Agora 10

PROGRESSION

Agora Journal of Urban Planning & Design is the annual, studentrun journal of Urban Planning and Design of Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan.

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2331 - 2823

Agora Volume 10 2016, Regents of the University of Michigan

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commerical - Share Alike 40 International License

Frutiger, Gill Sans, Gotham, Roboto Slab

First Impression Printing Ann Arbor, Michigan

Funding for this publication was generously provided by the Saarinen-Swanson Endowment Fund.

This publication would not have been possible without the continued effort of Agora’s faculty advisors, Julie Steiff and Scott Campbell.

D I S C L A IME R

The views and professional opinions expressed in the articles published in this journal reflect only those of the individual authors who wrote them, and not those of the Agora Journal of Planning and Design.

PROGRESSION

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN TAUBMAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE + URBAN PLANNING AGORA JOURNAL OF URBAN PLANNING + DESIGN VOLUME 10 | 2016

AG O R A 1 0 S TA FF

MIKA H Z ASLOW

L ESL EY R I V ER A

EDITOR- I N - C HIE F

C R EAT I V E D I R EC TO R

TAY LO R LAFAVE

G R ANT P R I ESTER

DEP UTY E DITOR

D EP U T Y C R EAT I V E D I R EC TO R

MIC H ELLE BE NNE TT

DAN SOM M ERV I L L E

MANAGIN G E DITOR OF S PE C IAL PR OJ E C T S

D I R EC TO R O F P R O D U C T I O N + D I S T R I B U T I O N

DANIE L J. DJ MAS ON

K ATHL EEN R EI L LY

CO- DIRE C TOR OF F IN AN C E + DE V E L OPM E NT

C O - D I R EC TO R O F FI NA N C E + D EV ELO P M EN T

RIC H BUNNE LL ERIC BURKMAN SC OTT FOX SOP HIE JANT Z

Y U C HEN DI NG DAN I EL M I HAL OV AL AN A TU C K ER

EDITING S TAF F

C R EAT I V E S TA FF

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REINCARNATION

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REVITALIZING URBAN GARDENS

C ONT E NTS

THE ADAPTIVE REUSE OF CHURCHES IN POSTINDUSTRIAL AMERICA

Alana Tucker

THE TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS APPROACH IN SHIRAZ, IRAN

Sanaz Chamanara Amirreza Kazemeini

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UNBALANCED SAUDI ARABIA

APPLYING RANK-SIZE RULE TO EVALUATE SAUDI URBAN GROWTH PATTERNS

S YM P OS IU M 002

Bader Bajaber

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ARRIVING AT EMPLOYMENT

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A PLACE TO CALL HOME

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AN ACCESSIBILITY ANALYSIS OF DETROIT’S MT. ELLIOT AND SOUTHWEST EMPLOYMENT DISTRICTS

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COMPLEX SUSTAINABILITY

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BENEFITS AND COSTS

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GENTRIFICATION AS RECOLONIZATION

Mike Auerbach Kathleen Reilly Yuting Sun

Aayat Ali

REFUGEE CAMP ANALYSIS, EUROPE 2015

Jennifer Bohl Stephanie Garretsen

A CROSS-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO DESIGN

Mackenzie Lehon

A COMPARISON OF THE VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED AND GASOLINE TAXES

Kathleen Reilly

UNPACKING DETROIT’S REVITALIZATION NARRATIVES

Michelle Rubin

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CONNECTING REFUGEES WITH THE RUST BELT

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HYBRID NOHAM

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PUBLIC DOMESTICITY

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FROM DIVISION TO FUSION

Scott Fox

Diego Garcia Blanco

A HYBRID CULTURE THROUGH CONTEXTUAL NEIGHBORHOOD BUILDING

Mike Davis, Jr. Lesley Rivera

A TRANSFORMING MODEL OF CHINESE URBAN-RURAL INHABITATION

Jieqiong Wang

STAT E OF T H E JOURN A L

MI K E LYD O N PRINCIPAL, THE STREET PLANS COLLABORATIVE TAUBMAN COLLEGE, AGORA 1 ALUMNUS

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t’s an honor – and a bit of a surprise – to write the introduction to this, the 10th edition of Agora. I don’t believe the handful of us MUPs who created the publication in 2006 envisioned the publication growing into its tenth year. One could call that poor planning! However, we’re thrilled that Agora has brought forth such an impressive breadth of content over the years. On behalf of the founders, I want to say thank you to everyone who has carried Agora’s mission forward.

As you might imagine, this occasion has given me a chance to reflect on the career I’ve built since leaving Taubman College in 2007. But more importantly, it has allowed me to consider how much our cities have changed in the past decade.

Here’s a shortlist that comes to mind: In 2006… …the majority of the world’s citizens were not living in cities; American suburbanization was still in full swing; the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 had yet to arrive; climate change was an inconvenient truth, but the details remained conveniently fuzzier than they are today; and of course Black Lives Mattered, although Twitter wasn’t around to catalyze online hashtags into offline actions carried out in public space.

Additionally, back in 2006 protected bike lanes were still thought to be a northern European curiosity; there wasn’t a national movement underway to eliminate 33,000 traffic deaths per year with tough Vision Zero policies; Uber and Airbnb had yet to pimp out – sorry, “disrupt” – how we look at and utilize some of our largest individual assets; and no one could really predict how fast rising post-recession urban property values and shifting lifestyle preferences would hasten the inversion of poverty from the central city to the suburbs.

Finally, there weren’t any hip micro-units or an urban beach in downtown Detroit!

The cause, effect, and meaning of the above are great fodder for professional conversation and academic debate. However, one cannot deny that since we launched Agora, cities have continued to do what cities do best: change.

With this is mind, urbanists everywhere should look to the next decade as a tremendous opportunity to shape and be shaped by unknown models, technologies, policies, and social movements. This is why I believe “Progression” is such a fitting theme for this year’s Agora.

However, as we move forward into the 21st century, we must also find better ways to make cities more accessible, free from carbon, full of social opportunity, and resilient against environmental catastrophe.

That’s where you come in, reader. Taubman College provides a wonderful springboard for you and your career. You will be presented with opportunities, challenges, and experiences that you can’t yet imagine. But remember, whether an architect, urban planner, or urban designer, you are above all else a city-maker. This is your privilege and your advantage in finding holistic ways to improve urban life.

I invite you to enjoy the ideas, issues, and projects presented in the 10th edition of Agora, but to also join me in the bold project of leaving the 21st century a better place than we found it.

MIKE LYDON

LETTER FROM THE DEA N

R O B E RT F IS HM AN INTERIM DEAN PROFESSOR OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING TAUBMAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE + URBAN PLANNING

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ike the wonderful Jazz Age skyscrapers that bear the date “1929” on their foundation stones, Agora began at the peak of a bubble – in this case, the real estate bubble that peaked in 2006 – and its contents over the next decade reflect the fate of planning in an era of austerity. Many of us had hoped that, as in the New Deal of the 1930s, the response to the mortgage crisis that hit with full force in 2008 would be an invigoration of the public sector and the initiation of long-delayed major infrastructure projects that would both combat “the Great Recession” and ease the transition to a more sustainable and equitable society. Instead we have experienced an attack on all forms of government initiative and the resultant shrinkage in the public realm that supports planning.

Nevertheless, planning has been surprisingly resilient in adapting to austerity, as the pages of Agora reflect. The contents of this tenth-anniversary issue illustrate the continuing focus on such crucial issues as neighborhoods, sustainability, adaptive reuse, and transit.

What is perhaps most heartening is the continuing strength of urbanism itself – the desirability of living in dense, walkable, diverse communities. Only planning can deliver the urbanism that is so desirable and desired today. With the federal and most state governments paralyzed by anti-public forces, the cities have again emerged (as in the Progressive Era a century ago) as the champions of the public realm and the sites of real planning creativity.

What is also evident from this issue of Agora is the international emphasis of so many of the articles, an emphasis which I believe would have surprised its editors in 2006. The articles are still concerned with Detroit and Hamtramck, but there are also contributions on urban gardens in Shiraz, Iran; Chinese villages-in-the-city; and Saudi urban growth patterns. The key might be found in the symposium on “What makes a Place RefugeeReady?� As Lewis Mumford pointed out in 1962, the city is always about strangers, and now these migrants are as likely to come from across the globe as from across the nation or region. Whether based in Shiraz or Hamtramck, urban planning today is necessarily global.

I congratulate this year’s team of editors and all their predecessors over the last decade for their successful efforts to bring the best work of our Taubman College students to a wider audience. Agora itself is excellent proof of the continuing relevance and and resilience of planning.

ROBERT FISHMAN

LETTER FROM THE E DITO R

MI K A H Z A S L OW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, AGORA 10 MASTER OF URBAN PLANNING, 2016

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ver the past ten years, Agora Journal of Urban Planning and Design has evolved in form and scope. It has progressed in both its physical appearance, now a highly designed publication with a full layout staff, and in type of article featured. The journal has addressed themes such as “Change,” “Endurance and Adaptation,” “Connection,” and “Alternatives.” In its tenth edition, Agora has expanded beyond the print publication; Agora now hosts annual events and has established a wide online presence through a blog, videos, social media, and online distribution. This year’s theme, “Progression,” captures not only the changing nature of the journal, but the over-arching commonalities between the articles that show how cities progress in order to create viable places that serve the ever-changing needs of their residents.

Agora 9 articles presented the theme “Divisions” as a descriptor of the pieces that showed the stark barriers that the built environment and the people within them face. Agora 10 presents ideas for how we can move past these divisions and re-create places in meaningful ways. In this year’s edition, authors discuss topics such as the implications of adaptive reuse of churches, neighborhood change through urban design, gas-tax policy reform, rethinking informal migrant villages in China, and the reimagining of historic urban gardens in Iran. While varied in perspective and topic, all pieces encompass the need to address critical planning issues and to propose change.

Symposium 002, the journal’s second annual Symposium, poses the question “What makes a place refugee-ready?” By examining this question through different media and perspectives, we seek to provide ways to address the barriers associated with moving

forward in this humanitarian crisis. In addition to providing a selection of answers to this question, we also encourage others to consider what it means for a place to be refugee-ready. We not only seek to provide a snapshot in time of a current event, but to address an issue with broad and long-reaching impacts.

Agora has always been a venue for discussion, and the need for a space to gather innovative ideas continues. While the planning process, and progress in any form, is often slow, effectively inciting change requires innovative problem-solving and careful implementation. Progression implies taking the past into consideration and improving upon what has already been accomplished, a concept which presents a critical lesson for our cities, policies, and Agora.

I would like to thank all of our authors, editors, creative staff, and faculty advisors for their dedication throughout the publication process. Agora would not be possible without these contributors, and generous departmental support. Though all of these efforts, Agora continues as a gathering place for ideas, discussions, and challenging questions that seeks to advance the field of urban and regional planning.

Enjoy!

MIKAH ZASLOW

CON T R IBU TO R S AAYAT ALI

is a dual-degree graduate student in Urban Planning and Social Work from Dearborn Heights, Michigan. She is passionate about prison reform, housing reform, and workforce development issues. When she is not studying in Hatcher Library, she enjoys learning how to play the guitar.

MIKE AUERBACH

is a dual-degree graduate student in Urban Planning and Public Policy. He is interested in how technology can enhance urban policy and land use analysis, and create opportunities for collaboration between the public and local governments in the planning process.

BADER BAJABER

is a research assistant at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), in Saudi Arabia. KFUPM awarded him with a scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. His research interests focus on housing affordability and economic development.

JENNIFER BOHL

is a third-year dual Master of Public Policy and Urban Planning student concentrating in Global and Comparative Planning. Her focus areas are international development, disaster response, and nonprofit management.

SANAZ CHAMANARA

is a graduate student in Landscape Architecture with a focus on ecological principles in sustainable design in the School of Natural Resources and Environment, at the University of Michigan. Currently she is working as a research assistant for Professor Joan Nassauer in the Detroit Green Infrastructure Project. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and Master of Arts in Landscape Architecture.

MIKE DAVIS, JR.

is a second-year graduate student in Urban Planning, and graduated from Albion College with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He currently studies at Taubman College with a concentration in Physical Planning and Design, and seeks to communicate planning ideals and thought through visualization to better communicate with architects, engineers, and the public.

SCOTT FOX is a second-year graduate student in Urban Planning concentrating in Transportation.

He is interested in spatial mismatch, informal public transportation, how economic development occurs through transportation, and how the spatial layout of health care campuses and other worksites impact surrounding neighborhoods.

DIEGO GARCIA BLANCO is an undergraduate architecture student at the University of Michigan, graduating in 2016. His most current thesis design work and research studies architecture’s political agency in shaping and constructing physical and psychological spaces through critical assessments and re-imaginations of urban thresholds and envelopes.

STEPHANIE GERRETSEN

is a dual Master of Urban Planning, concentrating in Global and Comparative Planning, and Master of Sports Management student. As an affiliate of the Center for Sports Management and Sport Policy, her interests focus on the confluence of urban planning and economic development in relationship to the sports business both domestically and internationally.

MACKENZIE LEHON is a first-year 2G Master of Architecture student. She received her undergraduate degree from Lehigh University, in New York.

AMIRREZA KAZEMEINI is a graduate student of Architecture from Qeshm International University, in Iran. His research interests include finding innovative ways for integrating sustainable design within the built environment with respect to the history of the place.

KATHLEEN REILLY

is a second-year graduate student in Urban Planning, concentrating in Transportation Planning. Her interests include informatics, regional transit, community engagement, and non-motorized transportation.

LESLEY RIVERA

is a second-year graduate student in Urban Planning concentrating in Physical Planning and Design. Her interests include the creation of great public spaces and the incorporation of green infrastructure in urban design.

MICHELLE RUBIN is a dual-degree graduate student in Public Policy and Urban Planning. She is interested in the intersections of urban physical space, social policies, and power relationships in vulnerable communities.

YUTING SUN

is a second-year graduate student in Urban Planning concentrating in transportation. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning in China. She is interested in transportation planning that benefits low-income communities. She believes that transportation is essential for urban diversity, equality, and vitality.

ALANA TUCKER is a first-year Master of Urban Planning student in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. She is especially interested in the economy and sociology of design, and the use of design thinking and collaborative planning in liberating the development process.

JIEQIONG WANG is a first-year Ph.D. student in Architecture, concentrating in Design Studies.

Her research interest lies in the quality of life of emerging human habitation at the fringes of Chinese metropolises.

P HOTO C O N T R I BU TO R S

AAYAT ALI M a s te r of U rba n Pla n n ing + M a s te r of S o c ia l Work , 2 0 1 7

MICHELLE BOHRSON M a s te r of U rba n Pla n n ing , 2 0 1 7

JAKKRIT JANNAKHON M a s te r of Arc h ite c ture , 2 0 1 6

ERIKA LINENFELSER M a s te r of U rba n Pla n n ing , 2 0 1 7

KATHLEEN REILLY M a s te r of U rba n Pla n n ing , 2 0 1 6

FRANK ROMO M a s te r of U rba n Pla n n ing , 2 0 1 6

WEITAO SONG M a s te r of U rba n Pla n n ing , 2 0 1 6

JULIANNA TSCHIRHART M a s te r of U rba n Pla n n ing , 2 0 1 7

Exercising Our Right | Baltimore, Maryland Michelle Bohrson, MUP 17

REINCARNATION

THE ADAPTIVE REUSE OF CHURCHES IN POST-INDUSTRIAL AMERICA

ALANA TUCKER Master of Urban Planning, 2017 This piece discusses the interface between the functional, temporal, and social dimension of physical space as it relates to the post-industrial adaptive reuse of churches. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania there have been several attempts to convert cathedrals into concert halls, creative spaces, bars, and living space. These former places of worship speak for themselves through their fine building materials and carefully designed detail. Moreover, these spaces herald the overall marketing strategy for the city, and the rise of Richard Florida’s “Creative Class” in hopes of a post-industrial revival. The interplay between the new and old uses of these spaces offers a glimpse into the role that planners and designers will play in the field to define this burgeoning modern practice.

HISTORICA L C O N T EX T T H E R E M NA N T S O F S T EEL C I T Y It is important to recognize the many contributing factors from the past that led to the modern reuse of churches. Pittsburgh is located at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers, which positioned the city for rapid industrial growth in the 19th century. By 1877, the regional steel factories produced three-quarters of the total U.S. output. The glass and iron industries also contributed to a robust middle-class local population, which peaked at 677,000 people in 1950 (Explore PA, n.d.).

However, the city, once teeming with sootemitting stacks and a strong blue-collar

TU C KER

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n the mid-to-late 20th century, industrial U.S. cities such as Cleveland, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Buffalo, New York; and Detroit, Michigan spiraled into rapid decline. Massive out-migration due to the automation of manufacturing, offshoring of what little manufacturing was left, and ease of access to the suburbs strained local tax bases.

In 2014 the New York Times examined this large planning issue writ small on the scale of the preservation and adaptive reuse of a single building type: the church. What should be done with the leftovers of magnanimous churchgoers in Rust Belt cities? The phenomenon regarding Pittsburgh churches can be observed at three scales: individual buildings, the city, and society in general. When observing the context of the phenomenon, we discover the essence of design as a permeating language in our human consciousness, melding to our present needs while retaining a certain historical milieu.

work force, encountered the same economic difficulties as other Rust Belt cities. After 1950 the U.S. landscape suffered a series of eviscerating changes due to factors such as urban renewal, federal highways, Title II mortgage insurance programs, and mass layoffs from deindustrialization. Thus the population of Pittsburgh began to shrink rapidly. Decreasing by more than half since 1950, the total population of Pittsburgh today is only 306,000 residents (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010).

As a result, many churches were left scraping for money to stay afloat as their congregations shrank, leading them to follow the people to the urban fringes. This mass exodus from the city required the Diocese of Pittsburgh to invest in churches in the suburbs. The Diocese built ten Catholic churches after 1950 in North Hills, a large outer-ring suburb of the city (North Hills, n.d.). The investment was “a result of the migration of population from the city of Pittsburgh to the North Hills following World War II” (North Hills, n.d.).

Other factors led to the vacancies as well.

One of the repurposed churches, the former St. Mary’s Church and Priory, was slated for demolition to make way for Interstate 279 in the early 1970s. For the next 10 years, attendance waned. In 1982, the congregants of another planned demolition, St. Boniface, were able to change the route of the highway and save both church structures. St. John the Baptist’s congregation dwindled, as did the revenue streams that weekly tithing provided.

In both the cases of St. Mary’s and St. John the Baptist, the diocesan bishop in Pittsburgh issued a Decree of Suppression. This clause in the doctrine of the Catholic Church made the

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reuse of these churches possible. According to Roman Catholic Canon Law, suppression of a parish causes the parish to cease to exist, after

In both the cases of St. Mary’s and St. John the Baptist, the diocesan bishop in Pittsburgh issued a Decree of Suppression... The building, stripped of its sacred decor, can then be sold to new owners or developers. which the responsibilities to the congregation will be redistributed, and real property will be donated or given back to the original owners (Gray, 1983). The building, stripped of its sacred decor, can then be sold to new owners or developers. In recent years, creativity on the behalf of envelope-pushing developers has led to a radical adaptation to convert these churches for other uses. Thus far, Pittsburgh churches have been repurposed into concert halls, a creative commons, studio spaces, a hotel, and lofts.

OPUL EN C E D E SI G N AT T H E I N DI VI D UA L B UI LD I N G S C A LE In most cases, churches presuppose mastery in architectural design. The typical large naves and soaring ceilings make for wonderful bones for adaptive reuse. The fine detailing of column capitals and gold-plated altars is timeless and ornate, and contrasts with modern design components. For these reasons the church sets a ripe stage for development, sometimes literally. Altar Bar, the former St. Elizabeth’s

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Catholic Church in Pittsburgh, is now a multilevel concert venue that hosts private events and live performances.

Developers and designers have capitalized on this residual beauty in different ways. The Priory Boutique Hotel and Grand Hall reside in what was St. Mary’s Church, which resisted the encroachment of the highway system.

Edward Graf, who bought the church, used a style of preservation for the elements of the former church so as to preserve the history of his family members who were baptized and married in the church (“The Priory Hotel,” n.d.).

Relics of the old church, such as the stained glass windows that pour in light, ensheathe the Grand Hall. A preserved organ is a sleeping giant on one end, while columns with golden capitals rise toward a blue dome that encircles guests.

The Church Brew Works, formerly St. John the Baptist Church, engaged a different strategy by repurposing infrastructure for alternate uses to create a Bavarian beer hall atmosphere. Its pews became benches for the long tables, and lanterns were repainted and hung along the center of the hall to illuminate the ceiling detail.

Bricks from the former confessionals became a pedestal for an entry sign to welcome brewpub visitors. The church’s blue walls, which formerly highlighted the altar, now draw attention to gleaming tanks of beer.

As Carmona, Tiesdell, Heath, and Oc explain in Public Places - Urban Spaces: The Dimensions of Urban Design, the phenomenon of this adaptive reuse pattern is representative of the robust character of the church with respect to the temporal dimension of space (2010, p. 253).

Robustness is the “ability to accommodate

TU C KER change without significant change in the physical form.” Once seen as a space that held static values for religious and spiritual purposes, the church adapts an identity that embodies this accommodated change without significant change in its physical form.

A MARKET I N G S T RAT EG Y T H E R I S E O F T H E C REAT I VE C LA S S The breathtaking beauty of adapted churches speaks to a larger movement in Pittsburgh in the 1990s. Pittsburgh, determined to make a new name for itself, invested in the industry of creativity. This emerged from the rise of bottom-up neighborhood

Once seen as a space that held static values for religious and spiritual purposes, the church adapts an identity that embodies this accommodated change without significant change in its physical form. organizations and community development initiatives that, drawing from coffers of local foundations, mobilized people around unique collective interests and identities. Richard Florida, researcher and scholar at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) from 1987 to 2005, documented this yearning for change. He coined the term “Creative Class” as an engine for revitalizing former industrial cities like Pittsburgh. He asserts that the Creative Class, comprised of “high bohemians,” is young, vibrant, diverse, highly skilled, and educated.

The resulting culture then becomes a magnet for others of the like and, in turn, generates capital investment for economic development (Florida, 2002).

Florida’s 2002 book The Rise of the Creative Class outlines his theory that cities should focus on investment in attracting and retaining talent rather than other models of development, such as building arenas or conference centers to stimulate a local economy. Six years after he left CMU, in a blog piece from 2013 for his firm The Creative Group, Florida wrote that Pittsburgh was his “base case” for postindustrial regeneration through the Creative Class. He described his observations of the city that had once experienced unaligned investment goals from top-down elites and grassroots community groups:

“As the two began to accommodate one another and hew more closely together, sometimes in cooperation, other times in tension, a new synthesis emerged which combined the strength of the region’s large institutions–its universities, hospitals, and research centers, its foundations and its arts and cultural groups–with the incredible energy of its neighborhoods and people. Ten years later, the synthesis and transformation is palpable” (Florida, 2013).

This new alignment of public, private, and community interests is evidenced in over 400 strategic documents between 1984 and 1994 alone, according to Piiparinen, Russell, and Post in “From Metal to Minds: Economic Restructuring in the Rust Belt” (2015, p. 9). The collective effort became focused on investment in the education and knowledge creation cluster, including

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people employed at universities and colleges, research organizations, training programs, education support services, and professional organizations. The number employed in this sector grew by 24,000 jobs, or 61 percent, between 1998 and 2012, according to the U.S. Cluster Mapping Project (Piiparinen, 2015, p.

11). Also, its location quotient, a measure of the proportion of jobs in a local industry within the local economy compared to the proportion of jobs in that industry nationwide, ranks third in the country for metropolitan areas specializing in the sector (Piiparinen, 2015, p. 10).

The citywide investment in knowledge-based assets, and the dwindling congregations in Pittsburgh churches were overlapping phenomena in the 1980s and 90s. As Carmona et al. also state, obsolescence of space is rarely absolute, and is more likely economically or relatively obsolete (2010, p. 248). The churches in Pittsburgh were obsolete “with regard to the cost of alternative opportunities, which include competition from other buildings and areas, the cost of alternative development on the site, and the cost of development on an alternative site” (Carmona, 2010, p. 248). The reuse of churches is a visible representation of the shift in Pittsburgh’s economic development strategies in the post-industrial age. As an entire industry shifted into obsolescence, so did the use of urban churches as evidenced by the low numbers of parishioners. However, the closing doors of churches provided a window of opportunity for the “high bohemian” population.

