PORTFOLIO
BROCK HICKS
JANUARY 2015
Descriptions for each selection appear overlaid in colored boxes like this one. Everything else that appears in the following pages are the original works themselves.
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from the website MAPPING [DIS]INVESTMENT | MAY 2014
This spread displays screenshots from an interactive web mapping platform. My team and I created a site targeted at the citizens of Mexico City; the site allows them to to create datapoints about public infrastructure that are either assets or deficits. These points are then overlaid on a spatial socioeconomic vulnerability index we created from Mexican census data, as well as points where current infrastructure projects are being built. Technologies used included: HTML/Javascript, CSS, Google Maps API, ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Server. View website here: http://sandbox.idre.ucla.edu/up206b/2014/groups/ urbanill/intro.html
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from the course Green Urban Studio | MAY 2014
These maps both set the scene for our team’s research of a site in South LA and delineate new land uses as part of our proposal for the development of a Living Building Challenge project. Featured on the right is a Lynch Analysis of the site area, plus two transit maps that show access, the future Crenshaw/ LAX light rail line, and the pedshed. Production methods included: ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator.
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from the course Green Urban Studio | MAY 2014
SketchUp renderings of what our proposal for the site at Crenshaw and MLK boulevards could look like.
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FIG
6-3
Ballona Creek: spheres of use + a symbology of power Metro Expo light rail Cutting across the sky, the new light rail is a potent yet complex promise of greater public access and structural change in the the district.
Surface The formal city, shaped by the automobile age and hostile to humans. Underpass Caught between the formal and informal city, between disuse and the blur of metropolitan economics. Both the residents of the formal and informal city seek to escape the frankenstein above. Ballona Creek Inaccessible and uninviting, the concrete trough is unusable by residens of the formal or informal city. Waterways—typically magnetic spaces for human activity—have been rendered peripheral in the modern metropolis. As a symbology of power, the layered uses represented here clearly put the formal, automobile-dominated city first with the rest relegated below.
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>> Continued from page 45
Figure 6-3: Ballona Creek—Spheres of use + a symbology of power This graphic represents the layered use of space where Ballona Creek passes beneath National Blvd. The creek flows along the bottommost layer, usually sedately but more swiftly during and after storms. There is little to no use by humans here. It is an inaccessible
Worlds divided between enclaves of economic power and military might and sectors of poverty and precariousness, between sites of overabundance and scarcity, between the wanted and the unwanted. One thing I am sure of: at this moment when the economic power of the privileged sites of development has collapsed, it is time to suggest that it is in sites of scarcity–not of abundance– where the new urban paradigms will emerge, to construct new ideas about infrastructure, housing and density. 12
waterway rendered peripheral to the bike path by the high concrete channel walls.
It is also a locust for pollutants and waste, as
evidenced by the myriad types of trash and the multi-colored water.
Here we find an example of informal use providing insights into the functioning of the urban environment and suggestions for alternatives.
The underpass layer is the domain of pedestrians and bicyclists, as well
Cruz talks about California bungalows—replaced by concrete buildings—
as some seeking shelter. They pass beneath the surface layer, which is
are exported to Tijuana and put to creative reuse. A shopping cart
dominated by vehicular traffic. This is perhaps the most interesting layer,
could be thought of in a similar way. Depicted in the graphic is a poor
sandwiched between disuse and decay below and the dictators of urban development and great consumers of public space above. It is the layer where those who actively fuel this destructive and alienating model of urban development, and those who have been
Unusable and inaccessible in the formal city, the underpass is productive space in the informal one.
marginalized by it, attempt to escape their own creation.
representation of a large shelter made of shopping
.
human city. The development of urban structure is bound up with meaning and not simply limited to the imageability elements of Lynch.
from the report FRACTURED ACCESS | MARCH 2014
This spread discusses the layered uses of space at the intersection of Ballona Creek and National Blvd in Los Angeles, CA, and the symbologies of power bound up in urban development processes. Particular attention is paid to the differences between formal and informal uses of the city. A mix of methods is used: first, I sketched the creek underpass, then I sliced it into layers in Photoshop, and finally placed the layers into InDesign. There is also an original photograph featured below.
