Emily Pietrantone's Portfolio Fall 23

Emily Pietrantone

Urban Planning Portfolio

Creating a ‘Park Like’ Setting - Site Planning Studio

Zoning Change in Cincinnati - Smart Growth for Climate Resiliency

Work at University of Cincinnati: Planning +Design + Construction

Creating a ‘Park Like’ Setting Site Planning Studio

My third semester at the University of Cincinnati my studio focused on the steps it takes to plan a site. From researching the site and its respective zoning codes to creating a proposed plan. The site, outlined in red, is located in Middletown, Ohio which is about a 45 minute drive from the University of Cincinnati campus. The site is located just east of the major highway I-75 and just west of a Fischer homes development.

Legend

Proposed Buildings

Existing Buildings

Outline of Site

Proposed Trees

Existing Trees

Active Greenspace

Planned Lots

Natural Existing Land

Water

Parking

Water

Lot Lines

Sidewalks

Pathways

Conceptual Plan

This map hows a conceptual plan for the site. Planning out zoning districts based on the existing zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan for the area. My goal for the site was to make a ‘park-like’ setting. I focused on separating the types of uses on the site so the residential area was quiet and not disturbed my the commercial area near the highway west of the site. By using a topographic map as a base I was able to plan around large changes in topography.

Land Use

This map shows the proposed zoning for the site. the northwest and then have a smaller center just mixed use buildings pedestrians become the focus

Legend

Used

Density Residential

Density Residential

Density Residential

ce

Outline

Greenspace

Existing Land

Sidewalks Pathways site. The goal was to one large neighborhood center at just south of the main center. With the addition of focus of the area.

Use Plan

Overall Plan

This overall plan was the final product from the site planning studio. Taking pieces from the conceptual plan, I was able to modify the plan to account for changes to square footage of parking lots, buildings and greenspace. These changes were made so the plan would be in line with the conceptual plan for Middletown as well as zoning ordinances. Additionally, turning the focus from car to pedestrian based modified the plans roadways.

Zoning Change in Cincinnati Application of Smart Growth for Climate Resiliency

This studio began with the premise of Climate Havens. Research shows that as climate change impacts the world, the people of southern and coastal areas of the United States will move to areas that provide them more comfort. These areas were deemed as ‘climate havens’ and Cincinnati was included as one. In order to accommodate the anticipated population growth, Cincinnati should implement Smart Growth principles.

Cincinnati is fairly developed, leaving little room to grow. A large portion of the land in Cincinnati is devoted to sprawling single family housing. To accommodate the increase in population as a result of climate change, without consuming much land, density needs to increase while preserving greenspace.

In order to determine what areas would be best suited for growth a matrix was developed that combined proximity and residential density. This resulted with four typologies: low proximity low density, low proximity high density, high proximity low density and high proximity high density.

Proximity measures access to basic necessities and amenities based on the concept of a 15 minute city. Amenities include care, learning, groceries, culture, and recreation. Proximity scores ranges from zero to one (no to high access to amenities).

Density measures residential density. Measured by the number of dwelling units per acre based on block groups. Dwelling units for each block group was obtained from the U.S Census Data portal.

In order to prioritize areas for implementation, we chose to use the strategy of overlay zones. Overlay zones are districts that have been placed over existing zoning and stipulate additional regulations, standards, contingencies, or permitted uses. These overlay zones would focus on the principles of Smart Growth. The typologies identified above were used for prioritization. The prioritization should be as follows:

Typologies

Typologies

Greenspace Needs Assessment

The goal is to tackle the low-hanging will be easier to achieve. For instance, already has high proximity allows on increasing density in those areas. assessment and the areas of high beneath the density/proximity typologies. then able to determine areas where most and determined two overlay from high proximity, low-density areas from the low proximity, high-density

Vacancy

1. High proximity, low density

2. Low proximity, high density

3. Low proximity, low density

4. High proximity, high density.

Vacancy

Greenspace Needs Assessment

Overlay Zones

Overlay Zones

low-hanging fruit first. This way, goals instance, focusing on an area that allows planners to focus entirely areas. The green space needs vacancy were overlayed typologies. Visually, we were where all elements overlapped the overlay zones—one based on areas low-density typology, and one based on high-density typology.

