Bryan Raymond | Patches, Fields, and the In-Between

Abstract Youngstown, Ohio reveals a paradox common among other postindustrial cities: for decades its population, economy, and industries have been in a state of perpetual motion, yet the city itself appears to have come to a halt, lingering in a state of uncertainty. The precarious status of the city has been induced by the departure of its once-powerful steel industry, resulting in the exodus of over half of its peak population. Given its lack of density, the city is now overwhelmed by its accumulated matter, leaving its landscape fragmented and perforated with vacancy and residual spaces.

Youngstown joins other Rust Belt cities in the discussion of “shrinking cities,” a term adopted to describe cities that have been impacted by a significant population loss in a relatively short period of time.

In the now diffuse, low-density urban fabric, landscape urbanism holds a newfound relevance, able to take on the role of a framework that catalyzes urban renewal from a large-scale perspective. The thesis also explores the possibilities of achieving urban intensity without density. To this end, the measure of intensity must shift from the quantitative to the qualitative. Intensity is measured not from the mere juxtaposition and accumulation of urban form, but from the overlaps and tensions between dissimilar programs in the process of flux.

The project will speculate on a transition of Youngstown’s landscape into a continuous natural space that involves the intensification of moments within this green network through the harmony of architecture and landscape. First, a broader vision for the city is devised, in which points with high social and economic potential are determined as starting off points for growth. Landscape is asked to take on the role of infrastructure, setting up a framework for uncertainty yet retaining a degree of formal specificity.