Brigham City, Utah: Main Street District Improvements

This report is the documentation for a design strategy of Brigham City, Utah\u27s Main Street Historic District (MSD). The purpose of the project is to develop a strategy that can be used to guide future physical improvement to the MSD. The strategy developed in this report provides specific goals to reinforce MSD\u27 s district identity, and enhance the pedestrian and public parking networks inside the MSD. Successful implementation of these goals will assure that the MSD will maintain a commercial and social importance for the city. This report gives a brief overview of the events that have led to the demise and now renewed interest for the western American main street. The methodology used to develop this design strategy for Brigham City, includes a historical overview of Brigham City, followed by an analysis of existing conditions and opportunities for the MSD. The information in these initial chapters helps to develop the design goals. This report proposes that any future development and enhancements respect the historic form and character that is present in the MSD. This report proposes a series of design guidelines to help preserve and enhance this unique historic character. Additional proposals are made to which enhance the pedestrian and public parking networks for the district. These networks balance the needs of both the pedestrian and the automobile inside the MSD

The Nature of Context-Sensitive Solutions, Stakeholder Involvement and Critical Issues in the Urban Context

Over the last several decades many transportation and planning agencies have experienced conflicting demands emerging from the need to develop projects in an expeditious manner while at the same time involving stakeholders in the decision-making process, which sometimes is perceived as slowing project delivery and/or increasing costs. Given this tension between apparently conflicting demands, it is important to understand how the stakeholder involvement is being carried out and what best practices may be recommended. This study examines the issue in the context of a relatively new policy framework – Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) – which supports the early integration of stakeholders into the planning process. The report pays particular attention to stakeholders’ involvement in projects within urban centers, where there is likely to be more complexity, both in terms of the number of stakeholders and end users affected. CSS is a relatively new process and not consistently interpreted or applied across states and/or agencies. The literature suggests that an underlying assumption when applying CSS principles to community involvement processes is that stakeholders are empowered through clear policies and procedures directed towards their participation. In our research, we found that the extent to which public agencies apply the CSS framework and involve and respond to stakeholders depends on each agency\u27s interest to engage the public in the deliberation process to find the best-fit project for a community. It is likely that the increased integration of stakeholders into the planning and project development process will not become a state of practice until the benefits flowing from community involvement are clearly understood by the agency staff. The CSS literature describes many benefits associated with comprehensive stakeholder engagement, including gaining constituents\u27 buy-in and support for project financing. A movement toward standardizing CSS policies and directives across the country will facilitate a public discussion about the benefits of engaging communities into the project design phase and away from solely expert-based designs. In addition, there are a number of stakeholder involvement practices that, if adopted, could expedite the integration of communities\u27 views and values in the decision-making process, while at the same time minimizing the chances of protracted consultation processes, time delays and additional costs

The scale of sense : spatial extent and multimodal urban design

This paper is derived from the work of the UK AHRC/EPSRC 'Designing for the 21st Century' research project Multimodal Representation of Urban Space. This research group seeks to establish a new form of notation for urban design which pays attention to our entire sensory experience of place. This paper addresses one of the most important aspects of this endeavour: scale. Scale is of course a familiar abstraction to all architects and urban designers, allowing for representations tailored to different levels of detail and allowing drawings to be translated into build structures. Scale is also a factor in human experience: the spatial extent of each of our senses is different. Many forms of architectonic representation are founded upon the extension of the visual modality, and designs are accordingly tuned towards this sense. We can all speak from our own experience, however, that urban environments are a feast for all the senses. The visceral quality of walking down a wide tree-lined boulevard differs greatly from the subterranean crowds of the subway, or the meandering pause invited by the city square. Similarly, our experience of hearing and listening is more than just a passive observation by virtue of our own power of voice and the feedback created by our percussive movements across a surface or through a medium. Taste and smell are also excited by the urban environment, the social importance of food preparation and the associations between smell and public health are issues of sensory experience. The tactile experience of space, felt with the entire body as well as our more sensitive hands, allowing for direct manipulation and interactions as well as sensations of mass, heat, proximity and texture. Our project team shall present a series of tools for designers which explore the variety of sensory modalities and their associated scales. This suite of notations and analytical frameworks turn our attention to the sensory experience of places, and offers a method and pattern book for more holistic multi-sensory and multi-modal urban design

