Month: February 2017

Blog Post #3

During the DNA project in the downtown area of Newark, The group was given the opportunity to wander around Newark and collect data on how the are was planned. The group visited several locations such as the the market, jailhouse, park, community garden and several of the buildings in the area. The group found it interesting that Newark maintains an open air market building that is open every Friday with a collection of different merchants and bands giving the area a more old-fashioned, classic feel while right next door, a McDonald’s attempts to masquerade the “old town vibe”. While the group agrees that the McDonald’s being placed where it clearly doesn’t belongs messes with the feel of the downtown area, they also can agree that Newark has done some good things with their downtown as well. One of these “good planning” things was the replacement of all the roads in the main square in order to reduce the crashes that were a result of the confusing layout of the streets. The group also feels as though the green space that is labeled as a park is nice to have, it doesn’t quite serve the originally intended purpose of having a public green space. The group believes that this area could be improved with the addition of the some benches and greenery in order to make it more inviting to the public. With the few exceptions of what is listed above, the group does believe that Newark has an attractive downtown area and that it will likely become even more attractive once those previously mentioned additions are made as well as the completion of the roadways.

Cluster zoning: Alec

Cluster zoning is used by a developer who can use greater flexibility in designing and placing structures, as long as the total density requirement is met. We see this used in the DeSisto development process that is going to be underway soon where they take an abandoned school and turn it into a hotel and residential properties.

Inclusionary zoning: justin Nguyen

Inclusionary zoning is a type of zoning where a city accommodates all economic and social classes of people. Inclusionary zoning divides up the land by including subsidy housing and apartments in proportion to the higher income housing within a city or region. This type of zoning creates a more balanced city and allows for social diversity, which is a main component in creating an accepting community. An example of inclusionary zoning can be found in California. With high volumes of people in California, inclusionary zoning allows for mixed-income people to be able to settle down along with the Californian elite.

Incentive Zoning: Logan Benson

Incentive based zoning is a useful tool for certain governments who know how to use it and can afford it. In Seattle, Washington, a Workforce Housing Incentive Program was issued in order to trade increased zoning height to developers with a certain portion of housing reserved for families falling under the Seattle Median Income. In Middlesex, Virginia, a program was issued to allow rights to high density developments to developers of open spaces and retirement homes. Both of these are good examples of the roper use of incentive based zoning because they have clear and reasonable requirements in exchange for bonuses that developers want, more density means more possible money.

 

Westerville, Ohio is the second largest suburban city around the state capital. The city of Columbus and Westerville have a symbiotic relationship as more people move to Ohio for jobs downtown, they tend to settle down in houses in the surrounding areas such as Westerville. In order to accommodate new people, Westerville also has to expand. Westerville has room to grow, but the problem arises when the natives of Westerville conflict with their different visions of how the city ought to be.

There are many attractions that already exist in Westerville such as its economic base being located so close to Columbus, parks and recreation facilities, and Westerville’s historical context. The people of Westerville had outlined these as their main concerns with what should stay in the community. In order to capitalize on these assets, a vision of the new Westerville will have “a city within a park” feeling. This vision relies on Westerville’s already prominent park and bike path system. With new additions to the parks and recreation area of the community would allow for Westerville to have a unique natural woodland feel that is different from the concrete jungle of downtown. This improvement would allow for people commuting from the city to have a change in scenery instead of always being in the claustrophobic atmosphere of the city.

With all of this expansion happening in Westerville, many people of the existing community are skeptical of the growth and development. Another concern for existing residence is that with the expansion and the thought of seeing strangers everyday would defeat Westerville’s pre-existing sense of community. In order to prevent saturating the community, Westerville plans to build complete and whole neighborhoods. By completing neighborhoods in whole instead or erecting houses spread out throughout the city allows for the new community members to interact with each other, and in turn their neighborhood with the rest of the community. This also will allow for fresh eyes to see and experience the community. This is important because in 20 to 30 years the ones that were living in the once new homes will be seasoned veterans of the community and will be able to give a renewed perspective of what should be done to update Westerville. In another 20 to 30 years, the whole process will start over again. Though residents may come and go, their thoughts of the community are crucial to the longevity of the city.

