Portfolio

Rebecca Lee Urban Planning Portfolio Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Studies Class of 2025

COMMUNITY PLAN PROJECT Fall 2023 Step 1: Draft by hand while learning about the rapid cycling of ideas, urban design and physical planning as the base for AutoCAD drafting.

Step 2: Export AutoCAD linework into Photoshop, create a beautiful plan rendering in Photoshop.

Software: Autodesk AutoCAD, Adobe Photoshop

Step 3: Construct a 3-Dimensional model of the project site, adding detail to important areas and creating specialty views to be utilized on the final board.

Software: SketchUp

Step 4: Capture the most compelling views in SketchUp bets representing the site’s assets and render in Photoshop.

Software: SketchUp, Adobe Photoshop

Step 5: Introduce site plan in a compelling way, packaged into a one-page spread.

Software: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign

VOLO

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Welcome to Volo, a hypothetical 22-acre community where sustainability meets modern urban design. Inspired by the famed roundabouts and pedestrian-friendly thoroughfares of Dutch cities, Volo is a testament to harmonious living.

Derived from the Latin ‘volō’, meaning ‘to wish’ or ‘to want’, the Volo community embodies the essence of its name—a place designed to fulfill the desires of its residents for a sustainable and pleasurable living experience.

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Volo’s Playful Heartbeat Our expansive playground welcomes children of all ages, featuring tables for picnics and flourishing community gardens, anchored by our solar-powered community center.

Historic Plaza

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Central Park

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Keystone Intersection

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Community Center

Central Park of Volo Discover Volo’s central park, a tranquil community hub with abundant seating, diverse foliage, a scenic fountain, and ample space for gatherings and leisurely enjoyment.

LAND USE PATTERNS Commercial Mixed-Use Residential Open Space

FRAMEWORK

Movement Flow Central Spaces Other

CIRCULATION

Automobile Pedestrian

At Volo, life revolves around community interaction and engagement with nature. Its design promotes pedestrian movement, with safe, well-lit walkways that weave through the residential blocks, encouraging walking and cycling as primary modes of transport. The architecture, while modern, is thoughtfully designed to reduce environmental impact, featuring green roofs, solar panels, and energy-efficient materials.

Rebecca Lee FA23 CRP 5861

TOWN OF CANDOR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN POSTER Fall 2023 Introduction: Cornell Design Connect has taken on a project to create a comprehensive plan for the Town of Candor in New York.

Deliverables: Final Review Poster Software: Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop v

TOWN OF CANDOR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

Design Connect Team Members: Yuexin You, Sam Sokoloff, Ro Yu, Jeffrey Mui, Leo Chen, Jessie Fujii, Athena Deng, Nadin Suliman, Julien Ricou Project Managers: T.J. McKiernan, Rebecca Lee

INTRODUCTION

ENGAGEMENT

Nestled in the uplands of Tioga County, Candor, NY, presents a complex tapestry of its past and present.

Originating from dense forests and fertile lands that lured settlers in the 1790s, today’s Candor faces the challenges and realities of modern rural towns. The town’s economic landscape is varied yet faces the pressures of changing market dynamics. Industries such as dairy farming and forestry, once the backbone of Candor’s economy, now coexist with newer sectors like telescope production and high-tech research. However, the competition from larger urban centers and the evolving demands of the global market have put strains on local businesses. The village of Candor, established in the early 1900s, stands as a reminder of the town’s historical roots, even as it grapples with contemporary challenges. Tourism, driven by Candor’s natural beauty, offers some respite, but the town’s reliance on it underscores the need for economic diversification. As Candor navigates its future, it does so with an awareness of its vulnerabilities, seeking ways to adapt in an everchanging world.

Goal of Site Visits: The primary objective of our site visits is to immerse ourselves in the local environment, directly interact with the residents, and gather firsthand insights into the challenges and opportunities present in the community. By being on the ground, we aim to understand the nuances of the town’s dynamics, which often go unnoticed in traditional surveys. These visits provide a platform for open dialogue, allowing residents to voice their concerns, aspirations, and visions for the future of their town.

Initial Site Visit Insights • Themes and Problem Statements: During our visit, several recurring themes emerged, painting a comprehensive picture of the town’s current state and the challenges it faces.

• Economic Challenges: It became evident that the town grapples with economic hurdles, with many residents expressing concerns about job opportunities and financial stability.

• Preservation and Rural Character: A strong sentiment among the locals is the desire to preserve the town’s rural essence and heritage. They cherish the town’s unique character and are wary of rapid urbanization that might dilute it.

• Development Concerns: While development is generally seen as a positive trajectory, there are apprehensions about unplanned or hasty development that might not align with the town’s character and needs.