Florida’s burgeoning Creative Class saw opportunity where others saw obsolescence.

Not only were the churches located in desirable urban locations, they also had desirable features that the new market valued. For the Creative Class, these churches were ideal skeletons for

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creative development options that diverged from the “level site” ideal popularized by Le Corbusier in his seminal work The City of Tomorrow and Its Planning (1929). Thus adaptive reuse of Pittsburgh churches falls under the “morphological-conservationist paradigm,” in which the extent of preservation is high along with an also high acceptance of change (Carmona et al., 2010, p. 248). The adaptation and preservation of the churches was artistically delivered, such that it softens the initial visceral reaction to using a church for any other use than worship. Preserving the historic aspects of the church as much as possible retained a memory infrastructure, or the tangible record of history that space can provide.

S OC I E TA L C H A NGE THE TE MP ORAL AND SOCIAL DIME NSIONS OF THE PHE NOME NON The observer must look to how the temporal dimension of space has led to this phenomenon.

The temporal dimension of space refers to the evidence of time made manifest in the physical form of the city, according to urban planning and design theorist Kevin Lynch (1972, p. 65).

The reuse of these churches does not reflect an egregious act, but rather an effective reuse for spaces that would otherwise be economically obsolete. Historical benevolence and almsgiving were reasons that massive churches survived so long in otherwise prime lots for real estate development. The social needs and interactions of the people have changed to necessitate other forms of interaction in these creative spaces, especially in cities like Pittsburgh where the economic lifeblood (steel) was essentially siphoned from the city. Now, in a post-industrial age, commerce depends on creativity.

TU C KER However, in other cases the temporal dimension of space could be exploited to represent a shift in societal views of religious practice. For instance, a Catholic church-turned-bar, Altar Bar, in Pittsburgh, is adorned with cocktail waitresses wearing exceedingly short Catholic schoolgirl skirts. This creates a play on the past functional dimension of this space in which the developer can generate new economic value by shocking deviation from social norms. In this business model, the developer imbibes from a secularist chalice.

Repurposing churches is vaguely representative of the organicist perspective of the temporal dimension of space. The organicist perspective refers to the “dynamic and adaptive process in that systems acquire and maintain structure and that no external agency controls” (Carmona et al., 2010, p. 258). Jane Jacobs and other contemporary planning greats described the natural growth and complex systems within cities that defy certainty of outcomes based on a set of inputs. A pillar of the organicist perspective is incremental change, which resembles the small-scale minutia of evolutionary phenomena. Incremental change occurs when various authors or agents impact the cumulative outcome but do not have control over it (Carmona et al., 2010, p. 259). The city is not the result of a single actor or designer, but is a living organism that responds incrementally to the environment.

An article from the Pittsburgh PostGazette emphasized the organic process of transitioning churches between the clergy and developers that ensures that the hollow church is not ignobly or immorally used. After the Decree of Suppression, former congregation members were conditioned to use the space

after the church was decommissioned and all sacred objects were removed from the space.

In fact, the St. Ann Catholic Church in Millvale transitioned from church to live recording studio to concert venue. The owner, Mike Speranzo, said, “It was an organic transition to live music, a matter of survival” (Jones, 2015).

Such is the case for St. John the Baptist, now Church Brew Works. This clever transition hails to the tradition of Trappist monks from Bavaria, known for initiating brewing beer in mass consumption.

Thus, many of these uses are diametrically opposed to the structure and form of religiously moderated behavior. They favor creative expression and liberation, which are instigated by the avantgarde visions of the redevelopers themselves.

However, this organic change can only occur following decisions to develop churches for other uses that are relevant to the mechanist perspective of urban development. According to Carmona et al., the mechanist approach to city planning and design assumes that the city is knowable and, therefore, controllable by the human hand. From this perspective, the market is a static mechanism for resource allocation.

This city-as-machine perspective draws from the 20th-century influences of modernism and modernization (Carmona et al., 2010, p. 258). In Pittsburgh one could argue that the developers took a mechanist outlook when diverging from the accepted use of the church as a space for worship. For example, the spatial use shifts

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from the past traditional one-way sermon to a use that promulgates dialogue. Thus, many of these uses are diametrically opposed to the structure and form of religiously moderated behavior. They favor creative expression and liberation, which are instigated by the avantgarde visions of the redevelopers themselves.

The adaptive reuse of individual churches in Pittsburgh speaks to the incremental change that contributes overall to the large-scale outcome of a city brimming with creativity.

While the divergent decisions to repurpose churches at a singular building scale are clearly more in line with the mechanist perspective, the ways in which these spaces evolved into their future uses and the urban fabric overall mirror the organicist perspective. Through incremental change in both the buildings themselves and throughout Pittsburgh, these churches have contributed to the growth of the city as a nucleus of knowledge and creativity.

C HURC H S T RU C T U RES D E SI G N I N G A T EM PLAT E F OR A D APT I VE REUS E The church structures described did not reach the end of their natural life as in a prototypical adaptive reuse project. However, the spaces had reached the end of their natural social life, and sought reincarnation that would bring new

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life to the hallowed (and hollow) halls. While some seek to continue their use by adapting them into residential space, other spaces are adapted for creative expression, and still others are for pure entertainment purposes, such as concerts or socializing. What social sensitivities should planners have in small-scale projects such as adaptive reuse of churches, as well as larger-scale adaptive reuse of entire districts and neighborhoods? All adaptive reuse involves some sort of historical attachments within the social dimension of space that must be considered before embarking on these endeavors.

This essay does not suggest that repurposing churches is an unwanted or immoral practice, but rather explores the manner in which their temporal dimension is used to give reverence to the past and re-envisioned future. Regardless, creativity in redevelopment strategies has aimed to overcome the economic obsolescence of churches and attempted, in some instances, to transition in a more organic manner than others. Planners, developers, and architects are in the business of determining the social bounds that can or should be pushed in the wake of innovative practices. In the case of post-steel Pittsburgh, a social outing is graced by the angelic cacophony of “Prost!� and spirits flow, while the holy spirits of the past float amongst the rafters.

TU C KER

REFERENCES Behind the marker. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://explorepahistory. com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-23D

Le Corbusier. (1971). The City of To-Morrow. London: Architectural Press.

Carmona, M. (2003). Public places, urban spaces: The dimensions of urban design. Oxford: Architectural Press.

Lynch, K. (1972). What time is this place? Cambridge: MIT Press.

Eldridge, D. (2014, October 25). Former churches blessed with new lives in Pittsburgh. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes. com/2014/10/26/travel/former-churches-blessed-with-newlives-in-pittsburgh.html Florida, R. L. (2002). The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life.

New York, NY: Basic Books.

Gray, J. A., Some Canonical Aspects of the Closing and Sale of a Parish Church. Retrieved from from http://www.jgray.org/docs/ close_parish.html.

North Hills. (n.d.). Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. Retrieved from http://diopitt.org/county/north-hills-0?page=1 Piiparinen, R., Russell, J., & Post, C. (2015). From metal to minds: Economic restructuring in the rust belt. Urban Publications.

Retrieved from http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/urban_ facpub/1279 The history of the Priory Hotel. (n.d.). Retrieved from http:// thepriory.com/priory-history-3.php U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www. bls.gov/

History. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.churchbrew.com/ history.html

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Gardens by the Bay | Singapore Fran k R o m o, M U P 1 6

REVITALIZING URBAN GARDENS THE TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS APPROACH IN SHIRAZ, IRAN

SANAZ CHAMANARA

Master of Landscape Architecture, 2017

AMIRREZA KAZEMEINI

Master of Architecture, 2016, Qeshm International University As a result of urban growth, most of the gardens in the city of Shiraz, Iran, are now replaced by urban structures, causing urban environmental problems and affecting the quality of life of inhabitants. This paper attempts to introduce productive landscapes to achieve sustainable urban development in Shiraz. We propose strategies for the organized management of gardens in the “Ghasr-Dasht” region, the only remaining urban gardens in Shiraz. The aim of this paper is to conserve the Ghasr-Dasht gardens and to reestablish Shiraz’s identity as a garden city. We study the effect of rehabilitation of the traditional gardens, in conjunction with the TDR approach, on improvement of urban ecological, social, and environmental qualities in the city.

FIGURE 1 SANAZ CHAMANARA AND AMIRREZA KAZEMEINI | DEVELOPMENT OF SHIRAZ CITY AND DESTROYING THE URBAN GARDENS

in Shiraz historically were gardens and farms, Shiraz had a strong local economy and cultural history. Many areas of the city were once covered by multi-functional gardens that grew various species of plants and vegetables due to perfect weather and soil and plenty of Qanats.

Qanats are water-supply systems in arid areas often several kilometers long, consisting of underground channels leading water from a mountain to the nearby village or city for irrigation or domestic use.

C H A MA N A RA + K A ZEMEI N I

S

hiraz, the capital of Fars Province, is one of the oldest cities in southern Iran, and an important historical, cultural, social, and economic center for the nation.

Its name has been found in Achaemenian inscriptions in Persepolis. It was the Iranian (Persian) capital during the Zand dynasty from AD 1750 until 1781, and covers a land area of about 340 square kilometers. With an average elevation of 1500 meters above sea level, it is located (29_530N, 52_580E) in a northwest–southeast-elongated valley. The plains that cover the city have a northwestsoutheast slope, with numerous springs and wells on the western part of the valley. These plains are surrounded by mountains connected at the north and northwestern parts of the city, from which many springs originate. The Rudkhaneye Khoshk (Dry River) flows through the northern part of the city seasonally, ending in the Maharloo Lake to the east. Running water has been a major factor in giving life to the gardens, flowing through the low-gradient and spiral streams, providing a pleasant effect on the atmosphere and giving spirit and livelihood to the city. Because most of the areas

In the past, the city was covered with gardens, and Shiraz was known as a garden city. In modern times, only the gardens in a small region in the northwest area of the city known as “Ghasr-Dasht” have survived (Figure 1).

Ghasr-Dasht is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, located in the northwest area of Shiraz. The old residents of Shiraz called this region the “juice bar of the city” because of its abundant orchards, which cover hundreds of hectares. Until about thirty years ago the Ghasr-Dasht region was considered part of the Shiraz suburbs, and was mainly used by Shiraz capitalists as countryside during the summer.

In recent decades, as a result of changes in the structure of the city, Ghasr-Dasht underwent urbanization, and lost a great deal of its gardens during this development period. Today the remaining gardens are still being degraded and destroyed.

These precious gardens, which once acted as a barrier to rapid urban growth in the city’s development plan, are now becoming victims of this rapid development. Although the environmental problems of Shiraz are not as severe as those of metropolitan areas like Tehran, the current trend suggests it will soon face a similar dilemma. A closer look at the

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evolution of the garden area in Shiraz during the previous decades shows how gardens have been swallowed by urban developments.

Reduction of green space is equivalent to creating undesirable places, increasing pollution, and contributing to the environmental crisis. Many mental diseases in large cities are due to lack of green space, uniformity, and cities devoid of soul. Today, the remains of the GhasrDasht gardens are the only remaining ecological elements of the city. So the need for their maintenance and extension—to achieve urban sustainable development—is highly urgent.

THE N EED TO MA I N TA I N A ND DEV EL O P T H E G A RD EN S O F GHAS R-DA S H T Historically, cities formed based on immediate access to resources such as food. Cities were initially intended to develop on fertile lands that have rich soil for farming, because soil fertility allows for more trading and economic opportunities. Later, the industrial revolutions and advances in transportation technology changed the urban landscape.

Rapid industrialization and heterogeneous urban growth—due to rapid population growth and migration from rural areas to industrial cities—destroyed large areas of agricultural land and urban gardens, with real consequences for the environment. In recent decades, heavy migration to urban areas from war zones has exacerbated this trend in Iran. One of the problems facing the developing world’s urban population is the increasing size of the workforce, due to a growing younger population and insufficient job opportunities in the labor market. Production and consumption inequality in developing countries is one of the principal weaknesses of their policies, as a small

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number of developed cities hinder the growth of the smaller ones, and most resources are concentrated in these urban areas. As a result, there is an increase in the flow of migration from rural areas to industrial cities.

Ghasr-Dasht is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, located in the northwest area of Shiraz. The old residents of Shiraz called this region the “juice bar of the city” because of its abundant orchards, which cover hundreds of hectares.

In recent years, environmental and economic crises in developing countries have led to strategies for sustainable urban development.

One of these proposed strategies is the Continuous Productive Urban Landscape (CPUL) approach, which emphasizes reorienting urban farming, gardening, and water management toward dealing with specific environmental and economic problems. These ideas aim to increase cohesion of productive landscapes in the cities as a stage for sustainable urban infrastructure, with the idea of creating multifunctional urban open networks that protect the urban environment and make it complete and coherent. This policy does not treat the urban fabric as a blank slate, and the purpose is not to remove the urban context. The main purpose of this strategy is the protection of urban natural resources. With proper use of city resources, CPUL can provide some of the food needed for residents, raising the quality of the urban environment and preventing the destruction of natural resources. In creating new job opportunities, the city can realize the social and economic dimensions of sustainable

C H A MA N A RA + K A ZEMEI N I FIGURE 2 SANAZ CHAMANARA AND AMIRREZA KAZEMEINI | ACTIVE AND INACTIVE GARDENS OF “GHASR-DASHT” NEIGHBORHOOD

development. Cities applying this policy face a long road to full self-sufficiency, but imports to these cities generally will decrease greatly. This will help bring about food security during times of food severity and other harsh situations in the city.

The Ghasr-Dasht gardens have resisted the destruction and transformation of the urban structures, but one can easily witness their partial destruction and change of use in the course of the last few years (Figure 2).

Before 1970, the gardens functioned as selfsustained biological systems. Production activities such as agriculture and ranching provided for the costs of living in the region, and gardening was a source of income for the Ghasr-Dasht population. In addition, the existence of Shiraz—a major nearby population hub—provided insurance and incentive for productive activities in the region. However, the development of new vehicular roads between major cities in Iran brought a variety of agricultural products to the Shiraz market from other cities. Due to this new transportation system, Ghasr-Dasht faced difficult competition, which affect its security and eventually harmed its productivity. Following these changes, the income of landowners and farmers declined, and the economic system of the gardens fell

apart. Through the physical growth of the city and construction of new roads, the GhasrDasht gardens lost their uniformity, and new residential developments were built inside and at their peripheries. In terms of agricultural production, the gardens gradually lost their agricultural potential, and gardening soon was performed at a very limited scale.

S H I R A Z UR BA N D E V E L O P M E N T A ND D E S T R UC T I ON OF T H E G H A S R - DA S H T G A R D E N S Two trends have influenced Shiraz’s urban growth: linear growth in a northwesternsoutheastern direction, following the natural course of rivers, mountains, and plains; and core growth starting at the old town and expanding outward. The farmland and gardens of GhasrDasht are located on the northwestern side of town, benefiting from favorable environmental conditions, but also lying along the linear development of the city. About a century ago, when Shiraz measured 300 to 500 hectares, the foothill gardens of Ghasr-Dasht had an area of 3,000 to 3,500 acres. The rapid population growth and subsequent rapid development destroyed half of the orchards during the period from 1952 to 1981. In general, the degradation of

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scope of the comprehensive plan, with certain standards set to maintain them.

Among the protection policies were plans for preventing separation and division of the gardens, purchasing them from owners for municipal acquisition, and converting them to urban parks. However, the destruction and separation of the gardens, as well as their conversion into residential units, were clearly noticeable.

FIGURE 3 SANAZ CHAMANARA AND AMIRREZA KAZEMEINI | THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ORCHARDS OF “GHASR-DASHT” IN SHIRAZ URBAN DEVELOPMENT

these gardens in the last decades can be divided into three periods (Figure 3):

First period (1941-1961): The city’s expansion after 1941 was mainly around the historical district and southern fringes.

This part of town, which is now part of the central metropolitan area, has a high population and construction density.

Subsequent construction was scattered among the Ghasr-Dasht orchards and farms.

Second period (1961-1979): In 1962, the University of Tehran prepared the first comprehensive plan for Shiraz. Prior to this, development of the city had continued from the core, with a trend towards the northwest. The comprehensive plan set a legal limit of construction for 25 years in order to preserve and restore the GhasrDasht gardens. The university introduced approximately 2,000 hectares outside the

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Third period (1979-present): During this period, the Ghasr-Dasht gardens were purposefully destroyed for construction.

In addition, the University of Tehran approved a revision to the comprehensive plan of Shiraz for better protection of these gardens. The gardens were declared special protected regions by this proposal. These measures provided some opportunities for environmental planning, and for the better use of this wealth for provision of public space. Though not as rapid, the destruction of city gardens during this period is still quite evident.

FAC TOR S A F F E C T I NG D E GR A DAT I O N O F T H E GH A S R - DA S H T G A R D E N S U RBAN DE VE LOPME NT DU E TO THE INCRE ASE IN LAND VALU E IN THE GHASR-DASHT RE GION One of the most important factors influencing the inactivity of urban gardens and farms, and thus leading to their destruction, is their high value. This entices the owners to sell them for profit, which eventually result in their conversion into apartments and commercial centers. These problems are more vigorously in progress in the Ghasr-Dasht gardens due

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TO THE SEPIDAN CITY JOOSHAK FOUNTAIN

SADRA REGION

A’ZAM STREAM TANGE-SORKH STREAM

Jooshak Fountain Streams GHASRODASCHT GARDENS

A’ZAM STREAM DIVIDER

Ghasrodasht Subterranean (Qanat) A’zam Subterranean (Qanat) 0

5 Mi.

KHOSHK RIVER

FIGURE 4 SHIRAZ MUNICIPALITY, WATER RESOURCES OF “GHASR-DASHT” GARDENS

to factors affecting their productivity as well as their economic value. Accordingly, during research studies, urban land-related legislation and regulations for preserving agricultural lands and orchards were reviewed, and some fundamental problems in the legislation were clearly noticed. The goal of this proposal (the protection and sustainable development of Shiraz’s city gardens) is only achievable if these

laws and regulations are properly modified.

The first step in this regard is to rehabilitate the gardens that are pending destruction or have been divided, and then restore them to their original state. In the next phase productive landscapes should be developed in the city. To motivate the owners, providing services for the owners and farmers should be codified in current rules and regulations. In this way, not

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only will the gardens be maintained, but the brownfields and vacant lands around them will also gradually develop into productive landscapes. This process is possible only if local residents want to get involved. Therefore, to create interest and motivation among GhasrDasht residents and Shiraz residents in general, incentives must be considered as part of the regulations.

C O L LAPS E O F T HE G ARD ENS’ E C O N O M I C S YS T EM One of the most influential factors in the gardens’ destruction is a lack of economic gains for landowners in recent years, mainly as a result of a dearth of farmers’ markets and use of outdated methods of agriculture, which allow pests and cold weather to impact the gardens. Another major problem in the gardens of Shiraz, and particularly in the area of GhasrDasht, is the use of chemical pesticides on a large scale, which causes air pollution in the region. In response, the Shiraz municipality decided to replace the trees in the region with unproductive alternative trees, neglecting the economic benefits of the gardens. As a result the owners, seeking more profits, have been turning their gardens into residential sites.

DEG RA DAT I O N O F G H A SR DAS H T WAT ER RES O U RCE S The durability and survival of the GhasrDasht gardens greatly depend on their water resources. Generally, water resources of the gardens are divided into two categories: permanent and seasonal. Permanent water sources consist of 26 Qanats and “welding fountains.” Two rivers from the northwest, the Great Creek and the Red River, feed into the orchards zone. These two rivers join together

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and form the seasonal Dry River. Welding fountains are the main resource and provider of the Great Creek. Its runoff provides part of the seasonal sources of water for the irrigation of the Ghasr-Dasht gardens (Figure 4). Important factors contributing to the degradation of Qanats and the water shortage in the gardens are the construction of nearby houses and streets; high land prices relative to the price of garden products, and thus reluctance of owners to make repairs; lack of ability to pay for renovated and restored Qanats; and lack of a management system.

I M P R OP E R D I S T R I BUT I O N OF UR BA N S E RV I C E S I N T H E R E G I ON An important factor influencing the destruction of the Ghasr-Dasht gardens is the improper distribution of services, leading to replacement of many gardens along the main roads with urban service uses. The street networks in Shiraz have not yet entered the garden lands, and the gardens are still connected by auxiliary lanes and alleys with low traffic. Due to the development of transportation within the region in recent years, it is possible that more of the gardens will be destroyed and used for urban services. Multi-functional urban landscapes are a good candidate for addressing this problem. Failure to provide hierarchical access to gardens and farms in the area is another problem in the Ghasr-Dasht region.

The main streets in the Ghasr-Dasht region are wide enough to allow for heavy traffic and thus are unsafe for pedestrians. Therefore, a proper, hierarchical distribution of land, taking into account the comfort and safety of pedestrians, should be considered in the District Strategic Plan.

In order to revive the productive landscape of today’s cities, the consideration of the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) approach is necessary, assuming sufficient land value and the willingness of residents. In this approach, areas designated for protection are specified as “sending areas,” and urban development in these areas is slowed or completely stopped.

The rights are transferred to areas that are more suitable for growth in the city, designated

The development of these productive landscapes in Shiraz will be possible only through interaction and collaboration with citizens while respecting their rights, with government playing a major role. as “receiving areas.” TDR, a market-driven approach, creates a context in which urban development is transferred to lands more appropriate for development. In fact, application of TDR encourages interested landowners to voluntarily waive future development rights on their property, and gives them the option to sell the transferable development rights. Based on this method, the owners sign limitation documents and then are able to sell their property and earn compensation for any reduced value of their land (Pruetz & Standridge, 2008; Barrows & Bruce, 1975).

If landowners are not willing to accept TDR, they would only have rights to construct at a lower density, but if owners exercise these

rights, they would be allowed to construct at higher densities. Therefore, they would obtain financial benefits, be encouraged to support productive landscapes in the city, and help protect the urban environment. The United States pioneered this technique in New Jersey in two townships, Lumberton and Chesterfield, in 1989, resulting in the preservation of more than 3,000 acres of farm and forest lands, accompanied by the development of hundreds of new residential units (Renard, 2007).

C H A MA N A RA + K A ZEMEI N I

A TRANSF ER O F DEV ELOPM EN T RI G H T S APPROAC H

The development of these productive landscapes in Shiraz will be possible only through interaction and collaboration with citizens while respecting their rights, with government playing a major role. In order to maintain and develop the Ghasr-Dasht gardens, the first stage is to consider them to be areas with potential for protecting the city and try to restore the remaining gardens, and then try to extend these landscapes.

Based on prior studies and successful international experiences in this field, the purpose of the following Ghasr-Dasht region strategic plan is to protect the gardens’ remaining productive landscapes, develop these landscapes into green infrastructure for the city of Shiraz, and restore the multi-functionality of the city’s urban landscapes. The suggested guidelines are as follows:

E CONOMIC STRATE GIE S: Purpose: Modification of rules and regulations in order to restore urban gardens and expand them into the city.

Active farms and gardens: The formation of organizations with the purpose of

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attracting public participation in active areas, through workshops and training sessions demonstrating the TDR approach, would create motivation for preservation of these areas. Division of gardens and agricultural land should remain at minimum levels, consider local climate and customs, and not result in lands with areas lower than 2,000 meters squared, the minimum land area for gardening and agriculture. In order to encourage citizens to participate in the development of productive landscapes, we recommend constructing tourist sites and other services in these areas, while at the same time avoiding logging. The owners of productive landscapes should be exempt from the related taxes for side renovation, side streets, and development of the productive landscapes. It is also important to establish agricultural markets offering natural and organic products at several points in the area to assure owners that their products will have a market.

Barren and inactive lands: Following the TDR approach, and raising awareness of this approach among owners of inactive lands, is important. We recommend motivating landowners who tend to develop in these areas to buy the development rights only, granting them higher-density construction rights elsewhere and exempting them from related taxes. According to regulations, gardens with an area of less than 500 meters square can be destroyed. Therefore, gardens that have been divided and separated for any reason in the past must be aggregated in a unified garden. Combining homes with gardens would encourage landowners to develop toward a continuous productive landscape. If necessary, the municipality

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should have priority for purchasing vacant lands and changing them into multifunctional landscapes, taking into account traffic factors.

E COLOGICAL STRATE GIE S: Purpose: Protection of valuable resources of urban ecological landscapes, and increasing the environmental quality of the city of Shiraz.