carts and tarps. The shopping carts, evidenced by their prolific use as mobile closets and shelter throughout Los Angeles, are expendable to box stores. Roofless people take advantage of the effective surplus to create a flexible mode of housing. In this case, they use
Ballona Creek where it intersects with National Blvd
the overpass to construct a living space. Unusable and inaccessible The surface layer contains the Expo bike path that parallels National Blvd,
in the formal city, the underpass is productive space in the informal
the vestiges of an old rail line, and omnipresent cars. The topmost layer is
one. This highlights the agency of the informal city as response to
a new light rail line connecting the Westside with Downtown LA, a potent yet
institutional apathy and/or failure; while institutions remain powerless to
complex promise of greater public access and structural change in the district.
adapt their own creation—the Ballona Creek trough—informal uses are not constricted by jurisdiction or political inertia, putting the space into use.
The underpass layer has a host of difficult questions bundled up in it. The central question lies in the exchange and conflict between two urbanisms,
The graphic also touches on Appleyard’s symbols of power idea. Clearly
one formal, institutional, and regimented, and the other informal and flexible.
depicted are the formal uses above, mounted on costly concrete with
It is a microcosm of the processes discussed by Teddy Cruz. He says,
clearly delineated bounds of use and adjacent to urban amenities. Below are the less powerful. Nature too is clearly extricated from the 9 / 26
FIG
6-2
a collison of jurisdictions....
Ballona Creek at National Blvd is the intersection of 3 local jurisdictions, plus the US Army Corps of Engineers. LA County
Culver City
LA City
US Army Corps of Engineers
CULVER CITY
LA
COUNTY
LA
CITY
6.4 Ballona Creek Ballona Creek has influenced the physical shape of the landscape and
use. I was interviewed by a group of elementary school students at the head
its use by humans for centuries (if not longer). It was an important
of the bike path who are revisioning its structure and use. They are polling
resource for Tongva Amerindians, who used it to harvest materials for
people who pass by about their plans to paint murals and attempts to get
housing, to make canoes, and for transport. It was (and is) a highly
the LA County of Public Works to remove parts of the large sloping concrete
seasonal and precipitation-variable waterway. Floods would frequently alter the course of the creek and the land around it. This geographic variation affected Spanish settlers who came from the south to ranch in the area. Unlike the Tongva, they did not know how to adapt to the floods. It wiped away the first adobe house and continued to impede the rigid and fixed
“The [bike] trail is the only non-vehicular inland walking and bicycle trail that exists to serve approximately three million people who reside within three miles of the amenity.”
settlement pattern of the colonizers. In 1934, the issue
walls and replace them with native grasses and plants.
from the report FRACTURED ACCESS | MARCH 2014 | UCLA
The intersection of multiple jurisdictions results in political
This spread also looks at Ballona Creek, in particular the institutional barriers to revitalization projects. The intersection and clash of several jurisdictions is represented in abstracted geography on the opposite page. It was created in Illustrator and imported into InDesign.
inertia for structural changes. The creek is zoned as open space by both LA and Culver cities, and is an important public recreation corridor in urban areas poor in outdoor amenities. Yet use remains sparse, most likely due to the oppressive, stark and lifeless concrete channel. The
was laid to rest when in response to a large flood, the US Army Corps
points of access to the creek are not inviting and the views from the path
of Engineers straightened it and imprisoned it in a concrete trough that
to the surrounding city are of faceless back walls and tall dusty fences.
regimented hardscape runoff patterns and fixed it’s course to the ocean. 10
This act established the current form, and access to the waterway was significantly impaired. The creek is the subject of efforts by several organizations, like Ballona Creek Renaissance Project and Loyola Marymount University, for revitalization and renewed access and use. According to a study done by Loyola Marymount University, “the [bike] trail is the only non-vehicular inland walking and bicycle trail that exists to serve approximately three million people who reside within three miles of the amenity.” 11 The bike path begins at the south edge of the Arts District area.