Military Frame, Mission Form, Historic Fabric, and Campus Function: A New Mexico National Guard Perspective

This thesis will investigate, identify, and develop what campus planning is for military installations; more specifically it will classify specific features that should be included in the planning of military installations to achieve a campus setting. This thesis will include a case study upon which the campus initiative can be exemplified using a National Guard site. The site selected is dynamic enough to include the majority of components within the planning spectrum of regulations for Army National Guard facilities. This all-volunteer component is the pride of America with multi-faceted missions and capabilities that do not match any other component or agency in the nation. The fundamental purpose, culture, and history of the National Guard will be explored in order to draw conclusions about the requirement and application of a military campus plan. Research surrounding traditional campus planning for universities and other military institutions will be analyzed to determine the validity of specified features for use in this setting. The overall place-making endeavor will include concepts and features that will increase social interaction, establish linkages to the history and culture of the population, as well as increase quality of life, efficiency, and stewardship. The case study will be of the New Mexico National Guard Oñate Complex Training Site, Santa Fe, N.M., which will allow for an in-depth illustration of concepts discussed. The end product will include a military campus plan for the New Mexico National Guard’s, Oñate Complex Training Site, which will integrate the garrison functions and training area to facilitate the Adjutant General’s (TAG) vision for real property development planning as well as incorporate the possibility of cultivating new government partnerships. The project will focus on improving the efficiency and use of the site by conducting qualitative and quantitative analysis of land use, real property data, facility use and space requirements, stationing, environmental resources, utilities, roads and trails, landscape, site edges, buffer zones, anti-terrorism/force protection requirements, and training areas. The project will directly benefit the Soldiers and Airmen of the New Mexico National Guard as users of the facility, as well as state and federal agencies who may reside in the facilities through usage agreements or partnerships. The Construction & Facilities Management Office will be impacted physically through the creation of a synthesized strategy for use in the planning and development of the Oñate site which includes a readiness center, educational, logistical, and training center facilities

Planning for Intensifying Suburbs: Analyzing Markham and Vaughan

In the North American context suburbs are where the majority of the population resides, as they attract families of all types, provide a variety of housing typologies as well as play critical roles in the economy and fixation of local governments. Though this development trend has been in strong demand for years, cities have become increasingly aware of the negative costs associated with sprawl, which has lead the government of Ontario to adopt smart growth principles. Since this time the government has made significant steps in order to curb sprawl, through the Places to Grow Act as well as the Greenbelt Act, where large masses of land and protected and growth is designated to certain highlighted growth centres. Both Markham Centre as well as the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre are part of Ontario’s growth centres as outlined in the Places to Grow Act. Analyzing literature on suburban intensification as well as plans and policies which have lead to the development of Markham Centre, this paper attempts to answer what the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre will become. The City of Vaughan is primarily a place of low density while also being automobile reliant, therefore the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre represents something completely different than the current landscape and does not belong to an existing area or neighbourhood. Using literature on suburban intensification as well as Markham Centre as an example of having good planning principles, the specific question put toward the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre in this Major Paper will ask if Vaughan’s downtown can be regarded as suitable and appropriate growth

The use of morphological description in neighbourhood planning: form-based assessment of physical character and design rules

Despite ongoing efforts to encourage the use of urban morphology tools into current practice, uptake remains limited. Shortcomings are largely attributed to time and resource intensive methods of historical settlement transformation study. However, developments in quantitative morphological approaches offer new possibilities for efficiency and easier adoption of research tools in practice. This paper proposes the use of typo-morphology methods to inform the adoption of form-based design guidance in neighbourhood master plans. The aim of the study is to develop a comprehensive yet flexible method for form-based character assessment (FBCA) of residential streets. The resulting FBCA classification identifies streets where compliance with form-based design rules could be tightened. The FBCA method is empirically tested in the context of the local neighbourhood plan for Radlett, Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom, offering reflections from practice on the usefulness and limitations of the method

