U UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date: I, , hereby submit this original work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in It is entitled: Student Signature: This work and its defense approved by: Committee Chair: Approval of the electronic document: I have reviewed the Thesis/Dissertation in its final electronic format and certify that it is an accurate copy of the document reviewed and approved by the committee. Committee Chair signature: Skywalks as Heritage: Exploring Alternatives for the Cincinnati Skywalk System A thesis submitted to Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF COMMUNITY PLANNING School of Planning College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning August 2009 By SILVIA GUGU Bachelor of Urban Design, Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urban Design, Bucharest Thesis Committee: Chair: MAHYAR AREFI, Ph. D. Faculty Member: FRANK RUSSELL, AIA. Abstract Skywalks are a unique typology of second level covered pedestrian networks linking parking and downtown destinations. They were implemented throughout North American cities to attract pedestrians and sustain retail in central business districts. The relative rarity of skywalk systems (Robertson 1994), their relevance to the particularities of American urban design history (Fruin 1971; Robertson 1994) and their position at the intersection of major concerns of the 20th century American city: traffic (Fruin 1971; Robertson 1994), downtown revitalization (Robertson 1994), and identity (McMorough 2001) provided the departure point for examining skywalks as 20th Century heritage. As the viability of skywalks is questioned, this paper employs a toolkit based on the theory and values of heritage preservation to evaluate skywalks as built heritage. The results are used to determine appropriate management solutions that utilize the significance of skywalks to take them into a new cycle of sustainability through re-use and preservation. i ii Table of Contents List of Figures and Tables v Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Purpose of the Study 1 1.2 Problem Statement 2 1.3 Research Questions 5 1.4 Document Roadmap 7 Chapter 2. Literature Review 10 2.1 What is Heritage? 10 2.2 Preservation of the Built Heritage 13 2.2.1 A Conceptual Definition 13 2.2.2 The Origins of Preservation 16 2.2.3 Historic Preservation in America 22 2.2.4 Preservation of the Recent Past 25 2.3 Values and Criteria for Evaluation of Built Heritage 29 2.4 Criteria for Evaluation of Skywalk Systems 32 Chapter 3. Methodology 40 3.1 Nature of the Study 41 3.2 Values and Criteria for Evaluation 41 3.3 Research of Thematic/Historic Context 42 3.4 Case Study 44 3.5 Data 48 3.6 Limitations 48 Chapter 4. Identification of Skywalks’ Areas of Significance and Precedents 50 4.1 Pedestrian Networks and Their Evolution 50 4.2 Skywalks and Downtown Revitalization 63 4.3 Precedents of the Skywalk Typology 67 4.3.1 Covered Bazaars 68 4.3.2 Shopping Arcades 71 4.3.3 Shopping Malls 76 4.4 Comparative Analysis 79 iii Chapter 5. The Case of the Cincinnati Skywalk 82 5.1 The Plans and Designs for the Cincinnati Skywalk System 83 5.2 Evaluations of the System’s Performance 91 5.3 Public Perception of the Cincinnati skywalk 97 5.4 Analysis and Findings 101 5.4.1 Historic-Informational Value 101 5.4.2 Symbolic Value 103 5.4.3 Use Value 104 5.4.4 Aesthetic Value 106 5.4.5 Social Value 109 Chapter 6. Conclusions and Recommendations 112 6.1 The Cincinnati Skywalk System in the Light of Heritage 112 6.2 Skywalks as Heritage 118 6.3 Recommendations for the Evaluation, Preservation and Reuse of Skywalks 120 References 123 Appendices 133 Appendix A The Cincinnati Skywalk Bridges 133 Appendix B Serial View: The Cincinnati Skywalk Experience 136 iv List of Figures and Tables Figures Figure 2.1 Is everything heritage? 11 Figure 2.2 Preservation’s scope and role expansion through time 21 Figure 2.3 Graphic showing the relationship of the invention of modern preservation to other modern inventions 21 Figure 2.4 Recurrent values in heritage preservation 32 Figure 3.1 Methodology flowchart 40 Figure 3.2 Thematic/Historic research and precedent analysis 43 Figure 4.1 Bazaar of Tabriz, Iran, founded 2nd millennium BC. 51 Figure 4.2 Trajan’s Market, Rome, built 107-110 51 Figure 4.3 Via Appia had dirt pathways for sidewalks, 312 B.C. 51 Figure 4.4 The purple lines indicate the Rows 52 Figure 4.5 Chester Rows around 1800 52 Figure 4.6 Grosvenor Shopping Centre served by second level walkways, Chester, UK 53 Figure 4.7 Second-level walkways, Chester, UK 53 Figure 4.8 Il Corridoio Vasariano 53 Figure 4.9 Route of Corridoio Vasariano 54 Figure 4.10 Corridoio Vasariano between Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi Galleries 54 Figure 4.11 Passage Choiseul, Paris 1829 55 Figure 4.12 Passage des Panoramas, Paris 1910 55 Figure 4.13 Crystal Palace, London 1951 56 Figure 4.14 Ebenezer Howard, Garden City. Grand Avenue, 1902, in Garden Cities of To-morrow 57 Figure 4.15 Lijnbaan, Rotterdam 1954 58 Figure 4.16 Louis I. Kahn’s sketch of Viaduct Architecture over the existing plan of central Philadelphia 59 Figure 4.17 Alison and Peter Smithson, with Peter Sigmond. Berlin Haupstadt, competition entry 1957-1958 59 Figure 4.18 Archigram, Plug-In City 59 Figure 4.19 Diagram showing types of pedestrian networks 68 Figure 4.20 Map of the Grand Bazaar, Istanbul 69 Figure 4.21 The old bazaar in Isfahan 69 Figure 4.22 Prayers in the bazaar 70 Figure 4.23 Nineteenth Century: With the Parisian arcade system, shopping becomes an urban network 73 Figure 4.24 The Vittorio Emmanuelle Gallery 75 Figure 4.25 Cleveland Arcade 75 Figure 4.26 The dumbbell versus the cluster: pedestrian circulation patterns within the malls 78 Figure 5.1 Proposed circulation plan, with pedestrian conveyors illustrated in red 84 Figure 5.2 Typical conveyor terminal 85 v Figure 5.3 Aerial view of Southdale Mall 87 Figure 5.4 Southdale Mall, interior, 1956 87 Figure 5.5 Map of the Minneapolis skywalk system 87 Figure 5.6 Minneapolis skywalk, interior 87 Figure 5.7 Plan of the skywalk system as projected for Cincinnati 2000 89 Figure 5.8 Cincinnatians say the skywalk should remain as is 97 Figure 5.9 Skywalk bridge concealing bland street view 107 Figure 5.10 View blocked by skywalk bridge and signage 107 Figure 6.1 Bridge between Carew Tower and Lazarus 114 Figure 6.2 View of the Ohio River from the skywalk over Vine Street 115 Figure 6.3 The Cincinnati skywalk as a place 116 Figure 6.4 Design aesthetic varies among skywalks: skywalk bridge in Detroit 120 Tables Table 2.1 Key authors discussed in the literature review 8 Table 3.1 Criteria for use value 46 Table 3.2 Criteria for aesthetic value 47 Table 4.1 List of cities with notable skywalk systems 66 Table 5.1 Evaluation of the Cincinnati skywalk system based on use criteria 103 Table 5.2 Evaluation of the Cincinnati skywalk system based on aesthetic criteria 106 vi Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose of the Study This project seeks to explore skywalks through the lens of built heritage, in the larger context of North American and world-wide history of pedestrian network design. The relative rarity and uniqueness of skywalk systems (Robertson 1994) as well as their relevance to the particularities of American urban design history (Fruin 1971; Robertson 1994) and to the local communities in which they occur provided the departure point for starting an investigation on the premise of heritage. There are no studies that discuss skywalks from a heritage perspective, and there is little literature on skywalks in general. Built heritage is part of the residents’ sense of place, the tangible manifestation of the identity of a place and a physical expression of the people’s cultural heritage (Schuster, de Monchaux and Riley 1997). Even though it is often taken for granted by the citizens, it is in the subconscious of people living there and provides a daily sense of belonging and security. The residents quickly notice any major change in their built environment. There are more and more studies in contemporary urban sociology that demonstrate that the role of the built environment and its collective representations play an important part in attempts to alter or maintain the physical form and spatial configuration of the built environment. It is also a well established fact that the preservation and integration of built heritage in local (re) development plans enhances the quality of a place and provides numerous benefits, from cultural and aesthetic, to social and economic (Schuster, de Monchaux and Riley 1997). Skywalks are the heritage of major transforming facets of the 20th century American city: traffic (Fruin 1971; Robertson 1994), downtown revitalization (Robertson 1994), and 1 identity (McMorough 2001). The complexity of their position should require more examination. A product of the Urban Renewal policies of the 1960’s and 1970’s (Robertson 1994), they are a typology unique to North American downtowns (Robertson 1994) designed to stimulate their growth, help them cope with the expanding car culture and respond to the trends created by sprawl and suburbia (Robertson 1994; Boddy 1992). Skywalks consist of second level pedestrian networks connecting parking structures with regional destinations downtown (shopping, conference centers, hotels, stadiums) and are meant to attract pedestrians and sustain retail in central business districts (Fruin 1971; Alexander 1974).