jefferson looked to for inspiration, both printed texts and images as well as extant buildings in Europe and America; and 6) it proposes that Jefferson and B. Henry Latrobe worked hand in hand to execute a design for the United States Capitol that subdued and at times even replaced the official plan adopted from William Thornton’s winning design. This dissertation starts with the idea that Jefferson’s architectural reform consisted of conjoining vernacular building custom with architecture of the classical tradition. Most of what Jefferson knew about classical architecture came from books. Chief among them are Claude Perrault’s 1684 French translation of Vitruvius’ Ten Books on Architecture and the three London editions of Giacomo Leoni’s versions of Andrea Palladio’s Four Books of Architecture in English translation. Using these print sources, Jefferson reinterpreted many of the standard public buildings of Virginia into temple forms. In addition, Jefferson’s plan to reform public architecture rested on two overriding principles: erecting buildings with masonry and organizing those buildings using the classical orders. Furthermore, this dissertation proves that, like the ancients, Jefferson wanted to build on a monumental scale. Jefferson’s own plan for a national capitol shaped like the Roman Pantheon, long misunderstood, clearly reinforces this interpretation. Finally, this dissertation demonstrates that Jefferson and B. Henry Latrobe worked in concert to execute a design for the United States Capitol that subdued the official plan adopted from William Thornton’s winning design.

The National Mall in Washington DC has become an “encyclopaedia of American history,” however conspicuous in its absence, is the history of African American slavery upon which this national artifact was built. Slavery may not be cause for celebration as one of America`s proudest moments, however its history is critical to understanding the history of America and why the deep-seated antagonism between the races continues to exist within its very core. The purpose of the thesis is to focus on this aspect of American history in order to design an appropriate memorial that would satisfy this gap between this history and its recognition on the National Mall. Secondly, the slave memorial intends to honour the victims of slavery who have been largely ignored, trivialized, or misrepresented by the few memorials in Washington that claim to address their memory. A major portion of this thesis constitutes a mapping of the memorials and monuments of Washington DC in an attempt to understand how the capital has come to embody the “national identity” of the United States. The thesis also contains a summarized history of slavery and racial tension in the United States. This material is included in the thesis in order to remind us of the depth and seriousness of the history that the slave memorial must address through its built, architectural form.

The National Mall in Washington DC has become an “encyclopaedia of American history,” however conspicuous in its absence, is the history of African American slavery upon which this national artifact was built. Slavery may not be cause for celebration as one of America`s proudest moments, however its history is critical to understanding the history of America and why the deep-seated antagonism between the races continues to exist within its very core. The purpose of the thesis is to focus on this aspect of American history in order to design an appropriate memorial that would satisfy this gap between this history and its recognition on the National Mall. Secondly, the slave memorial intends to honour the victims of slavery who have been largely ignored, trivialized, or misrepresented by the few memorials in Washington that claim to address their memory. A major portion of this thesis constitutes a mapping of the memorials and monuments of Washington DC in an attempt to understand how the capital has come to embody the “national identity” of the United States. The thesis also contains a summarized history of slavery and racial tension in the United States. This material is included in the thesis in order to remind us of the depth and seriousness of the history that the slave memorial must address through its built, architectural form.

Ind., Indiana Univ., Dep. of Economics, Diss.--Bloomington, 2003. / Kopie, ersch. im Verl. UMI, Ann Arbor, Mich.