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Living the Downtown: The era of new neighborhood cities

Washington, DC, is one of the most stunning and vital cities globally. It is not just because of historical sites, monuments, and political power, but it is a home for a diverse population and an increasingly diverse economy. Almost twenty years ago, the city planning department envisioned the plan of "Living Downtown," which is now significantly applied as a "mixed-use development" in the central Washington district. Looking back to downtown DC's history, central Washington is changing enormously from commercial to residential and Mixed-used sectors. Now it is essential to consider the reflection of those changes on the city's urban fabric and street life. / Master of Science / Downtown, in 2017, was the most important job center and home to a total of 91 million square feet. Almost 78% is occupied with office spaces, and the rest of the area is open for people to visit as a "public space." However, the recent COVID pandemic wave and remote-friendly residential apartments spark the need for living-working architecture in urban cities. I believe this is when urbanized locations like "downtown of Washington DC" need to be updated with vibrant urban life that enhances the accessibility, performance, beauty of sidewalks, and innovative infrastructure in the public spaces to elevate the human experience of the built environment.
Thesis Design- "living the downtown, the era of new neighborhood streets" is going to be a new change in the street life of the living city. The research question is focused on- "What is the future of downtown streets for new neighborhoods?" describing and analyzing the concept, pedestrian behavior, and challenges of one of the vital streets in the downtown. Considering the upcoming changes in the downtown's zoning and observing one of the versatile streets in the town, my design interventions will change the point of view of the existing pedestrian life as a reflection of an adjacent building and enhance the urban fabric of the city to make it walkable, Not just to walk but to live there.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/113669
Date03 February 2023
CreatorsRewandkar, Prathamesh Pradip
ContributorsArchitecture, Kelsch, Paul J., Wernstedt, Kris Frederick, Piedmont-Palladino, Susan C.
PublisherVirginia Tech
Source SetsVirginia Tech Theses and Dissertation
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
FormatETD, application/pdf
RightsIn Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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