Hello! I’m Hannah Clarke, originally from Indianapolis, IN. I spent my undergrad years in the Sunshine State earning a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Spanish Language with a minor in Visual Arts. Upon graduating at the onset of the pandemic, I shifted gears to combat the global pandemic by working as a contact tracer. While remotely based in Costa Rica, I was able to indulge my love for medicinal plants and hiking.
In Fall 2022, I moved to Raleigh to be closer to family and have called it home ever since. Now, as I enter my final semester in the Master of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning program at NC State, I bring an interdisciplinary perspective shaped by environmental studies, language, and public health. This background fuels my passion for designing inclusive, people-centered spaces that prioritize community well-being, safety, and sustainability. I am committed to creating public spaces and networks that seamlessly integrate natural elements while fostering meaningful human connections.
Contact
Masters of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Candidate College of Design, North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC
B.A. Environmental Studies and Spanish Language Eckerd College | St. Petersburg, FL
Email : hclarke@ncsu.edu Skills
Land F/X
Rhino
Location: Raleigh, NC
Project Type: Academic
Date : Fall 2024
Location : Raleigh, NC
Project Type: Academic
Date : Fall 2023
OBERLIN GATEWAY
infill REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT
Location : Raleigh, NC
Project Type: Academic
Date : Fall 2024
UNC Institute of Marine Sciences,Campus Master Plan
Location : Belville, NC
Project Type: Academic
Date : Spring 2024
Location: Morehead City, NC
Project Type: Academic
Date : Spring 2023
01 TRAILSIDE COMMONS
A VILLAGE-SCALE, GREENWAY-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT
Type: Academic Studio, Semester 5
Size: .75 Acres
Location : Caraleigh Park, Raleigh, NC
Trailside Commons is a village-scale, green-way-oriented development situated in the last mile of the Southern BRT Corridor. This project integrates Greenway-Oriented Development (GOD) into the broader concept of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), focusing on creating welcoming spaces that foster community connections. The project’s design addresses key urban challenges, such as fragmented bike and pedestrian corridors, by proposing an extension of the Walnut Creek greenway to connect local neighborhoods.
The site, located within a transit-dependent area with lower median incomes and high unemployment, is in a critical location for providing local economy opportunity and place-making. It currently features a high vacancy rate and car-centric infrastructure, limiting pedestrian accessibility. By transforming the site into a mixed-use space anchored by a greenway, the design introduces flexible community-oriented open spaces, civic buildings, including a preschool, housing and retail.
Inspired by Ross Chapin’s Pocket Neighborhoods, the layout prioritizes community-oriented design with clustered housing, pedestrian-friendly streets, and shared green spaces. A central greenway connects the site’s commercial areas and serves as a space for recreational and community activities. The redevelopment maintains car access while prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists, with multiple transit options, including BRT and bike paths.
Background Perspective: Central Commons
The central commons, linked to the site’s core by the greenway spur, includes a recreational field near the preschool and a community garden that fosters local participation. The area also features a public plaza, ideal for events like farmers’ markets, and small retail spaces, such as a restaurant. The greenway spurs extend westward, connecting to a recreational trail surrounding the site’s existing storm water management pond. One of the street typologies in the foreground is a residential shared street, prioritizing pedestrians with minimal parking to encourage transit use. Shared streets meet the needs of local residents and serve as public spaces for recreation, socializing, and leisure.
PUBLIC PLAZA
MULTI-USE RECREATION FIELD
BRT TRANSIT STOP
GREENWAY
CIVIC SPACE
SMALL-SCALE RETAIL
PHILOSOPHY AND FRAMEWORK
PHILOSOPHY:
This project explores the concept of Greenway-Oriented Development (GwOD), by incorporating greenways as a central element to anchor the redevelopment site. GwOD is rooted in the belief that spaces should be welcoming and foster community connections, prioritizing human interaction and engagement.
PROJECT FRAMEWORKS:
The design is guided by two primary frameworks. The first adopts a systems-based approach, which integrates various densities of student-proposed TODs along the Southern BRT corridor, connected by a proposed greenway. This extension, stemming from the Walnut Creek Greenway, aims to address challenges such as fragmentation and the lack of safe, accessible bike and pedestrian routes along the BRT corridor. The second framework focuses on a specific site within the last mile of the Southern BRT corridor, chosen for its need for intervention. This location serves a transit-dependent population in an area marked by low median household incomes and high unemployment rates. Given its potential for economic revitalization and improved mobility, the site presents a critical opportunity to enhance transportation access and support the community’s broader needs.
