Cassidy Rodgers | Connection Destination of the West End Community

Master of Architecture // Thesis April 2022 University of Cincinnati

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ABSTRACT The rise of automobiles starting in the 1900s has created a shift through our major cities’ urban fabric. Infrastructure has since been planned around the car instead of the people within. For the future of our city centers, it is imperative that this way of thinking be destroyed and the momentum of design geared back to individuals through connected means of community-enhanced spaces. Cities could benefit from improved public transportation options to get cars off the road, as well as developed public spaces that create a sense of comfortability and belonging. Overall, more places need to be designed to create interaction between individuals and build a better sense of community throughout cities.

This thesis investigates a response to this issue through a focus on Cincinnati’s West End community. The neighborhood has faced some of the most drastic urban fabric shifts throughout the last several centuries, leaving voids within its structure. Even with new developments aiming to raise the quality of the area for its current and future residents, the West End continues to succumb to these challenges and fall further into a disconnect from the rest of the city. The neighborhood is also experiencing a cultural divide that is detrimental to its sense of identity and community. To unify the district and create a better place to live, the West End could benefit from various connection interventions throughout the area.

This will include a combination of extended public transportation options and a series of community spaces to address the voids that have been left by the neighborhood shifts. The objective is to not only promote community connections throughout the West End neighborhood, but also better connect the area back to the city. Creating intentional spaces for building connections will allow for overall city growth while enhancing social interaction through communities. A proposal for the future of the West End plans for re-activating community, re-building connection, and creating a destination in the neighborhood.

Cities were created to bring people that people needed was within wa humans lived in resilient, c

e together. At one time, everything alking distance to their homes and connected environments.

After WWII, suburban spra neighborhoods now seen that a most definitel

awl took over and created the are not compact, not diverse, and ly not walkable.

CITY STRUCTURE This shift of urban fabric came about in the early 1900s when the automobile started being created along the assembly line. This method brought costs down and allowed for more Americans to afford a car for their family. By the mid-1930s there was already one registered automobile for every two U.S. households. Throughout the years, the rise of the automobile has pushed for a larger sense of independence and isolation, and cities began forming around the car, rather than its people.

Construction began on an intricate highway structure cutting through major U.S. cities in the 1950s, dividing city structures and breaking thriving communities. Since then, cities have continued developing to accommodate for more car traffic and have disregarded the needs for walkability and maneuverability of its residents without needing to own a vehicle.

Instead of close-knit, walkable communities, cities are separated with large highway structures, wide city roads, and huge surface lots. In addition, public transportation options have become exceptionally limited, making it even more difficult to navigate through cities without the use of a car. After the immergence of the highway systems, many cities saw the disappearance of their successful trolley or streetcar systems. While buses have remained intact in most U.S. cities, they are not the most reliable form of transportation and many Americans opt for cars over the busing system. In addition to the removal of public transportation options, there has also been the purging of bike lanes to replace with street parking. Sidewalks have been shrunk or removed all together and the over-crowding of car congestion makes it hard to cross streets and get to destinations. Because of the rise of the automobile, municipalities do not function for its residents anymore, which must change for successful cities going forward.

1950s

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Cincinnati

Metropolitan Area

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WEST END

Downtown Area

WEST END, CINCINNATI Cincinnati is no exception to the many major cities across the country that have exhibited these shifts throughout its structure. Amongst the neighborhoods within the city, the West End has faced some of the most dramatic urban fabric changes geared toward the use of cars. The area has been exhibiting signs of decay and vacancy ever since the KenyanBarr Urban Development project which began in the mid-1900s and deemed industrial development more appropriate for the area. Over the next thirty years, the addition of the Mill Creek Expressway (I-75 interchange) created a heightened connection to downtown and a higher dependence on automobile transportation. The I-75 intersection also pushed for more industry throughout the neighborhood, creating even more of an undesirable atmosphere that aided in the downfall of the community structure. Not only did the existing West End community lose its sense of identity, but the neighborhood that was left lost all connection with the surrounding city.

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1955

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TQL Stadium on most days

TQL Stadium on game days

Streetcar Route

Streetcar Stops

Bus Routes

Bus Stops

Bike Routes

Bike Parking

Single-Family Residential Multi-Family Residential Mixed-Use Commercial Churches Schools Offices Industrial Public Services Recreation Parking Garages

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Dyer Park

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Sands Playground

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Community Garden

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Laurel Playground

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Laurel Recreation Area

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Cincinnati Police Memorial

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Queensgate Playfield

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Washington Park

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Cincinnati Museum Center

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Findlay Market

TQL Stadium Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

Music Hall

Fountain Square Duke Energy Convention Center

Great American Ballpark Paul Brown Stadium

CINCINNATI LANDMARKS At a holistic scale, the West End sits within blocks of some of the city’s biggest attractions, yet, doesn’t have the desirability (other than the TQL Stadium) to attract that same tourism into its boundaries. By analyzing the community-building techniques within these city landmarks, successful methods of connection and interaction can be drawn and utilized within the neighborhood itself. This will also give a sense of the types of community spaces that may be missing from the city structure overall. It would be ideal to plan for other amenities that are not seen throughout the nearby OTR and downtown areas to establish a better sense of community and draw other people to the West End.

CONNECTIVITY Community development is integral for providing a foundation that cities can build off to improve the lives of its citizens. Communities exist because people crave connection - to each other, to culture, and to a sense of home. People often desire to live and work in dense environments for this reason and is ultimately why they are drawn to cities. Strong communities are essential to cities because they give occupants a source of social connection and a sense of belonging.

