Spring 2020 Urban Design Portfolio by clairezjaffe

CLAIRE ZELDA JAFFE

PLANNING & URB AN DESIGN P ORTFOLIO

CONTENTS 4

Newark & The South Ward | Public Realm Studio

Keep Austin Resilient | Planning Studio

Philadelphia Stadium District | Site Plan

East Kensington | Site Analysis and Site Plan

Grays Ferry Redesign| First-Year Urban Design Studio

Tioga/Nicetown | Neighborhood Profile

Selected Drawings

RESUME & SKILLS EDUCATION University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Graduated May 2020 | Master of City Planning Senior Graphics Editor | Panorama Planning Journal Founder | PennDesign Women in Planning University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI Graduated May 2014 | Phi Beta Kappa Bachelor of Arts, Environmental Studies Urban Planning and Policy Concentration RELEVANT COURSEWORK Fundamentals of Urban Design Site Planning Planning Studios Multimodal Transportation Quantitative Analysis ArcGIS

SKILLS Writing Adobe Suite Microsoft Suite ArcGIS Rhino

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Award: APA Foundation Scholarship Award 2019 | Advancing social equity in the profession and demonstrating academic success. Pennoni | Urban Planner/Designer Philadelphia, PA -- June 2020 - Present •

Work with municipal and non-profit clients to take planning efforts from visioning through to implementation. Collect and analyze demographic and economic data, manage outreach and community engagement, develop alternatives and recommendations, and create implementation plans.

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Manage projects and assist with RFP searches, writing, and development.

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Select projects include: NJT Transit-Friendly Planning Guide, Bensalem Comprehensive Plan (PA), Woodbury Transportation and Community Development Initiative (NJ), Anne Arundel County LPPRP (MD), Long Beach Island Resiliency Plan (NJ), Philadelphia Rebuild Park Project Engagement (PA, Cooper Plaza Neighborhood Plan (NJ).

Toole Design Group | Intern Washington, DC -- May 2019 - April 2020 •

Provided writing, research, data analysis, GIS, InDesign, Illustrator, and SketchUp assistance for ongoing projects throughout the US that aim to improve safety for people biking and walking.

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Projects include: Philadelphia Complete Streets Design, Roosevelt Boulevard Corridor Study, Montgomery County Pedestrian Plan, Virginia Safe Routes to School, Crystal City Highway to Blvd Conversion, Montgomery County Complete Streets Plan, Joe Lewis Greenway Design Guidance, MBTA Design Guide.

Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission | Transportation and Urban Design Intern ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••• •••••

Philadelphia, PA -- January 2019 - May 2019 •

Coalition for Smarter Growth | Communications Manager Washington, DC -- June 2015 - July 2018 •

Directed the multimedia communications, digital strategy, and design for CSG, a leading urban planning non-profit in the DC region.

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Wrote and evaluated outreach for advocacy campaigns across 7 local jurisdictions; including digital outreach to 23,000 supporters.

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Developed and managed a robust education program including 10-12 walking tours and forums, networking, and mentoring events per year. Established an American Sign Language interpretation program. Increased program engagement by 65% in two years.

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Managed several policy campaigns including establishing bus-only lanes on one of DC’s most well-traveled corridors and the MetroNow campaign, which was successful in securing an additional $500M in annual, dedicated funding for WMATA in 2018.

CONTACT clairezjaffe@gmail.com | (202) 330-3582

Developed the Delaware County Bike to Transit Survey that provides recommendations to help small boroughs improve the rate of biking to regional rail in Delaware County, PA.

Frelinghuysen Ave

NEWARK AIRPORT & THE SOUTH WARD public realm studio RHINO | ILLUSTRATOR | INDESIGN | PHOTOSHOP | WRITING

This studio, the capstone for the Urban Design Concentration at Penn, focused on how we can push the limits to extend beyond what is typically thought of as the public realm. The premise is to create a shared experience from start to end, by thinking about and incorporating spaces of transition and connection as well as places to stop and stay. This site for this studio Newark, NJ – specifically the area around the existing EWR Airport. We were seeking to answer the question, “What happens to the South Ward if Newark opens a new headhouse that opens up directly into the neighborhood?” Within this question we focused on three specific scales -- region, district, and place -- to track the experience of the transitional spaces between and among each element of the public realm. We first looked at the regional connectivity of the City of Newark, including Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), the highways, and the railroads. Then we zoomed into the urban districts of the South Ward and then further into the placemaking scale of the urban domain to parts of the South Ward including the airport terminals and railroad stations, Weequahic and Dayton neighborhoods, and the underutilized properties alongside the railroad rights-of way. My project specifically focused in on the transition between the new headhouse and the small existing Dayton neighborhood. What happens to Frelinghuysen Avenue, a high-speed pass through if this area transforms? And what how does the public realm transition for medium-density residential to one of the largest infrastructure projects in New England?

FRELINGHUYSEN AVENUE CORRIDOR

NEW CORRIDOR RENDERING

The transformation of the Frelinghuysen Avenue corridor, the spine that travels through the entire site area, is critical to the success of the entire project. Bringing new life to the corridor will set the ground-work for the rest of the recommendations.

This view of Frelinghuysen Avenue looking toward Elizabeth highlights the activity that can happen along this main street as well as one of the signature adaptive reuse buildings that helps anchor this new place within it’s history.

Great main streets across the country have safe walkable sidewalks and crossings and building frontages and uses that keep visitors coming back. To create this, Frelinghuysen Avenue will be slimmed down and the street wall will be enhanced and built out to create a more livable and human-scaled street that will be lively day and night.

BEFORE

AFTER

The existing roadway is 70 feet wide with two driving lanes and a parking lane in each direction. The sidewalks on either side were 12 feet wide. It serves as a pass-through for high-speed driving and trucks. There are missing road markings and almost no street life.

The recommended changes widen the sidewalks to 18 feet wide to allow for frontage, walking, and street furniture zones. Parking lanes and bike lanes serve a range of modes and drop off needs. Bumpouts at the intersections further thin the crossing distances from 64 feet to 48 feet.

HEADHOUSE PLAZA REDESIGN The new EWR headhouse arrives into the Dayton neighborhood in a grand new plaza that highlights the main goal of our plan: resilience. Community resilience is brought to the forefront through two signature adaptively reused buildings that will welcome visitors to Newark and hark back to the area’s strong industrial past. One of these buildings will be the main site of a job training center that connects Dayton, South Ward, Elisabeth, and Newark residents with jobs at the airport. Environmental resilience is highlighted through large wetland bioswales that will break up the pathway between the Headhouse and Frelinghuysen Ave. These triangular seating structures will provide needed refuge and seating while giving visitors a sneak peak of the wetland expanse that sits just beyond the airport. The bioswales can also provide educational opportunities through integrative learning and signage. This new plaza will not only serve people passing through to the airport, but it will be a new community hub and extension of the activity along Frelinghuysen Ave. The part of the plaza closest to the Avenue will be family friendly, with an interactive play structure, and active building frontages will make sure this area stays active at all hours of the day.

Section A’

A’

Residents of Austin, Texas, located in “flash flood alley,” are accustomed to dry landscapes and intermittent rising waters. Similar to other cities along inland waterways, Austin has long battled periodic inundation. However, the intensity and frequency of flooding events in Austin’s creeks are increasing as climate change impacts grow worse. This studio sought to explore the watersheds and creeks in Austin as the backbone of the community and unearth how these natural features can be an asset instead of a liability and tie the Austin community and its future development together. Utilizing a systems planning approach, we investigated the interconnectedness of several of Austin’s systems and discovered cross-system pressures: extreme weather, rapid growth, and a stark east-west racial and economic divide. As the teaching assistant and one of the project leads, I played a major role in the overall direction of the studio and management of getting a long list of deliverables completed. I utilized my skills in communication, project management, writing, graphic design, and urban design to take this project from city-wide planning to neighborhood-level interventions. Our final deliverable was a 150-page book outlining our goals, policy interventions, and physical recommendations that set Austin up for a resilient future in the face of the serious impacts of climate change.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

MOBILITY

HOUSING

DEMOGRAPHICS & POVERTY

PLANNING GOALS

Placemaking & Placekeeping refers to strategies that aid a community’s creation of spaces and efforts to maintain and preserve existing spaces over time.

