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[urbanexcursion]

Final presentation after critique

https://mailuc-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/r/personal/fox2er_mail_uc_edu/Documents/SPRING2024/UNDERSTANDING%20THE%20URBAN%20ENVIRONMENT/finalproject.pptx?d=w0109a6a6927747529468ec36df6b6bbb&csf=1&web=1&e=GdleyR

[urbanexcursion]

Final project

https://mailuc-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/fox2er_mail_uc_edu/EaamCQF3klJHlGjsNt9ra7sBw-ZQwuRpbdx3Cug_fzI2qg

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Can future housing in Cincinnati incorporate any of these elements? Find an example from elsewhere that could be applied in Cincinnati.

Adaptive reuse, Modular design, Pre-fab, Green Technology

Any city can benefit from adding these elements and Cincinnati has already implemented some across downtown, but theres multiple ways it could be better. The two Cincinnati could benefit from most would have to be Green Technology and Adaptive reuse.

Cincinnati's housing could become more visually appealing and better in general for the city by adding bio swales and permeable pavement. These both can help with water management to prevent flooding, and bio swales also would add lots of greens to the city helping it look like a better place to live. Something else that could definitely help would improving our transportation. We could expand our bike share system and make metro busses electric to keep less cars off the street so there's less pollution and more ability for people to walk and ride bikes,

Adaptive reuse is a crucial thing that Cincinnati needs and would make downtown much more appealing to those who live there already and visitors. Cincinnati has a lot of vacant buildings and vacant space, especially office buildings that shut down from COVID-19. These buildings could easily be flipped into more afforable housing.

AT&T Discovery District. Dallas, TX.

Above is Dallas's AT&T Discovery District right in downtown Dallas, Texas. Visitors can walk inside the installation to experience arrangements of light and sound that fuse art and technology. Theres restaurants, bars, stores, and housing within walking distance. Besides all this, what makes this a great example is how sustainable it is. The district is completely powered by wind energy and integrates a smart irrigation and rainwater collection system. The sidewalks are also wider to encourage walking, and there's on-site recycling all around.

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The Future BRT stop in Cincinnati

Our future BRT stop is in neighborhood of Corryville, which is just off of the campus of University of Cincinnati. The area has different options of food, shops, companies etc as you can see in the picture. The neighborhood joined the area of cincinnati in 1870 after the area got annexed. The neighborhood area was named after William Corry who was an early mayor within Cincinnati. Another big thing within the neighborhood are different hospitals and the University of Cincinnati medical campus. There are 3,327 residents currently within the neighborhood. Their neighorbood colors are red white and black. Red for the university of cincinnati black for the strong community and white to show long and clear sightlines. Seen in the photos are seen a mixed used are with restaurant with campus living on top levels of the building. Also seen university of cincinnati medical building and then third photo is more commercial mixed with also more living areas.

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What are the barriers to TOD in America, and how can cities overcome this issue? Support your view with a successful example of TOD (in or outside the U.S.)

I think their are a couple common barriers to TOD in the US. For one Nimbyism has caused a lot of communities to be apprehensive of multi unit housing surrounding housing. In addition, many transit stations are surrounded by dense parking lots which leave no room for new TOD. As an example I would look to the Washington DC area. Many of the older metro stations in the suburbs have expansive parking lots that often limit the development that can be built around stations.

However, other sections have helped facilitate intentional and incredible TOD. The most successful of which is Rosslyn/Arlington Corridor just across the Potomac in VA. The Orange line running underneath the corridor has transformed the area into a dense, walkable, extension of the city that it sits across from with some of the tallest buildings in the area. In addition many of the stations along the corridor are some of the busiest on the network.

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What are possible ways of alleviating food insecurity in Cincinnati (including UC campus)?

Ways to get away from food insecurities are by adding more options for food, more stores, etc . I think within campus there needs to be more of a variety of food to let there be more options for the students. Having the same type of food makes for people to get tired of the limited options. If there were more options for the people to chose from makes for easier better eating. Having the same options of food at every dining haul isn't ideal for the student.