Water resources: Maintenance of the Qanats should involve collaboration with residents and the management of the Shiraz municipality, taking into account yearly maintenance costs. Setting up fences would shield the Qanats from construction, and will prevent disposal of their surface. Planting in the path of Qanats and preventing urban construction on them would prevent discharge of sewage of neighboring villages of the Great Creek into the river. The Dry River floor should undergo dredging in order to restore it to its natural state and provide a constant flow of water. Improving the irrigation methods for the gardens using recycled water and sending the Qanats’ excess water to the “Dry River” are also important issues that should be taken into account in order to revive the development of productive landscapes in Shiraz.

Agricultural methods: To prevent contamination of the region, it is important to replace traditional planting and chemical pesticides with organic planting. Organic agriculture is a holistic production management system that improves ecosystem health by maintaining and enhancing biodiversity and the soil’s biological activity. These systems take the

S T RU C T U RA L S T RAT EG I ES : Purpose: Improving the appearance of city landscapes and restoring gardens as part of the natural-historic identity of the garden city of Shiraz.

To protect Ghasr-Dasht, it is important to view the region as beneficial for Shiraz’s climate, and to design green buffers and eco-paths in order to prevent the extension of residential areas into the gardens.

Providing incentives for creation of green roofs and facades, promoting ecological uniformity of the region, controlling the density of buildings, and creating views from surrounding areas into the gardens by removing visual barriers are important issues that must be addressed. Critical strategies also include using recycled materials to reconstruct the region, installing pervious surfaces instead of asphalt for open spaces of urban areas, and properly distributing urban services to promote multi-functional, effective landscapes at inactive locations in the region.

Proper design of hierarchical access to gardens would create pedestrian-friendly paths between the gardens and the alleys.

Placing emphasis on the local historical sites in the landscape, and reconstruction and maintenance of productive streets, would maintain respect for the identity and culture of Shiraz. Highways should be transferred to the east, outside of the gardens region.

Finally, distribution of urban services at the edge of the city’s main streets such as restaurants, sports centers, and recreational spaces should align with traffic patterns.

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regional climate into consideration and emphasize the use of environmentally friendly methods. In order to fight pests, which is one of the major problems in this area, using crop rotation methods and vegetation appropriate for the climate in the barren lands should be considered. Designing farmers’ markets in order to attract resident attention to urban agriculture and implementation of advanced planting and irrigation methods are also essential steps for sustainable urban development.

C O NC L US I O N Formation and evolution of the traditional Iranian towns surrounded by farmland and gardens as a living body has been a very slow process, spanning centuries. But rapid urbanization and a dramatic increase in the evolution of cities in the industrialization period have led to many environmental, social, and economic problems in civil society, and have resulted in the loss of cities’ identity. Some approaches have been proposed to deal with these problems, among which sustainable urban development seems to be an effective model. Shiraz is one of Iran’s oldest cities and an important historical, cultural, social, and economic center. The city was once covered with multifunctional orchards due to a very hospitable climate, fertile soil, and plenty of Qanats for irrigation. But in subsequent centuries, as a result of rapid urban growth, most of the gardens were replaced by urban structures, and now Shiraz is faced with the critical problem of urban poverty.

This paper proposes strategies for the organized management of gardens and water resources in the Ghasr-Dasht gardens, considering the

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“transfer of development rights� approach, which represents an innovative way to direct growth away from critical city areas, toward areas better suited for higher-density development. By studying the specific character of each region and designating gardens as sending areas, a market-oriented approach can

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protect the productive landscape, as well as its visual aesthetic and a number of plant species.

Although the Ghasr-Dasht gardens are used as a case study, the rehabilitation principles proposed here can be applied to other urban gardens with similar characteristics.

Barrows, R. L., & Prenguber, B. A. (1975). Transfer of Development Rights: An analysis of a new land use policy tool. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 57(4), 549-557.

Bohn, K., & Viljoen, A. (2011). The edible city: Envisioning the continuous productive urban landscape. FIELD, 4(1), 149-161.

Bohn, K., & Viljoen, A. (2011). The case for urban agriculture as an essential element of sustainable urban infrastructure. Paper presented at Copenhagen House of Food Urban Agriculture Conference, Copenhagen, May 2011.

Giseke, U. (2009). Urban Agriculture Casablanca: Design as an Integrative Factor of Research. The International Review of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, 74, 48.

Hough, M. (2004). Cities and natural process: A basis for sustainability. London: Routledge.

Maczulak, A. E. (2010). Environmental engineering: Designing a sustainable future (Vol. 4). New York: Infobase Publishing.

Pruetz, R. (2003). Beyond takings and givings, saving natural areas, farmland, and historic landmarks with Transfer of Development Rights and density transfer charges. Marina del Rey, CA: Arje Press,

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REFERENCES

Pruetz, R., & Standridge, N. (2008). What makes Transfer of Development Rights work? Success factors from research and practice. Journal of the American Planning Association, 75(1), 78-87.

Renard, V. (2007). Property rights and the ‘Transfer of Development Rights’: Questions of efficiency and equity. Town Planning Review, 78(1), 41-60.

Viljoen, A., & Howe, J. (Eds.). (2012). Continuous productive urban landscapes. London: Routledge.

Lovell, S. T., & Taylor, J. R. (2013). Supplying urban ecosystem services through multifunctional green infrastructure in the United States. Landscape Ecology, 28(8), 1447-1463.

Macfarlen, R. (2007). Multi-functional landscapes: Conceptual and planning issues for the countryside. In Landscape and Sustainability, edited by John Benson and Maggie Roe, 138-166.

London: Routledge.

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Chefchaouen | Chefchaouen, Morocco Er i k a Li n e n f e l s e r, M U P 1 7

UNBALANCED SAUDI ARABIA

APPLYING RANK-SIZE RULE TO EVALUATE SAUDI URBAN GROWTH PATTERNS

BADER BAJABER

Master of Urban Planning, 2017 The purpose of this paper is to investigate the city-size distribution of Saudi cities during the period from 1989 until 2010, to examine how the distribution evolved throughout this twenty-year period, and to explore the factors that have influenced the growth of cities in Saudi Arabia. The size distribution was found to be far from the rank-size ideal of a constant product of rank and population.

Three major urban areas were found to have a very high percentage of the national total population. Although the national five-year development plans were aiming towards balanced population growth throughout the country, this goal has not been achieved yet due to lack of coordination and comprehensive planning.

This article examines the extent to which Saudi cities are moving toward more balanced growth via investigating the changes in their population size distribution from 1989 to 2010.

The article also explores the factors that have influenced the observed growth pattern during this period. Rank-size rule, which describes a general trend observed in urban populations worldwide, is used as a basis for analyzing 26 Saudi cities, with an emphasis on how the population and rank of these cities has changed from 1989 to 2010. The article finds that Saudi Arabia does not follow the trend hypothesized by the rank-size rule.

BA J A BER

T

he Saudi Arabian economy’s dramatic shift toward oil production over the last 60 years has had a substantial influence on the country’s cities and their composition. This transformation, which began in the late 1930’s, was a central development in the history of Saudi Arabia. Since then, massive resources have been diverted to the provision of infrastructure and the management of urban growth, and this has continued to escalate at a high pace. In 1990, the level of urbanization in Saudi Arabia, 77.3 percent, surpassed the average level of urbanization in the Arab nations, 56.4 percent (Alkhedheiri, 2002). In 1970, the national government began to plan for this rapid growth with recurring five-year national development plans. These plans aim to prevent the overconcentration of resources in just a few urban areas. They also ensure that all regions in Saudi Arabia, particularly the rural areas, have an equal opportunity to develop their full potential, and that they are provided with a full range of government services.

However, a significant variation of growth in size and prosperity across Saudi cities continues today.

Rank-size rule is an empirical tool that is commonly used in contemporary urban studies to estimate the relationship between a city’s population relative to other cities within a system, and often the system is simply a nation or a region. Rank-size rule hypothetically predicts that the second most populous city in the nation or region will have half of the population of the most populous city, the third most populous city will have one-third of the population of the most populous city, and so on (Shukla, 2010). For instance, Los Angeles, California has about half the population of New York City, New York, the most populous American city, and Chicago, Illinois’ population is about one-third the population of New York City. In other words, rank-size rule assumes rank times population is constant across cities, which is equal to the population of the largest city. Investigating rank-size distribution at one point in time and comparing it with the hypothetical rank-size rule assumption allows one to observe and understand the concentration and unequal development between cities. Moreover, analyzing changes in the rank-size distribution over time is useful in order to track the development progress of cities, and how they vary in their growth rates and prosperity.

In 1989 the size of the second through eighth most populous Saudi cities were far above what rank-size rule distribution would predict, while the remaining cities were below the expected rank-size rule distribution. The product of rank and population of the smallest city, Surat Abiedah, was almost one-sixth of the product of rank and population of Riyadh, the most populous city. This illustrates that the distribution in 1989 was far from the rank-size ideal.

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Between 1989 and 2010 Saudi Arabia experienced a dramatic increase in its overall population. In 2010, the sizes of the second and fifth most populous cities, Jeddah and Dammam, were far above the expected ranksize rule distribution, while the remaining cities were below the expected rank-size rule distribution. The product of rank and population of the smallest city, Hulwah, is almost a fourth of the product of rank and population of Riyadh.

This shows that the distribution in 2010, although having shifted from that of 1989, was still far from the rank-size ideal of a constant product of rank and population.

The three most populous cities in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Jeddah, and Makkah, maintained their population rank during the period from 1989 to 2010, while the remaining cities witnessed either a positive or negative shift in their population rank. However, no city has experienced a shrink in its population size. This means that the negative shifts in the rank of some cities between 1989 and 2010 occurred as a result of higher growth rates in other cities, rather than a decline in the population of the cities themselves.

Data shows there were three urban areas in the country where the population grew more rapidly during the period from 1989 to 2010.

These were the Makkah, Jeddah, and Madinah axis; the Riyadh region; and the Dammam metropolitan area made up of Dammam, Khobar, and Dhahran. These three areas comprised

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almost 60 percent of the total Saudi population of 7.27 million in 1989, and almost 46 percent of the total population of 27.14 million in 2010.

Analyzing the changes in rank-size distribution from 1989 to 2010 clearly shows that Saudi cities vary significantly in their growth rates, with a few urban regions that are more prosperous and growing at higher rates than other regions in the country. Many economic and political factors, highlighted in the adjacent infographic, have contributed to the continuous pattern of unbalanced growth across Saudi cities. These factors include: the learning-by-doing approach resulting from the rapid transformation of population; the centralized urban management system; the lack of coordination in policy formulation; the lack of appropriate local manpower; and the lack of a comprehensive planning intelligence information database (Garba, 2004).

In spite of attempts by the national government to guide and balance the massive population growth across cities since 1970, the Saudi urban system still has an unbalanced growth pattern.

This analysis of rank-size distribution reveals that three major urban areas undergoing rapid growth capture almost half of the national total population, leaving smaller urban areas with fewer economic possibilities. Although the national five-year development plans aim for balanced population growth across the country, this goal has not yet been achieved due to economic and political factors.

BA J A BER

REFERENCES Alkhedheiri, Abdulaziz A. (2002). The Role of Secondary Cities in the National Development Process of Saudi Arabia. Riyadh: Abdulaziz A. Alkhedheiri. Retrieved from: http://ethos.bl.uk/ OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.287873

Shukla, Tryambakesh. (2010, November 16). “Rank Size Rule and Primate City Concept.” Retrieved from http://www. slideshare.net/tryambakesh/rank-size-rule-and-primatecity-concept

Central Department of Statistics and Information, Ministry of Economy and Planning. (2010). Administrative Regions and Provinces Population Estimates During the Period From 2010 to 2025. Retrieved from: http://www.cdsi.gov.sa/english/index. php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=271&Itemid=113

Shukri, Ibrahim M., Habib M. Alshuwaikhat and Shaibu Bala Garba. (1996). “City-Size Distribution in the Saudi Arabian Urban System.” International Planning Studies 1(2), 185-198. Retrieved from: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/ abs/10.1080/13563479608721651

Garba, Shaibu Bala. (2004). “Managing Urban Growth and Development in the Riyadh Metropolitan Area, Saudi Arabia.”

Habitat International 28(4), 539-608. Retrieved from: http://www. sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197397504000232

Note: 1989 population data was obtained from research carried out by Shukri, Alshuwaikhat, and Garba in 1996 under the title “City-Size Distribution in the Saudi Arabian Urban System”, while 2010 population data was obtained from the Central Department of Statistics & Information.

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Top of the Hub | Boston, Massachusetts J u l i an n a T s c h i r h ar t , M U P 1 7

ARRIVING AT EMPLOYMENT

AN ACCESSIBILITY ANALYSIS OF DETROIT’S MT. ELLIOT AND SOUTHWEST EMPLOYMENT DISTRICTS

MIKE AUERBACH

Master of Urban Planning + Master of Public Policy, 2017

KATHLEEN REILLY

Master of Urban Planning, 2016

YUTING SUN

Master of Urban Planning, 2016 The Detroit Future City (DFC) strategic framework of 2012 proposes that industrial redevelopment in the Mt. Elliott and Southwest industrial employment districts will provide jobs for the greatest number of unemployed and underemployed residents of Detroit, Michigan. The Detroit Economic Growth Association has used the industrial employment district concept as the basis of an ongoing planning process in the Mt. Elliott area. The existing industrial and freight infrastructure paired with investment from non-profit groups in the Mt. Elliott and Southwest districts makes them prime locations for additional industrial investment. The goal of our study is to evaluate whether new manufacturing jobs in these areas will be accessible to working-age Detroiters who do not have access to a personal vehicle. Using geographic information system (GIS) software, we estimated the number of Detroiters who can reach either industrial district via bus service or walking within an hour of a typical industrial shift.

Our analysis focuses on the Mt. Elliott and Southwest industrial employment districts.

DFC categorizes these districts as centers of global trade and industrial manufacturing.

According to DFC, job growth within these sectors will offer employment opportunities to the largest percentage of unemployed Detroiters. Approximately 55 percent of new jobs within all of Detroit’s industrial subsectors will be accessible to workers with less than or equal to a high school or equivalent degree (DFC, 2012). Over half of unemployed Detroiters held a comparable level of education in 2013 (US Census Bureau, 2013). Manufacturing jobs are significant because they generally provide higher wages than retail and service sector positions that require similar qualifications (Guenther, 2013).

While DFC is a redevelopment and land use framework intended specifically for the city of Detroit, the workers who could potentially benefit from DFC’s proposed industrial districts are not limited to the city’s borders. Detroit’s neighboring municipalities, including the cities of Hamtramck and Highland Park, are home

to tens of thousands of residents with similar employment needs as those of Detroiters.

Any transportation or economic development planning that is relevant to the districts would be remiss not to consider the regional implications of the district’s redevelopment.

While regional considerations merit equal attention, our study will focus on one aspect of the district’s redevelopment, that being the accessibility of the districts for Detroit residents.

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he Detroit Future City (DFC) strategic framework has identified seven employment districts in the city of Detroit where the highest concentration of job growth is likely to occur within the next fifty years. At present, firms and anchor institutions of Detroit’s fastest-growing industries, education and medicine, manufacturing, digital and creative technology, and entrepreneurship, are concentrated within these districts.

Approximately half of the jobs available in Detroit are located in these districts, which occupy a combined total of only 15 percent of Detroit’s land coverage (DFC, 2012).

The benefits of these Industrial Employment Districts cannot be realized if residents are unable to access them. Transit access is particularly important in Detroit because of exceptionally low levels of vehicle ownership (DFC, 2012). Approximately 23 percent of Detroiters, by housing unit, do not own vehicles, compared to nine percent of housing units in Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland counties – which surround Detroit – combined (US Census Bureau, 2013). DFC suggests that the current Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) and Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) bus services do not effectively link Detroit’s labor force to employment opportunities within the city. Furthermore, residential land use patterns continue to shift within the city, and may no longer match transit coverage (Grengs, 2007).

We used ESRI’s GIS software, ArcMap, to estimate where the need for employment and transit service may be highest in Detroit, and how long it would take people in those areas to reach an industrial district job by transit or by walking. The first component of our analysis estimates the spatial distribution of Detroit residents who might benefit from a job opportunity in one of the districts, but are likely

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to need public transit service to commute. We used the same indicators found in DFC, which include U.S. Census Bureau estimates of the number of Detroit residents who are of working age (16 to 64), residents who have not worked in the past 12 months, and the number of households that do not have access to a vehicle.

Each variable was compiled by Census Block Group.

Next, we identified the spatial coverage of one hour’s travel time from any bus stop in the city to a bus stop in either district, by any combination of riding a SMART or DDOT bus, or traveling by foot via city streets. The specific time frames we analyzed were one hour prior to standard industrial shift start times of 8:00 AM, 3:00 PM, and 11:00 PM. Our method captured the variation in transit service to the districts at each shift change for each day of the week.

SMART and DDOT’s service schedules are generally consistent on weekdays, so we only included Monday, Saturday, and Sunday in our final analysis. Travel time is indexed by intervals of fifteen minutes for each hour time window.

DATA , S O U RC ES, & ANALYT I C A L TO O L S The demographic data that we used to estimate the potential need for employment and public transit was compiled at the Block Group level using the 2013 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Jurisdictional boundary and geographic feature shapefiles were Census Tigerline Shapefiles. We used ArcMap’s Spatial Analyst extension to produce a raster grid that displays where our selected demographic characteristics were most concentrated.

We used the Service Area Tool, available

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with ArcMap’s Network Analyst extension, to generate visual footprints (service areas) that are representative of an hour’s travel time or less from any bus stop in the city to any bus stop within an industrial district, traveling by any combination of riding a bus or walking along a street. General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data provided by the Southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority (RTA), and Melinda Morang’s Add GTFS Data to a Network Dataset Toolkit (Add GTFS), enabled us to incorporate current SMART and DDOT transit schedules into our service areas. We identified stops within the industrial districts using DFC district boundary data downloaded from the Data Driven Detroit open data site. Potential walking trips were estimated with roadway data downloaded from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments’ (SEMCOG) open data portal.

M E T H OD S To estimate the total number of Detroit residents who potentially qualify for an industrial job, we compiled the number of residents between the ages of 16 and 64 years

by Census Block Group. This demographic generally represents the number of city residents who are of working age. Of the 16- to -64 year-old age group, we included the Census estimated number of individuals who did not work within the past 12 months as a proxy indicator of residents who may benefit from access to a manufacturing job.

Unlike unemployment, this category includes teens and adults of working age who are not considered to be a part of the labor force. This distinction is important because Detroit’s overall labor force participation rate (65 percent in 2012) is 10 percent below the regional average

(Schimpl et al., 2011). Trips that use both the street and transit routes incur a 15-second time penalty for each modal transfer to simulate boarding or exiting a bus.

The first step of calculating our one-hour service areas was to build a multimodal network dataset that would allow us to model both pedestrian and transit trip routes to the districts. Multimodal network datasets in GIS can be used to calculate possible trips and travel times between specified locations that rely on two or more transportation modalities, accounting for a variety of user-specified travel constraints. Our dataset models the connectivity between SMART and DDOT bus stops, routes, and local streets within Detroit.

We did not include non-motorized paths such as bike lanes or trails, or account for sidewalk condition and availability. Our model assumes that pedestrian travel is possible along any Detroit street.

We then used ArcMap’s Service Area feature to calculate the spatial coverage of all possible transit or walking trips within 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes from any bus stop in the city to any bus stop within either of the Mt. Elliott or Southwest districts. The service areas include any combination of bus and pedestrian travel that can be completed within the specified time frame. The model automatically includes potential transfer times, or a need to walk between intermediate or destination stops to complete a trip. When a transit trip is not available between a bus stop and a district stop, a walking-only trip will be modeled if it can be completed within the timeframe.

The Add GTFS Toolkit enabled us to add parameters to our network dataset that generate more realistic travel time estimates.

The model treats the SMART and DDOT transit routes and Detroit streets as separate networks of travel. Both networks can be used in a single trip, but the model ensures that bus stops are the only point of transfer between them. Travel parameters along the bus routes are defined by the SMART and DDOT GTFS data. The model calculates trip availability and duration along the bus routes based on scheduled bus departures, arrivals, and travel times between stops. We used the Detroit street network to model pedestrian trips. Trips calculated along the street network are restricted to travel at three miles per hour. Studies have shown this to be an average speed for adult walking trips

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(DFC, 2012). Lastly, we used the number of Census Block Group housing units whose residents do not own a vehicle to indicate the level of need for public transit access.

The benefits of these Industrial Employment Districts cannot be realized if residents are unable to access them. Transit access is particularly important in Detroit because of exceptionally low levels of vehicle ownership.

To complete our analysis, we identified the block groups that fall within each service area time interval, and totaled the associated numbers of residents who fall within our demographic criteria. We then compared the daily and weekly fluctuation in the number of people who could reach one of the districts in an hour or less. Census Block Groups were included in our service areas if their centroids fell within the service area polygons.

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8 AM

11 P M

Time Breaks

DDOT Bus Routes

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SMART Bus Routes

30

Mount Elliott Employment District

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Southwest Employment District

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FIGURES 1 - 2 MIKE AUERBACH, KATHLEEN REILLY, AND YUTING SUN | TRAVEL TIME OF TRANSIT AND WALKING TRIPS PRIOR TO 8AM AND 11PM INDUSTRIAL SHIFTS ON MONDAYS. TRIP COVERAGE IS REPRESENTATIVE OF AVAILABLE WEEKDAY TRAVEL OPTIONS. TIME SHOWN IN MINUTES. SOURCES: DATA DRIVEN DETROIT, SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS, SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU.

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RESULTS Our findings are consistent with DFC’s assertion that the Mt. Elliott and Southwest industrial employment districts are inaccessible to a large majority of Detroit’s workforce by means of transit or walking. We estimate that 91 percent of Detroit residents between the ages of 16 and 64 years, or 471,083 out of approximately 515,523 individuals, would need to walk or travel by bus for over an hour to reach either of the industrial districts in time for a 8:00 AM shift. This estimate is consistent for each day of the week, and reflects the largest number of working-age individuals who could reach the district in an hour or less in time for any shift.

Approximately 43 percent of the working-age residents who live outside of the 8 AM one-hour service area of a district have not worked in the past 12 months, according to Census estimates.

While the potential variability of the number of people who may not be in need of employment is significant in this estimate, this number is representative of a large portion of Detroit’s population who are out of work.

The weekday and weekend morning shifts appear to be accessible to the greatest number of working-age Detroiters traveling by foot or by bus. The majority of the estimated 44,440 working-age residents who live within one hour’s travel of an industrial district prior to a morning shift (28,244 people) would need to

spend between 30 and 60 minutes in transit to reach a district by 8:00 AM. The 3:00 PM and 11:00 PM shifts are accessible in under one hour to approximately 38,583 working-age Detroiters on weekdays and weekends.

We estimate that 18,126 working-age Detroiters who have not worked in 12 months live within a one-hour walking or public transit commute to an industrial district. Of those residents, approximately 69 percent (12,519 people) live within a 30- to 60-minute service area. The spatial distribution of working-age Detroiters who have not worked in 12 months is proportionate within and beyond the one-hour service areas.

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This method serves as an approximation of walkability. We were unable to determine how residents are distributed within each Block Group, and whether or not those residents live within a reasonable walking distance to a bus stop. Including Block Groups by centroid ensures that at least half of the Block Group falls within the service area.

Lack of vehicle access appears to be higher among individuals with 30- to 60-minute commutes than individuals with shorter commutes. The percentage of housing units without vehicle access located within a zero- to 30-minute trip of a district averaged 16 percent for all shifts, or 1,030 of 6,556 housing units. The percentage within a 30- to 60-minute trip was 26 percent for all shifts, representing 3,458 of 13,256 housing units. These percentages are compared to a city-wide rate of 23 percent of housing units without vehicles. For comparison, the average population of the weekly zero- to 30-minute service areas was 14,492 people, compared to an average of 26,115 people within the 30- to 60-minute service areas.

Identifying service gaps that disproportionately affect working-age residents, people out of work, or people without access to vehicles will require a more detailed analysis. The distribution of high-need Block Groups seems to correspond with the spatial distribution of Detroit’s population. However, we can generally describe the variation in district access throughout the

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city by the demographics of city residents, and the service available to them.