PROJECT GOALS + DIAGRAMS
project goals: This project transforms the site into a vibrant, community-focused space by integrating an active greenway corridor, multi-modal transit access, flexible shared spaces, and opportunities for affordable housing and retail, fostering economic growth and connection.
This design re-imagines the site with pocket neighborhoods—clusters of housing around shared green spaces, emphasizing pedestrian-friendly layouts, sustainability, and affordability to foster community bonds and meaningful connections.
BUILDING MASSING DIAGRAM:
This proposal transforms the site from a car-dominant layout to a communitycentered environment, anchored by a greenway. Building massing centers around shared spaces along a central axis, fostering interaction and activating the greenway corridor with dense, mixed-use development to enhance flow and stimulate the local economy.
SITE CIRCULATION DIAGRAM:
The redevelopment prioritizes pedestrian safety and accessibility while accommodating vehicles. It integrates the city’s BRT corridor, adds transit stops, and features bike and pedestrian paths with varied routes. Shared streets enhance safety and ensure smooth, multi-modal movement.
Image Source: thetinylife.com
TRAILSIDE COMMONS MASTER PLAN
The mixed-use site plan is designed to foster a vibrant community by combining residential, civic, and commercial spaces. At the heart of the site, the greenway anchors essential community features, including a preschool and community buildings, which serve to bring daily activity to the area. These spaces attract families and encourage foot traffic from nearby neighborhoods. The building layout creates a central axis, enhanced by flexible open spaces that incorporate green infrastructure to manage storm water and reduce surface temperatures. These spaces can be adapted for a range of activities, supporting both daily functions and special events.
ACTIVATED PRIMARY GREENWAY
The central greenway revitalizes access to local resources and amenities by connecting nearby commercial areas, which include spaces for small businesses such as a neighborhood grocery store. This greenway also serves as the heart of the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), promoting well-being, social interaction, and community engagement. Positioned next to the preschool, the greenway enhances safe pedestrian access for parents and children. As both a transportation route and a space for community events, the greenway hosts activities like markets, food truck festivals, and other gatherings that encourage people to come together.
Green alley
The green alleyway is key feature, designed to be a pedestrianfriendly space that encourages walking, recreation, and social interaction. Sustainable elements such as permeable pavements, effective drainage systems, and environmentally conscious materials enhance the alleyway’s appeal and functionality. This lively community hub connects commercial and residential spaces, with local businesses occupying groundfloor retail spaces and residential units located above. The mixed-use nature of the development provides a combination of market-rate and affordable housing, fostering equitable access to quality living options and helping create a more inclusive, connected community.
02 OBERLIN GATEWAY
URBAN infill, REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT
Type: Real Estate Development, Semester 5
Size: 3.26 Acres
Location : Raleigh, NC
According to the National Association of Realtors, seventy-nine percent of Americans want to live in walkable neighborhoods—but only seven percent do. Project, Oberlin Gateway seizes this opportunity, building on the success of Tempe’s first car-free neighborhood to create a vibrant, transit-oriented district in Raleigh. This project aligns with Raleigh’s mission to create more missing middle housing and transit-oriented development.
Designed for efficiency and livability, Oberlin Gateway eliminates wasted space with repeatable, high-quality building types, fostering human-scaled density with pedestrian alleyways, shared courtyards, and active storefronts. Located at Hillsborough and Oberlin, this 3.26-acre site features 319 residential units, 36,000 square feet of commercial space, and a 44% internal rate of return. Anchored by transit and Raleigh’s thriving cultural scene, Oberlin Gateway transforms Hillsborough Street into a vibrant, walkable destination.
UNTAPPED MARKET BUILT ENVIRONMENT
THIS is THE UNTAPPED MARKET
PROJECT PRECEDENT
CUL-DE-SAC
Several years ago development began on a first-of-its-kind car free neighborhood in Tempe Arizona. Capitalizing on nearby transit and a college-aged demographic, developers saw a perfect opportunity to create something different. This design draws inspiration from Tempe’s repeatable building types to maximize efficiency from a financial standpoint without sacrificing quality. This approach delivers human-scaled density with tight pedestrian alleyways and open courtyards, creating a welcoming environment.
DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL
UNBUILT ENVIRONMENT
DESIGN PROPOSAL ACCESS
MARKET + SUB-MARKET TRENDS
Market and sub-market analysis confirms that the development location and programming align with market trends, making this project both economically and programmatically viable.
