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Urban catalysts are new redevelopment strategies comprised of a series of projects that drive and guide urban development. Redevelopment efforts in the past, such as urban renewal and large-scale redevelopment projects, have often jeopardized the vitality of downtowns. The difference between the urban catalyst and these redevelopment strategies is that catalytic redevelopment is a holistic approach, not a clean-slate approach, to revitalizing the urban fabric. Many cities have considered urban catalysts as a means for revitalization. Among the most noted catalytic projects are sports stadiums and arenas: however not all catalytic projects have to be designed at such a grand scale, nor do all cities possess a threshold of support to successfully sustain such developments. This thesis design project examines the significance of the urban catalyst as a means of urban revitalization. The urban catalyst theory says design can be linked to place through the study of contextual factors in urban design. These factors include: morphological, social, functional, perceptual, visual, and temporal. For the urban catalyst to respond to its setting it also must possess a strong sense of place and authenticity. Each component of my research supports my position that each city has unique attributes that can serve as basic models or seeds for urban redevelopment. These components are used as a basis for developing a design framework that is applied to two sites in Memphis, Tennessee. This position is tested through the contextual analysis and design of two projects that are of major significance to Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. The first demonstrates the role that Court Square plays as a critical social and spatial element in the revitalization of the center city. The second is the revitalization of the South Side Neighborhood, an area full of history and character. / Master of Landscape Architecture

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Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Lee R. Skabelund / Inner city areas of many major American cities have fallen victim to “urban decay.” In many instances the result is abandonment. Nevertheless, the inner city can be redeveloped by landscape architects and others to provide a place to live, work, learn, and play while displaying sensitivity to the environment. Such developments can be wisely designed by following planning/design guidelines that follow sustainable design principles. The neighborhoods of the 5th Ward in St. Louis, Missouri are the victims of an aging industrial city. Many neighborhoods are troubled with socio-economic problems such as unemployment, low housing values, lack of educational services, scarcity of fresh, reasonably priced food, and elevated crime rates. The socio-economic problems listed above have been major factors in extensive depopulation and disinvestment since the mid 20th-century. “Today, as never before, conditions are ripe for parks to reenter the urban planning agenda. This opportunity exists because so much inner-city land that was once actively used now lies fallow and can be reused for intelligently planned parks, because so much suburban land has been developed without adequate public open space that there is now a huge suburban constituency to support park development, and because so much undeveloped land is now subject to recently enacted legislation intended to protect the environment.” (Garvin 1996, 30) The overall goal for this project is to create a productive uses for the 5th Ward’s vacant land in order to encourage economic and social growth. This can be achieved through investments in urban agriculture and accessible community space. This project serves as a potential solution for renewal of lost urban community infrastructure that includes parks and agricultural cropland. Implementing recreation and urban agriculture on vacant land could help spawn a rebirth and sustain a vibrant and economically-viable community fabric.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

7 maps in back pocket. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries