This thesis exploits the latent opportunities that are found in buffer zones.
While typical buffers are static, passive entities, this thesis treats the buffer
as a territory that is able to act aggressively. The buffers' current function is
to separate incompatible but adjacent zones of the city; however, as cities
evolve over time, the buffer can become a catalyst, acting as an agent of
transformation.
In Baytown, Texas, industry is effectively the nucleus of the city, serving as
its black heart. However, the green buffer that surrounds this black heart
suggests a possible future for Baytown in which the buffer expands not into
the city as it has done historically, but rather into the former industrial zone,
opening up a new realm of possibility. The result is a new type of urbanism
in which a city is defined not by a dense core, but rather by a productive
green heart that ties together the disparate urban enclaves that once served
the city's industrial core