PRO-FORMA SUMMARY
Overall Positive Net Absorption of Retail Space in Hillsborough St. Sub-Market (18,200 sf)
Food and Beverage sales have grown (currently higher than pre-covid levels)
Commercial Vacancy rates are lower than City of Raleigh average
Steady student housing demand; low vacancy rates; potential for mixeduse development to meet housing demand and needs
03 THE LONG MARSH FORWARD:
ADAPTIVE REGENERATION OF BELVILLES WATERFRONT
SMALL TOWN, REGIONAL CONNECTION
Type: Academic Studio, Semester 5
Size: Brunswick and Cape Fear River
Location : Belville, NC
The Long Marsh Forward is a transformative initiative that integrates local waterfront recreation and mobility into regional networks.
The most historic and important corridor in the region and adjacent to the town of Belville is the Brunswick River. Historically, it and its tributaries were used as a primary corridor of travel for common folk. Over time the development of Railroads, roads, airports, and regional recreational trails were established, but the river persisted as the most significant corridor throughout time.
Due to the construction of the concourse just north of the town, it is now bypassed. The construction of concourse, urban development, and climate change have significantly altered our relationship with the river and its ecology.
Belville Blueway not only reactivates the water as a gateway from the river to Belville but also refocuses local culture around connection to the river and water-based activities. The Blueway strengthens culture, ecology, economy, climate resilience, and well-being by using Belville’s number one asset - the river. Regional connection, riverfront, recreation, and cultural celebration are addressed through Blueway design and programming.
2024, STUDENT HONOR AWARD RECIPIENT
NC
C a p e FearPaddle TrailConnec t snoi 187 MILES E a g le IslandPaddle TrailConn e c t snoi 18 MILES E a s t CoastGreenway Connecti o n s 3,000 MILES
PARKS + GREEN SPACES EXISTING REGIONAL BOAT RAMPS
WILMINGTON,
MODULAR TYPOLOGIES
MODULES CAN BE AUTONOMOUS OR GATHERED TOGETHER IN A COMMUNITY
The movable, floating, and low-impact modules are adaptable to both tide fluctuation and SLR and programming needs. By adding or subtracting modules, they can be used by individuals or small and large groups.
PLANE JANE
TOUCH TANK
KAYAK SLIP
FLOATING MODULAR UNITS ZOOMED OUT SCALE
Creates an interactive fabric along the shore
Protects motorized crafts and recreational activities
Attenuates wave energy and secretes sediment along the shore
Acts as a breakwater reducing erosion along the shore
Existing Conditions: Erosion
River
Brunswick
MODULAR ADAPTABILITY
ANCHORING SYSTEMS ALLOW FOR MODULES TO ADAPT TO
SEA LEVEL RISE AND FLUCTUATING TIDES
3 FT S.L.R 6 FT S.L.R
CURRENT MEAN TIDE LEVEL
THERMALLY MODIFIED WOOD
SCREW PILES
SCREW PILE AND FLOATING STRUCTURE ALLOWS FOR ADAPTATION TO FLUCTUATING WATER
THERMALLY
MODIFIED WOOD
LESS PRONE TO WARPING IN MOISTURE; NOT CHEMICALLY TREATED
55 GALLON BARRELS
ACCESSIBLE, INEXPENSIVE
BIO-ROCK
WEIGHTS + CHAIN
FLOATING MODULES ALLOW FOR MOVEMENT AND RELOCATION AS SEDIMENT ACCUMULATES AND MARCH GROWS
BLOCKSANDCHAIN
BOARDWALK CONNECTS TO STATE ROAD 133 GREENWAY
THE HEART OF THE BELVILLE BLUEWAY IS THE FLOATING RECREATION HUB, CONNECTING USERS TO THE DOWNTOWN BELVILLE RIVER’S EDGE PARK AND STATE RD 133 GREENWAY TRAIL RECREATION HUB FORM OF RECREATION HUB INSPIRED BY LIBERTY SHIP COVES
DOCKED WWII LIBERTY SHIPS ALONG BRUNSWICK RIVER (1940S)
FLOATING WETLANDS
KERR MCGEE SUPERFUND SITE
16 WETLAND MODULES FILTER STORM WATER RUN-OFF FROM ONE CITY BLOCK
NON-SUBMERGED HIGH WETLAND (4” - 8”)
PROJECT SITE
HOG FARMS
COAL ASH PLANTS
FLOOD/HURRICANE RUNOFF
PFAS (FOREVER CHEMICALS)
SUBMERGED WETLAND (4” B.S.L. - 0”)
NON-SUBMERGED WETLAND (0” - 4”)
FIBER REINFORCED PLASTIC (FRP)
55 GALLON BARRELS; ATTACHED TO FRP WITH CHORD
BIO-ROCK WEIGHT AND CHAIN
FLOATING WETLANDS FILTER UPSTREAM CONTAINMENTS AND IMPROVE RIVER HEALTH
04 PILOT PARK
NEIGHBORHOOD PARK DESIGN
Type: Academic Studio, Semester 3
Size: .75 Acres
Location : Caraleigh Park, Raleigh, NC
This design addresses the fragmented ecology in the city of Raleigh that has occurred as a result of fast-paced development. By establishing an ecological corridor in the Caraleigh Neighborhood—positioned between Dorothea Dix Park and Walnut Creek Wetland Park—this project seeks to restore connectivity between key ecological assets.