The Block Groups with the highest need for district access are home to an exceptionally large proportion of working-age residents. The median estimate of working-age people in the high-need Block Groups was 1,107 residents, compared to 496 across all Block Groups. Rates of vehicle ownership were also significantly lower. The median percentage of housing units

The Block Groups with the highest need for district access are home to an exceptionally large proportion of working-age residents. The median estimate of working-age people in the high-need Block Groups was 1,107 residents, compared to 496 accross all Block Groups. without vehicles was 37 percent, which is 14 percent higher than the city rate. The rate of people who have not worked in 12 months is higher than average but reflects the Detroitwide trend more closely. Only three of the 30 highest-need Block Groups are within an hour trip of the districts, for any shift.

Surprisingly, no transit trips of an hour or less are available to either district from Detroit’s Central Business District or its surrounding neighborhoods. The neighborhoods surrounding Downtown, Midtown, Eastern Market and the Jefferson Corridor contain the largest concentration of high-need Census Block Groups. Combined, they are home to approximately 31,815 working-age individuals.

The percentage of residents who have not

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worked in 12 months is proportionate to the city-wide percentage, but the lack of vehicle access is significantly greater. Approximately 39 percent of the housing units in the inner-core neighborhoods lack vehicle access.

Northwest Detroit is the largest continuous geographic area without transit service of an hour or less to either district. This area includes the neighborhoods north of Interstate 94, and west of Woodward Avenue. The Livernois Avenue corridor is the exception of this service gap, where transit trips of an hour or less are intermittently available to the Southwest Detroit district throughout the week. Approximately 261,836 working-age residents live in this area of roughly 67 square miles.

C O NC L US I O N Our model provides a general estimate of access to the Mt. Elliott and Southwest industrial employment districts, but there are other important dimensions of accessibility that we did not capture. The availability and consistency of return trips are just as important as being able to get to a district in time for the beginning of a shift. Other factors to consider when discussing accessibility include frequency and reliability of the transit trips included in our service areas. Lastly, parcellevel population data would have allowed us to estimate the number of people associated with different travel times with greater accuracy.

There are also limits to our method of estimating walking trips. We were unable to model an average willingness to walk by excluding or penalizing pedestrian trips beyond a certain distance. The model automatically includes all trips that are possible within the

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DFC Industrial Employment Districts

0

5 Mi.

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FIGURE 3 MIKE AUERBACH, KATHLEEN REILLY, AND YUTING SUN | TRANSIT NEED INDEX | TRANSIT NEED MAP BASED ON NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS WITHOUT A PRIVATE VEHICLE, NUMBER OF WORKING AGE RESIDENTS AND NUMBER OF RESIDENTS WHO HAVE NOT WORKED IN A YEAR DELINEATED BY CENSUS BLOCK GROUP. SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU.

specified timeframe, even if they are exclusively walking trips.The model also does not account for pedestrian infrastructure conditions. We assume people would be able to use any Detroit street to walk to a district, regardless of the availability or condition of sidewalks. Even with these limitations, we feel that our estimates of travel times provide a meaningful measure of accessibility for individuals who do not own vehicles.

The accessibility challenges we have identified will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with public transit in Detroit. We hope that mapping

the limited access to Mt. Elliott and Southwest districts, and determining the number of people affected by it, will emphasize the importance of public transit in the context of economic development planning. The accessibility of the Mt. Elliott and Southwest districts has important implications for reducing unemployment in Detroit while encouraging job growth. We hope that our analysis provides an initial basis for identifying where proper investment and adjustments to service times, coverage, and frequencies could offer people access to jobs that they currently cannot reach.

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REFEREN C ES Detroit Future City. (2013). 2012 Detroit Strategic Framework Plan, 2nd Printing. Retrieved from: http://detroitfuturecity.com/ wp-content/uploads/2014/12/DFC_ExecutiveSummary_2nd.pdf

Data Driven Detroit. Detroit Future City Framework Zones.

Retrieved from Data Driven Detroit data portal http://portal. datadrivendetroit.org/

Grengs, J. (2007). Reevaluating poverty concentration with spatial analysis: Detroit in the 1990s. Urban Geography, 28(4), 340-360.

United States Census Bureau. 2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, generated through American FactFinder. Wayne County, MI, Sex by Disability Status by FullTime Work Status in Past 12 Months for the Population 16 to 64 Years (C23023). Wayne Macomb, Oakland Counties, MI, Tenure

by Vehicles Available (B25044).

Guenther, G. (2012, September 20). Federal tax benefits for manufacturing: current law, legislation in the 113th Congress and arguments for and against federal assistance.

Congressional Research Service.

Schimpl, M., Moore, C., Lederer, C., Neuhaus, A., Sambrook, J., Danesh, J., et al. (2011). Association between walking speed and age in healthy, free-living individuals using mobile accelerometry--A cross-sectional study. PLoS One, 6(8).

U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, Retrieved from: http://factfinder. census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview. xhtml?src=CFhttp://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/ jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF Walker, J. (2012). Human Transit: How Clearer Thinking about Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives.

Washington, DC: Island Press.

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United States Census Bureau. TIGER/Line Shapefiles jurisdictional boundaries, 2013. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger-line.html Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. Roads shapefile, 2015. Retrieved from SEMCOG Open Data Portal, http://maps. semcog.opendata.arcgis.com/ Southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority. Detroit Department of Transportation and Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation General Transit Feed Specification and infrastructure data, 2014.

Standing Train Ride | Yangon, Myanmar Jak k r i t Jan n ak h o n , M A r c h 1 6

SYMPOSIUM 002: “WHAT MAKES A PLACE REFUGEE-READY?”

The second annual Agora symposium has again sought out a timely and controversial issue for planners to explore. Investigating a large-scale crisis, such as the current Syrian refugee crisis, disrupts a planner’s day-to-day thinking to reflect on the planning profession’s connection to a seemingly distant planning problem.

It is unsurprising that when asked the thought-provoking question, “What makes a place refugee-ready?”, planning student’s’ responses were multifaceted. Citing both domestic and international cases, the authors consider influential policy reforms, spatial analysis, comprehensive transportation plans, and innovative architecture and design to inform their answers. It is the variety of responses that expose the true complexity of this crisis. Yet all of the articles reveal that despite historical precedent, we were not prepared for this humanitarian crisis.

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A PLACE TO CALL HOME A AYAT A LI Master of Urban Planning + Master of Social Work, 2017 Refugee admissions have ebbed and flowed in the United States based on political leadership and world events.

The Refugee Act of 1980 was a direct response to the increase of refugees since World War II, and was meant to centralize refugee resettlement programs and channel refugees to needed social services (Kerwin, 2015). A refugee is a person who is outside his or her country and unable to return for fear of persecution because of race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social or political group (Bruno, 2015).

While the federal government determines refugee policies and procedures, the burden of addressing the unique needs of refugees is passed on to local communities, often without coordination or consent (Committee on Foreign Relations, 2010). A central objective of the refugee resettlement system is to help refugees achieve “self-sufficiency”; however, this term is not well defined within the act. Refugees are expected to work within three to eight months of arriving in the United States. Before the eight months, some refugees are eligible for public assistance programs like Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) and Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA), which are determined by the state’s Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) eligibility criteria (Post

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Arrival Assistance and Benefits, 2016).

There are nearly 350 private resettlement agencies designed to assist refugees in establishing homes in the United States.

Private resettlement agencies sign Cooperative Agreements with the State Department to provide food, housing, clothing, employment services, followup medical care, and other necessary services for refugees. However, state aid is not enough for the cultural, physical, and mental health challenges refugees face (Post Arrival Assistance and Benefits, 2016).

The resettlement policies enacted in the Refugee Act of 1980 fail to address the diverse needs of admitted refugees to the United States (Committee on Foreign Relations, 2010). Successful refugee integration in U.S. cities requires an extension of support services and evaluation metrics in local communities (Coughlan et al., 2016). However, the gradual defunding of the Refugee Act of 1980 has negatively influenced the private resettlement agencies’ ability to prepare refugees for life in the United States. Also, by placing a large emphasis on refugee self-sufficiency, the act undermines the importance of physical and mental health services when responding to a humanitarian crisis.

A LI

REFUGEE AC T O F 1980 AND ITS U S E O F “ S EL F SUFFIC IEN C Y” Refugees’ ability to reestablish a sense of normalcy in the U.S. depends on when they arrive, their age, gender, education, language skills, and social capital (Coughlan et al., 2016). Self-sufficiency is defined as earning an income that allows a person to support himself and his family without government assistance (Brown and Scribner, 2014). The act stipulates that refugees are exempt from work registration requirements for their first 60 days in the U.S., but in 1982, Congress eliminated the exemption, shortening the gap between refugees’ arrival and expected employment start dates (Brown and Scribner, 2014). The employment requirement in U.S. refugee policy does not consider the language skills and guidance needed for refugees to secure well-paying jobs, nor does it consider the grief and trauma that stems from moving to a new country (Keles, 2008). Physical and mental health are challenges that can inhibit a refugee from earning an income that meets economic “self-sufficiency.”

Therefore, without adequate medical services, refugees often find themselves in a cycle of poverty (Coughlan et al., 2016).

Refugees have struggled with finding and keeping jobs, especially without crosscultural training that includes lessons on writing a resume, filling out application forms, and adhering to an American work schedule. In many cases, refugee children with better English skills than their parents, are charged with translating employment and legal documents. This

limits their time spent on schoolwork, and increases refugee children’s likelihood of falling into the cycle of poverty (Coughlan et al., 2016).

R E F UG E E C A S H A N D M E D I C A L P UB L I C A S S I S TA NC E Refugees are eligible for federally funded transitional assistance under the Refugee Act of 1980 with two primary streams of funding for resettlement. The first is the State Department funded Reception and Placement Program (R&P) that provides initial support for the immediate needs of refugees for the first 90 days after their arrival and offsets the cost of sponsor resettlement agencies like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In 2010, the State Department doubled the R&P grant from $900 to $1,800 per refugee. The second source of funding comes from the Office of Refugee Resettlement: Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) and Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA). In addition to RCA and RMA, refugees receive aid if they qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), or Medicaid for 36 months. However, Congress quickly cut RCA and RMA support to 18 months in 1982 and further reduced support to eight months in 1991, where it remains today.

The public narrative regarding decreased funding stemmed from the perception that refugees became over-dependent on financial and medical support.

Furthermore, the political climate in the 1980’s shifted to fiscal conservatism, leading to a reduction or elimination of

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social programs like job training and education initiatives (Brown and Scribner, 2014).

ROLE O F P RI VAT E RES ET T L EMEN T AG EN C I E S Refugees undergo an arduous process for acceptance into the U.S. that begins with the UNHCR application, which is then referred to the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security. Refugees are then sent to one of 350 private resettlement agencies. Many of these agencies are faith-based and work with limited budgets and thus are under-staffed (Post Arrival Assistance and Benefits, 2016). Additionally, the number of refugees that they receive is unpredictable as they are based on UNHCR referrals and federal government policy on refugee admissions. The Foreign Relations Committee found that resettlement efforts in U.S. cities are underfunded, overstretched, and fail to meet the basic needs of the refugees that they are asked to assist (Committee on Foreign Relations, 2010). Additionally, the federal government offers limited funding to private resettlement agencies when the initial resettlement assistance to refugees expires (Committee on Foreign Relations, 2010).

HIG H -S KI L L ED A N D L O WSKI L L ED REFU G EES Using the word “self-sufficiency” in public policy is code for rapid employment for refugees. Refugees may have been professionals in their home countries

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(Keles, 2008) but because the educational reaccreditation requirements for professional degrees can take years, there is a skills mismatch. Instead of focusing on rapid employment, highskilled refugees should be encouraged to reaccredit their professional degrees in the U.S. to improve their integration (Keles, 2008). Congress’s elimination of the work exemption and rapid employment leads to less emphasis on English language and job training programs to help refugees become “self-sufficient,” and promotes the view of refugees as low-skilled economic driving agents (Keles, 2008). In addition, workforce training programs for refugees are not consistent across U.S. cities.

Geographic area, industry, and in-demand jobs all have an impact on job training and preparedness, but there are no qualitative or quantitative matrixes for evaluating refugee job training. Some agencies have more resources or staffing capacity to meet refugee needs based on their ability to win grants or their fundraising efforts (Committee on Foreign Relations, 2010). Since refugee policy is decided at the federal level, the federal government should implement evaluation standards for local municipalities to assess funding needs and appropriate resources for refugee agencies.

Developing matrixes can redefine “selfsufficiency” on fairer terms for refugee families and identify which agencies lack adequate funding.

C ONC L US I O N The Refugee Act of 1980 fails to offer comprehensive services for refugees

A LI fleeing torture and persecution in their home countries and instead emphasizes “self-sufficiency� or rapid employment.

Because private resettlement agencies are working under inadequate conditions to meet the basic needs of refugee communities, the federal government should develop evaluations to gauge which municipalities need more

resources. Job training programs for refugees at different skill levels should be designed to better assist with their integration into American culture. With the coordination of federal, state, and local policies, the United States can help refugees find a better place to call home.

REFERENCES Brown, A., & Scribner, T. (2014). Unfulfilled promises, future possibilities: the refugee resettlement system in the United States. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 2(2), 101-120.

Bruno, A. (2014). Refugee admissions and resettlement policy.

Congressional Research Service. Congressional Research Service.

Coughlan, R., Stam, K., & Kingston, L. (2016). Struggling to start over: Human rights challenges for Somali Bantu refugees in the United States. The International Journal of Human Rights, 20(1), 123-137.

Keles, F. (2008). The structural negligence of U.S. refugee resettlement. Anthropology and Education Quarterly.

Kerwin, D. (2015). Creating a more responsive and seamless refugee protection system: The scope, promise and limitations of U.S. temporary protection programs. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 2(1), 44-72.

Post arrival assistance and benefits. (2016). Retrieved from http:// www.rcusa.org/post-arrival-assistance-and-benefits

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REFUGEE CAMP ANALYSIS, E U R O P E 20 15 JENNIFE R BOH L Master of Urban Planning + Master of Public Policy, 2016

STEPH A NIE GE RRET S EN Master of Urban Planning + Master of Sports Management, 2016 After almost five years of violence between President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, rebel groups, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), 250,000 Syrians have lost their lives, 7.6 million are internally displaced, and four million have fled to neighboring countries as of October 2015 (BBC, 2015b). Due to the unstable political climate in the Middle East, Syrian refugees are fleeing to Turkey and continuing across the Mediterranean Sea to Greece, hoping to find safety in Europe.

In 2015, the European Union (EU) faced challenges processing asylum seekers as they entered the EU, containing them until asylum status was granted, and resettling them in final destination countries (BBC, 2015a; Nordland, 2015).

The asylum process generally does not take longer than six months (European Commission, 2016). This large influx of refugees has increased foreign policy uncertainty and tensions between civilians. Since the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is not facilitating the refugee process in Europe, refugees are creating makeshift temporary camps along their journeys.

Understanding refugee camps’ proximity

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to basic services is crucial for obtaining temporary financing and improving municipal planning for refugees.

M E T H OD O L OGY The purpose of this study is to analyze the areas where refugees are finding temporary shelter. We analyzed migration paths from Syria to Europe and the physical environment of refugee camp locations, such as access to medical treatment and potable drinking water, to determine additional risks that this vulnerable population may face. Based on spatial analysis and a vulnerability index, we found that refugee camps have clustered within the Balkan states, and that urban refugee camps are located in high-vulnerability areas. We define high-vulnerability areas as two or more kilometers from basic services. As temporary sites, these refugee camps lack adequate resources to support refugees. As the crisis continues we recommend that municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and volunteer groups formally designate refugee camps closer to healthcare services, based on UNHCR’s common vulnerability criteria of proximity to basic services (UNHCR,

B O H L + G A RRETSEN &

&

&

Refugee Camp

Reservoir

Industrial

Trail Land

Road

River

Commercial

Railroad

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Residential

Agriculture Natural Area

0

4 km

FIGURE 1 JENNIFER BOHL AND STEPHANIE GERRETSEN | ZAGREB LAND USE DATA SOURCES: RED CROSS GIS CAPACITY, OPENSTREETMAP, MAPZEN, GOOGLEMAPS, CARTO DB.

2015a). With limited resources available, it is vital that designated refugee areas prioritize accessibility to healthcare due to the inadequate services found in the refugees’ home countries, the health deterioration that naturally occurs due to their precarious travels, and nutritional concerns for mothers with small children.

REFUGEE C A MP L O C AT I O N S To determine if refugee camps are located in urban or rural areas we created a five-kilometer buffer around the camps as an indicator of walkability to urban amenities. Twenty of the 98 current refugee camps are located in or near urban areas. As of October 2015, refugee camps were located in Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary,

Austria, Italy, and France. Due to the large concentration of temporary refugee camps emerging in the Balkan states, we selected Zagreb and Budapest as similarly sized cities, in terms of geographic size, as case studies to analyze the physical environment around the camps.

As of October, there are two refugee camps in Zagreb. One camp is located in a meadow adjacent to the city’s main rail station and uses the Porin Hotel for tempoary accomodation, while the other is located in a commercial area used for the annual Zagreb Fair (Figure 1). Since September 21, 2015, it has been used as a temporary accommodation site. One advantage to locating temporary refugee sites near transit stops is that they become more accessible to nonprofit

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&

Refugee Camp

Reservoir

University

Residential

Road

River

Industrial

Trail Land

Railroad

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Commercial

Agriculture

Natural Area

&

& & 0

20 km

FIGURE 2 JENNIFER BOHL AND STEPHANIE GERRETSEN | BUDAPEST LAND USE DATA SOURCES: RED CROSS GIS CAPACITY, OPENSTREETMAP, MAPZEN, GOOGLEMAPS, CARTO DB.

organizations and makeshift clinics that provide refugees with legal and transport information, as well as pharmaceuticals.

However, the development of other temporary camps on vacant land near transportation and processing locations may also be a result of train stoppages and border closures.

In Budapest the three refugee camps are not in close proximity to one another, and they are located along the periphery of the city. Two of the camps are located in residential areas, one camp is located in a grass field, and all are located near public transit (Figure 2). Both residential sites are located near a major rail line; the former is an asylum facility for

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unaccompanied minors, and the latter is a reception center for persons awaiting asylum. The grass site is positioned on an open field near the tarmac of the Budapest Airport. This site has been designated as a temporary reception center in the event that the refugees are deported back to their entry point location. In both Zagreb and Budapest, refugee camps likely develop near transit sites due to refugees continually entering and exiting the country.

V UL N E R A B I L I T Y I N D E X Measuring the level of vulnerability for transient populations in temporary transit camps is a complex and challenging

B O H L + G A RRETSEN & &

& 0

12 km

Refugee Camp Vulnearbility Index Road

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FIGURE 3 JENNIFER BOHL AND STEPHANIE GERRETSEN | ZAGREB VULNERABILITY DATA SOURCES: RED CROSS GIS CAPACITY, OPENSTREETMAP, MAPZEN, GOOGLEMAPS, CARTO DB.

process. UNHCR proposes three aspects to consider when constructing a comprehensive vulnerability conceptual framework: geographical location and proximity to services; community and household level factors such as access to services, community cohesion, safety, and security; and individual and household vulnerability based on UNHCR Specific Needs Codes and resiliency factors (UNHCR, 2015b). To create our vulnerability index we modified the UNHCR criteria and used the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) informational portal to inform our vulnerability indicators.

Adapted from the Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS) and informed by refugees’ needs and most-requested information, our vulnerability index is a five-point scale (1: low vulnerability to 5: high vulnerability) based on distance in kilometers to potable drinking water

sources, hospitals, and pharmacies. We did not discriminate between dispensing and non-dispensing pharmacies because both provide clinical services and overthe-counter medications (Rafique, 2015).

Since these are temporary camps we did not consider long-term indicators for community and household vulnerability.

For each of the services identified, we measured the distance from the refugee camps to services using five distance categories: 0.00-0.49 km, 0.50-0.99 km, 1.00-1.49 km, 1.50-1.99 km, and greater than 2.00 km. The hospital, pharmacy, and water source distances were combined in an equally weighed raster to create the vulnerability index (Figures 3 and 4).

Refugee camps in Zagreb and Budapest emerged in vulnerable areas located more than 1.5 kilometers away from potable water and healthcare sources, suggesting that refugee camps lack adequate access to needed services, which is likely due

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0

40 km

&

& &

& -

Refugee Camp Vulnearbility Index Road

High

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FIGURE 4 JENNIFER BOHL AND STEPHANIE GERRETSEN | BUDAPEST VULNERABILITY DATA SOURCES: OPENSTREETMAP, RED CROSS GIS CAPACITY, MAPZEN, GOOGLEMAPS, CARTO DB.

to their temporary nature. Furthermore, the emergence of camps near rail lines and an airport far from the city center implies that refugees prioritize access to transportation, in order to leave the intermediate country, over proximity to health services and drinking water.

It is important for governments and agencies responding to the refugee crisis to consider the needs of refugees and provide access to water sources and medical care in or near the refugee camps.

Because the temporary nature of these camps precludes the development of formal infrastructure, basic services must be accessible by proximity, or institutions must directly provide resources to the asylum-seeking population.

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C O NC L US I O N Based on the case study analysis, we found that refugee camps are located near residential areas and in open fields near transportation access points. These camps are located in vulnerable areas based on their distance to hospitals, pharmacies, and potable drinking water.

The intensity of the European refugee crisis illustrates that state and local governments were unprepared for the large influx of refugees. Municipalities throughout southern and eastern Europe failed to create contingency plans to handle the large concentration of refugees traveling by foot, bus, and train. Due to the failure to provide adequate housing

can be considered refugee-ready when the local government formally designates spaces for shelter and is capable of working in conjunction with nonprofit organizations to provide basic services such as medical care, access to potable water, and appropriate shelter. Based on our analysis, Zagreb and Budapest are not refugee ready.

B O H L + G A RRETSEN

options and medical services, refugees built makeshift shelters in train stations, or by collecting debris in open fields near transport areas where many were held due to border closures. Despite medical and legal services provided by groups like the Red Cross and the International Rescue Committee, municipalities in the Balkans did not secure official space as temporary shelter for refugees. A place

REFERENCES BBC. (2015a). Migrant crisis: Migration to Europe explained in seven charts. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911 BBC. (2015b). Syria: The story of the conflict. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868 European Commission. (2016). Asylum procedures. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/ asylum/common-procedures/index_en.htm Knoema. (2015). Metropolitan areas. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Retrieved from http://knoema. com/CITIES/metropolitan-areas

Rafique, M. (2015). Refugee registration and renewal: a barrier to health care access. Polygeia. Retrieved from http://www. polygeia.com/refugee-registration-and-renewal-a-barrier-tohealth-care-access/ UNHCR. (2015a). A vulnerability analysis framework for Syrian refugees in Jordan. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved from http://reliefweb.int/report/jordan/ vulnerability-analysis-framework-syrian-refugees-jordan UNHCR. (2015b). Introducing the vulnerability assessment framework. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved from https://data.unhcr. org/syrianreugees/download.php?id=7877

Nordland, R. (2015). A mass migration crisis, and it may yet get worse. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes. com/2015/11/01/world/europe/a-mass-migration-crisis-and-itmay-yet-get-worse.html?_r=1

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CONNECTING REFUGEES WITH THE RUST BELT S COT T FOX Master of Urban Planning, 2016 Could Detroit, Michigan have successfully settled 50,000 Syrian refugees as Governor Rick Snyder suggested in 2014?

Ignoring the current American political climate’s overwrought concerns about security, making Rust Belt cities like Detroit refugee-ready largely requires creating connections between refugees and their new communities. The Rust Belt is a region in the Midwestern U.S. and southern Canada that has lost most of its industrial employment over the last 40 years. Refugees often arrive in a new country with limited social and physical mobility. They arrive carless and often do not know anyone besides their sponsors. Refugees will have an easier transition to their new cities when they can connect to jobs and needed services.

However, many North American cities, especially Detroit, suffer from a spatial mismatch between job centers and inner-city residents. Detroit is the largest metro area in the U.S. with the highest percentage of its jobs located ten miles or more away from the Central Business District (Brookings, 2013). U.S. Rust Belt cities need to consider refugees’ needs for transportation, an often neglected topic, to connect them to jobs and services.

Hamilton, Ontario is an example of a refugee-ready city that is similarly

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situated to Detroit, both physically and economically. Hamilton, a city of around 520,000 residents that is just 45 miles from the U.S. border, is sometimes considered part of the booming Toronto metro area. However, Hamilton is also part of the Rust Belt. No Canadian city suffered the effects of deindustrialization more than Hamilton, Canada’s “Steel City” (Harris, 2015).

