Perfecting A Neighborhood

The third unit of Urban Planning, Flow, is about what a city needs to function and what makes a city ideal. We learned about how different cities evolved, and what makes “good” or “bad” urban planning. This action project is asking us to select a block that needs improvement, analyze the location, and then make improvements and build a 3D model of it. I’m most proud of how much I learned in this unit because it was a lot of information and the test was difficult, but I still did well on it.

The area I selected is around Division & Halsted. The neighborhood in general is really nice but the block I chose is basically just a bunch of empty lots with electric stuff. It's strengths are that is has a lot of room to work with and you wouldn’t have to tear down a bunch of stuff. It's main weakness is that it’s next to a river which might smell,driving people away, and it could be dangerous. The space would be better if it had nice park, like for kids with swings and stuff, as well as bike paths.

The area I chose is a quadrilateral shape, specifically a trapezoid. The southern side is 525.82 ft, the eastern side is 984.97 ft, the northern side is 753.25 ft, and the western side is 1350.87 ft. To find the area I multiplied the height, 535 ft, by the two bases divided by two:
Area = (535 x [984.97 + 1350.87 /2] ) = 624,837.2 squared ft

AG Labeled Map (2015)

5 physical alterations/redesigned sections that I improved in this space are:

1. Bike paths - because it is safer and more convenient for bikers to have their own space 
2. Turn the open green space into a park - because it gives the space a purpose and puts it to good use, also it is good for the community 
3. Add a fence alongside the river - for safety 
4. Add a library, soccer field, basketball court, and tennis court where parking lots are - because again it gives the space a purpose and it is good for the community 
5. Adding solar panels to all the buildings in the area - because it is good for the environment and our planet

AG Sketch (2015)

The Conrad Sulzer Regional Library & Wells Park inspired my design because the area has a library right next to a baseball field. They also have tennis courts and a playground like I do. I chose this space as my inspiration because I went there when I was younger and it always gave me a strong sense of community, and I think that's something every neighborhood should have. Another area that inspired me is the area I live in in Poland, Gdynia, because of the way their streets are. The driving cars are in the middle, and then there are parked cars, and then there are bikes and pedestrians on the side walk. This inspired me to do something very similar, but with separate space for bikers and pedestrians, because I believe that is safer and less confusing.

My area related to transportation because I added bike lanes and made the different parts of the street more distinct and safe. It relates to housing because I added houses in part of my area, and there are houses in the blocks next to my area. It relates to infrastructures because there are two bridges right next to my area. And it relates to services because there are many electric things; however, I am removing them. I think, if possible, they should be moved somewhere indoors because they are very unappealing to look at.

Two of the volumes of buildings I designed are:
(Library) Rectangular prism with a rectangular pyramid on top = (l*w*h) + (l*w*h/3) = (475.27' * 140.67' * 46.5') + (475.27' * 140.67' * 22.98' / 3) = 3,108,814.74' + 512,118.73' = 3,620,933.47' cubed
(House) Rectangular prism with a rectangular pyramid on top = (l*w*h) + (l*w*h/3) = (20.69' * 60.23' * 22.86') + (20.69' * 60.23' * 11.18' / 3) = 28,487.19' + 4,644.02' = 33,131.21' cubed

The most difficult problem I encountered was with using the sketchup app because it was very complicated and difficult to use, however, I overcame this when I got help from a former GCE student. Once he taught me how to use the app it became easy to use. This speed-bump taught me that it’s okay to ask others for help and it tends to be to your advantage when you do. If I were to redo this project I would probably chose a space that was a simpler shape, such as a rectangle, because my sides were all at angle which made the project much more difficult.