PARKS ACCESS

Fostering Diversity refers to strategies that work to diversify a community’s collection of social, economic, and natural assets while encouraging inclusion and celebrating identity.

Creating Wealth refers to strategies that target a community’s ability to create economic opportunities and retain those financial gains locally and over time.

Building Connectivity refers to strategies that seek to improve a community’s ability build relationships and connections through social networks and physical infrastructure.

LAND USE & ECONOMY WATERSHED & ENVIRONMENT 11

Moratorium on building in floodplain Raise buildings 2 feet within 200 ft buffer of floodplain City-Proposed Stops New Proposed Stops

SOUTH CONGRESS AVENUE TRANSIT PLAN In the neighborhood around Williamson Creek, in south Austin, major changes are coming to South Congress. For a city-proposed streetcar, new proposed stops will create a more people-friendly environment. New zoning will encourage flood-friendly design and cease building in dangerous areas.

SOUTH CONGRESS AVENUE ROAD REDESIGN A redesign of South Congress Avenue illustrates how the wide roadway can be rehabilitated to encourage more activity and manage more flood waters.

6ft Sidewalk

5ft

10.5ft

12ft

10.5ft

Bike lane

Drive lane

Turn lane

Drive lane

5ft

6ft

Bike Sidewalk lane

Mixed-use building Transit stop Bioswale

Street-level retention

Floodwater detention

Flooded Congress Park

New Floodable Buyout Park

AFTER

st S tre

ney

WS tass

SC ong

res s

Ave

BEFORE

Congress Park Mendez Creekbend Park Dov e

Spr in

gs D r

SP leas

ant

Val ley Rd

FLOODABLE PARK DESIGN

EW illia

mC ann

on D r

An extensive creek network threads its way into every neighborhood in Austin. These creeks can be a flood risk during heavy storms but can also be an important asset for a community. The inset maps show two areas where dangerous flood plains have been re-imagined as floodable parks that can manage water and serve as community gathering spaces.

The goal of this project was to create a space that both serves new residents and office workers who would use the site, while managing the large amounts of pedestrian and car traffic on game days. In order to achieve this, pedestrian and car circulation, levels of density, and balancing the amount of public and private space needed to be addressed.

SITE APPROACH 1: reduce existing green buffer north of site, and extend buffer along parking lot edge to east

The design aims to draw people east from the NRG Subway stations through public plazas towards Pattison Street, towards Citizen Bank Park. Smaller public spaces in the north serve to further buffer the residential neighborhood from the activity in the south and provides more private space for residents. An existing green buffer that separates existing residents from the parking lot will be continued along the eastern edge. A step-density is proposed to link the existing low-density neighborhood in the north to a high-density Transit-Oriented Development closer to the station. New corridor redesigns also make it safer for people walking, biking, and driving through the area.

2: continue streets from surrounding neighborhoods, identify main arterials and secondary roads as well as pedestrian circulation 1 buffer

2 streets RSA-5 RMX-3

THE PHILLIES BASEBALL FIELD

CMX-3

THE EAGLES FOOTBALL STADIUM

FDR PARK

1 separate

BASKETBALL & HOCKEY ARENA

NAVY YARD BUSINESS DISTRICT

1 zone

3: separate the site into 3 different zones that are defined by streets, proximity to major arterials Broad St, Pattison Ave, parking lots and sun path 4: rezone the site to match the density patterns