Figure 6-2: A collision of jurisdictions Figure 6-2 graphically represents this jurisdictional collision with abstracted geography. The main institutional actors responsible for the creek are the LA County Department of Public Works and the US Army Corps of Engineers. This is compounded by the Culver City
Historic municipal jurisdictions, Thomas Bros. Map of Los Angeles and Vicinity (1938)
and LA municipal jurisdictions, which conflict at several points along the creek and at two points within the greater Arts District area. Continued on page 47>>
Ballona Creek falls within the jurisdictions of five different institutional actors: LA County Department of Public Works/Flood Control District, the US Army Corps of Engineers, Culver and LA cities, and the State of California. This collision of jurisdictions has led to what a teacher from the adjacent elementary school termed, “a jurisdictional no man’s land.” The creek is the subject of several initiatives for its revitalization and renewed
[from David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]
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FIG
9-3
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Keyhole pocket park
from the report FRACTURED ACCESS | MARCH 2014 | UCLA
Rendered in SketchUp, this graphic envisions what a proposed intervention could look like, when ten blocks of a traffic lane in the Culver City Arts District is repurposed as a linear greenway.
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FIG
9-5
Extension of the Ballona bikeway
Greening of the concrete banks
Extension of Ballona bike path
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N Not to scale
from the report FRACTURED ACCESS | MARCH 2014 | UCLA
This simple graphic was created with a combination of Illustrator and InDesign. It depicts the conversion of an access road that runs along Ballona Creek, in Culver City CA. The road runs between the terminus of the Ballona bikeway north to Washington Blvd, but is currently inaccessible. The graphic envisions the extension of the Ballona bikeway along this access road as well as the removal of the concrete upper retaining walls and replacement with hardy, deeprooted native grasses and trees.
from the report FRACTURED ACCESS | MARCH 2014 | UCLA
description refers to the spread on the following page Photographs I took from throughout the Greater Arts District in Culver City were classified into six categories, showing the range of access issues present in the area.
>
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Hostile, dangerous interections like this one at Venice and National boulevards surround the Arts District, making access for pedestrians and bikers difficult.
Syd Cronenthal Park is relatively accessible and clearly for public use—if one can find it.
Access to Helms Walk on its north side is not clearly legible; the pedestrian space does not extend all the way to Venice Blvd, but is instead cut off by a short section of street.
All but two intersections on the eleven block Washington Blvd corridor lack crosswalks, imparing access for pedestrians making it dangerous to cross freely from one side of the street to the other.
Two intersections along the Washington Blvd corridor provide crosswalks, the only legible points for crossing the boulevard.
While Helms Walk has the appearance of public space, measures have been taken to clearly delineate it as private property.
While one can travel to the district via the Expo light rail, where to go from there is unclear. One has to cross a large parking lot and the busy National Blvd arterial.
The intersection at Helms Ave is the most inviting space for pedestrians, providing clear access onto the pedestrian mall from the street.
While this quiet residential area with mature trees south of Washington Blvd seems inviting, few people traverse it on foot. Walking along Washington Blvd, there is a clear sense that
Their is no direct access from the Culver City Expo line station to the Expo bikeway, except across this curved section of National Blvd. There is no crosswalk nor intersection, and the path is
{ { {
Wayfinding is largely nonexistent in the district. Where it does exist, it does more to hinder access than help it. This sign for the two bikeways points in the opposite
LEGIBLE
Accessible 16 / 26
ILLEGIBLE ACCESS
IMPAIRED ACCESS
FIG
[ [ [ The Expo bikeway cuts a clear, relatively accessible, and easy to follow path along the southern edge of the district.
While the Ballona bikeway turns into a service access road north of Syd Cronenthal Park, access is clearly prohibited by this gate.
The neighborhood streets closest to Ballona Creek dead end into this tall fence. A pedestrian could easily be unaware that a waterway flowed just a few feet away.
While there is a service road running along Ballona Creek, it is difficult to walk along its edge between Washington and National boulevards. This section is particularly difficult due to overhanging trees and large pipes suspended
This ladder is the only way to access Ballona’s creek bed. It is located along the gated off service road.
National Blvd and Hayden Tract to the south of the Expo bikeway are impossible to reach on this stretch of the path, as the light rail runs at grade along its entire length.
While the Expo line is clearly visiuble from Syd Cronenthal Park, arriving at one of its stations is difficult. One has to cross large boulevards and fences.
While it is possible to climb into the creek bed via the ladder above, all other points along the creek are gated off.