Like many Rust Belt cities, Hamilton’s population has mostly stagnated since the 1970s. However, over the last decade Hamilton has seen modest population growth. Two-thirds of the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area’s growth between 2006 and 2011 came from new immigrants (Hamilton Spectator, 2012). Refugees made up 2.7 percent of Hamilton’s population in 2011, a greater percentage than most of Canada’s cities (Harris, 2015). One-third of all foreignborn Hamilton residents are refugees, and about 1,440 government-assisted refugees arrived in Hamilton annually prior to Canada’s recent push to settle 25,000 new Syrian refugees (Chung, 2013).

Refugees arrive in Canada either through the Canadian government’s sponsorship, private sponsorship, or a partnership between the government, private agencies, and the United Nations Refugee Agency. The vast majority of refugees

FO X coming to Hamilton are governmentassisted (Government of Canada).

The Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council’s (HIPC) Immigration Strategy and Action Plan explains the need to bring refugees to Rust Belt cities:

“…our population is not growing, our labour force is aging, newcomers are facing unnecessary barriers in accessing the labour market and too many of them are living in poverty.

Yet many immigrants to Hamilton are highly educated with job-specific skills and entrepreneurial talents.

These are the very ingredients that are essential for Hamilton to compete and prosper…” (Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council, 2014) Hamilton welcomed 1,116 Syrian refugees of the 26,176 that arrived in Canada between November 2015 and February 2016. Only three Canadian cities took in more government-assisted Syrian refugees (Government of Canada, 2016).

Hamilton’s government assists refugees in several ways. The HIPC partners with 85 community groups to provide services for refugees such as housing assistance and fee reductions for English-as-a-second -language students. The City also put together a newcomer’s guide for housing printed in 14 languages (Saunders, 2015).

Hamilton became a “sanctuary city” in 2014 and the city government created a special Refugee Committee to focus specifically on welcoming Syrian refugees to the community.

Hamilton government agencies also strive to include refugee communities in their planning process. The city’s community visioning program, Our Future Hamilton, plans for the next 25 years, and actively includes refugees through a bus tour specifically designated for newcomers.

John Ariyo, Manager of Community Initiatives at the City of Hamilton, stated that “to date, we’ve engaged with 40,000 residents, with the immigrant population representing a sizable (portion of that number).” (J. Ariyo, personal communication, January 7, 2016) The difference between U.S. Rust Belt cities like Detroit and Canadian Rust Belt cities like Hamilton lies in the nature of state support. The province of Ontario established the Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) that encourages municipalities to collaborate to provide refugee services (McGrath, 2013). The LIP program’s success has led to an expansion of LIP agencies across Canada. Recently, Michigan began taking similar actions to encourage refugees to move to the state (McGraw, 2015). However, Governor Snyder suspended efforts to settle Syrian refugees after the November 2015 terrorist attacks. In recent years, newly settled refugees have composed a much greater percentage of Canada’s population than that of the U.S.’s population due to the U.S.’s more restrictive review process (UNHCR, 2015; Hamlin, 2012).

According to Andrea Buttars, Manager of Resource Development at Wesley Urban Ministries (Hamilton’s designated organization for supporting government-

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assisted Syrian refugees), refugees need a place to live that provides affordable housing, health care, education, and language support. Buttars states that Hamilton neighborhoods like Beasley and Riverdale have a high population of refugees due to their affordable housing and range of community-organized services, such as childcare (A. Buttars, personal communication, December 18, 2015). A close network of key services helps to make the transition to a new country as painless as possible. However, service providers have not focused enough on an important refugee need in urban spaces: transportation.

Access to services is imperative for refugees because they often arrive from countries where private automobile travel is less common. According to the 2009 U.S. National Household Travel Survey, foreign-born individuals are more than twice as likely to use public transit to commute and are about twice as likely to carpool (McKenzie, 2011; Blumenberg, 2014). Many refugees also rely on a network of friends and family more than the current population for transportation needs.

Hamilton has taken some steps to assist refugees who cannot afford automobiles.

The Hamilton City Council recently proposed a bill to give one year of free transit passes to newly arrived Syrian refugees, and the city already provides half-priced transit service for low-income workers. Hamilton also created a bike map with information on bike lanes and road conditions for every city street. The

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bike map is a critical service for refugees who can more easily afford a bike than an automobile for personal transportation.

Additionally, in 2014 the city implemented a bike share program with 100 stations throughout Hamilton. Yet another improvement is West Harbour, a new rail station near the refugee community in Beasley with rail service to Toronto.

While Detroit has a great deal of work to do to improve its basic public services, it has affordable housing and language diversity. However, to become more refugee-ready, Rust Belt cities like Detroit should improve public transit access within neighborhoods with high percentages of foreign-born residents to combat the existing spatial mismatch.

Detailed bike maps listing the various levels of service on each city street would demonstrate that refugees and other residents could commute safely without an automobile. Detroit and Rust Belt cities could also establish programs partnering with local nonprofit organizations that provide automobiles for workers carpooling, assist refugees with driver training, and coordinate potential vanpool groups for government-run vanpool services like MichiVan—Michigan’s vanpool-to-work program. While adding a new pool of drivers to roads is not environmentally friendly, refugees’ ability to access jobs and other services is critically important.

As evidenced, an ideal place for refugees is difficult to achieve. Detroit currently cannot fund the infrastructure improvements needed to have

FO X Hamilton’s level of bike and public transit infrastructure without the population increase that refugees would provide.

An issue that Hamilton faces is that the new commuter rail station near Beasley has increased housing prices, which will likely price refugees out of the neighborhood (Harris, 2015). Moreover,

there are conflicting opinions on whether the influx of refugees reduces wages for low-income workers. Despite these ongoing issues, improving connections between refugees and jobs will benefit Rust Belt cities, and more importantly offer a home to those desperately in need of a new start.

REFERENCES Ariyo, J. (2016, January 7). Email.

Blumenberg, E. & Smart, M. (2014). Brother can you spare a ride? Carpooling in immigrant neighborhoods. Urban Studies, 1871-1890.

Buttars, A. (2015, December 18). Email.

Brookings Institution. (2013). Job sprawl stalls: The Great Recession and metropolitan employment location. Metropolitan Opportunity Series.

Chung, K., Hong, E., & Newbold, B. (2013). Resilience among single adult females in Hamilton, Ontario. Refugee, 65-74.

Government of Canada. Map of destination communities and service provider organizations. Accessed February 5, 2016. http:// www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/welcome/map.asp Hamlin, R. (2012). International law and administrative insulation: A comparison of refugee status determination regimes in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Law & Social Inquiry, 933-968.

Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council. (2014). The immigration strategy & action plan. Retrieved from http://www. hamiltonimmigration.ca/node/6

Hamilton Spectator. (2012). Hamilton population growth slow and steady but still good. Retrieved from http://www.thespec. com/news-story/2233509-hamilton-population-growth-slowand-steady-but-still-good/ Harris, R. (2015). A City on the Cusp: Neighborhood Change in Hamilton Since 1970. Neighborhood Change Research Partnership.

McGrath, S and McGrath, I. (2013). Funding matters: The maze of settlement funding in Canada and the impact of refugee services. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 1-20.

McGraw, D. (2015). The GOP immigration plan to save Detroit and Syria. Politico Magazine.

McKenzie, B. and Rapino, M. (2011). Commuting in the United States: 2009. American Community Survey Reports.

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce.

Saunders, D. (2015). Why newcomers are beginning to bypass Canada’s big cities. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http:// www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/why-newcomersare-beginning-to-bypass-canadas-big-cities/article25143840/ United Nations High Commission for Refugees. (2015). UNHCR Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2014. Retrieved from http://unhcr.org/556725e69.html

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PUBLIC DOMESTICITY DI EGO GA RCIA BLA NCO BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURE, 2016 When designing domestic architectural constructs that are refugee ready, we must consider culture and identity.

Culture and identity are the most valued belongings that refugees bring with them as they transition into their new homes and lives. Historically, these cultural identities have created friction between new residents and locals, leading to a conflict that architecture and residential community design should address and work to ameliorate. This project

FIGURE 1 DIEGO GARCIA BLANCO | GROUND FLOOR PLAN

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addresses the topic of identity and culture by drawing from Chicago, Illinois’ Hull House community housing, as well as architectural concepts of private and public space. With this proposed design, refugees can establish a sense of community in a housing complex. It also allows refugees to share their food and cultural customs in market halls that are accessible to both neighborhood residents and visitors.

United States still celebrate the idea of the American Dream - owning a plot of land with a single-family home and a private yard. This attitude towards residential living can be detrimental for refugees, specifically because it alienates them from society and assumes that refugees’ dreams are equivalent to American expectations or ideals. This assumption is counter-productive to refugees seeking to transition into their new home.

G A RC I A BLA N C O

Chicago’s Hull House, co-founded in 1889

by Jane Adams and Ellen Gates Star, provided community housing for Eastern European immigrants and refugees escaping from the turmoil of World War II. This innovative residential community promoted an interesting mix between recreational and educational activities that allowed incoming immigrants and refugees to learn about local customs, while simultaneously sharing their culture with those who visited the Hull House. It is therefore crucial to think about ways in which architecture can provide privacy in a community setting for incoming refugees without secluding them from the existing physical and cultural context of their new home. Many contemporary housing projects in the

Inspired by the Hull House’s ambitions to mix foreign and local culture through education, food, and housing in a refugeefriendly setting, this project situates itself in the heart of the Ukrainian Village in the West End of Chicago. The Ukrainian

FIGURE 2 DIEGO GARCIA BLANCO | BI LEVEL FLOOR PLAN

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scale: 1/8”=1’0”

1

2

The Single Family HOUSE

The MIXED Residential

3 FIGURE 3 The APARTMENT DIEGO GARCIA BLANCO | SECTION

4

It is somewhere in-between the DOMESTIC and the URBAN

MIXING the RESIDENTIAL with the COMMERCIAL

5

The Apartment now FEELS like a single family HOME It is more than just a HOME, it is also a COMMUNITY

Village was predominantly inhabited

by European refugees during World War I. The project blends public and private forms of habitation by combining a series of winter gardens and market halls open to the public on the ground level. The market halls also provide access to private residences as well as a semi-public library, with education and gathering spaces above. The ground floor market spaces include food production, consumption, cultivation, and preparation spaces allowing neighbors in the community to taste local as well

FIGURE 4 DIEGO GARCIA BLANCO | PERSPECTIVE

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as foreign foods that are primarily cultivated on site and sold in the public market space. The idea is that the market halls can catalyze cultural exchange for refugees and locals through conversations and sharing food production and preparation techniques.

The specific project site also marks the transition between residential and commercial zoning in the Ukrainian Village. The residential portion of the village is predominantly composed of pitched roof houses, which contrast

scale: 1/8”=1’0”

G A RC I A BLA N C O FIGURE 5 DIEGO GARCIA BLANCO | SECTION

with the flat roof house typology in the majority of Chicago’s neighborhoods.

More significantly, the site marks a change in scale from the domestic suburban home to commercial and corporate multistory buildings. This project responds to its surrounding urban context via the formal expression of the pitched-roof house typology of the residential zone, but at3a scale closer 1 2 to that of the urban and commercial.

This typology therefore suggests that private domestic life is possible even in a dense urban city like Chicago, and argues that public forms of living can occur in a domestic and more intimate setting through careful consideration of circulation and organizational strategies The Single Family HOUSE

The MIXED Residential

The APARTMENT

The Apartment now FEELS like a single family HOME

shown in the project. In this case, the organizational strategy promotes a specific form of circulation that concerns filtering from public spaces—market halls accessible to all visitors, to more private spaces—residences accessible only to refugees. This is achieved by carefully designing mixed-use spaces, educational and gathering spaces open to both refugees and locals, which act 4 as transitional thresholds from public to private programs and spaces in the project.

It is somewhere in-between the DOMESTIC and the URBAN

scale: 1/8”=1’0”

MIXING the RESIDENTIAL with the COMMERCIAL

5

It is more than just a HOME, it is also a COMMUNITY

scale: 1/8”=1’0”

The goal is to expose locals and refugees to their respective cultures through an exchange of food, education, and living while celebrating their different lifestyles.

FIGURES 6 - 7 DIEGO GARCIA BLANCO | PERSPECTIVES

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FIGURE 8 DIEGO GARCIA BLANCO | AXONOMETRIC VIEW

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but adopts a more complex formal expression that shares the public lifestyles of refugees with those of their neighbors. This is accomplished by proposing a new form of residential living for refugees by creating a community where there is a mix between the local and foreign, the public and private, and the domestic and urban.

G A RC I A BLA N C O

By formally rendering these different forms of intimate versus public forms of living, this project relies on physically intersecting different pitched-roof housing units that begin to connect the local and foreign community, linked by the three market halls at the public ground level below. The project is similar to the Hull House programmatically,

REFERENCE Glowacki, P., & Hendry, J. (2004). Hull-House. Charleston, SC: Arcadia.

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COMPLEX SUSTAINABILITY

A CROSS-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO DESIGN

MACKENZIE LEHON

Master of Architecture, 2017 This article explores the shared principles and ideas between Simon Guy and Graham Farmer’s “Reinterpreting Sustainable Architecture: The Place for Technology” and James J. Kay, Nina-Marie E. Lister and David WaltnerToews’s The Ecosystem Approach: Complexity, Uncertainty, and Managing for Sustainability. It explores what it means to be a practicing architect and planner in modern society through the synthesis of these two perspectives. Honing in on the concept of sustainable architecture and design, we can begin to view our goal as a complex system. Within this complex system of sustainability, we can productively and creatively find new ways to design our built environment without making harmful or irreversible mistakes.

LEH O N

T

he ambiguous task of designing for a world that is at risk of environmental failure is constantly examined, questioned, and misunderstood. Several authors within the field of sustainable building, James J. Kay, Nina-Marie E. Lister, and David WaltnerToews; Simon Guy; and Graham Farmer, propose solutions for how architects and planners can attempt to undertake this overwhelming mission. Each author holds an academic background in architecture and urban planning with an emphasis on the environment. There is a vague understanding that planners and builders cannot progress if they do not reach outside of their immediate studies. Not only is the process important, comprehending the systematic and organizational qualities of the world is essential to successfully designing for potential environmental collapse. Kay et al. discusses these qualities as complex systems. Complex systems can be described as the integrated and interdependent networks within the organic realm. This is evidenced in the symbiotic relationships between human, animal, and nature; complex systems selfbalance and respond to changes in their surroundings in order to survive. Understanding how these systems work and how the built environment affects them will continue to aid architects and planners in producing responsive and progressive design.

A SYSTEM S A P P ROAC H In The Ecosystem Approach: Complexity, Uncertainty, and Managing for Sustainability, Kay et al. examine how thinking in terms of complex systems can improve the way we understand the problem of sustainability. To better explain complex systems, they contrast current systems thinking with that of the

Newtonian worldview­­—the traditional scientific way of thinking. The Newton-based format of researching an environmental problem is to take the individual elements that are affected, study them separately, and conjure an applicable solution (Kay et al., 2008). It is similar to studying one fish to understand the patterns of a school of fish. Kay et al. explain that this approach is flawed because complex systems can only be understood through the relationships between their parts, and how those relationships form patterns that develop over time (Kay et al., 2008). Kay et al. argue that one must research how individual fish swim together in order to comprehend the school as a whole. It is not about the individual parts, such as a fish; it is about the relationships between all of the fish that characterize this complex system. These ideas can be applied to all disciplines and all areas of sustainable building.

Kay et al.’s perspective can be supported by Fritjof Capra’s article “Systems Theory and the New Paradigm.” Capra employs the concept of shifting from part to whole as an example of the current paradigm shift in the larger social arena (Capra, 1998). The metaphor of knowledge is shifting from a building to a network — a network being a system with codependent parts. This network is the equivalent of a complex system. If architects and planners can begin to view their work in this perspective of co-dependency, they can produce more interactive, flexible, and cohesive designs that positively impact the environment.

Without thinking of design through complex systems, humans can have devastating effects on the environment when they intervene in a biological or environmental system whose interrelations they do not understand. For

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example, humans are consistently trying to put out forest fires. They react to one individual piece of the forest instead of viewing it through a larger lens. The fires produce nutrients which rejuvenate the forest and keep fuel levels down. When humans interfere by putting out forest fires they are disrupting the equilibrium within the system, which makes the forest less

It is not about the individual parts, such as a fish, it is about the relationships between all of the fish that characterize this complex system. These ideas can be applied to all disciplines and all areas of sustainable building. healthy and prone to larger, more destructive fires (Kay et al., 2008). Humans unintentionally harm the environment and believe they are protecting it. There are moments when putting out forest fires will do more good than bad, but understanding that it has the potential to do both is key. People interact with nature in a selfish way, but if a forest fire does not have the potential to harm humans, intervention is not necessary. Humans need to alter their problem-solving techniques by taking a step back from the urge to act immediately, and instead consider the systemic chain reaction the intervention might create. Comprehending complex systems will give designers the tools to solve problems in sustainability without being inadvertently harmful.

C RO S S -D I S C I P L I N A RY D E S I GN In their article, “Reinterpreting Sustainable Architecture: The Place for Technology,”

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Guy and Farmer explain that there is no definitive description of what it means to build sustainable architecture. They illustrate this by analyzing six different ways to categorize sustainable architecture (Simon & Farmer, 2001).

These logics (eco-centric, eco-cultural, ecotechnic, eco-aesthetic, eco-medical, and ecosocial) focus on the driving forces of sustainable design whether they are technological, are culturally responsive, prioritize human health and welfare, or highlight localized materials.

Each logic is unique in how it addresses sustainable architecture and planning. The main argument is that varied perspectives and priorities are legitimate in their origins and solutions, and each set of values should be considered when designing architecture. All six logics solve different yet equally important problems within sustainability. It would be naïve to design without contemplating numerous potential resolutions (Simon & Farmer, 2001). Instead of solely designing the most technological and energy-efficient building, incorporating elements that interact with the local culture and environment should be essential.

Sanford Kwinter, a professor of theory in architecture at the Pratt Institute, and Cynthia Davidson, director of Anyone Corporation and Co-Curator of the U.S. Pavilion for the 15th Annual Venice Biennale, further explain this concept of inclusiveness in their piece “Wildness”: “The design does not come from the whole and trickle down to the parts, but rather travels up in the opposite direction” (Kwinter & Davidson, 2007, p. 189). This observation reinforces the concept that successful design benefits from numerous disciplines, and that multiple perspectives will help design an urban landscape that is appropriate for its environment. Having multiple perspectives will

LEH O N PRIMARY

Sustainable designs need to consider more than just an individual site. These project phases encourage an understanding of the greater complex system by first considering the global influences, narrowing into local environmental impacts, and finally considering the localized uses of the building. Examining the key elements that affect a sustainable design at multiple scales will only further its success.

GLOBAL | PLANET | MILIEU SUN PATH LUNAR IMPACTS

WIND FLUX

ATMOSPHERE CURRENTS

INTERMEDIATE CONTEXT | LOCAL | SPECIFIC CLIMATE

SOLAR EXPOSURE LOCAL PLANT LIFE

NEARBY TERRAIN

EXISTING TOPOGRAPHY

SITE

PROXIMITY TO WATER

SECONDARY HUMAN | ACTIVITY | LIFESTYLE

INTERIOR QUALITIES

CLIMATE-CONSCIOUS PROGRAMMING

FIGURE 1 MACKENZIE LEHON | STEPS TO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

continue to provide clarity into the complex systems involved in sustainable design. These proposals view humans not only as one of the primary elements that are affected by the built environment, but also as the means to sustainable architecture. The University of California Berkeley Architecture Building was designed by four professors, each with different perspectives and views on architecture, and demonstrates how Guy and Farmer’s proposal can be put into action (Miller & Thun, 2015).

The building, Wurster Hall, was intended to

house the architecture program. The architects chosen to design the building were faculty from the program, each with a unique background.

If successful, this project conveys that in the process of design and planning, consulting professionals in numerous disciplines with varying degrees of knowledge can aid planners to produce resilient buildings for the future.

Planners should work with architects, who should work with environmental engineers, who should consult biological scientists, who should collaborate with anthropologists, and so on.

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THE C O MP REH EN S I V E DES I G N ER Kay, Guy, and Farmer each express that no one perspective of sustainability is correct.

Instead, a diverse array of perspectives is required to understand a problem holistically.

Throughout urban planning history there have been instances where authority disregarded the idea of complex systems, and projects ultimately were not successful. In Jane Jacob’s book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, she illustrates how Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City viewed the problems of a city as solely its ratio of population to open natural space (Jacobs, 1961). The 19th-century Garden City Movement proposed the ideal urban environment as a utopian community, divided based upon type of activity and with equal amounts of built and natural space. Similarly to Corbusier’s Tower in the Park, when cities built housing projects by building superblocks adjacent to concrete paths, crime rates rapidly increased (Jacobs, 1961). This case shows it is necessary to view the organizational qualities of an urban environment as that of a complex system. If the Garden City plan had considered the various factors of a city and how they relate to each other as a system, the plan would have produced a different project.

Had Ebenezer Howard contemplated Guy and Farmer’s eco-social logic - focused on building with connection to the community - Garden City would have addressed the unique cultural qualities of an area and its future inhabitants, possibly preventing corruption.

Guy and Farmer’s varying perspectives to improve sustainable architecture are an example of how to interpret complex systems.

Their articles can be seen in conjunction with

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each other. The subtle differences are in the approach to their respective viewpoints. Kay et al.’s essay examines complex systems on a cross-disciplinary platform, whereas Guy and Farmer dissect a specific complex system, the system of sustainability and architecture.

Both readings conclude that it is far more beneficial to understand sustainability as a complex system, with its parts and varying perspectives being essential to its success as a whole. What Ebenezer Howard failed to see was the interconnectivity of a successful urban scene. Jane Jacobs properly describes this interdependent web of the city street as a ballet (Jacobs, 1961). The general concept is that organic systems, human interaction and nature being one, do not have clear answers to

Designers must work in a range of scales with the ability to incorporate local and global visions, they must incorporate technology while remaining conscious of its effect on the environment, and they will need to accomplish this in a manner appropriate for each particular project. their problems. Separating the community by districts and adding immense areas of openair “nature” may improve the lack of access to the environment, but it creates other problems in the process. Surely there is a solution and a middle ground that would prove to be successful, but it can only be found through collaboration with others outside of the field. In today’s society, architecture firms are becoming more diverse. International firms such as Gensler, AECOM, and Stantec Inc. all incorporate

LEH O N architecture, engineering, contracting, planning, and landscape architecture to some extent.

These large companies have produced some of the most notable projects in sustainable design in this century, and continue to do so because of their diversity of disciplines.

The perspectives of these articles tend to place the burden on designers regarding the scope of understanding required in their processes. Designers must work in a range of scales with the ability to incorporate local and global visions, they must incorporate technology while remaining conscious of its effect on the environment, and they will need to accomplish this in a manner appropriate for each particular project. This kind of person can be compared to the “Comprehensive Designer” detailed in Buckminster Fuller’s article in World Review “Comprehensive Designing.”

The comprehensive designer he describes incorporates fundamental knowledge from all disciplines into his work. Fuller even compares the comprehensive designer of the 1950’s to the architect of feudal society. He is the human agent of society that continues its fluidity of production (Fuller, 1950). However, this diverse knowledge is rarely obtained by one person in today’s society as current technology and innovation have surpassed this point of necessity. Instead of one individual expert, projects can involve a cross-disciplinary team in order to achieve the same inclusive result.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental

Design (LEED) certified buildings have begun to explore the benefits of collaboration between fields. When a project makes the decision to aim for LEED certification, the first step is to have a LEED Charette. This meeting requires people from all areas of the project to come together and discuss their goals in an integrative approach. Following this charette they have an incentive to work together to complete the project, thus encouraging communication and teamwork.

We have made vast progress in the field of sustainable architecture, and technological developments have significantly decreased the negative effects buildings have on the environment. James Kay, Simon Guy, and Graham Farmer believe our future problems can be better understood and reconciled by recognizing sustainable architecture and sustainability as complex systems. Designers will then become more conscious of how their actions impact their surroundings, taking into account the interdependency of ecological environments. It is only through these methods, connections, and integrations that designers can create an architecture that is responsive, cohesive, and ecologically and socially considerate.

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REFEREN C ES Capra, F. (1988). Systems theory and the new paradigm. Key Concepts in Critical Theory: Ecology. (pp. 334- 41). Amherst, N.Y.: Humanity Books.

Farmer, G., & Guy, S. (2006, March 13). Reinterpreting sustainable architecture: The place of technology. Journal of Architectural Education, 54(3), 140-48.

