Cultivating Community Health: Linking Agriculture and Public Space through Education

Parts of Washington, DC are considered a food desert, where people have little or no access to fresh food. As small grocers, marketplaces, and food shops have closed, the remaining options are fast food and convenience store locations, full of processed food. These communities are the result of a society that has come to devalue food, treating it as a commodity instead of essential to life. Historically, society spent more time growing, harvesting, and preparing food. It was the center of social and family life. In order to feed the city in a healthy and long lasting way, agriculture needs to become the center of life again incorporated into all aspects of the urban landscape. Architecture can and should envision, plan, and design the spaces necessary for urban agriculture to succeed. By creating an educational community food center, this thesis seeks to bring people together through an understanding on the land and our dependence on it

Healthy Annapolis

Final project for Urban Studies and Planning Studio (Summer 2017). University of Maryland, College Park.Annapolis, Maryland, located in Anne Arundel County, is home to the United States Naval Academy and Saint John’s College. The small waterfront capital city is also a popular tourist destination for sailors and history buffs drawn to the nationally recognized historic district. While continuing to focus on preserving the City’s historic and natural resources and strong local economy, Annapolis is taking steps to become a healthier city by participating in the Let’s Move! Cities Towns, and Counties (LMCTC) initiative, a national campaign to end childhood obesity by providing guidance to elected officials, parents, schools, community leaders, and other stakeholders in order to make healthy living accessible for everyone. Annapolis has successfully met the five initial program goals for LMCTC, and has achieved All-Star status. This report will help the City pursue three of the four All-Star strategies it is now eligible to pursue after achieving All-Star status. This report highlights disadvantaged communities, as they are more likely to suffer from poor health. In addition to an increased likelihood of health issues, these communities are also less likely to have resources such as education and community support to improve certain aspects of their health. This University of Maryland PALS summer studio project is meant to help guide the City of Annapolis in creating a healthier city for all residents, and in reaching their LMCTC All-Star strategies. Four chapters were written by groups that focused on health-related aspects of the city that relate directly to areas of focus for achieving All-Star status: 1) updates to incorporate health into the Comprehensive Plan, 2) parks and open space, 3) bicycle infrastructure, and 4) urban agriculture and community gardens. We hope that by providing recommendations for integrating health into the planning process and city design, and by suggesting strategies to make the most effective use of existing tools, Annapolis will be better situated to achieve its LMCTC All-Star strategies.The City of Annapoli

Owen Brown Village Center

Final project for ARCH407 (Spring 2016). University of Maryland, College Park.Students in the Master of Architecture program worked with representatives from the Howard County Department of Planning, the Columbia Association, and the Owen Brown Village board to come up with redevelopment schemes for Owen Brown Village Center. The semester began with the production of a series of base maps, which analyzed demographics, issues hydrology and the historical vision of James Rouse for the city of Columbia. Students also researched a series of built case study projects from around the world that provided inspiration and metrics for their design proposals at Owen Brown. Finally, each design team worked closely with a student from the Real Estate Development Capstone course to come up with program, square footages, and adjacencies for their design schemes.Howard Count