A metaphor for access in the Arts District—intriguing spaces just out of reach!
Access to Syd Cronenthal Park from the Expo and Ballona bikeways is difficult due to the small space entry which only allows one person at a time to pass.
If one does slide through the gate barring access to the service road at the terminus of Ballona’s bikeway and walk its length, he is confronted with yet more barriers that must be climbed in order to
The far side of Ballona Creek, where two roofless men live, is impossible to reach from the bikeway. It can only be reached by jumping off the road on the far side and sliding down the steep hill.
6-1
{ { {
Impaired access continuum
[ [ [ Long walls disconnect the Expo bikeway from the neighborhood streets to the north and Washington Blvd beyond it. There is no clear way to reach the path from the district’s
IMPEDED ACCESS
PROHIBITED
OUT OF REACH
Inaccessible 17 / 26
Major
Minor
District
Map not to scale
Problems Discontinuity/Spatial Mismatch
I - 10
Edge
?
Direction Ambiguity
a
Path
ek
Incomplete/Broken Path
Cr e La
Node
il St
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Blv
d W
Harg
is St
ng
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W
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tney
Sen Ave
Ave
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Ballon
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Blvd La Cienega
Ave
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a Cre ek
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anu
Fay
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arau Catt
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Rob
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Caro
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National Blv d
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anus
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Culver City Expo Line S top
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arau
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La Ciene ga
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ne
Ave
Landmark
Cie
S Fair fax Blv d
Elements
N
llo n
3-1
Lynch analysis
Ba
FIG
Syd Cronenthal Park
Metro Expo Lightrail
?
W Jefferson Blvd
from the report FRACTURED ACCESS | MARCH 2014 | UCLA
>> Continued from page 15
Paths The district is defined and bounded by the intersection of several large paths, mainly dedicated to car-use. It is the site of a chaotic collision of distinct grids and cross-city thoroughfares. The effect is simultaneously one of an oasis from the barren stretches that surround it and of constricted flows through and around the district. Large boulevards, while providing pathways, also create a fragmentation of access, particularly on foot. Washington Blvd is the main path that runs through the heart of the Arts District. However, it also bisects it, cutting it in two. Crossing the boulevard on its roughly half mile stretch within the district is difficult. There are only three traffic lights where pedestrians can use a crosswalk to get to the other side of the boulevard. Otherwise, they are forced to scamper across two lanes to the median after a set of traffic passes, and then across another two lanes to the other side. Most intersections have no right of way for pedestrians to cross. Traffic flows at a constant rate throughout the day. The
of Washington, National, Venice, and Culver boulevards represents a major node of transportation modes. On the eastern edge, there are
A Lynch analysis of the Greater Arts District in Culver City. The graphic was made entirely in Adobe InDesign. Original photography also included.
major nodes at Washington and La Cienega, Venice and La Cienega, Fairfax and La Cienega, and Jefferson and La Cienega. Along Washington Blvd—in the heart of the Arts District, there are minor
Public artworks spanning Ballona Creek on Washintgon Blvd serve as landmarks
nodes at Helms Ave and La Cienega Ave—the only crosswalks on the stretch between La Cienega Blvd and National Blvd. Where the Ballona Creek and Expo line bike paths intersect can be considered a minor node. The Culver City and LADOT bus stops function as minor nodes. As well as a subdistrict, Helms Walk can be thought of as a node, where people from different parts of the city arriving by different modes intermingle. It is a strongly introverted node, as are the other nodes in the area. There is little sense of interconnectivity with other parts of the city or major landmarks or paths. The disruptive edge boulevards are more strongly present in the image.
Landmarks
absence of bike lanes on Washington Blvd forces bikers into the fast flowing
The district is not characterized by distinct landmarks. Almost all
traffic lane or along its edge where they are in danger of getting doored.
buildings are one story and flat roofed. There is not much in the way of interesting architectural detail. The single family homes that hug
Driving along Venice Boulevard to the north or National Boulevard to the
Washington Blvd on both sides are largely California style bungalows.
south, you could easily pass the district with no clue to its whereabouts. The same can be said for Metro passengers disembarking at the Jefferson/La
The
historic
Cienega or Culver City Expo stations. Even a driver passing swiftly along
Walk
are
Washington Blvd might only briefly notice that he was in a distinct district.
bakery
Helms the
houses
most home
Bakery
building
recognizable furnishing
and
adjacent
landmarks.
stores,
cafes,
Today, and
Helms the bars.
