Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University

The 800 and 900 blocks of West Franklin Street, Richmond , Virginia were developed during the period of 1855 to 1925. As a result, manifested on these two blocks are important examples of late-Victorian and early twentieth-century American architecture. The predominance of the Second Empire and Richardsonian Romanesque styles indicate that this neighborhood experienced the most intensive building campaign during the 1880s and 1890s. This development corresponds to the period of economic recovery experienced in Richmond after the Reconstruction. Though Richmond suffered economically due to its geographical and political position during and immediately following the Civil War (1861-65), the post-Reconstruction economic recovery made possible financial success for a small number of enterprising Richmonders. Tobacco, trade, and manufacturing were the leading occupations of the financially successful. The original residents of West Franklin Street and their homes are evidence of this prosperity. Roughly one quarter made their fortunes in tobacco, one quarter in manufacturing, one quarter were merchants of one type of another, and the balance were independent business men, lawyers, stockbrokers, and real estate developers. These successful Richmonders chose to erect monuments to their success in the homes they commissioned from local and nationally known architects, builders, and craftspeople. This thesis charts the pattern of social, aesthetic, and architectural development by identifying the patrons, architects, contractors, and craftspeople who built the 800 and 900 blocks of West Franklin Street. The 800 and 900 blocks of West Franklin Street, comprised in a National Register Historic District, are now largely owned by the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). In 1925, the school began acquiring the old residences and remodelling them into dormitories and classrooms, eventually acquiring 34 out of 42 of the extant original buildings. Consequently, VCU now owns a major intact collection of architectural and historical merit. Though VCU has commissioned master plans and architectural guidelines to guide the development of the growing university, there are no specific guidelines for the maintenance and treatment of the historic buildings. The adoption of and adherence to a university-wide preservation plan is proposed in order to protect this unique and important district.

In America today, many people have fallen into sub-standard housing situations. Domestic violence, drug abuse, and lack of educational and employment opportunities are a few of the myriad reasons for this. On average the number of homeless people in the greater Richmond area is 5,200 individuals.1 These are people specifically in need of a re-integration into society.This thesis examines the role that the built environment can play in this process, by providing a sustainable, affordable and flexible site for a program that encourages people to rise above their current state by "recycling" them into better more productive citizens. The intent of this design is to provide a program that will be flexible enough to become a prototype for future housing plans involving upward mobility.The existing structure lies in the Manchester district of Richmond, Va. This community is comprised of many gentrified warehouses and expensive artist lofts, skirted by poverty and the very compromised Blackwell neighborhood. Specifically this project will serve the needs of the Richmond, VA. Community. Richmond, like most American cities, houses simultaneously houses both affluence and poverty.

Increasingly, we are faced with the finite nature of space in the urban context. We struggle with a desire to preserve ties to the past and our need to create spaces that are relevant to current circumstances and contemporary social and cultural ideas. This thesis explores the possibilities of an approach to design which embraces both change and continuity, adding a new chapter to the legacy of a given place. An understanding of history as a process of development running continuously from past to present, rather than as a series of specific moments in time, provides a broader view of the ways in which the past is connected to the present. The inclusion of change as part of the past opens the way for new changes which continue the process of development. An exploration of Richmond, Virginia's Monroe Park, leading to a proposed redesign of the park, provides a case study for this approach. A combination of historical research, analysis of current circumstances, and design investigations culminates in a proposed design for Monroe Park which provides continuity with the past, embraces the present, and presents possibilities for the future. / Master of Landscape Architecture

The Richmond Outreach Center “The ROC” is an independent soulwinning megachurch in Richmond, Virginia. This thesis explores how rhetoric plays a role in the rapid growth of this urban church and considers the church’s response—rhetorically and politically—to the city’s social issues. Through a rhetorical analysis of sermons and written texts by Geronimo Aguilar, the ROC’s founder and pastor, it is concluded that Aguilar has generated a rhetoric of change that says social change must come to Richmond and that everyone, both rich and poor, are responsible for change. Aguilar galvanizes an audience to seek social change because he articulates roles for individuals within his vision and links the ideological and material concerns of his congregants and the city’s poor. Aguilar’s rhetorical strategies and rhetorical performances indicate that he follows logics of articulation rather than logics of influence. These findings may be useful to social movement and church leaders concerned with growth.