Photos and Reflection of Downtown Newark

The Canal Market District was planned fairly well. It has the appropriate parking on site for the venders and a nearby parking garage for people who wish to attend events here. Overall the city of newark managed to find a spot big enough to hold this site and it is also tucked away so as not to cause traffic problems.

Chicago’s comprehensive plan summary

Major goals

Chicago’s major goals are to

  1. Have communities that are a great place to live through managing the natural resources of Chicago in an efficient manner
    1. Manage and Conserve Water and Energy Resources
    2. Expand and Improve Parks and Open Space
    3. Promote sustainable local food
  2. Supporting chicago’s economy and workforce
    1. Support Economic Innovation
  3. Ensuring that government policies are “transparent and “efficient
    1. Reform State and Local Tax Policy
    2. Improve Access to Information
  4.  Improving transportation efficiency
    1. Invest in useful Transportation
    2. Increase availability of Public Transit
    3. Create a More Efficient Freight Network

Changes KEK thinks might help the city’s plan-Kait

Beginning with the former development of the city, we would have gradually developed around the city entirely as opposed to one “chunk”, if you will. Also, housing appears to be an issue in the regard of commuting to and from a job. There are several “major” employment centers with no close residency. We would also focus on bringing in more supermarket options, for there are pieces of city that have low access to one. While considering the lack of major roads, we would also like to bring in more Amtrak stations to accommodate issues involving housing and work. We would add more Meta rails, too.

 

Interesting points in Chicago’s plan-Kailyn

  • In Chicago’s plan it is mentioned that they have many units of government that are also not as responsive as the citizens would like. This was interesting because as the amount of people handling issues increased it seems reasonable to assume the government would be more capable of handling these issues.
  • Water in Chicago is extremely scarce ,despite its proximity to lake Michigan ,due to laws prohibiting its use.

http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/about/2040

 

Zoning

Inclusionary Zoning-Kailyn

Inclusionary zoning makes sure that residential land developers have affordable housing for residents of lower incomes. The developers are often granted special permissions such as allowing them to build more or faster as  consequence of their agreement. This type of zoning is used to create a  community with different financial situations ,so that different socioeconomic levels will be integrated. A scenario where inclusionary zoning would be used is one where the amount of affordable housing is scarce and to encourage it a city government says that buildings with more than twenty-five units must be at least ten percent affordable housing.

 

Cluster Zoning- Kait

Cluster zoning is a technique used to preserve green area by placing lots closer together. It also focuses on creating less roads. It contrasts to other zoning techniques because it drives away from straight lines in regards to lots and streets. This type of zoning allows for a lot of creativity, for the form is flexible. We may see cluster zoning used heavily in subdivisions and small neighborhoods as opposed to bigger metropolitan areas.

 

Planned Unit Development-Sam

Planned Unit Development, also known as (PUD) has been used in the U.S. for many years and is spreading to several other developed and developing countries.

 

Incentive Zoning – Edwin

Incentive Zoning is a very robust zoning technique that is arguably the best for a community who has a highly desirable plot of land that they want developed and want more than just money from the developer in return. Incentive zoning is most often used in larger cities, and can help supplement existing infrastructure and/or provide services that are missing or insufficient. For example, in return for allowing a developer to build a skyscraper, the city may require the developer to reserve a certain number of floors for affordable housing or community services, like a day care or public space.

Blog Post #3

1.

One interesting aspect in downtown Newark is the community garden.  Now seeing as it’s the dead of winter currently, it looks somewhat pitiful and depressing at the moment, as most of the plants are withered or covered up.  It’s also hard not to notice the buildings around the garden look old and worn down, however this adds to the charm of this garden and why it’s a great example of city planning.  Newark has gone through some tough times and there’s a lot of wasted space, even in the downtown area, and this is a creative usage for space that would otherwise be empty.  A big focus on City Planning is the community, and while the garden may be small it shows a good attempt at bringing in a community.  Ultimately a City Plan isn’t a binding legal document, it’s up to the community to get behind it and make it work, which makes this community garden a step in the right direction for the city of Newark.  Improvements that would make the Garden better, would be to fix up the surrounding buildings and either expand the garden or find more wasted space in the city to add more gardens or other community places in a similar vein.