Active Building Facades to Mitigate Urban Street Pollution

This multidisciplinary research utilizes current thinking in planning, engineering, science and architecture, and proposes an interdisciplinary solution for addressing urban air pollution related to increasing urbanization. The premise that buildings are interconnected with urban infrastructure, with buildings serving as a resource and not just as a load, and the use of an active building facade to remediate environmental air pollutants beyond the building’s perimeter, represents a fundamental paradigm shift as to the nature of buildings in the urban environment. Form Based Codes (FBCs) are urban design guidelines which also provide requirements for street dimensions between building facades and height limitations of buildings based upon the number of stories. If these FBCs do not control for height to width ratios, they can result in a morphology called an urban street canyon. The vertical dimension of a street canyon corresponds to the height of a building (H) which is typically regulated by the number of stories (floors). The horizontal dimension of a street canyon, the width of the street (W) and associated frontage, corresponds to the right of way (ROW) which is the space between building lot lines. The most important geometric detail about a street canyon is the ratio of the canyon height (H) to canyon width (W), H:W, which is defined as the aspect ratio because when the value of the aspect ratio is >= 1:1, air pollution can accumulate at the street level. The problem becomes one where FBCs are setting urban design guidelines for streets, ostensibly for walkability, but are unintentionally creating street canyons which are accumulating unhealthy air pollutants in the very locations where they hope to encourage people to walk. Within the envelope of an urban building, air quality is an issue addressed almost completely as an internal requirement. Building ventilation systems rely on internal air quality monitoring and are designed to optimize energy efficiency for the building and its occupants. There are no studies that suggest that the building HVAC system should be used to ameliorate air pollution found outside the building, except for use within the building perimeter. This research investigated the capacity of a double-skin-facades (DSF), an active façade system typically used only for building HVAC, to evacuate air at the street level within the frontage zone of influence, as well as whether the DSF could actually remove criteria pollutants from the streetscape where human interaction is being promoted. Aside from matters of cost, DSFs have had little impact in the United States because they do not effectively filter air pollutants, which is especially troubling if they are to be used for fresh air intake. Plant integration into a DSF has been proposed for thermal mitigation; however, the suggestion that the plants could also create a functional component to filter the air has not. The NEDLAW vegetated biofilter reduces concentrations of toluene, ethylbenzene, and o-xylene as well as other VOCs and PMs. A DSF integrated vegetated biofilter has numerous benefits for streetscapes and opportunities for expanded use of an energy efficient system that serves not only the building occupants but the urban environment. This research developed and evaluated an active DSF building system for the evacuation and amelioration of street level air pollutants. Several modeling methods, including computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation and experimental validation through the use of a boundary layer wind tunnel were employed. The results based upon CFD modeling showed definitive removal of street level air pollution with mixing with upper boundary air. The numerical modeling process identified gaps in the CFD analyses particularly with regarding to multi-scalar meshing of the DSF within the street canyon. Experimental verification and validation of the active DSF using an urban boundary layer wind tunnel also showed definitive ventilation of street level air pollution and mixing with upper boundary air. Furthermore, the data showed that a vegetated biofilter would be able to operate within the operational parameters of the DSF. This research identified a means to extend the building systems to function as urban infrastructure for purposes of air pollution removal. The development of a method where investment in a building system is an investment in the city’s infrastructure is a paradigm shift that has led to the identification of multiple avenues of future interdisciplinary research as well as informing future urban design guidelines

Renewing Race Street: a Mobility Analysis

This study evaluated a proposed design for Race Street between 5th and 9th Street, and a design was developed to improve safety, accessibility, and aesthetics. Between 6th and 8th Street, the design would reduce the north and south crossing distance and change the road to a three travel lane configuration; it would also add protected bicycle facilities, plantings, and pedestrian amenities. These improvements would improve access for people walking, biking, and driving and improve the aesthetics of one of Philadelphia's most visited tourist areas. It would better link the surrounding neighborhoods and amenities together, which include Chinatown, Old City, Independence mall, and Franklin Square. The design would have minimal impact on traffic operations while creating a significantly safer traffic environment