Pla za

Re s i d e nt

ial

d nte

Existing landscape buffer

Proposed buffer

tin

laz P g

Traffic calming median Bus Lane / Car Share Pick up & Drop off

Re t a

il f r

2-way buffered bike lane

Residential Plaza Apartment Surface Parking

ant a ur

Woonerf / Early Morning Loading Commercial/Office Parking Structure

O ut d o or B

Traffic Calming Median

Retail Fronting Plaza Outdoor Bar Plaza SEPTA NRG Station

SITE DIAGRAMS

COMMERCIAL FRONTAGES

PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION

VEHICULAR CIRCULATION

PARKING

Building frontages face plaza spaces where pedestrians are expected to travel; restaurants, bars as well as other commercial uses are proposed that will cater to the young professional demographic expected to live in the neighborhood and Phillies fans visiting.

Continue to pull pedestrian traffic through new planned plaza spaces; limit pedestrian thru-traffic after Orchard St to keep it primarily a residential area.

Remain as it is; only differences include limiting game day traffic on Lupine St to keep traffic congestion out; creating a dedicated Bus and Car Share lane and woonerf through the lower blocks, only allowing loading in early mornings for businesses.

single family units: 1 padded parking per unit

NORTH - SOUTH SECTION

apartments: 1 parking spot per 2 units commercial & office: 2.5 parking spots per 1,000 sq ft

8 stories 6 stories 4 stories

5 stories 4 stories

3 stories

PHASING PLAN PHASE 3 - TOWN HOMES residential: 295,000 sq feet

add lower residential density;

units: 147 units

stacked rowhomes adjacent to mixed use apartments;

parking: 147 spaces

expand single-family attached rowhouses from existing northern neighborhood; median on Phillies Dr to discourage visitor access and make it residential oriented

PHASE 2 - APARTMENTS add residential density;

commercial: 26,000 sq feet

first floor commercial with 30% studios, 40% 1-bedroom, and 30% 2-bedroom apartments;

residential: 200,000 sq feet parking: 75 spaces

outdoor surface parking and small open space plaza for residential use;

PHASE 1 - MIXED-USE OFFICE office: 263,000 sq feet

highest traffic area;

commercial: 75,000 sq feet

office & commercial to bring people on non-game days; plazas with commercial frontages to create an experience for visitors passing through to Citizens Bank Park;

parking: 408 spaces

Orchard Street with median as a buffer between Phase 1 and Phase 2

TOTALS residential: 495,000 sq feet

office: 263,000 sq feet

commercial: 101,000 sq feet

parking: 780 spaces 0

62.51

250

feet

ROW HOUSES 20’’ 20

setback

5’

ROW HOUSES 3 story 2,200 SF

setback

30’’ 30

1st unit

50’’ 50

40’’ 40

padded parking

20’’ 20

75 units

2,000 SF

20’’ 20

PHASE 3

STACKED ROW HOUSES 20’’ 20 STACKED ROW HOUSES 4 story 1,600 SF

10’’ 10 10 10’’

2nd unit

72 units

10’’ 10 10 10’’

MIXED USE APARTMENTS 70’’ 70 5 story 14,000 SF

89,600 SF

1st floor commercial

142 units

70’’ 70

2-5th floor office

20% studio

75 parking

40% 1-bedroom

surface + 1st floor

200’’ 200

70’’ 70

1st floor commercial

6 story 11,620 SF 190’’ 190

190’’ 190

108’’ 108

2-6th floor office

20% studio

78 parking

40% 1-bedroom

1-3rd floor

30% 2-bedroom

MIXED USE OFFICE + STATION

100’’ 100

’

8 story 9,000 SF

4 story 9,200 SF

4 story 7,150 SF

6 story 12,000 SF

63,000 SF

27,600 SF

21,450 SF

60,000 SF

1st floor commercial 2-4th floor office

42’’ 42

1st floor commercial 2-6th floor office

150’’ 150

97’

67’’ 67

47’’ 47

’

60’’ 60

’