Destination 3 was an interesting site because it was a three story abandoned building. This building was located on the corner of second street across from the city courthouse. The building looked old and rough with paint chipped off. the building did not seem to have many planning failures because it was a nice fit in where it was but there could be a few things fixed. One thing that needs to be added is new paint. The paint looked old and is a bit of an eyesore especially since it is not being used. Finding tenants is one problem that needs to be solved because there is not much use for the building currently even though it appears to be in a decent location. Another thing that could also be changed is the dullness of the side facing 2nd Street. Adding more ground level windows on that side could make the building more appealing.

Another interesting aspect in downtown Newark is the Marketplace.  The marketplace in Newark is a place that brings the community together. The Canal Market district is located on Canal Street and this marketplace encourages community access to healthier, local foods and promotes economic development in the county as a whole. Overall this marketplace was planned well with a very welcoming look to it. Even though it is a little narrow they made the market place long enough to allow many vendors sell their products comfortably. However, it seemed like there was not enough parking with only 47 spaces. With vendors and consumers both going to the marketplace, more parking could have been added to eliminate the hassle for people driving and having to park farther away. Overall this marketplace is a great way to bring the community together while being aesthetically pleasing.

2.

Cluster Zoning: Micheal Schaller

Cluster Zoning is a type of zoning that efficiency uses land in order to place more green space or agriculture. This type of zoning is useful because it good for bringing the community closer together and it saves cost of obtaining land. Cluster primarily focuses on residential whereas planned unit development is a mixed use. Although it is an efficient use of land especially in urban areas like Newark and Cleveland it can lead to conflicts over gardens or other public spaces. Cluster zoning can be put to good use in large cities  with high land value because the land is scarce to begin with and reducing the cost of obtain can lead to improvements to the building qualities or surrounding public green spaces.

 

Inclusionary: Timothy Cowans

Inclusionary zoning is an ordinance that focuses heavily on being inclusive, as the name suggests, to lower income families looking to buy homes.  This ordinance is designed to have a certain amount of houses or apartment complexes be affordable in a certain city or county.  They accomplish this by restricting new houses being purchased to make housing costs more affordable to the lower class.  This ordinance can be required or voluntary, if voluntary it will provide incentives for developers to develop these affordable living places for families below the median household income.  A scenario where this ordinance could be used, is in a rich city like a New Albany or Dublin, passes an ordinance that requires that 15% of houses developed in new projects be affordable for the lower class.  Since cities like New Albany tend to practice the opposite of this ordinance, exclusionary, this would make a real difference in the community.

 

Planned Unit Development: Trent Tackett

A planned unit development is when a large block of land is made a whole neighborhood unit with different land uses such as housing, recreation and retail. If a developer is trying to form a PUD in the city, then that developer is agreeing to be flexible with the use of that land. The city might say that the developer should have a fourth of the land be parking and a fourth of the land commercial retail. This let’s the development meet the cities requirements and the developer create housing that is surrounded by appropriate parking and retail. This planned retail and parking is convenient and can benefit the residence living in that area.

 

3. Cleveland, Ohio:  http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/

Cleveland Ohio is a city that has fluctuated over the past few decades.  It’s economy has mostly been tied to it’s sports teams performances, mainly if LeBron has been there or not.  But now Cleveland is trying to bring people back into the city and make it their home again, and also to attract newcomers.  Cleveland’s comprehensive city plan mainly focuses on three things; “Making the city and neighborhoods ‘communities of choice'”, developing the lakefront, and improving the health of its citizens.

Improving the city of Cleveland and making it a “Forward City” is a big part of Cleveland’s plan.  The focus is primarily on enticing entrepreneurs, and supporting businesses.  Cleveland also wants to encourage the youth, especially the youth from poor, ethnic communities and give them opportunities and support.  Cleveland also wants to improve the neighborhoods by having volunteers lead efforts to create neighborhoods where residents are “…engaged, empowered, enlightened, resilient, and self reliant.”  This movement is called the Vital neighborhood movement.