When building community, it is important to break through the physical and psychological barriers that are built, often unintentionally, to separate people from one another. Spaces must be created where all members of the community can connect naturally and get to know one another as individuals.

The secret to creating better cities is to strengthen connectivity – connections between people, places, environments, buildings, and activities. Cities with higher levels of connectivity tend to be more vibrant, more interesting, and attract more people. Putting people first and understanding how a community uses existing spaces is an essential aspect of connective city shaping, and can eventually inform new services, leading to stronger social and economic outcomes. Connected cities are geared around human centered urban design that can help build stronger networks within. To encourage connectivity in cities, individuals must have access to an inter-connected system of transportation and an assortment of community gathering points that promote chance encounters.

This thesis will research community building techniques and investigate the role of architecture and design as a means of establishing connections through car dependent cities. The project will focus on the West End neighborhood as a guide to integrate these ideas and create cities that bring people together again.

“IF YOU PLAN FOR CARS AND TRAFFIC, YOU GET CARS AND TRAFFIC. IF YOU PLAN FOR PEOPLE AND PLACES, YOU GET PEOPLE AND PLACES”

Sustainable Establish a sustainable footprint within the city

Unique Establish a strong identity between districts

Invit Establish a public space ne to visit, stay,

Leg Establish a hierarchy prioritizes transit, ped

ting etwork that invites people and interact

gible y of street types that destrians, and cyclists

Vibrant Establish a city that caters to all user groups

Dynamic Establish a developed city culture that strengthens community

“A SPACE IS JUST A SPACE UNTIL WE TURN IT INTO A PLACE.”

Promote public transportation options

Prioritize pedestrians + bicycles

Connect important places + destinations

Plan for a variety of activities

Enhance comfortability + accessibility

Design for social interaction

URBAN CITY CONNECTIONS

BUILD CONNECTIONS

Existing 3.6-Mile Loop

Extend to Neighboring Districts

Expand to Metropolitan Area

The largest scale of this project studies the entirety of the Cincinnati region to determine reconnection of neighborhoods through public transportation access. As seen through the analysis, the city bus system gives the most opportunity and access for people without a car today because the urban streetcar only runs through the downtown and OTR areas of the city.

However, streetcar rails are often faster and more reliable to residents, therefore a more attractive option for transportation. The existing route goes underutilized because it is geared toward people living or working in the central hub of the city, and is limiting its potential as a viable transportation option.

This proposal looks at an extension of the current streetcar to give users additional access to other neighborhoods within the city. These extensions would allow for connections north to the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Zoo, west through the West End to Union Terminal, and south over the river into Kentucky. Additional transit rail lines running through downtown have been proposed along Cincinnati’s major thoroughfares to build connection to outer neighborhoods of the city and even out into the metropolitan area. These rail lines connect at the base of the city and allow for extension into the central hub through use of the streetcar. The city layout also lends itself to incorporate a high-speed rail connection through Union Terminal to bridge Cincinnati to other cities throughout the country. Providing these additional public transportation options within the city re-builds connection and gives individuals more access without the need of a car. This could formulate additional city growth and aid in a more economically thriving community. The result would ultimately reduce car traffic and put the focus of development back on the people for expanded community and connections.

CAMPUS COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

ACTIVATE COMMUNITY Zooming in on the West End neighborhood, the second scale looks at a networked series of community places and the addition of new public gathering spaces to break-up the existing urban framework. By preserving the current infrastructure and utilizing the urban voids, a new structure can be built around the existing fabric. The goal of this proposal is to create a structured path of connection that re-activates the community around it. It is important to produce new spaces that can easily be connected back to the existing gathering areas in the surrounding community and utilized as a growth for the overall city, in addition to the neighborhood. Overall, people should feel that the journey throughout the neighborhood is just as important as the destination they are trying to get to.

Entrances Main Pedestrian Routes Main Streets

Connection Paths

City Streets

Public Transport Avenue

Public Transport Avenue

Open Space for intervention

Findlay St.

populate with additional housing and commercial options West End Commons

convert to pedestrian mixed-use street

Liberty St.

playground outhouse and sheltered seating

Restaurants, cafe, shopping, offices

replace street parking with outdoor seating and other retail options

I-75

extend City West Apartments into adjacent voids

convert to pedestrian street open park area with shaded bar

l Centra Pkwy

Linn St.

mixed-use development

Ezzard Cha rles

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activated streetscape with mixed-use development and enhanced walkability crosswalk plaza

extension of commerical mixeduse developments

commercial plaza and market building

multi-purpose field, extension of recreation center

Court St.

BUILDING SOCIAL CONNECTIONS

The northeast quadrant of the West End neighborhood lent the most freedom for design intervention within the focal boundary described. The third scale focuses on a family entertainment destination for the community, integrating a variety of spaces and activities for people of all ages. The site is located just north of Liberty Street in a voided lot that has been filled with dirt and overgrown vegetation. An existing tertiary street will be removed for extended pedestrian access and walkability at the planned facility.

CREATE A DESTINATION The idea for this facility is to build a community hub with indoor and outdoor interactive spaces for anyone to gather and socialize. The facility fronts Liberty Street and will be designed with a prominent façade that does not disrupt the existing neighborhood. The rest of the facility and outdoor spaces are pushed behind the Liberty Street edge, and an exterior courtyard will establish connection paths to the streets adjacent to the site to form a new dialogue with its context. At the center of the courtyard lies an outdoor cinema screen and an open field for viewing. This will give the West End neighborhood a destination piece that is different from other amenities throughout the downtown area.

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Views

Pedestrian Flow

Open Greenspace

Ezzard Charles Drive

City West Apartments

Liberty Street

West End Commons

Central Parkway