In addition, I think that the city needs more grocery stores. The city should put restrictions on dollar stores and give tax breaks to grocery stores, allowing them to expand to current food deserts. In addition, there should be increased food subsidies for healthy food, encouraging people to make healthy decisions and once again creating more demand for grocery stores.

Something else UC's campus could do to alleviate food insecurity is by adding more dining location options. More specifically, adding a dining location on the main floor of every residence halls. Whether this be a full dining hall or a small to go restaurant like cincy grill. This will make accessing dining halls for students a lot easier and more convenient. Depending on where you live on campus and what time of day, someone could have to walk half way across campus just to eat. This will help alleviate the stress and inconvenience students face when figuring out where they are going to eat.

Another important part of ending Cincinnati's food deserts could be regulations which encourage small local grocers with minimal parking in the more compact urban neighborhoods. These smaller stores could receive subsidies from local government and would make more economic sense in these lower-income, lower-population neighborhoods than behemoth supermarkets like Kroger which must rely on larger groups of customers, requiring people driving to their stores, to offset their operating costs.

Adding all these options not only has for more choices but also chances to eat healthier and more areas where you can shop for stores.

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What types of regional and local transport does Cincinnati need more in the future? Explain why?

Cincinnati already has some sort of transportation already including streetcar, metro buses, bell connector, and bike share. Already having makes it for needed improvements of what we have and more developed transportation.

Streetcars are a smart idea but has needed improvements within itself, causes congestion within the street, need more routes to change away from limited access of getting around, the ability to go up and down hills, a bike rack to hold itself.

The main fixture of an improved Cincinnati public transit system would be BRT, or Bus Rapid Transit. BRT is a sort of hybrid between regular buses and streetcars, running on regular pneumatic tires but with designated lanes to avoid traffic. Unlike streetcars, buses can change lanes and so are more versatile. BRT lines could function as the backbone of our transportation system, taking passengers from Cincinnati's core up and out of the basin along the main drags, including Glenway, Hamilton, Vine, Reading, and Montgomery Rd's. where they could connect with slower regular bus routes. Luckily, plans for some of these routes are already in the works.

Something that would really benefit Cincinnati, and other places in Ohio would be high speed rail. The route could run from Cincinnati, passing through Dayton, Columbus, Akron, and end in Cleveland. High speed rail would allow individuals to travel across Ohio quickly without needing a car. Specifically for Cincinnati, it would be an easy way for residents to travel for business or pleasure rapidly saving important time. This will also alleviate congestion on highways along this route, making shorter trips on these highways quicker.

Cincinnati already has a small, local bike share system with different stations that have multiple bikes you can either buy out for a day or for a couple hours. Bike shares help make the city more accessible and provides healthier, more active transport to reduced traffic congestion, less air pollution and more ways for people to get to and from mass transit hubs. The only problem is we need a bit more of accessible bike lanes closer to downtown, but there's a lack of space due to the streetcar in the more crowded areas, and even this past year ridership has gone down to where they have had to shut it down for a few months.

Cincinnati should also build a regional rail system that connects suburbs to suburbs as well as to the inner city. This could be constructed cheaply as regional rail lines do not need extensive grade separation and can run reasonably infrequently. Extensive Suburb to Suburb rail transit could allow for those that live outside the dense parts of the city to live a car-optional lifestyle as well as reducing congestion on roadways throughout the city.

Overall, Cincinnati could benefit from a number of transportation systems including a streetcar, regional rail system, high speed rail, and bike lanes. Increasing transportation options throughout the city would decrease pollution and traffic.

Question:

What do you think the most useful transportation? Why?

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Ideal Block Size and Density

The best density for cities today is blocks with detached homes and alleys to give space for recreation and greenery, but with no setbacks and multiple story's for walkability and density.

View of York St. in the West End shown above

For an example of our ideal block size and density is in the West End, the block of Linn, York, Baymiller, and Dayton, composed of mostly single-family row houses with small backyards facing an alley. The block is approximately 4.18 acres, composed of 40 units. This means the block has a FAR of 9.57.

This density is a happy medium between high-rises and un-walkable suburban communities. It gives more options to its residents, letting them choose to walk, bike, take public transport, or drive. And it gives homes for people to live in non-traditional configurations like duplexes or triplexes while still leaving room for nuclear families thanks to the detached nature of the houses, while still maintaining a human scale.