As it stands now, the neighborhood is lacking in terms of ecological assets. The new park will act as a pilot project that inspires bottom-up ecological regeneration while complementing larger-scale conservation efforts. Through landscape design choices and educational signage, the park demonstrates how property owners and renters can integrate eco-rich design decisions into their own landscapes, contributing to improved health of the larger ecological restoration network. Pilot Park not only acts to enhance biodiversity, but also fosters community stewardship.
Design decisions, such as removing invasive species, diversifying plant communities beyond mono-cultures, incorporating native and keystone species, and implementing storm water management strategies to protect the Walnut Creek Watershed align with ecological principles that promote resilience at both local and regional scales.
This project reinforces the idea that individual landscape decisions, when implemented throughout a community or a neighborhood, can begin to collectively restore ecosystem functions and strengthen Raleigh’s urban ecological framework. As residents adopt these design practices in their own yards, the project scales up from a single ecopatch to a networked system that promotes the long-term health and connectivity of Raleigh’s flora and fauna.
Site
The site’s position between city parks (colored in orange) makes this an ideal site to create an ecological ‘patch’ to provide habitat for local flora and small fauna.
Ecological Analysis
Steps taken to design a healthy eco-patch
Eco-patch : habitat; environment
Addition of Native Shrubs context
Addition of Storm water Control Measures
Addition of Native Shrubs
Addition of Native Grasses & Ground Covers
2. Opportunity v. Constraints
4. Iterate
5. Sketch + Watercolor
PILOT PARK OVERHEAD STRUCTURE
Designed in favor of park view sheds, this structure provides the opportunity for prospect and refuge. The structure’s build mimics the circular form of the site’s encompassing ADA path, thus supporting the idea of a circular flow around the site.
Steel I-Beams are used for posts and beams to ensure the structure’s longevity, and the locally sourced black locust post veneer and joists result in lower material transportation emissions. Despite the structure’s central location on site, the gabion basket seating with a central patch of native grasses provides refuge as well as a connection to nature. In a further attempt to limit project emissions, the structure sits atop the existing basketball court, and gabion basket seating is filled with fragments from the existing hardscape.
MASTER PLAN
05 LEARNING LANDSCAPE
UNC INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCES CAMPUS PLAN
PROCESS
Site Analysis
Hydrology Analysis
Stream Analysis was created by using topographic data. Waterpooling and runoff into Bogue sound are a problem on site.
New Campus Circulation
Analyzing access, ecological potential, and research locations on campus informed the placement of interactive educational opportunities around campus.
MARITIME FOREST ECOLOGY
Storm water Management Plan
Welcome Pavilion Stage 1 of Maritime Restoration Project
Monumental Seating Stairs (View of Bogue Sound)
PLANTING PLAN
Planting Plan Goals: (1) Enrich the existing site ecology, (2) Create intriguing and comfortable spaces, and (3) Support IMS research values such as improving water quality and reducing the amount of harmful runoff into Bogue Sound. The constructed wetland is a drainage outlet for three SCMS further up-grade on site. The species chosen for this space act as a bio-filter to remove a wide variety of pollutants. The range of heights and textures mimics that of a natural wetland and provides a comfortable refuge for the terraced patio without sacrificing views of the sound. Species used along the western border of the site provide shielding with canopy and under-story trees, shrubbery, and grasses. The shoreline grasses have predominantly high salt tolerance and are placed strategically to help mitigate current and future flooding on site.