The release of the Monument Avenue Commission Report in July, 2018 was the culmination of over one year of research and collaboration with community members of Richmond, Virginia on how the city should approach the contentious history of Monument Avenue’s five Confederate centerpieces. What the monuments have symbolized within the predominately rich, white neighborhood and outside of its confines has been a matter of debate ever since they were unveiled, but the recent publicity accorded to Confederate monuments has led to considerations by historians, city leaders, and the public regarding recontextualization of Confederate monuments. Recontextualization of the monuments should not only consider the city’s current constituency, but also the lives, testimonies, and representations of Richmond’s African- American residents as the monuments were built. A comparative case study of photographs from various institutional archives in Richmond, Virginia, depicting late- nineteenth and early twentieth-century scenes from the city’s history reveals that while Monument Avenue and its Confederate celebrations benefitted the city’s upper-class white constituency, its messages extended far beyond Richmond and its Confederate veterans. By bringing to light images and testimonies from the archive that highlight African-American presence, a counter-narrative emerges detailing the construction of power in post-Reconstruction Richmond through Monument Avenue.

Community policing is an initiative that requires public cooperation and participation to be successful. Little is known, however, about police and citizens' perceptions of community policing and its impact on Richmond, Virginia neighborhoods. Using policy feedback theory as a lens, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and gain a better understanding of RPD's and Richmond citizens' perceptions of community-oriented policing strategies in Richmond neighborhoods. Research questions focused on how officers and citizens perceive the impact of community policing strategies and the specific strategies they viewed as most successful in building public trust. Data were collected from a purposeful sample of 7 police officers and 4 residents who participated in unstructured telephone interviews. Data were inductively coded and subjected to thematic analysis. Key findings revealed that both police and citizen participants believe community policing strategies have increased visibility of police and improved community trust and public support associated with crime, safety, transparency, and accountability between officers and citizens. Findings further revealed that participants believe that community policing has achieved the goal of removing barriers to community collaboration with law enforcement. Finally, officers in this study proposed the development of an additional unit focusing on government-funded housing areas in the City of Richmond with high crime rates. The results of this study contribute to positive social change by offering practical strategies and policy suggestions for stakeholders in Richmond who want to foster collaborative relationships between police officers and community members.

This thesis examines the issue of Texas annexation from the viewpoints of two southern cities: Richmond, Virginia, and New Orleans, Louisiana. It looks primarily at four major newspapers, two in each city: the Richmond Enquirer and the Richmond Whig; and the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the New Orleans Whig. These four newspapers were examined thoroughly from January 1844 to July 1845. In addition to the above newspapers, the Congressional Globe and national voting patterns on Texas annexation were examined. Analysis of the editorial articles in the above newspapers offers the best possibility of understanding public sentiment toward Texas annexation and the presidential election of 1844. The evidence examined in this study indicates that Texas annexation became a decisive issue in the presidential election of 1844. It also shows that, although the press and elements within both Democratic and Whig parties were aware that the slavery question was intricately linked to the Texas annexation issue, slavery and sectional politics were not the primary factors influencing annexation. Ultimately, fundamental concerns regarding western expansion in general, especially for the Whigs, and political party loyalty proved the decisive factors in the presidential election of 1844 and Texas annexation. The evidence gathered in this study indicates that Texas annexation deliberately became an issue in the presidential election by the Democratic party. It also shows that although consideration was given to the slavery question by elements of both the Whig and Democratic parties, sectional politics did not enter into play concerning the annexation of Texas.