A Case Study of Knoxville, TN: 1884—1950
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-2015 Four Dimensional Approach to Center City Transformation: A case study of Knoxville, TN: 1884—1950 Joseph Ryan Roberts University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Geographic Information Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Roberts, Joseph Ryan, "Four Dimensional Approach to Center City Transformation: A case study of Knoxville, TN: 1884—1950. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2015. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/3505 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Joseph Ryan Roberts entitled "Four Dimensional Approach to Center City Transformation: A case study of Knoxville, TN: 1884—1950." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Geography. Nicholas Nagle, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Ronald Foresta, Derek Alderman, Robert Washington-Allen Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Four Dimensional Approach to Center City Transformation: A case study of Knoxville, TN: 1884—1950 A Thesis Presented for the Master of Science Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Joseph Ryan Roberts August 2015 COPYRIGHT © 2014 by Joseph Roberts All Rights Reserved. ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my mother, father, and grandmother. Without you love and guidance, I wouldn’t be the man I am today iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express sincere thanks Dr. Nicholas Nagle and Dr. Ronald Foresta. I am extremely thankful to them for sharing their expertise and for extending their sincere and valuable guidance and encouragement to me. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Dr. Robert Washington-Allen and Dr. Derek Alderman for all of their help, support, and ideas. Thanks to my family and friends, who have supported all of my academic endeavors, even when I was stressed and doubtful. Lastly, I would like to thank the Department of Geography of the University of Tennessee- Knoxville for all of the experiences and opportunities that I have been presented within these two years. Special thanks goes to my cohort for all of the support and motivation to finish. iv ABSTRACT Urban morphological models were created to enhance our understanding of urban growth and form. Prior to Geographical Information Systems (GIS), these models were supplementary products of ideas and concepts that set out to explain the spatial configuration of the urban landscape. While these models are of great importance to the field, they are mostly two-dimensional (2D) and static. Three-dimensional (3D) modeling has strengths in landscape visualization, manipulation, and planning, where analyses of historical urban landscapes may be carried out efficiently and thoroughly. A method that utilizes 3D modeling through time or four-dimensional (4D) modeling will enhance our understanding of transformation of a city’s center. Consequently, the primary objective of this study is to demonstrate how 4d modeling may enhance our understanding of the changes in urban structure and form, i.e., morphology, of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1884 to 1950. This period from 1884 to 1950 captures Knoxville’s early metropolitan era, in which technological innovations such as the steel frame building and the automobile arrived, dramatically influencing Knoxville’s urban landscape. A time series of five Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps from between 1884 to 1950 of Knoxville’s central business district (CBD) were digitized into five 3D models. Through the results and discussion of this thesis, I found that the general forces that influence center city transformation in most American cites between 1884 and 1950 are definitely prevalent in Knoxville’s urban morphological story. With this in mind, it is safe to assume that this method could be utilized for observing the vertical change of all American CBD’s. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................. 5 2.1 Shaping and Modeling of the American CBD ...................................................................................... 5 High Land Values ....................................................................................................................... 5 Transportation .........................................................................................................................11 2.2 Solutions to the Shortcomings of Urban Morphologic models ........................................................ 17 Static Nature ............................................................................................................................17 Two Dimensional......................................................................................................................18 CHAPTER 3: GIS RECONSTRUCTION OF KNOXVILLE ................................................................... 21 3.1 Sanborn Maps ................................................................................................................................... 21 Map Processing ........................................................................................................................24 3.2 Data Creation .................................................................................................................................... 25 Building Footprint ....................................................................................................................25 Land Use Map ..........................................................................................................................26 3.3 Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 28 Volumetric Analysis ..................................................................................................................29 Land Area Analysis ...................................................................................................................31 Description of Land Use Pattern ...............................................................................................32 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ............................................................................................................. 34 4.1 Time Series 3D Models ...................................................................................................................... 34 4.2 Volumetric Growth ........................................................................................................................... 36 4.3 Land Use Area ................................................................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................... 45 5.1 Knoxville’s Economic Boom .............................................................................................................. 45 5.2 Knoxville’s Age of Expansion: 1890 & 1903 ...................................................................................... 46 5.3 Knoxville’s Vertical Expansion: 1924 ................................................................................................. 50 5.4 Decentralization: 1950 ...................................................................................................................... 53 CHAPTER 6: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION .............................................................................. 57 6.1 Future Research ................................................................................................................................ 58 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 60 vi VITA .................................................................................................................................... 63 vii LIST OF TABLES Table: 4.1: Table displaying the per annual growth rate between the Sanborn years……………………….….37 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: William Alonso’s Bid Rent Curve Theory……………………………………………………….…………...7 Figure 2.2: Vance and Murphy's Core Frame Model ...................................................................... 8 Figure 2.3: Homer Hoyt Sectorial Land Use model ....................................................................... 13 Figure 2.4: Ullman and Harris Land Use Model ............................................................................ 16 Figure 3.1: Sanborn Map Sheet…………………………………………………………………………………………….…..23