• Unanswered Questions: Certain areas require deeper exploration, such as the specifics of food access, the intricacies of land use, and the role and future of agriculture in the town’s economy and culture.

TOWN OF CANDOR CONTEXT

ROADS

OBJECTIVE The Town of Candor Comprehensive Plan is a collaborative initiative undertaken in partnership with the Town of Candor Planning Board. This project aims to revisit and revitalize the town’s planning strategies by building upon the foundation set in the 2016 Comprehensive Plan. One of the primary deliverables of this endeavor is the creation and distribution of a resident questionnaire. This questionnaire, which will be sent to Town residents via mail postcard, is designed to gather valuable insights from the residents of Candor, ensuring their voices and perspectives are integrated to the town’s future planning goals. In addition to the resident questionnaire, a significant component of the project involves rewriting and updating the current 2016 Comprehensive Plan. This revision process will ensure that the plan remains relevant, addressing the evolving needs and aspirations of the town’s population.

To maintain transparency, presentations will be held at both mid and final stages of the project. These presentations will serve as platforms for stakeholders to review progress, provide feedback, and collaboratively shape the vision for the town’s future.

Fall Festival Insights During the Fall Festival, we took the opportunity to advertise our survey to the residents, aiming to gather a broader spectrum of opinions. The festival also served as a platform for a mapping and brainstorming activity, which saw enthusiastic participation.

This interactive session provided valuable feedback on local concerns, giving us a clearer understanding of the residents’ priorities and the areas that need immediate attention.

STREAMS

LAND USE

TOPOGRAPHY

COMMUNITY SURVEY The purpose of this survey is to delve deeper into understanding the preferences, needs, and concerns of the town residents regarding Candor’s future. We aim to reach all households in the Town of Candor by sending a QR code for a Qualtrics Survey and locations of physical copies via postcard. The survey will be open from October 1st to October 31st. Our primary areas of focus include: • Demographics & Residency: This encompasses details such as age, the duration of residence in Candor, village residency, and employment specifics.

• Housing & Living: We’re interested in understanding the type of residences and their ownership statuses.

• Community Services: We aim to gauge the importance and satisfaction levels related to services like law enforcement, fire services, EMS, and schools.

• Recreation & Amenities: This will cover residents’ preferred outdoor activities, their satisfaction with existing parks, and any desired recreational facilities they might want.

• Agriculture: This will help us understand residents’ involvement in farming, agricultural activities, and livestock rearing.

• Transportation: This will provide insights into residents’ views on traffic safety, the quality of roads and sidewalks, and concerns about pedestrian and bicycle safety.

For our analysis plan, we will employ quantitative analysis using descriptive statistics to summarize responses and pinpoint prevailing trends. We’ll segment the data based on demographic groups to discern varied preferences and concerns. A gap analysis will be conducted to compare current amenities and services against resident satisfaction, highlighting potential areas for improvement. Additionally, we’ll extract qualitative insights from open-ended responses to gain a richer understanding of the feedback from residents.

SWOT ANALYSIS

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Strengths Passionate Individuals: Existence of people passionate about working collaboratively and volunteer groups like the Planning Board and Chamber of Commerce.

Cultural Events: Presence of local events and festivals (Fall festival, Daffodil festival).

Desire for Local Business: A collective resistance to chain stores and a preference for local, small businesses.

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Weaknesses Resident Engagement: Lack of resident involvement in town meetings and planning.

Economic Stagnation: Limited local businesses, decline of local farmers Infrastructure & Amenities: Limited physical infrastructure (water and sewer) and demands for better services like healthcare and sidewalks.

Opportunities Local Business Development: Potential to promote and establish local businesses, especially in the food sector (grocery stores, restaurants).

Alternative Energy: Solar farms as an alternative energy source, despite having “mixed emotions” from the community.

Tourism: Leverage local festivals and the proximity to Finger Lakes to boost tourism, route 96 Cultural Preservation: Maintain and promote the rural character of the town, which seems valued by residents.

Co-op Models: Exploration of cooperative models for businesses to enhance economic development while preserving the character.

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Threats External Shopping: Dependency on external towns for various necessities like groceries.

Declining Agriculture: Most farm grounds are going foul, showing a decline in a formerly robust industry.

Environmental Concerns: Concerns related to solar farms, like their impact on soil and maintenance post-peak productivity.

INTEGRATED URBANISM AS A PLATFORM FOR ENGAGEMENT: SEEDSCALE Fall 2024 Introduction: This course examines SEED-SCALE principles, the role of Brooklyn community gardens in fostering local stewardship, and the development of guidelines to support sustainable community-led urban planning.