Developing land for the Lakefront is also a big focus on the City Plan for Cleveland.  There is currently 20+ acres of land on the North Coast Harbor of Cleveland Ohio, north of Cleveland Brown’s Stadium that has just been approved for development. Cumberland Development LLC. is planning to add 1000 apartments and 10,000s of thousands of square footage of office and retail spaces for an already rising population in the city of Cleveland. The high demand for residential has created this plan for a new vibrant mixed use neighborhood planned to attract more young professionals and improve urban lifestyle.The plan was officially approved in 2014 and ground broke in 2015.

Finally improving health is a big focus of the city plan.  As Cleveland promises a healthier city, the Cleveland City Planning Commission (CCPC), uses a tool called health impact assessment, to investigate and recommend ideas to neighborhood planning and development that enables healthier active living. This health assessment is led by the CCPC and highlights the relationship between planning and public health. The CCPC has identified five key priorities to focus on, safety, Transportation, Access to healthy food, Local employment and youth engagement. The CCPC will use these as guidelines and work with and urban design consulting firm, Crea Consulting to help shepherd future design in the city.

Blog Post #2

Justin Switzer: Environment

The environment of the area the city is in plays a massive role in not only planning of the city, but in the culture of the city’s residents. The differences in the environment are directly tied to differences from city to city. From buildings being earthquake resistant in parts of California, to homes being raised off the ground in the hurricane-prone regions of the Southeast, the environment ultimately decides how we build a functional city. In today’s era, cities have increased focus on the environment inside of their borders, opting to create many green spaces and parks. Historically and fundamentally, the environment is a very inclusive aspect of city planning worldwide.

Justin Nguyen- design

I believe that design is the most important aspect of creating and renovating a city. Design is such a broad but important element of creating a city, but it applies to every element in planning a city. From the top- down perspective of designing the layout that will incorporate the land. It is crucial to utilize the land that is given to developers and not to waste space. An example of this is that Polaris Fashion Place was able to utilize land that had a sizable hill in the land they had to work with. So they designed the building to have two sections, a top and bottom. The bottom section was built inside the hill instead of wrapping the mall around the hill. With using the hill as a structural support and using the surface area of the hill Polaris mall was able to maximize the area of the mall allowing for more shops to be open.

Logan Benson- Community

I believe that the most important element of an urban space is the community that it creates between its inhabitants. As can be shown by so many examples across the whole world and throughout human history, groups that do not wish to work together and are not made to work together, simply will not work together. A community that has even just one safe place for people to get together and trade ideas, work together, and build bonds has a significant advantage over a society that focuses only on something like the economic advancement of the society. The happier the people are with themselves and each other, the more likely they will be to give back to the society.

Alec Yeager-Design

I believe myself that design is one of the single most important elements because the design of such city is essentially acting as the backbone for that city or community. When a city or community is starting to be built out on paper and through peoples thought process’s the design aspect of such ideas can either make it a fantastic well run city, or it can sink it and make it a very unpleasant place to live and suitable for families and community members. Also when considering the design aspect of such community the framers have to take into consideration that it will only increase in capacity as more and more people flock to this new community, so the designs much think about long term things that may occur further down the road and try and prevent such problems by creating a suitable community that is well ran and maintained from the initial design process.

Because of the internet, culture has changed dramatically from generation to generation.  Because of this, we wanted to create a futuristic and innovative neighborhood is tailored to the kids of today’s generation. Since kids today are now growing up utilizing technology and the internet more in their everyday life, it’s appropriate that they have a community that fits to their unique culture. People today are becoming more accepting, we wanted to make a neighborhood that was designed for the “community” but still incorporated individualistic features.

