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The Mall As It Appears in the Suburbs Has Been Restricted from Reaching

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The Mall As It Appears in the Suburbs Has Been Restricted from Reaching UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ Stepping in Suburbia: Designing Pedestrian Spaces in Suburban Settings A thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE in the School of Architecture and Interior Design of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning in 2008 by Jay Thacker, B. S. Architecture, University of Cincinnati, 2004. Committee Chair: Jay Chatterjee 1 ABSTRACT Along with the rest of suburbia, the suburban commercial strip has been criticized for decades for its antagonism towards the pedestrian – towards walking as a way of coming or going somewhere. The buildings along suburban commercial strips are separated by terrain that is unfriendly to the pedestrian. Parking lots, driveways, wide avenues, perimeter fences, and even landscaping prevent pedestrian connectivity and comfort and therefore discourage individuals from walking rather than driving, even for short distances. What can be done to adapt these environments not just to accommodate pedestrian circulation, but to create a desirable pedestrian experience while still efficiently accommodating automobiles? What is being asked for is ‘good’ pedestrian spaces for suburban commercial districts. The solution to this problem involves pedestrian oriented space, its character, and its features and the composition of those features. Pedestrian spaces have been studied by many authors and architects, from Louis Mumford to Mark Childs. Increasing credence is being given to community design that seeks to restore the notion of walking as a realistic method of going places in the suburbs. What is proposed here is a thesis that draws from those studies a set of principles that will function as a guide for interventions in the suburban commercial strip. When implemented, these principles will result in good pedestrian spaces—spaces that are comfortable, beautiful, and enjoyable. The principles and the research from which they were drawn will be presented in this thesis document. They will then be put to use in a design project focused on the suburban commercial strip toward the end that its visitors will walk a little more, drive a little less, linger and even loiter, and experience a sense of place and of community. This study will be valuable to anyone who is interested in urban design in the suburbs or is concerned with and looking for solutions to the ravages of the automobile on the suburban commercial strip that have rendered it unsightly, uncomfortable, and plain unaccommodating to the pedestrian. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Illustrations Introduction PART i: SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT AND PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED DESIGN 1. Automobile Domination and the Importance of Pedestrian Environments … 7 A History of Suburban Development Early Suburbs Transit Suburbs Automobile and Sprawl Suburbs 2. Calls for change ………………………………………………………………………………. 11 3. Ingredients of a Pedestrian Environment …………………………………………… 14 Activity Automobile integration Context Experience Scale 4. Shopping Malls: Prime Locations for Intervention …………………………….... 28 5. Precedents: Examples of Pedestrian Oriented Environments ……………….. 31 6. Background Summary ……………………………………………………………………… 43 Part ii: Re-integrating the Pedestrian in Suburban Cincinnati 7. Colerain Township History ……………………………………………………………….. 45 Colerain Township History Northgate Mall History Demographics 8. Redevelopment of Northgate Mall …………………………………………………….. 50 Bibliography ……….…………………………….…………………………….……………………………….. 55 3 LIST OF FIGURES 01 Bond Hill plat map………………………………………………………… 10 Online image. Simpletone.com. July 23, 2006. <http://www.phobos.simpletone.com/planning/bondhill>. 02 Levitown……………………………………………………………………… 10 03 Street change over time ………………………………………………. 11 Adapted from “Redhilla” and “Redhillb”. Online image. 1906, unknown. Streets before cars. July 23, 2006. <http://www.zing.icom43.net/streets/redhill.html>. 04 Automobile effects on architecture ……………………………….. 12 “garage-and-bballhoop”. Online image. Date unknown. Architecture of Community. St. Olaf College. July 23, 2006. < http://www.stolaf.edu/courses/2003sem2/Environmental_Studies/399/Projects/Greller_Pr oject/shift_in_focus.html>. 05 Machine oriented neighborhoods ………………………………….. 13 Kelbaugh, 59. 06 Pedestrian oriented neighborhoods ………………………………. 13 Kelbaugh, 189. 07 Joggers ……………………………………………………………………… 17 “jogging”. Online image. Date unknown. Cancer Active. July 23, 2006. <http://www.canceractive.com/page.php?n=480>. 