Deliverables: Guidelines, Community Engagement Activities, Final Presentation Software: Miro, Adobe InDesign, ArcGIS Pro, Microsoft Excel

The Layered Histories of Brooklyn’s Community Gardens

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Using documents archived by the NYC Department of Finance, we catalogued the land ownership history of Brooklyn’s community gardens from the 1970s to the present. Also included are photos of the lots from the 1930s and 1970s by the NYC Department of Records and Information Service. Unsurprisingly, all but five of the 30+ gardens are located on city-owned land, highlighting their vulnerability to development.

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Ownership History of Brooklyn’s Tranquility Farm Top photo courtesy of Google Earth; Middle and bottom photos: NYC Department of Records; Records: NYC Department of Finance

Rebecca Lee & Malika Johnson |

Regulatory Roots Team

ARCH 5115 NYC Option Studio

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Seed Scale: Integrated Urbanism as a Platform for Engagement

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Fall 2024

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Instructor: Peter Robinson

Learning Their Stories Building on this framework, the activity encouraged students to make personal connections to land and space by mapping their own spatial stories. Using tracing paper over the map, they marked landmarks, labeled them with their significance, and traced familiar routes, answering prompts about their daily routines, Sunday activities, and potential tours they’d give of Brooklyn. The exercise sparked enthusiasm and engagement, with students eagerly sharing their stories and reflecting on the places that hold personal significance in their lives.

Brooklyn’s Living Map Data Mapping...

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Prompt 1

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Mapping exercise Photo by Rebecca Lee

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Rebecca Lee & Malika Johnson |

Regulatory Roots Team

ARCH 5115 NYC Option Studio

Seed Scale: Integrated Urbanism as a Platform for Engagement

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Prompt 2

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Instructor: Peter Robinson

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Fall 2024

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Instructor: Peter Robinson

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Following the students’ personal mapping exercise, we sought to connect two distinct layers of information: the HPD-related data maps, which scale from the individual to the neighborhood level, and the personal paths and stories shared by the students, reflecting their interactions with transportation, community, and everyday life in the area. t Through this comparison, we observed a critical disconnect— en em Risk lac data maps, no matter how granular, tend to abstractispand D erase the individual’s lived experience. This realization guided the next phase of our exploration: developing methods to represent the significance of individual stories within the broader context of urban planning and regulation, e alu tV considering how such narratives can be incorporated into Lo frameworks used by agencies like HPD.

Prompt 1

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Brooklyn’s Living Map neglects to account for the complexities of human experiences, Data Mapping...

Learning Their Storiesstories, and relationships

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Brooklyn’s Living Map

Data Mapping...

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Medgar, where would you take them?

Prompt 2: What does your Sunday typically look like?

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Land as Healing and Oppression

ARCH 5115 NYC Option Studio

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Seed Scale: Integrated Urbanism as a Platform for Engagement

Rebecca Lee & Malika Johnson |

Regulatory Roots Team

ARCH 5115 NYC Option Studio

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Seed Scale: Integrated Urbanism as a Platform for Engagement

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Fall 2024

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Instructor: Peter Robinson

The final presentation was held at Tweed Courthouse and brought together students from Medgar Evers College Preparatory School for a science fair-style event. Students rotated between groups, engaging with each team’s proposals and ideas. Our team, **The Regulatory Roots**, set up an interactive installation featuring a sequence of layered maps that visualized data related to land use, demographics, displacement risk, and housing density. These maps served as both a visual tool and a starting point for critical conversations about data representation and its role in urban planning.

We facilitated discussions on the challenges of balancing granular data with the lived experiences of individuals, emphasizing the importance of meaningful community engagement in shaping policy and planning decisions.

Students reflected on how their personal narratives and spatial stories intersect with broader urban patterns, sparking ideas about how planners and regulatory agencies like HPD can incorporate qualitative insights into their frameworks.

The event provided an opportunity to bridge data-driven approaches with human-centered perspectives, highlighting the need to amplify individual voices within the larger planning and development processes.

Rebecca Lee & Malika Johnson |

Regulatory Roots Team

ARCH 5115 NYC Option Studio

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Seed Scale: Integrated Urbanism as a Platform for Engagement

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Fall 2024

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Instructor: Peter Robinson

NEW YORK CITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: CLIMATE TECH FOR THE QUEENSWAY Fall 2024 Introduction: Our Cornell NYC Workshop team was tasked by NYC EDC with researching implementations of climate tech for Environmental Justice (EJ) communtiies along the QueensWay. Deliverables: Mapping Analysis, Intervention Diagrams, Presentation Slides Software: Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, ArcGIS Pro, Microsoft Excel