90’’ 90

160’’ 160 115’’ 115

115’’ 115

PARKING GARAGE

197’’ 197

80’’ 80

86’’ 86

150’’ 150

80’’ 80

PHASE 1

60’’ 60

2-8th floor office

30% 2-bedroom

166’’ 166

COMMERCIAL + OFFICE

1st floor commercial

143 units

83,300 SF

25’’ 25

PHASE 2

70’’ 70

46’’ 46

5 story 19,573 SF

1st floor commercial

8 story 408 parking spots

90,620 SF

2-5th floor office

EAST KENSINGTON site analysis and site plan GIS | DATA ANALYSIS | ILLUSTRATOR | SKETCHUP | group project

East Kensington is a community in northeast Philadelphia, close to Fishtown, with lots of new development. It is a neighborhood on the verge of change, with new development popping up and large vacant lots left unkempt. This project was an initial site analysis of 12 blocks in East Kensington. Our study area was bounded by four streets: Kensington, Sergeant, York, and Emerald. The project included analysis that was intended to identify both the area’s local strengths and challenges to guide future investment and a site plan to provide new market rate and affordable housing options.

SEQUENTIAL SITE APPROACH

Untended vacant land Soon-to-be developed Tended vacant land Built Unbuilt 4+ floors 3 floors 1-2 floors 1-2 floors

EVALUATE & CONNECT

INTEGRATE

BUFFER

Majority of possible infill lots on east are tended or slated for development. Disconnect on western side between existing housing and vacancy across the street;

Majority of taller, denser building are located in the north, with lower-density rowhomes mainly in the southern end;

The SEPTA Market-Frankford Line runs above-ground on Kensington Ave, which abuts the site in the north and creates a lot of noise; existing tall buildings act as a sound buffer;

Recommend targeting large, not vacant sites on western side of site for redevelopment and building on sites that will bridges two sides of the street.

Recommend developing apartment building in northernmost vacant lot and developing low density rowhomes in southern end.

Recommend developing higher density apartment building at the northernmost site to act as another buffer for the rest of the neighborhood.

OBSERVATION MAP Our observation map shows the perceived levels of investment and disinvestment in the study area. The depth of the black boxes correlates to a higher level of disrepair.

5% 22% NEW INVESTMENT EXISTING DISINVESTED AREAS

49% 24% 9%

8% 26%

4% 35%

24%

RACE MAP

85%

CK BLO P 3 U G RO

CK BLO P 1 U G RO

CK BLO P 4 U G RO

Using block groups, we looked at the racial demographics of the site, which varied widely. Because the three block groups evenly split the site, it was hard to decipher the demographics of the 12 blocks

BRIEF

SITE & PROGRAM

This first year Urban Design Studio took place in fall of 2018. The first half of the studio focused on the site of the Fresh Grocer on Grays Ferry Avenue in Philadelphia, PA, and the second half focused on retrofitting the site directly to the south.

The project site is located on an edge of Center City Philadelphia and along the Schuylkill River. This area is transitioning from an industrial district to postindustrial uses with the effort of the city to redevelop the waterfront corridor. The design was be based on the hypothesis that this area would be re-zoned for mixed-used development (RMX-1) in order to accommodate the growing demand of housing, shopping, and waterfront entertainment in the city.

In this first site, we focused on the basic module of urban form made out of the street and the block to establish the concept of human scale in the design of urban space. Next, we further developed the planning framework established in the previous phase and zoomed in to a smaller scale to provide a conceptual design of the open spaces in the site including streets, parks, squares, and the waterfront. Our final illustrative plan, open space plans, and block studies are a culmination of two-person group in-depth study of the site and our final recommendations.

This project proposed a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for the whole area of 1.5-2, which means approximately 1.10-1.45 million sq. ft of buildings could be built on the site, in addition to landscape and other outdoor amenities. The site south of Grays Ferry Avenue was designed as a retrofit development to preserve the existing buildings and urban form.

