Happy, Healthy, Active and Engaged:Incorporating Public Art, Planting Design, and Physical Fitness along the Norwottuck Rail Trail.

Applying these concepts to a person’s lifestyle can significantly improve the quality of that person’s life. Regular physical activity of the body and engagement of the mind have been irrefutably proven to decrease health problems and increase happiness. The goal of this project is to apply design suggestions for a 2.2 mile section of the Norwottuck Rail Trail including proposed amenities, improvements, and public art that support this wellness concept. The project site is in Hadley, Massachusetts. The Norwottuck Rail Trail (rail trail from here forward) has undergone significant improvements over the time span of 2013-2015. Improvements included repaving and widening the existing trail surface, enhancing road crossings, upgrading trail signage, improving parking and other amenities along the entire 10.6 miles of trail from Northampton to Amherst. This rail trail project seeks to provide a site design including non-invasive vegetative plantings and public art that engages all five senses. It will embrace the native landscape and history of the area, and encourage circuit loops off the main rail trail to provide alternative physical activity options for a wide range of users

New Urbanism as an Urban Design Framework: A Critical Analysis

Certain policies and practices have led to the creation of sprawl in American cities. The New Urbanist design framework was created to address the consequences of sprawl and deteriorating cities. This study tests the applicability of the New Urbanist framework as a redevelopment tool in an existing community and describes how the framework interacts with the design process. The investigation uses the New Urbanist principles in the design of Downtown East, a proposed neighborhood in Syracuse, NY. The study reveals that the scale of Downtown East and other factors prevent the breadth of the New Urbanist framework from being fully addressed. However, this limitation does not prevent New Urbanism from contributing to the creation of good community. Also revealed is the importance for the designer to understand and adapt the New Urbanist principles in a conceptual manner rather than adhering to the formulaic nature of the principles

Neighborhood Quality Assessment

Does your neighborhood provide all of the things that you think are necessary for living a quality life? If not, do you know what is missing? A quality neighborhood is a based on a combination of your perceptions of the design, safety, mobility, and community. This neighborhood quality assessment form empowers you to survey neighborhoods to discover assets and shortcomings based on your values. By answering this short list of questions, you can begin to understand what you like most about a community and what you think needs to be changed. The survey can also be used to decide between two different neighborhoods if you are thinking of moving. If you do identify a shortcoming, remedies are provided to help you understand what you can do to address it. If you need help, view the directions. If you would like understand how the scores are calculated, view the calculation process. For questions about this survey, please contact Kai Monast.Master of City and Regional Plannin

The Study of Symbiotic Relationship between Pedestrian Systems and Buildings in High-Dentisty Cities

Traffic systems are so important that they shape the form of cities. And yet the growing number of vehicles in high-density cities creates a situation that places pedestrians in direct competition with vehicles for space, especially in city centers. Current methods, such as underground and elevated walkways, are just passive measures. They do not integrate pedestrian, vehicular and building systems and therefore are not conducive to a city’s street life. At best, these systems still leave pedestrian traffic intermittent and discontinuous, instead of streamlining the flow of people and goods. Buildings play vital roles in urban space, such as offering public space within buildings, supporting the function needed by the public, improving the environment of public space, and working as nodes to reconcile the contradiction between vehicles and pedestrians. In order to implement these roles, a symbiotic relationship between pedestrian systems and buildings is required. Currently in China, functions are highly concentrated in city centers and cities are developing towards a high-density, which leads to the development of three-level traffic systems especially in city centers. In the process of weaving together new building and traffic infrastructure, China has a great opportunity to establish pedestrian systems that are integrated with buildings. The main work of the paper is listed below: (1) With the analysis of the successful pedestrian systems of Hong Kong, Bangkok and Boston, I summarized a variety of connection methods between buildings and pedestrian systems, as well as several ways that multi-function buildings support pedestrian systems. After that, the Assessment Methodology was proposed in terms of the three precedents together with related theories. (2) By implementing the Assessment Methodology on three city centers in Shanghai (Wujiaochang, Yangpu District, Lujiazui, Pudong District and Xujiahui, Xuhui District), I summarized the merits and demerits of each urban center. (3) I proposed the design strategy for the symbiotic relationship between pedestrian systems and buildings on the basis of previous analysis of Hong Kong, Bangkok and Boston, together with the three city centers in Shanghai. (4) Basing on the 5 design strategies, I proposed a design for one site within Wujiaochang. I integrated buildings and pedestrian systems to create a convenient, II desirable and dynamic place for pedestrians, as well as solve the existing challenges of pedestrian systems in the entire area. The symbiotic relationship between pedestrian systems and buildings is to clarify the role of buildings in pedestrian systems, allowing buildings to serve as essential nodes, and integrate with the pedestrian systems. Thus, it would contribute to the continuity of pedestrian behavior and offer functional support, enhance the efficient and comfort level for pedestrian, stimulate more socializing and activities in public space, and therefore will improve the street culture. Especially in high-density cities, buildings can be utilized to interconnect the pedestrian systems on elevated, ground, and underground levels, contributing to safe, convenient and desirable walking environment. Hence the symbiotic relationship between pedestrian systems and buildings will help to address the problems found in existing pedestrian systems within high-density cities

Tribal Corridor Management Planning: Model, Case Study, and Guide for Caltrans District 1, Research Report 10-01

In Northern California, tribal governments and personnel of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 1, have applied innovative context-sensitive solutions to meet a variety of transportation challenges along state highways that traverse tribal lands. This report describes and discusses the efforts under way and offer suggestions for continuing and extending these initiatives through the development of Tribal Corridor Management Plans (TCMPs). The methods employed in this project are multidisciplinary and include: (1) content analysis of existing corridor management plans; (2) literature review to identify “best practices;” (3) participant observation; (4) interviews with local stakeholders; (5) focus group interviews with Caltrans personnel; and (6) landscape analysis. This study’s authors conclude that Caltrans District 1 staff and tribal governments share common goals for highway operations; however, progress —while significant—has been somewhat hampered by geographic and administrative challenges. It is recommended that Caltrans and the tribes seek early and frequent communication and collaboration to overcome these obstacles. Further, they identify several examples of non-standard design elements that could be incorporated into highway improvements to enhance local sense of place among both residents and travelers. A preliminary TCMP for the segment of State Route 96 that lies within the boundaries of the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation is presented as an example. Beyond its role as a guide for initiating tribal corridor projects within Caltrans District 1, the report should prove instructive for any efforts to enhance sense of place within transportation byways, particularly in Native communities