Fuller, B. (1950). Comprehensive designing. World Review 1, no.

1950-1952. (Jacobs, 1961) (Kay, 2008) Jacobs, J. (1961). The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

New York: Random House.

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Kay, J., Lister, N., & Waltner-Toews, D. (2008). An introduction to systems thinking. The Ecosystem Approach: Complexity, Uncertainty, and Managing for Sustainability. New York: Columbia University Press.

Kwinter, S., & Davidson, C. (2007). Wildness: Prolegomena to New Urbanism. Far from Equilibrium: Essays on Technology and Design Culture. Barcelona: Actar-D. Miller, M. & Thun, G. (2015). Sustainable Systems I. Lecture, Energy, Territory, Climate and Life, University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Ann Arbor.

Bridges | New York, New York K at h l e e n R e i l l y, M U P 1 6

BENEFITS AND COSTS

A COMPARISON OF THE VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED AND GASOLINE TAXES

KATHLEEN REILLY

Master of Urban Planning, 2016 American politicians often struggle to find a politically acceptable way to fund infrastructure projects throughout the country. This piece compares the historical, economic, and social aspects of the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and gasoline (gas) tax systems. An increase in the gas tax would be the most direct and effective way to raise the much-needed funds for state and federal infrastructure budgets. However, raising the gas tax has been taboo since the late 1920’s, creating a difficult hurdle to overcome. VMT tax systems have their limitations, but with a shift in public perception and a staged implementation, a VMT system may be the answer to America’s infrastructure needs.

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he United States is currently facing crumbling transportation infrastructure and growing environmental concerns. This presents state and federal government officials with two challenges. First, they must decide which tax program will best serve as a transportation infrastructure funding mechanism. Second, they must create a tax policy tool that encourages more environmentally conscious driving behavior while also producing social equity. The popular question is whether a new vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax will perform better than an increased gas tax. The feasibility and potential success of these tax models are vigorously debated today given the implications of raising the gas tax and the unknown effects of a potential VMT tax.

The gas tax was implemented in 1919 and has the benefit of simplicity: it is a per-gallon tax that gasoline consumers pay and the collection of the tax is done by gas station owners. An increase in the gas tax can also help to further environmental goals by encouraging a change in driving behavior. However, Americans are strongly against any increase in the gas tax.

This makes it difficult for politicians to propose raising the gas tax even given its benefits.

The VMT tax was proposed as an alternative way to raise much-needed funds. This tax may be easy to implement, especially as new cars with Global Positioning System (GPS) installed saturate the market. A VMT tax presents an interesting opportunity to raise funds for infrastructure and influence positive environmental changes.

H I S TO RY Some states implemented a gas tax starting as early as 1919, such as Oregon, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Colorado (Tax Foundation, n.d.). Before the gas tax was implemented, federal and state governments used property taxes and bonds to fund road projects.

State legislatures increased the gas tax as needed throughout the 1920s to address the growing costs of roadway construction and maintenance, with the support of motor clubs and many oil and automobile companies.

Starting in the 1920s, and rapidly increasing during the Great Depression with the Revenue Act of 1932, state and federal governments started passing proposals to increase the gas tax to pay for programs not related to roadway construction or repairs, mainly unemployment assistance. This started a movement largely led by the highway lobby toward halting any increase in the tax, and eventually began calls to lower the tax. This opposition to gas tax increases persists today, resulting in officials taking general fund monies to maintain the legally required amount of highway funding (Brown, 2001). This need for funding prompted states to research alternative taxation methods.

Today, U.S. roads and highways are increasingly falling into disrepair, with an estimated $3.6 trillion investment needed by 2020 to ensure that roads and highways are in good condition (American Society of Civil Engineers, 2013).

Roads are not the only concern; with increasing public acceptance of climate change, and the movement toward environmentally friendly practices, government officials are seeking to implement a tax model that will also help to reduce vehicle miles traveled while increasing vehicle fuel economy.

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GAS TA X The gas tax is a tax on the amount of gas consumed. The tax is included in the price paid by consumers at the pump. The tax is convenient for its relatively low administrative costs because it is collected from distributors (Brown, 2001). The gas tax is simple to understand as a flat-rate excise tax at both the state and federal levels. The gas tax is based on the benefit principle, which means that the people who drive more, and theoretically use more gas, pay more than those who drive less

Today, U.S. roads and highways are increasingly falling into disrepair, with an estimated $3.6 trillion investment needed by 2020 to ensure that roads and highways are in good condition.

(Duncan, 2013). Also, fuel has a relatively low price elasticity, making the tax an effective tool for raising funds even as fuel prices continue to fluctuate (Parry and Small, 2005).

At its current level, the gas tax fails to produce enough funds to cover the costs of road and highway maintenance and construction.

Research has shown that the optimal gas tax for the United States is around one dollar per gallon, approximately 50 cents more than the current average tax (Parry and Small, 2005; Mankiw, 2006). Raising the tax could address issues such as environmental concerns, road congestion, fuel efficiency, funding deficiencies, economic growth, and national security (Mankiw, 2006). The environment can benefit from a higher gas tax, which would decrease the

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amount of carbon pollutants released into the air. Each cent-per-gallon increase in the price of gasoline reduces the equilibrium gasoline consumption by about 0.2 percent (Bento et al., 2009). This increase would incentivize driving less, thus decreasing congestion on roads and highways (Mankiw, 2006). It would serve the same goals as the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) legislation.

The U.S. Congress enacted CAFE in 1975 for the purpose of increasing the fuel economy standards for vehicles. CAFE is intended to reduce daily energy consumption by drivers.

However, increased fuel economy due to CAFE standards encourages more driving as fuelefficient vehicles replace older models. These more fuel-efficient vehicles allow people to drive more miles with the same amount of gas that they consumed with their old vehicles.

As a result, CAFE does not achieve its goal because people are driving more than they did before. Increasing the gas tax, however, could encourage fuel economy standards to increase without the negative side effect of encouraging more driving. Automakers would still be encouraged to make all vehicles more fuel-efficient in order to remain competitive in the market. At the same time, people would be less inclined to change their driving behavior because more driving results in a higher cost.

This means drivers would be paying a similar amount to fill up their fuel-efficient vehicles as they did for their old vehicles, which would prevent a change in their driving behavior (Austin, 2004).

Increasing the gas tax to one dollar per gallon would raise around $100 billion a year in revenue. Increasing the gas tax is a better solution than a potential increase in income

REI LLY tax to collect revenue and promote investment in research on gasoline alternatives (Mankiw, 2006). In terms of national security, the tax can lessen the United States’ dependence on oil, a key component in Middle Eastern affairs (Mankiw, 2006; Li, 2012). Though there are many benefits of raising the gas tax, the current sociopolitical environment strongly resists any tax increases, making a tax hike difficult to pursue.

V EHIC LE MI L ES T RAV EL ED TAX The vehicle miles traveled tax is based on the number of miles traveled via automobile.

Currently there are 14 pilot programs throughout the United States (Duncan, 2013). Three prominent approaches are being considered by economists, researchers, and politicians as potential implementation methods.

The first method involves every vehicle having a GPS device. Using this device, the government could track the number of miles a person drives on a daily basis. This method also has the potential to include congestion pricing by tracking and taxing based on the time of day and the use of specific roads traveled. A downside of this method is that it is costly to implement. Purchasing and installing GPS devices, as well as providing the manpower needed to track individual driving behavior on a daily basis, creates a high cost barrier. However, this barrier is diminishing as more automobile manufacturers are making GPS systems standard in their vehicles. However, cost is not the only barrier to this method as there is also the potential for pushback due to the invasion of privacy. Many Americans will not want the government to have the ability to track their movements on such a fine scale (Duncan, 2013).

Through the GPS method, there are three different ways to administer the tax. These include a payment to the government on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis; the current method of paying at gas stations; or, paying the tax at the time of vehicle registration renewal.

However, the pay-at-the-pump method as proposed would mean that gas station owners would need to purchase technology to read GPS data. This would also require more equipment and staffing in order to properly implement the program (Duncan, 2013).

The second option for implementation is a self-reporting method with visual inspection.

Drivers could report the number of miles traveled, similar to how income taxes are filed.

Other possibilities include recording mileage during vehicle registration renewal or during times of vehicle service. The benefit of this method is that it does not require any new technology to be added to older vehicles that do not have a GPS. However, it can be susceptible to fraud through tampering with the odometer.

This can be counteracted by comparisons of the vehicle’s mileage history report to determine if the odometer is accurate, as well as odometer inspections for evidence of tampering. Profiles can be held and maintained by the government to compare reported versus expected miles traveled. Finally, auto service centers could be required to record and report VMT to the government, which would be less burdensome than other methods because the information is already collected when vehicles are serviced. Additionally, to avoid fraud, an audit mechanism would need to be implemented that triggered inspections and also required random inspections (Duncan, 2013).

The third option is third party reporting. This method requires insurance companies to

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read GPS data and send a VMT statement that includes the tax liability. The driver would then send the statement and tax payment to the Internal Revenue Service. This method is likely more acceptable to Americans when it comes to privacy, as it is to be completed by a third party and not the government. It would also be more difficult for drivers to commit fraud because the GPS is installed in the vehicle. This method would require investment in technology that could read GPS data.

If these programs are implemented they may face many setbacks. These programs may result in variation between state tax structures and federal tax structures, and a different structure based on the vehicle weight would result in a complicated final tax bill. Within these structures, there may also be specifics about driving during peak times and driving on specific roads or other infrastructure (Duncan, 2013). As the system gets more complicated it becomes costlier to implement. In order for this system to be successful, the current variation between states’ tax structures would need to be removed.

Like the gas tax, a VMT tax is based on the benefit principle. The consumer drives on the road and pays a fee to help maintain it. The VMT tax withstands CAFE standards because it is unaffected by changes in gas consumption, and could counteract the effects of increased fuel-efficiency has on travel behavior. However, this also means that the VMT tax does not encourage improving fuel efficiency, which has its own environmental benefits (Parry, 2005).

The levy is beneficial for the environment though, as it discourages unnecessary trips, thus decreasing pollution. Unlike the gas tax, a VMT tax would be more visible, and therefore

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1

GAS TAX $

2

The driver pays a tax for gas purchased at the pump

VMT TAX

TRACKING METHODS ODOMETER

COLLECTION METHODS

$

$ DMV

GPS

PRIVACY CONCERNS

The driver pays for VMT, which is checked against log of expected miles traveled

$

$ TAXES

The driver self-reports and pays for mileage with his or her taxes

$

$

The driver pays the insurance company, which pays the government FIGURE 1 THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN IMPLEMENTING A GAS TAX AND A VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED TAX

would likely have a strong effect on driving behaviors. Thus people would likely adjust their driving habits to an optimal level (Duncan, 2013).

S OC I A L E QUI T Y A major concern with both tax methods is equity for low-income and rural families.

Various studies have focused on different

REI LLY aspects of each method, with conflicting results.

While the results vary, it is known that both tax methods are regressive. Some studies have shown that the gas tax may affect high-income families more than low-income families when it comes to total fuel expenditures. This is because higher-income families would be less likely to adjust their behavior if a tax were to increase (West, 2002). When income is used to measure the regressivity of the gas tax, it has a larger impact on low-income groups as these families use a higher percentage of their income on the tax. However, this conclusion does not take into account the possible negative effects on accessibility for low-income families that an increase in the tax may cause. The impact of changing from the gas tax to a VMT tax is slightly more regressive, but the difference is small. In fact, a change to VMT has potentially positive outcomes for rural families because on average they own vehicles with lower fuel-efficiency (McMullen, 2010). Studies have shown low-income families also tend to drive less, making a VMT tax, when compared to lifetime income, less regressive than the gas tax (Walls, 1996).

However, the studies mentioned do not account for the benefits of these policies. To get a true sense of the nature of these methods, another study should be done looking at the potential benefits of a cleaner environment, less dependence on foreign oil, and better roadways as a result of the increased funding. There are also potential programs that could be developed in conjunction with the implementation of the different methods to help lessen the negative impacts of these taxes. An example of this could be an exchange program that allows families to replace their old vehicles for those with better fuel efficiency, which would help with the negative effects of gas tax increases.

C ONC L US I O N Considering the different goals and obstacles involved with each tax method, the best option for the United States today is a VMT tax that is administered by manual reading of the odometer. This could be done at regular vehicle maintenance appointments by mechanics, or during vehicle registration. It would be fairly inexpensive to implement because it does not require new technology to be successful, and the implementation only requires a limited amount of extra administrative work.

This model is more socially acceptable than the gas tax, which constantly faces resistance to increases. It is also more favorable than a

Along with being unhindered by increasing MPG, this model also helps to counteract the induced travel effect of higher MPG. VMT tax, which involves detailed readings of GPS data and would face resistance based on privacy concerns. Increasing fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles does not hinder the success of this tax model, which means that CAFE standards can continue to increase for the benefit of the environment. Along with being unhindered by increasing fuel efficiency, this model also helps to counteract the induced travel effect of higher fuel efficiency. The tax would be more visible than a gas tax because a change in the odometer with each trip is easily measured; the cost of each trip is more apparent through this method. The tax will also be good for the environment, as people are encouraged to drive less and limit unnecessary trips, thus reducing pollution.

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The execution of this model is fairly simple compared to that of the other VMT models, and it does not cause drivers any extra effort. Auto owners likely have to go to auto service shops for an oil change every few months. Since the shops already record milage during these tuneups, it does not add much extra effort to send those records to a government agency. In many states auto owners also already have to renew vehicle registration on an annual basis. Officials will be able to collect the VMT tax when they are collecting the registration fees.

Due to the resistance towards increasing the gas tax and the high cost and privacy concerns that come with other methods of implementing

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a VMT tax, the best option is to administer a VMT tax manually. This can be done by measuring the odometer, or if a state has online registration it can be done at regular vehicle appointments by mechanics. This method will affect personal driving behavior, raise muchneeded funds, and is comparatively easier to implement than other VMT taxing methods.

This method could serve as a precursor for the gradual implementation of a more sophisticated tax. This tax could slowly be implemented as older vehicles phase out, newer models with GPS already included proliferate in the market and privacy preferences become more relaxed.

This method can provide the funds needed to maintain important infrastructure.

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REFERENCES Austin, D., & Dinan, T. (2005). Clearing the air: The costs and consequences of higher CAFE standards and increased gasoline taxes. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 50(3), 562-582.

Manwik, G. Raise the Gas Tax. (2006). The Wall Street Journal, Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/ SB116131055641498552

American Petroleum Institute. State Motor Fuel Taxes Report.

Retrieved from http://www.api.org/~/media/Files/Statistics/ StateMotorFuel-OnePagers-January-2016.pdf

McMullen, S., Zhang, L., & Nakahara, K. (2010). Distributional impacts of changing from a gasoline tax to a vehicle-mile tax for light vehicles: A case study of Oregon. Transport Policy, 17(6), 359-366.

American Society of Civil Engineers. (2013).

Infrastructure Report Card. Retrieved from http://www. infrastructurereportcard.org/

Parry, I. (2005). Is pay-as-you-drive insurance a better way to reduce gasoline than gasoline taxes? American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings. 288-293.

Bento, A.M., Lawrence, H.G., Jacobsen, M.R., & von Haefen, R.H. (2009). Distributional and efficiency impacts of increased U.S. gasoline taxes. The American Economic Review, 99(3), 667-699.

Parry, I., & Small, K. (2005). Does Britain or the United States have the right gasoline tax? The American Economic Review, 95(4), 1276-1289.

Brown, J. (2001). Reconsider the gas tax: Paying for what you get.

ACCESS Magazine (19).

Tax Foundation. (2015). When did your state enact its gas tax?

Retrieved from http://taxfoundation.org/blog/when-did-yourstate-enact-its-gas-tax

Duncan, D., & Graham, J. (2013). Road user fees instead of fuel taxes: The quest for political acceptability. Public Administration Review, 73(3), 415-426.

Li, S., Linn, J., & Muehlegger, E. (2012). Gasoline taxes and consumer behavior. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. No. w17891.

Walls, M., & Hanson, J. (1999). Distributional impacts of an environmental tax shift: The case of motor vehicle emissions taxes. National Tax Journal, 52(1), 53-65.

West, S. (2004). Distributional effects of alternative vehicle pollution control policies. Journal of Public Economics, 88(3), 735-757.

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Bye-bye Brewster | Detroit, Michigan J u l i an n a T s c h i r h ar t , M U P 1 7

GENTRIFICATION AS RECOLONIZATION UNPACKING DETROIT’S REVITALIZATION NARRATIVES

MICHELLE RUBIN

Master of Urban Planning + Master of Public Policy, 2018 The narrative of Detroit, Michigan, has shifted from a story of municipal bankruptcy to a story of revitalization and regrowth. This paper examines the process of growth, revitalization, and gentrification through the lens of past and present social and political trends. This paper draws on analysis of local policies and societal norms to give perspective to the everyday violence that occurs in Detroit’s vulnerable communities, suggesting a dire need to reframe the current revitalization narrative. A plan is outlined for alternative development and gentrification processes in order to promote positive structural change.

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hen Michael Brown, a young black teenager, was fatally shot by a white police officer in August 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri, the dialogue surrounding police brutality and the importance of black lives rightfully took center stage. As the Ferguson uprising and subsequent events unfolded, I was just settling into my new apartment on Detroit’s East Side.

I was preparing for my first day of work at a predominantly black high school in Detroit’s Cody Rouge neighborhood, an area notorious for gang-related violence and abandoned homes. Growing up in the affluent suburbs of Detroit, I was told stories by family members and friends of the city’s dangers—its violence, its poverty, and its homelessness. It was made clear to me from a young age that Detroit was no longer the world-class city it once was. So understandably, I was still somewhat shocked that I had convinced myself to move to a city that so many people close to me wrote off as a wasteland of crime and ruins.

Most importantly, I was adjusting to the social, emotional, and political implications of what it meant to be living in Detroit as a young white woman. Was I viewed as a racial, economic, and social outsider, or would I be accepted into the community? I wondered how to distance myself from my complicity of witnessing, benefitting from, and economically contributing to what I viewed as a violent process of gentrification and downtown development. I constantly asked myself if I was inherently helping or hurting the city.

As the marches and protests post-Ferguson continued around the nation, several friends, making assumptions based on Detroit’s racial

makeup, asked me, “Is Detroit crazy? Are the streets packed? Is everyone angry?” Moderately sized peaceful protests were planned, “die-ins”1 in front of the Detroit Institute of Arts were organized and the pain and anger of the events reverberated throughout the city in its own right. As many, myself included, wondered why Detroit protests did not resemble those of other major cities in size, scope, or power, a friend provided me with the following reasoning: “Detroit is still hurting. The 1967 race riots

I constantly asked myself if I was inherently helping or hurting the city. destroyed this city, and it is still healing and rebuilding. This city can’t risk ruining things again.” Although my friend’s reasoning does not speak for individual Detroiters’ experiences nor seek to provide justification for action or inaction post-Ferguson, it helped me, as a perceived racial, social, and economic outsider, to understand the retrieval and interpretation of haunting and trauma in regards to Detroit’s collective racialized history. My friend’s words also spoke to the current movements to rebuild and revitalize the city by explaining the historical context of the economic, political and social implications of the process of growth on the continually marginalized populations of Detroit. How does an oppressive and fragmented history of a city manifest into lived everyday violence and unrest for some, while providing an urban space for entrepreneurship, creativity, and opportunity for others?

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MICHELLE RUBIN | A HOUSE NEAR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW RED WINGS ARENA IN DETROIT

UND ERS TA N D I N G D ET RO I T AT T EM PT AT A C O LLEC T I VE I D EN T I T Y I N A F RAG M EN T E D CITY Detroit is a prime example of a post-industrial2 city affected by the process of globalization.3 As the auto industry that built Detroit became increasingly decentralized, massive population losses, failing city services (by way of a shrinking tax base), notably high crime rates, and economic depletion led to the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history (Kirkpatrick, 2015). Yet the story of Detroit has recently shifted and no longer does the media paint a picture of ruin, homelessness, violent crime, and bankruptcy. Detroit is now deemed an American “comeback story” by the political and economic elite, and a blank canvas for entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, and capital investments. Billionaire businessman Dan

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Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans and a prime investor in Detroit’s revitalization, has branded this idea as “Opportunity Detroit,” putting the slogan on buses, billboards and buildings— capitalizing on the idea of opportunity as a way to entice people to move, work, and live in Detroit—but at what expense? One person’s “opportunity” is another’s eviction or displacement, both physical and cultural, from acting on that very “opportunity.” As such, there is an ongoing attempt for the collective identity of the city to be rewritten by the elite in order to alter the dominant narrative and perception of the city. Perhaps this is done to make Detroit more palatable or desirable to the general public, but it is at the expense of its vulnerable communities.

It is the Detroit community’s collective responsibility to reframe Detroit revitalization narratives without silencing the vulnerable communities and to promote consciousness

RU BI N among these populations, but the problem is deeply rooted. U.S. Census data released in September 2015 show that Detroit’s white population increased by 8,000 from 2014 to 2015.

This is the first growth in the white population since the 1950s, and thus helps to quantify what many believe to be the revitalization of the city.

Yet the situation is still bleak, as from 2012 to 2013 there was a loss of 12,784 residents overall (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015). This decline is mostly from Hispanic and black residents who are still moving to the suburbs in great numbers, signifying that even if white residents are moving in, the city is not fitting these residents’ needs. As these wealthier (and predominately white) residents move in, the changes are palpable. Rent has increased dramatically, black businesses are being displaced from the city center, and downtown is near full residential capacity (Moskowitz, 2015).

To understand the current political, economic, and social climate of Detroit and reframe the narratives appropriately, a further examination is necessary of Detroit’s shifting identity, as well as the underlying political and social forces acting upon the city and its vulnerable communities. The city should be understood in relation to the forces that have oppressed the city through time because these forces have shaped its identity (Singh, 2004). I define gentrification as the gradual process of physical and cultural displacement by way of rebuilding, revitalizing and changing the means of capital in a location. This displacement is a result of higher socioeconomic status residents moving into a geographic area that was previously inhabited by lower socioeconomic residents.

Defined in this manner, gentrification takes on colonialist logic, because imperialistic and predatory manifestations of power relations

are at play. Here, colonialist logic is not used to identify the legal conquest of a country, but rather to define dominant and subordinate relationships of power, resulting in a physical and cultural invasion. Until these forces are examined, transformational change within Detroit’s vulnerable communities cannot take place, and the status quo of marginalization by way of development will remain.

Gentrification is described here as recolonization rather than colonization because the oppression of these vulnerable groups has remained in varying forms throughout history. Further, gentrification is a process by which the “outside” colonizes the “inside.”

These locational terms can be either physical or imagined. For example, the “outside” can refer to the physical—a person from the suburbs moving into the inner city—or could refer to a social or racial outsider culturally displacing the preexisting culture (Goldberg, 1993).

Gentrification can be seen as a violent process because of its social and cultural displacing, silencing and traumatic effects on vulnerable populations. These consequences can be seen as forms of indirect violence. Following this logic, gentrification is a form of violent cultural invasion that manifests in the enforcement of cultural hierarchies.

N A M I N G B O UNDA R I E S RACIALIZ E D SPATIAL MARGINALIZ ATION IN DE TROIT Natural and artificial topography is often utilized to divide urban spaces and create peripheries of marginalized communities, in such “racializing” spatial differences (Goldberg, 1993). Applying this theory to Detroit helps

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explain Detroit’s current spatial inequalities and created physical boundaries. Eight Mile Road, which gained notoriety by way of Detroit native rapper Eminem, serves as a physical racialized boundary, dividing Detroit from the surrounding suburbs and subsequently attempting to contain its hardships and crime.

Similarly, the divide between Grosse Pointe and the East Side of Detroit would take any newcomer by surprise as it rapidly shifts from a predominately white affluent suburb to some of Detroit’s roughest neighborhoods. Recently installed barricades in Grosse Pointe now mark this boundary, restricting access to the suburb from certain areas of Detroit (Moskowitz, 2015). These racial barricades are physical and concrete boundaries that also create mental and perceived boundaries. They are named and created with the intent to categorize and differentiate: the city from the suburb, the poor from the wealthy, and the white from the black.

These boundaries, whether real or perceived, act as an exertion of power and racial and social categorization, ascribing boundaries of belonging and non-belonging, inclusion and exclusion.

