EYES ON OUR LANDSCAPES: Measuring Gentrifying Physical Features of Post-Industrial Landscape Architecture Projects An Honors Thesis by Alec Stolz Defense Committee: Dr. Jota Samper, Environmental Design, Primary Advisor Dr. Jerry Jacka, Anthropology, Secondary Advisor Danielle Bilot, Environmental Design, Honors Council Advisor Special Thanks: Claire Martin, Computer Science Environmental Design 2019 – 2020 April 13, 2020 I dedicate this honors thesis to my home city of Denver. Growing up in the city, I witnessed first-hand the detrimental effects of gentrification and neoliberal development practices. I spent the majority of my adolescence skating the streets of downtown Denver (2010- 2016). In that short period, I was amazed by all the new buildings and urban improvements. So much change was happening so quickly. The change that struck me the most was the faces. I was used to seeing faces of every age, race, and culture, and merely a few years later those faces were replaced by young, white, upper-middle-class faces. The faces I had grown up with were gone, and I now feel like a stranger in my own home. One thing I believe in, which most contemporary landscape architects believe in as well, is that diversity is key to a resilient and healthy design. I wholeheartedly believe this applies to many things beyond landscape architecture. I believe preventing gentrification is one way to preserve diversity, foster community, and to maintain resiliency and sustainability within our cities. Cover: “Duisburg,Industrial Park,Industry,Landscape Park,Ruhr Area - Free Image from Needpix.Com.” n.d. Accessed January 31, 2020. https://www.needpix. com/photo/974068/duisburg-industrial-park-industry-landscape-park-ruhr-area-factory-heavy-industry-blast-furnace-steel. I want to thank my parents for believing in me and raising me to think critically and independently. I will forever be grateful for that and believe that it gave me the confidence to take on an honors thesis in the first place. I want to thank Jota Samper, for being the best thesis advisor I could’ve hoped for. He’s seen me at my worst (don’t drink the Milo!), and he’s seen me at my best, he knows what I am capable of and inspires me to aim high even if I am feeling low. There were many times where it was difficult to continue while working on this thesis. Still, I would never be able to forgive myself if I let Jota down, which inspired me to keep going above and beyond what I thought I was capable of. I also want to thank Danielle Bilot, I would not have even done an honors thesis if it wasn’t for her. One year ago, she pushed me way beyond my comfort zone and capabilities to complete an independent study on how equity appears in the built environment in Boulder, CO, and Medellín, Colombia. That project was an awesome experience and taught me the self-discipline and determination needed to complete an honors thesis. Even beyond that, she has been an inspiring mentor to go to for help with anything, someone to share memes with, or to talk about hiking or potatoes with. 0ABSTRACT 1. ABSTRACT The United States currently exists as a post-industrial society in which ancient infrastructure such as factories and railroads deteriorate as relics from an earlier era. These structures are considered ecologically unsafe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which has labeled them as “brownfields”: areas in which “expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant” (US EPA 2014). Contemporary landscape architecture projects allow for clean up or revitalization of these brownfield sites and create attractive, usable spaces for surrounding communities. However, these projects tend to initiate gentrification of adjacent low-income neighborhoods by attracting more affluent populations. Scholars have studied this phenomenon and have dubbed the process as ‘environmental gentrification.’ Most studies attribute social, political, and economic means as the cause; however, little research has been conducted on the role of how physical features of landscape architecture serve to perpetuate gentrification. In the same way landscape architects versed in theory understand what physical features help to define a safe or dangerous streetscape, it is also important to identify what physical features define a gentrifying landscape project to maintain a city’s sustainability. The methods described in this study involve comparing quantities of features in multiple cases against each other and analyzing individual features by AI testing photos collected from a social media network. The most outstanding findings from this study are that non-gentrifying landscape architecture projects contain significantly more designated recreation features than gentrifying ones; and that gentrifying landscape architecture projects often have unprecedented features in them, features intended to create a unique experience for users. The study also confirmed that the distance of a project from its city’s center directly indicates how it will contribute to gentrification. From these conclusions, landscape architects can begin to make predictions about how their designs will impact surrounding communities, depending on the features presented and the project’s location. 1. (left) Clemoes, Charlie. 2019. “Gentrification and the AIDS Epidemic.” Topos (blog). March 7, 2019. https://www.toposmagazine.com/gentrification- schulman/. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT................................................................................................................ 5 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 10 The Post-Industrial Landscape............................................................................ 11 The Post-Industrial Landscape as a Driver of Gentrification..................................... 12 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................. 14 Terrain Vague.................................................................................................. 15 Definitions of Gentrification............................................................................... 16 Environmental Gentrification Research................................................................. 18 Filling in the Gaps of Research............................................................................ 22 METHODOLOGY........................................................................................................ 24 Introduction.................................................................................................... 25 Case Selection................................................................................................. 26 Feature Collection............................................................................................ 28 Comparative Case Analysis................................................................................ 30 Social Media Analysis........................................................................................ 31 DATA COLLECTION..................................................................................................... 38 Introduction.................................................................................................... 39 Case Selection................................................................................................. 39 Case Studies................................................................................................... 42 Social Media Analysis Results............................................................................. 58 DISCUSSIONS & CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................. 60 Comparative Case Analysis Findings.................................................................... 61 Proposing AI Testing as a Method....................................................................... 65 Distance to City Center Gentrification Scale......................................................... 66 Policy Implications............................................................................................ 67 Conclusions.................................................................................................... 67 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 69 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................ 75 Appendix A: The Highline Hashtags..................................................................... 75 Appendix B: The Rail Park Hashtags..................................................................... 81 Appendix C: Domino Park Hashtags..................................................................... 85 Appendix D: AI Image Testing Results................................................................. 95 TABLE OF FIGURES Fig. 1 Ian Mcharg & Environmental Systems................................................................... 12 Fig. 2 Systems Thinking............................................................................................. 13 Fig. 3 Drosscape Diagram.......................................................................................... 15 Fig. 4 Prospect Park & LA River Revitalization................................................................