The scale of the pathways does not invite the passerby to stop or linger.
Nodes Each end of the Arts District is marked by major nodes, where the large boulevards intersect. The end of the Expo line at the junction
Washington Blvd, at the eastern end of the district, is transected by Ballona Creek. The stream has been relegated to a large cement trough running below the boulevard. Culver City has attempted to make this more remarkable by installing large painted metal overhangs on the span where 19 / 26
E L
M U N I C I P I O
D E
C O R Q U Í N ,
C O PÁ N : E L A B O R A D O
p o r
S U S e l
C A S E R I O S
V O L U N TA R I O
D E
C U E R P O
y D E
E L PA Z
C E S A M O
L I C .
B R O C K
H I C K S
E N E R O
Pashapa
Las Quebradas
Las Mesitas El Sauce
Caltatato Bella Vista El Terrerito
Jualaca
El Barro
El Jaboncillo
Los Cedros
La Inea Los Descombros
Los Trapiches
Quebrada Honda
El Pinal La Banderilla Los Higos Corquin
La Vereda
El Coyol El Ichozal
Jimilile
Sunzapote
¯
Pacayas
La Vereda
El Plan del Higueral
Potrerillos El Roble Deshojado El Calichal
El Profundo La Chiliquera
Llano del Cirin
POTRERILLOS
Samara Los Mangos
El Guayabito El Salitre El Pitarrio
El Cerro de Las Minas
Agua Caliente Rastrojo Largo
El Paso de La Vaca
El Chorro Gualme El Joconal
El Bijagual Plan del Guayabo El Plan de Los Platanos
1
2
3
4 Kilometers
FUENTES: SINIT (Sistema Nacional de Información Territorial) Censo Nacional 2001
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El Pedernal
CASERÍOS por NO. DE CASAS RED VIAL
0 - 50
CARRETERA SURESTE
51 - 100
EL MUNICIPIO de
101 - 150
CORQUÍN
Los Limos
0.5
Las Casitas
Yarguera La Pena
La Loma de Las Casitas
0
El Suctal
La Joya
El Carrizal
Loma Alta
Boca del Monte
El Matadero
EL CESAMO
151 - 200
ZONA DE ÍNTERES
El Amatillo
2 0 1 1
201+
from a project grant proposal | JANUARY 2011 | HONDURAS
I created this simple map in ArcGIS to support a proposal I wrote in collaboration with community leaders from a rural town in Honduras where I worked as Peace Corps Volunteer. The map demonstrates spacially and demographically the dramatic need for a rural health center and why this particular community was the most geographically and demographically appropriate site in the municipality of CorquĂn, CopĂĄn to construct it.
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from the technical manual GUÍA PRÁCTICA DE LA HORTICULTURA SEPTEMBER 2011 | HONDURAS
This is a page from an organic horticulture manual I created to support community food security projects that I designed and managed with women’s groups in rural Honduras. This particular page explains different methods for sterilizing soil before planting. The entire manual was created in Microsoft Word (along with hand drawing by a colleague).
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from the technical manual GUÍA PRÁCTICA DE LA HORTICULTURA SEPTEMBER 2011 | HONDURAS
This is a page from the same manual. It features two designs for worm composting bins. The designs were used to build worm bins in the garden of all 69 participants in the community food security projects I managed in the area.
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from the technical manual GUÍA PRÁCTICA DE LA HORTICULTURA SEPTEMBER 2011 | HONDURAS
This is a page from the same manual featured on the last two pages. It is a diagram showing the effects of the lack or excess of different nutrients on the human body. It is one of the many diagrams in the nutrition chapter and throughout the manual.
from a project presentation board | JULY 2012 | UC BERKELEY
I created this board as part of a team project exploring urban development and gentrification pressures on San Pablo Ave in Berkeley, CA, as part of the UC Berkeley summer program [IN] CITY. Production methods were Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and Microsoft Excel.
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