The racialization of spatial differences also explains the current structural inequalities of Detroit, wherein capital investments and businesses focus their resources into the downtown area, resulting in increased urban vitality, but arguably ignore the periphery of the city, where poverty remains at unprecedented levels. This has created what many refer to as “A Tale of Two Detroits.” Developers and gentrifiers are “reclaiming” land, and inherent in conquering land remains the colonial logic of conquering people (Goldberg, 1993). Reclaiming land is not only shown in the creation of expensive lofts in the city center, but also with

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the displacement of black businesses such as the Tangerine Room, a bar and restaurant formerly owned by Darnell Small.

The Tangerine Room was located in Detroit’s Rivertown neighborhood until Small lost his lease due to a legal battle with Rivertown Holdings, the owners of the Tangerine Room’s neighbor, Atwater Brewery (Taylor, 2015). Small claimed that Atwater wanted him out of the space in order to expand (Houck, 2015). Atwater Brewery has now expanded into the space, opening an upgraded beer garden and taphouse in November 2015 (Thibodeau, 2015). Removing black businesses in this way in order to cater to the “revitalization” of the city, and changing the labor force while doing so, suggests a clear dominant and subordinate relationship akin to colonialist power relations.

The prevailing structural inequalities prohibit access for the vulnerable communities to the emergence of what is deemed by the political and economic elite as “New Detroit” and exacerbate other inequities including access to food, medical treatment, cultural events, and education. The revitalized downtown now serves as both a physical and mental barrier to the vulnerable communities by insinuating that they are not welcome, as well as physically blocking access because the neighborhoods lie on the periphery of “New Detroit.” Moreover, these sentiments are displayed by cultural events that appeal to the predominately affluent class such as the emergence of expensive retail stores and restaurants that someone with the median Detroit income of $14,870 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015) cannot afford, and the increasing security and privatization of downtown parks and public spaces.

RU BI N The prevalence of “blighted” structures (as referred to by city officials and other elite individuals) doubles as both a physical and mental haunting of past and current economic and social hardships. There is power in the ability to decide what is and what is not considered “blighted.” Those in power carry out this policy procedure, but the communities told that their neighborhoods now carry the weight of the term “blight” feel its indirect consequences. At the height of the city’s abandonment, many labeled Detroit as postapocalyptic, but what deeper purpose do burntout houses and broken windows symbolize? The vast numbers of dilapidated houses, factories, schools, and other buildings in Detroit serve as both a physical and mental reminder of the city’s fractured past, arguably akin to what AbdouMaliq Simone describes in “Among Ruins: On the Spirits of Commemoration as Colonial Ruins.” Not only do they serve as a reminder of what was, but also as a reminder of what could have been, perhaps if the affluent and predominately white population did not “abandon” the city.

Mayor Mike Duggan has developed task forces to remove blighted structures in large quantities, which many praise. However, this aggressive removal strategy can also be viewed as an attempt to bandage the current and past haunting of the community, acting as a suture on the identity of Detroit. While blight removal has its merits, as there is validity to improving people’s perceptions of their city, there must be an overall caution in regard to how many accolades are given to the procedure—can simply removing broken structures “heal” a community? Leveling the physical embodiments of memories cannot create a city anew. It can be argued that these

types of community revitalization efforts serve merely as justificatory practices to show a small commitment to the neighborhoods, while still not giving citizens a proper voice in the process.

E X A M I NI NG E M PAT H Y A ND P OS I T I ONA L I T Y I N R E V I TA L I Z AT I ON N A R R AT I V E S To understand gentrification in terms of Detroit’s revitalization, the complexities of empathy must be fully understood. In “Tenebrae After September 11: Art, Empathy and the Global Politics of Belonging,” Jill Bennett speaks about how idiopathic empathy (when one shares an identity with those they empathize with) can lead to the reinforcement of cultural hierarchies because the empathizer does not understand the experienced trauma as relative to the victim, but instead relates it to him or herself (Bennett, 2003). This results in the sharing of the trauma and, arguably, an attempt at sharing a collective identity between victim and nonvictim. In some circumstances this could result in the non-victim or empathizer superimposing guilt, empathy, or stories onto the victims or vulnerable communities. The danger is that a secondary witness or outsider can conflate or misconstrue the trauma of a community and, in doing so, co-opt it as his or her own. This further denies a voice to the victims (Henry, 2012).

Idiopathic empathy underlies much of what is seen in Detroit gentrification and revitalization narratives; people have altruistic motives for helping a failing city. They empathize with its citizens, and in doing so co-opt the city’s story as their own. This is displayed in people’s excitement about the resurgence of the city, the relocation of suburbanites, and the surge of companies that boast that

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they are “Made in Detroit.” However, painting positive new narratives about the city does not relieve vulnerable communities of the trauma, oppression, or economic depletion that they have faced. Looking past a city’s deep-rooted structural, spatial and racialized issues in hopes of a brighter future will not heal a city; it will only provide a façade of healing. These one-sided narratives leave out the everyday violence still percolating and being heightened by development in the city center. They claim collectivity of the city from the seat of the oppressor, empathizer, developer and gentrifier, while failing to give a voice to the communities being affected by the fast-paced growth. If the process of redevelopment is indirectly violent, does the end goal of economic development matter?

Wayne County’s tax foreclosure auctions of “abandoned” homes provide an example of governmental and official neglect of Detroit’s vulnerable population, as well as the impact of positionality on Detroit revitalization narratives. In 2015, 8,000 occupied homes in Detroit were sold at the Wayne County Tax Foreclosure Auction, meaning people were evicted from their homes in order for Wayne County to auction off the property (Kurth, 2015).

This policy was arguably created with the intent to raise property values, reduce crime, and make neighborhoods more attractive.

The Detroit News covered the 2015 auction by bringing notice to the looming threat of mass evictions and asking if the auction was moral on behalf of the government (Kurth, 2015). Yet, an article from the Detroit Free Press written in the same time period celebrates the increased home equity and property values as a result of the city’s blight removal efforts—without any mention of evictions (Gallagher, 2015). Again,

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this illuminates the silence in the narrative of “opportunity” at the expense of displacement and evictions. This narrative of regrowth by way of property values glorifies gentrification and oppressive housing policies without mention of the pain caused by the process, and threatens to further polarize a city still healing from years of disruption and neglect.

D I G GI NG D E E P E R DE MOCRACY IN DE TROIT? The question of “Is Detroit a democracy?” depends on what definition of democracy is being used. If viewed as a relational term, as John Markoff suggests in “Waves of Democracy: Social Movements and Political Change,” the term ‘democracy’ does not hold the same definition throughout time or instance (Markoff, 1996). A place can be legally termed a democracy, but not be a democracy in practice because of its anti-democratic practices.

Deep-rooted mistrust and factionalism in Detroit among racial and class fault lines create impediments to practicing an authentic democracy, a democracy that is not violent, and in which everyone can participate with equal power. Detroit’s history of racial tension intensifies the implications of gentrification and development. An authentic democracy must give all citizens the ability to have their voices heard and respected in their community (Hickey, 2015). Although there have been small victories in this arena, such as new streetlights being installed throughout the city and talk of a Community Benefits Ordinance in the Detroit City Council, citizens of these communities still do not have an equal say in what is happening to them or their community. So the question remains: Is this a democracy for all or for some?

RU BI N Detroit can be viewed as having a suspended democracy, wherein the voices and actions of all individuals are currently not being given equal weight.

This question of what defines a democracy encompasses the dichotomy of colonialist power relationships versus sovereignty, something that is applicable to Detroit and many developed communities where racialized dominant and subordinate relationships exist— displaying itself as issues of self-governance.

This notion is clearly articulated in the story of Detroit, wherein after the period of white flight and mass population loss, African Americans, who made up the majority of the city, self-governed by electing African American politicians to the mayoral seat. Yet the city fell into disrepair and was plagued by political corruption, eventually resulting in Detroit’s municipal bankruptcy. The downfall of the city arguably asserts the notion that African Americans are incapable of successfully selfgoverning, a mindset reminiscent of colonial justifications for ruling the colonies (New World Encyclopedia, 2013).

In 2013, Michigan officials appointed Kevyn Orr as Detroit’s emergency manager. Orr was tasked to oversee financial decisions for the city (Davey, 2013). The state’s takeover of Detroit in the form of Emergency Management control, which ended in 2014, further displays a colonialist logic, and can be seen as a dedemocratization of the city (Kirkpatrick, 2015).

Although Orr is a black man, his position still showcased the perceived ineptitude of the city and its communities to govern itself. This notion was only reaffirmed when Mayor Mike Duggan was elected, making him the first white mayor of Detroit in 40 years. Duggan ran with the campaign slogan “Every Neighborhood has

a Future,” and he is not blind to the continuing narrative of the “Tale of Two Detroits.” Yet many marked his election as a turning point for the city, wherein they believed Duggan would “save,” “revitalize,” and “heal” the broken city because of his business strategies for economic development. Duggan’s election was in some sense more symbolic than it was anything else, as the city was under state control and Duggan held little to no power upon his election (Kirkpatrick, 2015). Therefore, the question must be asked, why was Duggan chosen by the people of Detroit to symbolically lead the city into a period of revitalization and growth? Although Duggan is cognizant of the

Developers and gentrifiers are “reclaiming” land, and inherent in conquering land remains the colonial logic of conquering people. “us vs. them” mentality that plagues Detroit development conversations, he is still a white man governing a majority African American city, and therefore the types of questions I asked myself when I moved to Detroit are applicable to Mayor Duggan as well. Is the presence of a white mayor elected to “save” a predominately African American city after mismanagement and political corruption a manifestation of a white savior complex? Is it a form of continual oppression by way of a legal power relationship?

Rather than suggesting that Duggan or other city officials are ineffective leaders, I am suggesting that to understand the effects of gentrification, development, and revitalization, there must be a larger effort to understand how those with power and privilege are viewed by the marginalized communities.

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REFRA MI N G T H E N A RRAT I V E TACT I C A L S O C I A L AC T I VI S M IN A C H AN G I N G C I T Y Biologically a wound heals from the inside out, but if the wound is deep enough, the body is still left scarred, leaving the definition of a fully healed community an anomaly that the world and Detroit have yet to see. Systems of oppression are built upon each other. As has been shown throughout history, forming a new republic on the grounds of inequality, violence, and trauma will result in further fragmentation (Singh, 2004).

However, even through this fragmentation and cyclical modes of oppression, Detroit is in an unique position. It can be built from the inside out, using its communities as pillars of strength to empower populations often overlooked.

However, if the city’s successes continue to be framed without recognition of the systemic injustices of the city’s vulnerable populations, no real progress will be made. Detroit’s collective scars must be realized, discussed and acted on, or they will continue to cause fragmentation and new heightened modes of oppression.

The gentrifier triples as oppressor, developer and beneficiary . . . There is no innocence in the indirect violence these actions cause.

Following Jacques Derrida’s claim that neutrality does not exist, I assert that neutrality in Detroit’s revitalization narrative does not exist (Derrida, 1996). The application of this argument to one of my opening questions,

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“Was I inherently helping or hurting the city?”, facilitates the notion that a person can never be neutral when other people are being harmed, regardless of intentions or levels of action or inaction. The gentrifier triples as oppressor, developer and beneficiary. The gentrifier, although maybe not explicit in action, becomes inherently complicit in development, dislocation, silencing and fragmentation. The gentrifiers are responsible for driving up rents, affecting city culture, and altering the workforce by creating more high-skilled jobs; there is no innocence in the indirect violence these actions cause. As the gentrifier, I must understand the effect of my presence and power on others, and must question opportunities for positive action, knowing I am already complicit in an arguably violent process.

The story of Detroit and its problems are local as well as global in scope. Similar problems are present in every city undergoing growth and development. The development of Detroit’s downtown and the process of gentrification was inevitable, as cities go through cycles of urban vitality, which are indirectly violent processes of redevelopment, and racial and class exploitation are present in almost all modern cities. Therefore, I do not argue that anti-development or anti-gentrification movements should be executed within Detroit communities, because these methods would be devastating to the economy without proper foundation and support (Teivainen, 2005).

However, I do argue for alternative development and alternative gentrification processes. Using Randy Shaw’s framework in The Activist’s Handbook, Detroit can mitigate colonial manifestations such as displacement, lack of sovereignty, and unequal economic, political, and social power between the two perceived

RU BI N factions of Detroit (Shaw, 2001). In the current process, those who are (whether knowingly or not) developers, gentrifiers, and beneficiaries should not superimpose their collective experiences onto the whole city or community.

As Paolo Freire outlines in Pedagogy Of The Oppressed, to be a democratic leader, one must allow the communities one is working with to generate their own ideas, instead of imposing ideas onto them (Freire, 1996). How are the ideas present in Detroit’s revitalization being generated in the neighborhoods and then executed by local authorities? One way this is happening is through local activist groups that practice what Shaw labels as tactical activism— being proactive, rather than reactionary, and using strategies and clear objectives to achieve realistic goals (Shaw, 2001).

One Detroit-based grassroots coalition, the Detroit Eviction Defense, is an example of this type of group, using tactical activism to promote positive change against foreclosure and eviction. The group’s success lies in its ability to celebrate small victories, such as successfully protesting the eviction of one family, instead of setting unrealistic goals of stopping all foreclosures in the city.

Moreover, the group organizes alternative legal strategies to foreclosure in order to help vulnerable homeowners defend their homes, such as executing nonviolent protests against banks and government agencies involved in foreclosures and evictions, using the slogan “Black Homes Matter” (Parker, 2016). While other grassroots organizations like the Detroit Eviction Defense exist, Detroit needs more groups executing tactical activist strategies and these groups must band together in hopes that city officials will realize their potential effect and be willing to partake in dialogic communication.

Additionally, a Community Benefits Ordinance, which has been discussed by the Detroit City Council and advocated for by several local community groups, is a step towards having the vulnerable communities of Detroit generate individual themes (Freire, 1996). The ordinance would allow community members to voice their opinions when development projects threaten to affect their livelihoods and wellbeing. The ordinance would also legally obligate developers to listen to and facilitate community demands such as securing a certain number of jobs for community members from the proposed development (Hickey, 2015).

C ONC L US I O N Although the ordinance, along with other suggested tactical activist strategies, will not “heal” the fragmentation present in the city, it would provide a framework for dialogue more justly as Detroit revitalization stories continue to unfold. Permanent structural change for Detroit neighborhoods will only arise from a consciousness of the vulnerable population, those acting in solidarity with them, and the powerful regarding their positions and possibilities for positive change, resulting in intentional dialogue, and the application of well-designed strategies and objectives to achieve collective goals (Singh, 2004). The first step, as suggested here, is a stronger effort to reframe the dominant revitalization narratives without silencing the violent effect of a colonial-based relationship of development and displacement on the vulnerable populations of Detroit.

Beginning to come to terms with my own complicity in this process was, and remains, a painful process. However, I believe it is this first

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step of recognition that will lead to a stronger dialogue about how to strengthen Detroit, and other similar urban places, without relying on societal norms built on colonialist logic. A willingness to critically engage with a system

that I have benefited from, while simultaneously harming others, facilitates the ability to work towards a Detroit in which no one is complacent with the active and harmful role of developer, gentrifier, or oppressor.

NOTES A “die-in” is a form of protest where participants simulate being dead by lying on the ground. These forms of protests have become increasingly popular as a response to police killings, such as the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, among others (Luxen, 2014).

1

Post-industrial refers here to an economy that no longer depends on industry (in Detroit’s case, the auto industry).

It is important to note that this change has reshaped local 2

economies by affecting those who relied on lower-skilled factory jobs for income. Detroit serves as a microcosm for a nation that has moved to being largely post-industrial.

3 I define globalization as a political and cultural process that exploits vulnerable communities for capital by connecting the processes of production, distribution, and consumption to further exploit the weak. I argue that globalization can be viewed as a manifestation of colonial tactics and values.

AC KN O WL ED G EMEN T S I would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy’s Fall 2015 Policy Seminar, “Social Activism, Democracy, and Globalization: Perspectives of the Global South” – and especially Professor Yazier Henry – for their continued support, advice,

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and dialogue that greatly influenced my writing process. I acknowledge Alex Ralph for his initial advice on this topic, and Michael Gendernalik for his insightful words on Detroit’s history. I also thank Gail Bennett, Richard Rubin, Amanda Elyse Latham, and the Agora editors for their helpful comments.

RU BI N

REFERENC ES Bennett, J. (2003). Tenebrae after September 11: Art, empathy and the global politics of belonging. In Jill Bennett and Rosanne Kennedy (Eds.), World Memory: Personal Trajectories in Global Time (177-193). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Colonialism. (2013). New World Encyclopedia, Retrieved from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index. php?title=Colonialism&oldid=969852.

Davey, M. (2013, March 14). Bankruptcy lawyer is named to manage an ailing Detroit. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes.com/2013/03/15/us/gov-rick-snyder-kevyn-orremergency-manager-detroit.html?_r=0 Derrida, J. (1996). Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression.

Translated by Eric Prenowitz. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.

Freire, P. (1996). Pedagogy Of The Oppressed. Translated by Myra Bergman Ramos. New York: Penguin Books.

Gallagher, J. (2015, October 9). Report touts rise in property values from blight demos. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved from http://www.freep.com/story/money/business /michigan/2015/10/09/detroit-blight-demolition-economyforeclosure/73511326/ Goldberg, D. T. (1993). Racist Culture: Philosophy and the Politics of Meaning. (London: Blackwell, 1993).

Henry, Y. (2012). The ethics and morality of witnessing: On the politics of Antjie Krog (Samule) country of my skull. In Trauma, Memory, and Narrative in the Contemporary South African Novel (107-140). Amsterdam- New York: Rodopi.

Hickey, B. (2015, November 20). Why a community benefits ordinance would help Detroit. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved from http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/rawdata/2015/10/31/why-community-benefits-ordinance-wouldhelp-detroit/74882136/ Houck, B. (2015, January 14). Rivertown’s Tangerine Nightclub faces eviction. Retrieved from http://detroit.eater. com/2015/1/14/7549429/rivertowns-tangerine-night-clubfaces-eviction

Luxen, M. (2014, December 09). When did ‘die-ins’ become a form of protest? BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/ news/blogs-magazine-monitor-30402637 Markoff, J. (1996). Waves of Democracy: Social Movements and Political Change. California/London/NewDelhi: Pine Forge Press.

Moskowitz, P. (2015, February 05). The two Detroits: A city both collapsing and gentrifying at the same time. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/feb/05/detroitcity-collapsing-gentrifying Parker, P. (2016, February 03). Group rallies behind woman who lost home of four decades to foreclosure. Retrieved from http:// michiganradio.org/post/group-rallies-behind-woman-who-losthome-four-decades-foreclosure#stream/0 Shaw, Randy. (2001). The Activist’s Handbook. (1-44). Berkeley: University of California Press.

Simone, A. (2004). Among Ruins: On the spirits of commemoration. In Edgar Pieterse and Frank Meintjies (Eds.), Voices of the Transition: The Politics, Poetics and Practices of Social Change in South Africa (28-32). Sandown: Heinemann.

Singh, N. P. (2004). Black is a Country: Race and the Unfinished Struggle for Democracy. Cambridge/London: Harvard.

Taylor, K. H. (2015, November 1). Gentrification of Detroit leaves black-owned businesses behind. Retrieved from http://www. nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/gentrification-detroit-leaves-blackresidents-behind-n412476 Teivainen, T. (2005). The world social forum: Arena or actor.

In Janie Leatherhman and Julie A. Webber (Eds.), Charting Transnational Democracy Beyond Global Arrogance New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Thibodeau, I. (2015, November 17). Atwater Brewery to open upgraded taproom in Detroit, adds food, new beer. Retrieved from http://www.mlive.com/business/detroit/index.ssf/2015/11/ atwater_brewery_to_open_upgrad.html U.S. Census Bureau. (2015, December 2). Detroit, Michigan.

Retrieved from <http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/ states/26/2622000.html>.

Kirkpatrick, L. O. (2015). Ritual and redistribution in dedemocratized Detroit. In Reinventing Detroit: The Politics of Possibility. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Kurth, J. (2015, October 14). Mass evictions loom after homes sold off. Detroit News. Retrieved from <http://www. detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroitcity/2015/10/07/ mass-evictions-loom-homes-sold/73558768/>.

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Open for Business | Hong Kong Michelle Bohrson, MUP 17

HYBRID NOHAM A HYBRID CULTURE THROUGH CONTEXTUAL NEIGHBORHOOD BUILDING

MIKE DAVIS, JR.

Master of Urban Planning, 2016

LESLEY RIVERA

Master of Urban Planning, 2016 This proposal centers on the â&#x20AC;&#x153;NoHamâ&#x20AC;? neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. This neighborhood has been largely overlooked by Detroit city leaders; however, current residents have created a strong community where residents care for their homes and neighbors to their greatest ability. We seek to enhance the existing community while encouraging growth centered on the Detroit City Football Club. This project identifies existing bungalows for rehabilitation and proposes construction of new contextually appropriate bungalows along a neighborhood corridor. This corridor would anchor a newly developed community center and new soccer training grounds. These interventions seek not only to repopulate vacant lots with housing, but also to strengthen two communities by creating hybrid culture and place.

The rehabilitation of Keyworth Stadium and the partnership between DCFC and HPS will offer the surrounding communities in Detroit and Hamtramck a place to gather, as well as an opportunity to encourage neighborhood growth. The stadium will provide visitors and surrounding residents the opportunity to experience DCFC games and engage with the community. In addition, the space will offer a place for the community to interact outside of DCFC events. This space will be used by the community and HPS at large for recreation programs, welcoming all nearby residents.

This project seeks to encourage a diverse range of family types. Site visits, interviews with residents, housing stock analysis, and demographic research revealed that current

residents are both diverse and involved in the community. The community, referred to as “Banglatown” or “NoHam,” is a small and dynamic Detroit neighborhood adjacent to the northern tip of the City of Hamtramck. It is bounded by Interstate 75 to the east, the Davison Freeway to the north, Conant Street to the west, and Carpenter Avenue and Hamtramck to the south. Almost 70 percent of the neighborhood is under 45 years old, with 22 percent of the population between ages 18-34, and 36 percent between ages 34-64 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015).

The neighborhood has a median household income of $18,163, which is in line with the neighborhood’s high level of housing vacancy, at over 30 percent. The neighborhood is also a vibrant immigrant community; almost half of the neighborhood residents were born outside the U.S., and 63 percent identify as Asian, 66 percent of whom identify as Bangladeshi and 28 percent as Asian Indian. The second-largest racial group in the neighborhood is African American, who comprise 25 percent of the neighborhood’s residents. The neighborhood as a whole is composed of long-term residents, as 65 percent of immigrated residents came to the neighborhood between 1990 and 2009.

Lastly, about 41 percent of residents work in an occupation that is considered the creative class, such as information technology, arts, education, healthcare, and professional services (Creative, 2015).

D AV I S + RI V ERA

T

his proposal centers on the “NoHam” neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, which has been largely overlooked

by Detroit city leaders. Despite this, current residents have created a strong community where residents care for their homes and neighbors to their greatest ability. Through our proposal, we seek to enhance the existing community while encouraging growth centered on the Detroit City Football Club (DCFC).

Founded in 2012, the DCFC operates under the motto, “Passion for Our City, Passion for the Game,” which represents the organization’s desire to build community and positively impact the city. In 2015, DCFC announced a community investment campaign to rehabilitate Hamtramck’s 79-year-old Keyworth Stadium. The stadium is currently the property of Hamtramck Public Schools (HPS) and is located two miles from our project’s site (DCFC, 2015). Although HPS will retain ownership of the property, DCFC will host games and community events under a lease.

The neighborhood is a tale of two halves.

The western half has fewer residents, higher vacancy, and more empty lots, while the eastern half has more residents, less vacancy, and fewer empty lots, and is enclosed by two commercial corridors. The challenge then becomes a matter of developing methods for attracting new residents to the western half of NoHam.

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Intervention: Rehab

Bungalow Apartments

Intervention: New Construction

Intervention: Landscape

Site Conditions Vacant Poor Unoccupied Fair Unoccupied 0

FIGURE 1 LESLEY RIVERA AND MIKE DAVIS, JR. | EXPLODED SITE CONDITIONS AND INTERVENTIONS

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.1 Mi.

Connecting the project to the growing DCFC offers an opportunity to attract new residents to NoHam. This minor league soccer team has a passionate fan base that has continued to grow since the club’s inception in 2012 (Seidel, 2015).

