At the Foot of Prince George Street: The Burtis House, Hell Point, and Climate Change

This studio project includes a final report and abridged report that was submitted to Preservation Maryland.Annapolis is redeveloping its City Dock area into an elevated green space. The city will create preventative measures that protect the downtown area from rising sea levels. These measures include reconfiguring the stormwater system, elevating sea-level walls, and building storm surge gates. This redevelopment plan is a multi-phase initiative that provides for preserving and adapting for future use of the historic Burtis House, located at 69 Prince George Street. The Captain William Burtis House is ideally located to share the story of the history of Annapolis. As the sole surviving historic waterman’s home situated on City Dock, this property can assist visitors in understanding the Chesapeake way of life’s past, present, and future. With the redevelopment of the City Dock area, the Burtis House and site can become a welcoming and attractive place to learn about the region’s history. Due to its location, Burtis House has endured intermittent flooding, and it is vulnerable to sea level rise, subsidence, and tidal surges. Therefore, the building must be safeguarded against coastal flooding and stabilized until its use is determined. Preservation Maryland is leading the Burtis House initiative in partnership with the City of Annapolis and the National Park Service Chesapeake office. In 2021 Preservation Maryland issued a request for proposal for Phase 1 of this project. This first phase prioritizes the stabilization of the structure and preservation of the existing historic fabric from the effects of climate change for future adaptive reuse. Preventative measures against the impacts of climate change include raising Burtis house by four feet, water infiltration measures, and other defenses. As part of this phase, Preservation Maryland was looking for professional consultant services to conduct historical research on the context of the Burtis House and the neighborhood around it. The study would be utilized in interpretive panels placed around the house as work was being done. The University of Maryland’s Historic Preservation Studio class (HISP 650) responded to Preservation Maryland’s request for proposal for consultant services and was accepted. This report is the result.Nicholas Redding, Preservation Maryland Laura Houston, Preservation Marylan

Connecting Students and Communities: A Case Study in Historic School Rehabilitation Vaux Big Picture High School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This project takes a multidisciplinary pronged approach to community development, schools, and historic preservation using a case study of Vaux Big Picture High School, a successfully rehabilitated historic Philadelphia school that was closed and later returned to use as a neighborhood school. Through partner involvement and the incentives of a HUD choice neighborhood grant, the new school has the funds and resources to create essential social, health, and employment support resources for the students and outside community. This case study demonstrates that the school building is an important neighborhood asset and has significance beyond its architectural style or design. In addition, a greater understanding of local history can be appreciated and understood through a broader inquiry into social and cultural community history. The goal of this paper is to encourage preservationists to consider designing spaces with possible community-serving purposes in institutional buildings such as neighborhood schools

Cultural Landscapes Study: Langley Park/Adelphi

Final project for HISP-GAPALS Independent Study (Fall 2020). University of Maryland, College Park.Through their work with the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland (UMD), the Prince George's County- Planning Department commissioned this report from the University’s Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS). PALS works with local jurisdictions throughout Maryland to identify projects and problems that can be taught through university courses where students focus on developing innovative, research-based solutions. This project was focused on investigating current County-listed historic resources as well as identify potential new resources. This report centers on obtaining research by covering the Langley Park/Adelphi community at large, to include all phases and periods of the development of the communities, from the 18th century to the present for Prince George's County.Prince George's County- Planning Department (PG PD

Connect Fred: Enhancing Trail Connectivity through Historic Fredericksburg

The students of HISP 469: Laboratory in Preservation Planning worked under Dr. Smith to develop new bike and pedestrian paths for historic downtown Fredericksburg in order to improve the wayfinding and connectivity of existing trails. Students researched successful trails in urban settings comparable to Fredericksburg to gain an understanding of the positive and negative qualities of those trails, and how they could be applied or avoided in the new trails created by this project. Research into local and state ordinances regarding signage, bike paths, and similar details was also completed. Using GIS, Survey123, and Google Maps, students conducted extensive surveying of the existing trails and downtown area. The class selected the most ideal pedestrian and bike trails based on the data collected. After these trail paths were tentatively established, the class carried out two interviews with Fredericksburg locals to gain a better understanding of how users interact with the existing infrastructure and how to effectively integrate our plan in a way that benefits the city. For the plan proposed by the students to effectively connect to the existing network of trails, designs for signage that will aid in wayfinding while creating a unified aesthetic for each path were included. With these trails, the class hopes to further improve the walkability of downtown Fredericksburg and increase accessibility to local resources both historic and natural

Pawndering Dog Parks for Prince George's County Parks

Final report for URSP600: Qualitative Research Design & Methods for Planners (Spring 2022). University of Maryland, College Park.Over the Spring 2022 semester, students investigated this topic while learning the skills associated with qualitative planning research. The researchers used methods that included archive and document analysis, environmental/behavioral and participant observation, soundscape and video documentation, critical cartography, and interviews. This study aimed to better understand how dog parks are used and the report makes recommendations for how to best design and locate dog parks to ensure their success. Questions of community, access, and equity were central to this inquiry. Seven case study sites were selected to examine a variety of park types, including variations in design, scale, location (urban/suburban), ecology (slope/stormwater issues, etc.), and material (grass/synthetic).Prince George's Department of Parks and Recreatio