Overlay Zone 1

Areas with:

High Proximity, Low Density

High Greenspace Need

High Vacancy

Overlay Zone 2

Areas with:

Low Proximity, High Density

High Greenspace Need

High Vacancy

In order to make the most efficient return on investment, Cincinnati should implement strategies beginning with areas of highest need. Areas of high proximity, low density should be considered easy wins as proximity is already achieved. Strategies in these areas focus on densification. Areas of low proximity, high density have little room for development. Strategies in this area will focus on increasing proximity. Areas of low proximity, low density will need significant improvement. Finally, areas of high proximity, high density will have little room for work and should be left alone for the most part.

Strategies to be Applied in Each Typology

Strategies to be Applied in

Work at Cuyahoga County Planning Commission

My third co-op was in my hometown, Cleveland, Ohio. I worked for Cuyahoga County Planning Commission (CCPC) as a planning intern. My work primarily focused on creating plans and plan elements in Adobe Creative Cloud and Sketchup. I additionally prepared research in the form of case studies, grant background and more. Additional impactful work included community outreach. Navigating community outreach during COVID-19 created an interesting challenge, especially when engaging with a community with very limited Internet access.

County Lakefront Initiatives Plan and Companion Projects

One of the most exciting this about being an intern is that you enter projects in every stage. I was fortunate enough to be at CCPC during the tail end of the Lakefront Public Access Plan.

The Lakefront Public Access Plan is a plan to connect the public to the lakefront and fortify the shoreline to prevent any future erosion. On the left, is a map of the area with corresponding project pictures. This was created to be placed in a news article to help promote the project. A huge part of this project was getting individual property owners on board.

At the beginning of my internship I worked extensively on the Center Ridge Corridor Plan for Westlake, Ohio. This plan was about creating a safer more appealing Center Ridge Rd.

The figures on your left show the existing (top) and proposed (bottom) storefronts on Center Ridge Rd. The plan is to bring buildings closer to the road and put parking in the back, to allow for a more welcoming environment for all users.

Parking moved to side or rear

One that I touched very frequently was the East Cleveland Parks and Greenspace Plan. East Cleveland is an area that has been consistently loosing population since 1970. The area has a very low median household income and limited access to Internet and other amenities.

Something the city of East Cleveland wants to focus on is a safer and more desirable place to live. During the study it was found that 90% of residents live within a 10 minute walk to a park. So, the city decided to focus on the parks and the surrounding areas. This map shows a 10 minute walk shed around the park, highlighting what areas should be prioritized for repair.

Work at University of Cincinnati: Planning +Design +Constuction

My first two co-op rotations were at University of Cincinnati: Planning, Design and Construction (PDC). I worked in the renovations department to make changes to existing buildings and structures on campus. Most of the work I touched involved making changes to existing plans through redlining, creation of phasing plans and helping visualize the designs through Revit renderings.

One project that I worked on heavily was the transformation of a lab space. The space consisted of many rooms connected through doors.

The room was reconfigured and refurnished to accommodate upcoming classes as well as two large pieces of equipment. The vent hood shown in the bottom left corner of the bottom image had to stay in place because of existing venting. But a new piece of very sensitive equipment was being added to the room, shown in the top left of the top image.

It was an interesting challenge to create a workable space, as the existing room was obviously not updated or taken care of for a long time.

These renderings were used to show the proposed renovations to the space.

Another project I was involved in was the reconstruction of the offices off-campus inside of USquare. This image shows the first of three phases in a phasing plan to create new spaces for two groups at University of Cincinnati. The office of Gender Equity and Inclusion and the Faculty Senate. The plan created three office spaces, one to become empty for potential use in the future.

The above plan details the second phase of the three part phasing plan for the offices at USquare. The priority was to get the office of Gender Equity and Inclusion up and running as soon as possible. That office would be temporarily held in the north section of the building, highlighted in phase 1. Then moved to their permanent place in the south side of the building, show in phase 2. In the 3rd and final phase, the north offices would be converted to the Faculty Senate space and an empty office for future use.

Programs Used:

Adobe CC

ArcGIS

AutoCAD

Sketchup