According to Nielson Media Research, soccer fans are among the most upwardly mobile fans of any domestic sports league besides the National Football League (NFL). Sixty percent of soccer fans are between the ages of 18 and 54 (Nielsen, 2014). Almost 40 percent of fans earn less than $40,000 per year, and the proportion of fans earning over $100,000 is growing quickly (Nielsen, 2014). Additionally, Nielson’s research shows that around nine percent of soccer fans identify as African American, which is only eclipsed by the National Basketball Association and NFL. Lastly, although Bangladesh’s most popular sport is cricket, soccer fandom has greatly increased since the 2010 World Cup according to anecdotal news reports (Nielsen, 2014).

The project connects with this new energy coming to Hamtramck by repurposing an old school as the proposed community land trust’s community center, and creating a training field on that site. We propose anchoring this development with two container apartment buildings that would appeal to younger fans and soccer players themselves—two types of people that are highly mobile and could see the city as their true home. This led to focusing on the corridor around the community center as an intensive site of development efforts. This new corridor will serve as the site of new activity based on the football club. A new training field could be used by players for practice, neighborhood kids’ pickup games, and new recreation league games. The corridor can also be the site of the game-day fan march from the training field to the stadium.

D AV I S + RI V ERA FIGURE 2 LESLEY RIVERA AND MIKE DAVIS, JR. | PROPOSED COMMUNITY LAND TRUST LAND IS OWNED BY THE COMMUNITY WHILE THE STRUCTURES ARE OWNED BY INDIVIDUALS

ANTI-GENT RI FI C AT I O N We propose that NoHam create a land trust board consisting of current residents both outside and inside the land trust. Community land trusts acquire land and maintain its ownership permanently, and are commonly used to combat gentrification. A typical land trust will lease the land a house sits on to the homeowner while the resident owns the house. These leases are usually long-term and renewable, and any sale of the home on the land is contingent on the new buyer continuing the lease and the home remaining in the land trust. Separating the house from the land prevents market speculation that can lead to resident displacement when property taxes rise quickly by eliminating land speculation, needless housing flips, and other negative practices. Some community land trusts work with municipalities to reduce tax assessments for their properties, thus further lowering the prospect of displacement. However, our proposal does not require this to occur for the land trust to be effective. Board members would be elected by the land trust members and would lead development efforts while

serving as a liaison between residents and the government. Creating a community land trust will help residents maintain and grow their neighborhood, while resisting gentrification.

H OUS I NG T Y P O L OGI E S The project values the bungalow as a housing form and proposes interventions that stabilize and enhance the existing bungalow form found throughout the corridor and neighborhood.

Using Motor City Mapping’s criteria, our project seeks to rehabilitate homes classified as in “fair” condition and construct new homes classified as in “poor” condition (Motor City Mapping, 2015). By both rehabilitating existing bungalows and constructing new bungalows in the neighborhood, this project would preserve neighborhood character. In contrast to the contextual bungalow approach, introducing the shipping container apartment serves several purposes. First, it creates a new housing typology distinct from the bungalow that can appeal to a variety of people. Secondly, its distinct form, situated among the neighborhood bungalows, signals to both residents and non-

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FIGURE 3 LESLEY RIVERA AND MIKE DAVIS, JR. | FIELD RENDERING

residents that there is activity and reinvestment into the community. Lastly, the bold form is an opportunity to connect the new activity and investment in the neighborhood with nonresidents, encouraging them to engage with the project and relocate within the community.

HOUS I N G C H O I C E In addition to the existing diversity of housing forms, there is a diversity of family types in the neighborhood. The project addresses this fact by creating multiple floor plan choices for residents. The bungalows will consist of three floor plan choices: a smaller one-floor (roughly 400 square feet) duplex, a medium two-story (roughly 700 square feet) duplex, and a larger (roughly 900 square feet) one-family home.

The apartment will consist of two choices: a one-container micro-unit (roughly 300 square feet) and a larger two-container unit (roughly 600 square feet). These apartments will remain under the supervision of the land trust to help ensure that rents remain affordable and they receive proper maintenance. The apartments would be rented at either market rate or an affordable rate as determined by the land trust board. These floor plan options should serve

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both existing neighborhood families and new individuals and families.

C O NC L US I O N Through these strategies of anti-gentrification, housing typologies, and housing choice, this proposal seeks to promote and grow the â&#x20AC;&#x153;NoHamâ&#x20AC;? neighborhood by way of connecting the community with the DCFC and its commitment to Keyworth Stadium. This proposal promotes community engagement within the existing neighborhood, and encourages new residents to move into the area. The area would remain affordable through the creation of a community land trust. A variety of housing options in terms of price and size would be offered through the multitude of housing typologies. By encouraging rehabilitation of existing bungalows, as well as newly constructed bungalows and shipping container apartments, new residents can find a housing option that best suits their lifestyle. These strategies, in conjunction with the rehabilitation of Keyworth Stadium, will serve as a signaling beacon of positive change occurring in the neighborhood, thus creating a hybrid culture and place.

D AV I S + RI V ERA FIGURE 4 LESLEY RIVERA AND MIKE DAVIS, JR. | RENDERING OF LANDSCAPE INTERVENTION SURROUNDED BY REHABILITATED BUNGALOWS

NOTES The entire NoHam neighborhood is within the single Census tract 5105.

1

Motor City Mapping has photographed and coded parcel information into an online mapping system. Our selection criteria filtered out all parcels that were occupied. Then we 2

selected parcels that were either vacant or had structures in “fair” or “poor” condition. “Fair” condition houses had minimal structural damage and were undamaged by fire. “Poor” condition houses had severe structural damage and may have been damaged by fire.

REFERENCES Creative Class Occupations in NW Minnesota. (2015, August 17).

Retrived from http://mn.gov/deed/data/locallook/northwest/ creative-class.jsp Detroit City FC Unveils Community Investment Campaign. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://home.detcityfc.com/news_article/ show/570191?referrer_id=1533686-news

Seidel, J. (2015, October 30). Seidel: Fans go extra mile to support Detroit City FC. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved from http://www. freep.com/story/sports/outdoors/2015/10/29/detroit-city-fcstadium/74848372/ U.S. Census Bureau. Social Explorer Tables: ACS 2014 (5Year Estimates)(SE), ACS2014_5yr. Retrieved from www. socialexplorer.com.

Motor City Mapping. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www. motorcitymapping.org/#t=parcels Nielsen. (2014, February 24). Year in the Sports Media Report: 2013. Retrieved from http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/ reports/2014/year-in-the-sports-media-report-2013.html

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Child Plays in Favela | S達o Paulo, Brazil We i t ao S o n g , M U P 1 6

FROM DIVISION TO FUSION A TRANSFORMING MODEL OF CHINESE URBAN-RURAL INHABITATION

JIEQIONG WANG

Ph.D. in Architecture, 2020 A great shift of human population from rural environments into cities has caused worldwide political and security issues. This movement has engaged, and will continue to affect, as much as one third of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population. One of the most striking results is the creation of a distinct urban space â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the village in the city.

Unlike squatter settlements in most developing countries, the housing of migrant workers in China is exclusively restricted to informal rentals in Villages-in-theCity (ViCs), which causes them to continually change locations. This dynamic relationship between migrant workers and their living place is based on three factors: the physical environment, interpersonal relationships, and a high-mobility lifestyle. Understanding scales of place can then serve as alternative guidance for architectural intervention in order to rethink the form of ViCs.

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n Doug Saunders’s recent book, Arrival City (2010), he claims that we will end this century as a wholly urban species. So far we have seen a great shift of the human population out of rural areas and into cities, and this has already caused worldwide political and security issues. This movement has engaged and will continue to affect an unprecedented number of people, perhaps up to one-third of the world’s population (Saunders, 2010). In this context, the unique Chinese rural-urban migration phenomena have also raised international concerns, but from a different perspective.

While this movement has caused severe affordability problems for housing authorities, it has stimulated the formation of a distinct urban space in Chinese metropolises – Villages-inthe-City (ViCs).

Unlike squatter settlements in most developing countries, these ViCs are “owned” by expeasants who lost their farmland during rapid urbanization. These ViCs also accommodate the rural-to-urban migrant workers, who now outnumber the indigenous ex-peasants.

However, compared to these indigenous expeasants, new migrant workers lack power and do not have the legal rights to own self-help housing due to the Hukou registration system.

Under the restrictions put in place by this system, housing for migrant workers in China is restricted to informal rentals in ViCs, which therefore forces migrant workers to continually change locations. As a result of these factors, migrant workers are forced into a high-mobility lifestyle, which has earned them the name “floating population” (Wu, Zhang et al., 2014).

Experiencing extreme overcrowding and having long been considered blemishes on the face of the Chinese metropolis, the ViCs that accommodate this “floating population”

are at a crossroads of redevelopment. While developers and authorities are attempting to rapidly demolish them, urban designers and architects are proposing various architectural interventions to save these informal enclaves.

However, many of these approaches would conceal the villages (thereby segregating migrants) or replace them (thereby gentrifying the urban spaces).

These differing approaches bring up other questions about the future of the villages.

For example, how should the large number of displaced workers be rehoused during the redevelopment, and how can a redesign of the villages positively impact the workers’ futures?

Furthermore, what voice do these workers have in the future of their adopted city?

The Hukou registration system was implemented in the 1950s, to restrict the number of residents in urban area. Only those born with local Hukou can have access to social resources, which directly affects one’s living opportunities.

Historically, decisions regarding the management of ViCs have been driven by social and economic advancement priorities.

However, given the importance of place attachment to these spaces, city managers should instead consider the management of ViCs from an architectural point of view.

Although the concept of place attachment has been discussed in North America and Europe for decades, place attachment is largely context-based. For instance, in North America,

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place attachment has been primarily discussed in the context of neighborhoods and a sense of community. New Urbanists attempted to design pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods in order to foster social interaction and create a greater sense of neighborhood attachment. Joongsub Kim and Rachel Kaplan have conducted research that found place attachment is highly dependent on the aesthetics of a community.

Therefore, the urban designers’ and architects’ perspectives on reenvisioning ViCs becomes highly important for the reinforcement of this place attachment (Kim & Kaplan, 2004).

Alternatively, place attachment discussions in Europe have been focused on a broader and more dynamic urban context, which better addresses the relationship between highmobility lifestyles and place attachment. For instance, in Robert Feldman’s (1990) work, he finds that in a society, attachment to a type of settlement remains strong, even in highmobility settings. In the same vein, Gabriel Moser (1990) has conducted empirical research in Paris based on Feldman’s study, finding that residential attachment is associated with satisfaction with the physical environment, establishment of local interpersonal relationships, and the ability to periodically escape from everyday life or the social relationship system. In the case of Chinese ViCs, the mobility of migrant workers lies on two levels: their everyday commute from ViCs to the city, and their frequent change of rented houses and locations. In this respect, Maria Lewicka’s work on how mobility leads to different forms of place attachment offers a more pertinent reference. Her categorization of the alienated people who are alienated from both residential and social surroundings (Lewicka, 2013) is particularly representative of migrant workers in Chinese ViCs.

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This essay will explore the dynamic relationships between migrant workers and ViCs based on these theories of place attachment. Moreover, it aims to look at what scales of place within a ViC are appropriate for the floating population’s community attachment so that it can serve as an alternative guidance for proper architectural intervention.

Such interventions can thereby reshape the existing form of ViCs, and thus create a better future for the floating population.

P H YS I C A L D I V I S I ON Since China’s Economic Reform in the 1980s, which caused a system shift from a planned economy to a market economy, rapid urbanization has driven a great tide of migrant workers from rural areas to metropolitan areas in Southeast China. These rural migrant workers came to seek a better life, but due to the high rental prices in the city and the restrictions of the Hukou Registration system, they were displaced to the periphery of cities instead of settling closer to the urban core (Zhang, 2001; Wu, Zhang et al., 2014). This situation stimulated the emergence and prosperity of the informal urban enclaves, or ViCs, which are the remnants of previously agriculturally based villages that were surrounded, but not redeveloped, as cities expanded. As local housing authorities lack enough money to relocate these indigenous ex-peasants after they have expropriated the farmland, such ViCs have become temporary enclave settlements, facing the risk of being demolished as soon as funding for removal is secured by authorities.

At the same time, to maintain the city image, ViCs have been concealed and walled off from the city, with only discreet entrances for people

WA N G FIGURE 1 ANDONG LU | THREE DISCREET ENTRANCES FROM THE CITY TO THE VILLAGE

to engage with the city (Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4).

Through this physical segregation, visitors and even urban residents hardly notice the existence of ViCs. For people living in the ViCs, indigenous ex-peasants are able to retain their productive rural lifestyle that relies little on a connection to the city, but the migrant workers who work in the city have to commute through the invisible entrances every day. In this sense, it is the migrant workers that are experiencing

this spatial segregation between city and village each day.

Moreover, this spatial division also exists within the ViCs. The collective land system in villages gives the indigenous ex-peasants ambiguous rights to build their houses on the land that was allocated to them (Hao, 2014). By taking advantage of this ambiguity, indigenous ex-peasants have seized on a

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FIGURE 2 ANDONG LU | THE INTENSIFIED LIVING SPACE IN A VIC

prosperous opportunity to occupy the vacant land surrounding their houses, driven by the great demand of renting rooms from migrant workers. During this phase, the indigenous ex-peasants have extended the space of their houses by occupying public spaces. Gradually they began to fence around the occupied public space to claim their ownership. This practice transformed the original scattered and flowing spatial form of villages into a highly covered and enclosed form.

Further driven by this great tide of displaced migrant workers, indigenous ex-peasants began to either cooperate with developers speculating on “their land,” or self-reconstruct their houses into remarkably high-density rooms for renting (Figure 6). In this sense, ex-peasants have become quasi-developers and landlords. In this phase they started to speculate on land values by adding additional stories to their houses.

Concurrently, with the intensification of living spaces and the worsening of living conditions, ex-peasants started to move out of their own houses. Their houses became complete

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commercial products for renting. Usually a house can be shared by several migrant families, with each family renting a room.

As scholar Pu Hao pointed out, ViCs have gone through three spatial development phases during this process: total area coverage, densification, and intensification (Hao, 2014).

The transformation of spatial forms also reveals the physical segregation between local indigenous ex-peasants and migrant workers.

First, indigenous ex-peasants have occupied the original public spaces to build additional substandard rental housing, which means migrant workers are mostly accommodated in houses that are physically separated within the original structure. Second, through densifying their houses and increasing the number of rooms available to migrant workers, the indigenous ex-peasants have earned enough capital to move out of one neighborhood in the ViC and relocate to a less crowded one.

In sum, the divisions within these cities occur on three scales: separation of ViCs and the city, separation within neighborhoods, and separation within dwellings. The physical division separates migrant workers from both urban residents and indigenous villagers. The separation of migrants from urban residents is primarily due to the lack of affordable housing, while the separation of urban residents and indigenous villagers is due to the lack of a “legal” right to build their own houses, forcing the villagers to rent. This also leads to the migrants’ worsening living conditions, because their high-mobility lifestyle furthers overcrowding and discourages infrastructure investment.

However, when the ultimate goal of an architectural intervention is to foster place

WA N G FIGURE 3 ANDONG LU | THE BUILDING “WALL.” STREET VIEW FROM OUTSIDE THE VIC

FIGURE 4 ANDONG LU | THE WALL. VIEW FROM INSIDE THE VIC

attachment, under these circumstances how do migrant workers obtain an identity in such a separated host city? In Breakwell’s (1996) model, he identified continuity, place-congruence, selfesteem, self-efficacy, and distinctiveness as five principles for an individual to gain identity in a place. Drawing on this model, continuity and place-congruence are based on the comparison between their host city and their hometown.

In this sense, the physical segregation in ViCs may hinder migrant workers’ development of identity in the host city as compared to their hometown.

Furthermore, Lewicka’s (2010) research in Poland finds that scale of place also influences the strength of place attachment depending on three main variables: the physical environment, social factors, and demographics. More specifically, physical variables accounted most

for attachment to building and to neighborhood, while effects of social factors (neighborhood ties and sense of security in a district and neighborhood) accounted for attachment to buildings, neighborhoods, and city districts.

The effects of demographic variables were less consistently related to scale of place.

Lewicka’s findings have been partly verified

by Cecilie Andersson’s (2012) work on Chinese ViCs. Based on her in-depth observation and interviews, Andersson concludes that migrant workers’ attachment to a dwelling and to a ViC neighborhood is temporal and transitional, which is far from the image of a secure home.

Her findings also have raised another crucial aspect that influences migrant workers’ place attachment – their social relations in the host city.

S O C I A L I S O L AT I ON In many cases, migrant workers who have been physically segregated due to housing policy are also excluded from formal social resources. Many migrant workers primarily rely on people from their same hometown when they first arrive in a host city. However, because of their similar backgrounds and simple ways of gathering information, they are generally constrained to take jobs which are dangerous, low-paid, and less prestigious. Despite their indispensable role in urban development, migrant workers have always been isolated within the urban sphere because of their lack of formal education and rural behaviors. As in Britain in the 19th century, urban residents rarely have personal encounters with these migrants (Friedmann, 2005). As a result they rarely develop interpersonal relationships with urban residents.

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Concurrently, migrant workers are seen as “outsiders” and are socially marginalized by indigenous ex-peasants, though these indigenous ex-peasants used to have similar rural behaviors as the migrants (Wu, Zhang et al., 2014). This disconnection is primarily due to the highly mobile lifestyle of migrant workers. First, it is difficult for migrant workers to develop stable and normal relationships with their landlords when they frequently change living locations. Second, their high mobility also undermines migrants’ reputation as credible renters. In some cases, they are even considered potential criminals. Third, frequent changes in employment force frequent moves between villages, breaking social supports that were formed within the village between migrant workers from the same hometowns, and preventing a strong place attachment between migrant workers and their newly adopted ViCs. Thus, migrant workers in Chinese ViCs are isolated by local residents from both the cities where they work and the ViCs where they live due to a lack of stable social networks.

Moreover, without local Hukou (a “legal” identity) these migrant workers are in many cases outside the social security system. This impacts their basic working rights in two senses. First, they are not protected by laws when discharged by employers, which makes their work conditions unstable. Furthermore, this abuse of rights puts migrants’ lives at risk, especially when they are facing dangerous jobs and disastrous workplace accidents (Wu, Zhang et al., 2014). In this regard, they are not only suffering from social isolation, but also from employment instability and insecurity.

As a result of social isolation, these migrant workers gradually change their old behaviors and activities to adapt themselves to the isolated and unstable ViC lifestyle. For instance,

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instead of spending time with friends or families at home after work, they choose to stay in an internet café. Instead of engaging in various informal local activities, they choose to have cheap foot massages, and instead of fighting for their rights, they choose to walk away when facing conflicts (Yi Liu & Wan Xiang, 2014). For these migrant workers, the concept of “home” or “neighborhood” has changed greatly from their rural hometowns. In this respect they can hardly obtain a feeling of worth, and they struggle to meet situational demands within ViCs. This inhibits them from developing self-esteem and self-efficacy as described in Breakwell’s model of identity.

Thus, it is obvious that migrant workers can hardly develop their attachment to ViCs because of both physical divisions and social isolation. However, for these migrant workers ViCs are merely a transitional living place where they are displaced for a period of time.

Workers still have their initial ambitions to be embraced by the city (Andersson, 2012), and by living transitionally in ViCs they are preparing for that next step in their settlement.

In this respect ViCs are actually arrival cities for these floating populations, and therefore function as a social mobility path for them.

It is understandable that neither this scale of dwelling nor this scale of neighborhood is the right place for migrant workers to develop spatial attachment.

E X A M I N I NG I M PAC T S OF P OP UL AT I ON G R OW T H A M I D I NS E C UR I T Y For decades migrant workers have struggled to fit in between ViCs and the city, though they have gradually accumulated wealth and social

WA N G ex-peasants from gaining their identity and social integration within ViCs. In this sense, the question remains: what can urban designers do in addition to calling for policy revision?

FIGURE 5 ANDONG LU | RESIDENTS EATING AT SNACK STANDS IN THE CORNER

FIGURE 6 ANDONG LU | RESIDENTS READING AT A “BOOK BAR” IN THE MARKET

networks. Some migrant workers become very wealthy and are able to import other workers from their hometowns in order to grow their own wealth within the village. However, even the great wealth these migrant workers have accumulated does not provide an exit from the substandard living conditions or social isolation within the ViCs. Moreover, they are still trapped in what is seen as an embarrassing identity: an outsider. In a survey of 60 ViCs, Zhigang Li and Fulong Wu (2014) found that this increase of social status did not bring power or “legal” identity to migrant workers because of the Hukou system. This indicates that the Hukou registration system plays a determinant role in impeding both migrant workers and indigenous

It is worth noting that although migrant workers are displaced in ViCs, their initial ambition was to seek a better life in cities. In this regard, ViCs are the transitional place that provides a platform for accumulating wealth and social connections. However, fully integrating with the urban environment is the ultimate goal for migrant workers. Thus, considering the three different scales of physical segregation, the separation between ViCs and the city plays the most significant role in hindering workers’ effective social relations.

In an attempt to overcome this segregation, migrant workers build constant linkages between the two spaces, and through their everyday commuting act as the primary agents connecting the city and ViCs (Andersson, 2012).

More importantly it is through this distinct way of relating themselves to both the city and village that they regain their social value and self-esteem, drawing on Breakwell’s model of identity (1996). Furthermore, although they tend to avoid informal activities at the scale of their neighborhood, they become more active in the “business street” (a place filled with small and informal businesses) and the “flower-bird market” (an informal market primarily selling various plants and pets). Both places are located on the fringes of ViCs and serve both the village and the city (Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10). Through these informal activities in shared spaces migrant workers develop interpersonal relationships with people from different locations, and their social networks are expanded further into the city, unrestricted by their ViC or workplace. This interaction

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helps foster a transitional moment when migrant workers can escape from the Hukou registration system. Thus, this interaction with the surrounding environment provides the potential for obtaining higher self-efficacy.

Hillier and Hanson (1988) believe that “…space can reassemble what society divides,” and spatial arrangements can promote social integration and encourage encounters between individuals from different social categories. For migrants, shared spaces help social networks diffuse across the boundaries of ViCs. In this respect, these types of transitional and shared spaces between the ViC and city are where migrant workers can develop attachment, and provide a platform for urban inclusion and social integration.

Thus, these transitional spaces shared by the village and the city should become the target for architectural interventions. However, most of the temporary architectural proposals which attempt to redevelop ViCs have failed to consider migrant workers, providing wellintentioned interventions that neither serve the migrant workers’ needs nor bolster their place attachment. For example, one intervention focused on developing a museum for workers, but left the problem of workers’ housing quality and security unaddressed (Meulder, Lin et al., 2014).

Past architectural interventions have also struggled because workers have varying attachment to different scales of place. For instance, within ViCs, the improvement of workers’ living conditions relies heavily on the adjustment of the Hukou registration system.

This system impedes physical fusion, making interventions less effective at the neighborhood scale. In this sense, when public facilities such

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as museums, schools, and community centers are adopted as architectural interventions to encourage spontaneous development of ViCs, location and method of the interventions become significant considerations.

C O NC L US I O N ViCs have come to a crossroads in recent years.

They face redevelopment concerning various issues, such as how to balance the interests of three parties: the indigenous villagers, the local government, and the private developers (Meulder, Lin et al., 2014). They also face the question of how to change the fragile physical environment while maintaining vital economic activities. However, few redevelopment proposals are targeted at the relocation of migrants, though they have gradually become the primary occupants of the ViCs. In this sense it seems an appropriate time to bring the migrant workers’ marginalized living situation to public attention – especially to those who are deciding the future of the ViCs. Integration of migrant workers into the city, which was their original intent when relocating from their agricultural villages, is reliant on place attachment. Development of this attachment cannot occur through the current spatial configuration of ViCs and the city.

Workers’ high-mobility lifestyles, combined with the physical separation between the ViC and the city, within neighborhoods in the ViCs, and even within individual residences, exacerbate their social isolation, which then further impedes place attachment.

Thus, the success of redeveloping ViCs relies heavily on their physical and social

WA N G connections to the surrounding urban sphere. As a transitional place for migrant workers, the nature of the ViC is dynamic and heterogeneous, which means an attempt to redevelop them with static interventions may fail. As this shift in urban development continues to occur in China, intentionally

considering spatial fusions as a new model for Chinese urban-rural emplacement can generate better social inclusion for migrant populations.

These interventions will be the hinges that save the ViCs while maintaining the heterogeneity of the city.

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Alive in the Rain | Hong Kong Michelle Bohrson, MUP 17