08 Chess players ……………………………………………………………… 17 “u1010021”. Online image. Date unknown. Oddtodd. July, 23 2006. <http://www.oddtodd.com/message311.html>. 09 Sidewalk café ………………………………………………………………… 18 “café%20brioche”. Online image. Date unknown. Haakon Ringber’s Restaurant Reviews. July 30, 2006. <http://www. cs.princeton.edu/~hlarsen/restaurants/>. 10 Parking lot arrangement …………………………………………………. 19 “07_05_0001”. Online image. Date unknown. U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. July 22, 2006. <http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/univcourse/swless07.htm>. 11 Pedestrian passage to parking…………………………………………. 19 “havwlk”. Online image. Unknown date. Lincoln.ne.gov. July 22, 2006. <http://lincoln.ne.gov/City/urban/projects/comdev/havelock.htm>. 12 Pedestrianized parking lot ……………………………………………… 20 “17_25_020d”. Online image. Date unknown. Mason County, Washington. July 22, 2006. <http://www.co.mason.wa.us/code/commissioners/_DATA/TITLE17/Chapter_17_25_PED ESTRIAN_ACCESS_AN/17_25_020_Standards_.html>. 13 Pedestrianized parking lot ……………………………………………… 20 Untitled. Online image. Date unknown. Alexmaclean.com. July 22, 2006. <http://www.alexmaclean.com/portfolio3/ls6892-11.html>. 14 Community event ………………………………………………………….. 22 4 Bohl, 261. 15 Gateway element ………………………………………………………….. 23 Childs, 148. 16 Architectural ornament ………………………………………………….. 23 Bohl, 280. 17 Pavement detail ……………………………………………………………. 24 Childs, 140. 18 Spatial diagram …………………………………………………………….. 24 By Author. 19 Movable seating ……………………………………………………………. 25 “Feature0001_16”. Online image. Date unknown. Archnewsnow. August 6, 2006. <http://www.archnewsnow.com/features/Feature1.htm>. 20 Shaded seating …………………………………………………………….. 25 Bohl, 13. 21 Before and after pedestrianization ………………………………….. 28 Untermann, 149. 22 Lifestyle center …………………………………………………………….. 30 Image source unknown. 23 Ramblas ………………………………………………………………………. 33 “lasramblas9_xlarge”. Online image. Date unknown. Project for Public Spaces. January 13, 2006. <http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_id=59#>. 24 Ramblas ………………………………………………………………………. 33 “barcelona_la_rambla_fk_km_2003_03_xlarge”. Online image. Date unknown. Project for Public Spaces. January 13, 2006. <http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_id=59#>. 25 Ramblas ………………………………………………………………………. 34 “lasramblas_xlarge”. Online image. Date unknown. Project for Public Spaces. January 13, 2006. <http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_id=59#>. 26 Princess Street …………………………………………………………….. 35 “Scott’s Monument down Princess Street”. Online image. flickr.com. October 3, 2006. <http://flickr.com/photos/bandanamom/123778333/>. 27 Princess Street …………………………………………………………….. 35 “West Princess Street gardens”. Online image. Date unknown. flickr.com. October 3, 2006. <http://flickr.com/photos/tgr/239986342/>. 28 Princess Street …………………………………………………………….. 36 Jacobs, Allen B., 196. 29 Pearl Street Mall ………………………………………………………….. 38 Untitled. Online image. Date unknown. Tok2.com. May 3, 2006. <http://www56.tok2.com/home/colorado/scene/boulder/images/Boulder_>. 30 Pearl Street Mall ………………………………………………………….. 39 “Kidsplayinginwater780”. Online image. Date unknown. Pbase.com. May 3, 2006. <http://k41.pbase.com/u29/tomc/upload/17909456.Kidsplayinginwater780.jpg>. 31 Burlington Arcade ………………………………………………………… 41 5 “Piccadilly_1106160612”. Online image. Date unknown. Picturesoflegend.com. May 2, 2006. <http://www.picturesofengland.com/pictures/250/Piccadilly_1106160612.jpg>. 32 Burlington Arcade ………………………………………………………… 41 Untitled. Online image. Date unknown. Source unknown. May 4, 2006. 33 Arcade ………………………………………………………………………… 42 Untitled. Online image. Date unknown. Source unknown. May 4, 2006. <http://www.carfree.com/cpix/arcade.html>. 34 Arcade ………………………………………………………………………… 42 Untitled. Online image. Date unknown. Source unknown. May 4, 2006. 35 Hamilton County ………………………………………………………….. 47 Adapted from “Map 3”. Online image. Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission. February 8, 2008. <http://www.hamiltoncountyohio.gov/hcrpc/data_products/map_shop.asp>. 36 Fort Coleraine ………………………………………………………………. 48 Wells, cover page. 37 Historic photo of Colerain and Galbraith intersection ……….. 48 Wells, 21. 38 Historic photo of building in Colerain Township ………………. 48 Wells, 20. 39 Southwestern Ohio counties …………………………………………… 51 Adapted from “Ohio_map”. Online image. Date unknown. Census.gov. June 5, 2008. <http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/ohio_map.html>. 40 Existing site plan …………………………………………………………… 52 By Author. 41 Important site connections …………………………………………….
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