The alleys provide an open, yet private, green space which can allow members of the block to congregate and socialize, without the worries of high volume vehicle traffic. It also gives pedestrians a path which is in the human scale. Residents can hold barbeques, plant trees, or bounce on trampolines in these open spaces.

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Blog Question #3

Cincinnati seems to have a decent amount of open public plaza space throughout the city. One place my group found was in College Hill at the North end of the city. Patrick's Park, however a small area, is a perfect little getaway in the commercial district of College Hill. It is a small green space with an amphitheater, surrounded by a path and picnic tables.

With the park being located in the business district of College Hill, it is close proximity to multiple restaurants and even a couple brewery's. In the summer, this draws people to the outdoors to interact with each other and enjoy a public open space. With College Hill having such a small business district and being extremely close to the residential neighborhoods, it allows individuals the opportunity to simply walk to Patrick's Park instead of driving.

These photos show how Patrick's Park in College Hill can be used for public gatherings hosted outside by the community when the weather is appropriate.

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Blog question #2

Paris and Chicago are both major cities that have a great design plans and really understand the principles of what makes a city walkable. These cities’ urban cores were transformed with pockets of green space, more communal areas, boulevards to provide direct travel, and mixed-use buildings, to create a harmony of urban life. From these city’s renewals, Cincinnati can learn from and emulate these elements into their city, to strengthen its urban fabric and be a more inviting place for people to live.

There are many aspects of Paris that Cincinnati could implement to improve itself. Paris's plan was transformational in many ways but one of the main things it accomplished was the construction of urban boulevards, these roads allow for the flow of many people and or cars while also not becoming a huge barrier in a city. Cincinnati could build more boulevards to replace its overbuilt highway system or as an alternative to new highway construction. Cincinnati should strive to create more mixed income housing. Mixed income housing allows for people of all classes to live together in one neighborhood providing the best amenities for society's less fortunate while also keeping crime rates very low. If Cincinnati were to implement these aspects of Paris's plan it would change the city for the better.

Cincinnati can also find inspiration from the success of the Plan of Chicago. A vital part of Chicago was the implementation of a connected park system surrounding the city. This was because the city had a rapidly growing population and David Burnham, the creator of the Plan of Chicago, anticipated a rapid expansion of the city. Pictured below is a map of the parks acquired for the Plan of Chicago. Another aspect of the Plan of Chicago that made it so successful was that the plan was a list of specific public improvements, rather than vague, lofty ideas. This way, it was easier to explain what was going to happen, and why it should happen. Formatting the plan this way made it significantly more palatable for the general public and increased support for it as people understood why it was happening. Cincinnati should emulate this same formatting as they go about revitalizing and improving the city. It is never a bad idea to ensure public support and understanding of changes that will impact people’s lives.

Similar to Paris, Cincinnati has had a push for increasing mixed-use development; this is especially seen in the Over the Rhine (OTR) area. OTR has a great story of neighborhood revitalization. The addition of Findlay Market and the main strip along Vine St., which is home to many small shops and restaurants with family housing complexes above, are some of the examples of additions to the neighborhood to help revitalize it. In conclusion, Cincinnati is making a great effort to emulate some of the lessons from both the Chicago plan and the renovation of Paris.

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blog question 1

Our "ideal" city would be walkable with good public transportation, clean area, kept up area with good things around like commercial stuff, entertainment, etc. Having all these things within the city makes it very useful for the people living within the area. Similar the the garden city concept the city should have lots of well kept easily accessible green space. Green space is really important within an area which brings in different useful ways to help the city look and work better. The city should not be inhumane and overbearing in scale like Le Corbusier's tower cities.

Comparing these different types of using the land area are both seen in the world. Normally the tall city building look (Le Corbusier's towers) are seen more of work areas while garden cities are more of the housing area look, due to the welcoming clean look.

This neighborhood which is in Augusta, Georgia has a wide variety of needed things within an area. The area is a very mixed use of the area which makes it a lot easier and planned out to everyone needs.