CIRCULATION

Grays Ferry Ave Two-way street One-way street Alley

GREEN SPACE

LAND USE

Apartment Residential

Mixed-use residential Mixed-use office Community Center

Our group focused in on health, active lifestyles, and active green space as a concept for our design. We saw the potential for this site to be a connector between the green spaces to the south of the site and the proposed Schuylkill River Trail extension that will pass by the north of our site. This would also connect the existing Schuylkill River Park to the east with the eventual connection to Bartram’s Garden swing bridge to the west. This could be an active green space, a stormwater management tool, a community space, and much more.

FIGURE GROUND

+ MASSING PED ENTRANCES

PARKING

ANALYSIS & CONCEPT

Padded, above-ground, and below-ground parking

0ft

500ft

1000ft

CENTRAL PARK The central green space in the northern site serves as the main public space for the residential community surrounding the site and as a connector for the visitors coming from the future Schuylkill River Trail. There is a balance of programmed and unprogrammed space to accommodate many uses.

SketchUp rendering of entry plaza

ENTRY PLAZA The main entry plaza along Grays Ferry Avenue serves as an axis point that draws visitors off the street and into the site. From the circular water feature looking towards the center of the site, as you can see in the perspective above, the user gets a clear view of the central green space and the main commercial walkway. erry ys F

Ave

Gra

BLOCK STUDY RESIDENTIAL

This study gave us a chance to dig deeper into building typologies and site planning. I looked at the commercial alleyway that buffers the site from Grays Ferry Avenue.

COMMERCIAL

OFFICE Mixed-use residential: Total square footage: 28,500 sf Commercial area: 4,500 sf Individual store: 1,100 sf Residential area: 22,500 sf Sample unit: 1,100 sf

Mixed-use office: Total square footage: 40,500 sf Commercial area: 9,500 sf Individual store: 1,500 sf Office area: 28,500 sf Sample office space: 9,500 sf

Photoshop rendering of Oakford Avenue

Photoshop rendering of Grays Ferry Avenue redesign

TIOGA/NICETOWN ANALYSIS neighborhood profile ILLUSTRATOR |GIS | R STUDIO | EXCEL

In our quantitative analysis course we took a close look at one neighborhood in Philadelphia. I studied Tioga. Tioga is in north Philadelphia, north of the main Temple University Campus, but home to Temple Medical School. It is a formerly industrial neighborhood, and the Old Budd Factory sits on its

the west side. Wayne Junction, a site of new development, lies to the northwest. The residents in Tioga are not doing well in comparison to the rest of Philadelphia. Since 2000, as Philadelphia has gotten more prosperous, Tioga has been left behind. Medium Household Income: 2000 vs. 2016

Income in thousands of dollars

CONTEXT MAP

150

100

Philadelphia Tioga

2000

2016

Employment Rate

Employment Rate: 2000 vs. 2016 100

100

Philadelphia

2000 Source: US Census Bureau, 2000 Decennial Census, 2018

Tioga

2016 Source: US Census Bureau, 2016 ACS 5 Year, 2018

DISPLACEMENT MAP With a low median household income, high vacancy, and development pressures from nearby neighborhoods, I was interested in how vulnerable the population could be to displacement in the future. Based on a project by Dr. Lisa Bates in Portland, I rated each census tract using different vulnerability indicators. Then, I took the most vulnerable tracts and looked at the change in median rent since 2010. My findings show the tracts in Philadelphia that could be most at-risk in the coming years to development pressure and displacement.

Change in median rent from 2010 - 2016 Fourth Quartile

Second Quartile

Third Quartile

First Quartile

Above $221

$129.50-$221

$58.75-$129.50

Below $58.75

Source: 2010 and 2016 ACS 5-year

SELECTED DRAWINGS These are selected drawing from an undergraduate architecture course - both drawing studies and sketches of buildings on campus at University of Michigan.

CLAIREZJAFFE@GMAIL.COM WWW.CLAIREJAFFE.COM 931 S 10TH STREET APT 3 PHILADELPHIA, PA 19147 (202) 330-3582 Cover photo by Nathan O'Nions on Flickr