The Neighborhood that we created was based off of a circular design. We thought that this design was innovative and creative by going a different route than traditional grid-like structure of typical American neighborhoods. With this new design we hope to attract young people that will  enjoy its modern design while creating a modernistic atmosphere. A major component to this design is to create a sense of community by having the shopping center and a main park located in the middle of the neighborhood with housing surrounding it. By doing this, every person regardless of wealth and race would be able to go to the same markets and parks as everyone else, minimizing socioeconomic factors in the community. With this secular design, anyone from any walk of life is represented.  The neighborhood is also linked with bike paths, promoting a healthy alternative to travel and minimizing traffic. Even though the neighborhood is designed to push people to socialize, the houses branch off around the market and park area with a section of trees and nature creating a border between the houses and the market. This is to create a private atmosphere for the houses in the neighborhood. The incorporation of nature is crucial to this design. Without the trees dividing the housing and the market the atmosphere would be too open, and then the feeling of community would be imposing on the people and they would not want to live there because it is crucial to balance private spaces with open ones.

KEK Designs Blog Post 2

Kailyn – Economy

The economy is expected to come into play in any design decision as it is typically common knowledge that  budgets can restrict what can be done within designs. However,the economy also influences what should be done for a city. As the movie, Urbanized mentioned Detroit’s design decisions were made to accommodate millions of people ,but after Detroit’s debacle from its motor city reputation, the city contained vastly fewer individuals. The economy drives the population of the  city and as the mayor mentioned the people drive what the city needs as far as design. The mayor’s decision to keep Newark more rural makes the people drawn to its peace but they may also be drawn to its proximity to the job market in Columbus. The most important thing about planning and design is who it is being designed for. The easiest way to tell what a city needs without asking the people in them is to observe the local economy in combination sometimes with the local infrastructure.

 

Edwin – Economy

The most important element one must consider when creating a city plan is economy. Without an appreciation for the economic power of a city or region, nothing else will matter. When designing the a master plan for a growing city, failing to account for the overall wealth of its populace can lead to empty houses and shantytowns, while failing to account for what is produced in the city or region can lead to inefficiencies. Furthermore, if a city has a strong economy, it becomes easier to modify as problems arise. A clever and elegant solution is useless if it requires more funds than accessable. China may have some serious design problems, but they can fix their problems by using the time-tested technique of throwing money at them until they go away.

 

Kait – Form

Form positively impacts design in so many ways. It really has the potential to set a specific and desired tone for an entire community or neighborhood as a whole. We see a wide variety of form across our country, or the world eve, for accommodations and needs within societies differ. Also, culture impacts form immensely. Form allows for creativity on a much larger scale than design does. It can potentially set apart communities and create different emotions for travelers and residents of a particular area. Form brings together design and efficiency, and considers the functionality of a space or community.

 

Sam – Economy

The economy has a major hand in any of the other aspects of planning.Without enough Money/material you will not have a very efficient neighborhood. For example the city off the coast in Africa from the movie had rather narrow walkways, few streets,poor lighting and several other problems. Which led to high crime rates.A good economy will help make planning the neighborhood easier as well as more efficient. With a well off economy you can afford to have proper lighting, wide streets, a good sewage/storm water drain system.well planned cities also have a considerably lower crime rate. A city built with a good economy is more attractive to people looking to move. Cities with a good economy are more likely to improve themselves.

 

 

 

The ideal city we designed focuses on combining nature with modern suburban design. It pulls nature and urbanization together to create an efficient, unique, & activity-filled area. As pictured above, we have an almost central-park. Wrapping around the central park there are 2 paths and a parking lot for visitors. The park is quite large and has some paths for walking and running, along with green space for other leisurely activities. This whole neighborhood design really accommodates travelers, for there is parking and roads, and an easy detour right off the highway exit to allow for quick shopping and dining. This design as a whole has a lot of contemporary touches, for its unique and accommodated modern lifestyles. There’s plenty of living space, too, on the outskirts of the inner town. It’s a really ideal neighborhood in regards to efficiency, residency, and activities. Perhaps maybe more shopping and dining could be added along the outside of the park to address the people that utilize the park often. For instance, maybe a healthy shake shop, workout attire shop, or even a running shoe store. The possibilities are endless with a neighborhood like this. It has the potential to appeal to residents of all sorts: older, younger, traditional, or contemporary. This neighborhood has a piece for everyone.