just a reminder to myself:
Elevator Pitch: Take the Cleveland neighborhood of Kinsman, a site that has been dramatically cleared because of foreclosures after shrinking populations and renew a sense of place and a sense of community on multiple scales.
kins·man : relative; specifically : a male relative
Today, my brother brought up the interesting parallel between the problems my site is facing, loss of community interest, loss of population, really, a loss of neighbors and care for the neighborhood, and the neighborhoods name itself: Kinsman.
to move forward after the charrette, i am zooming in to a slice of my site and cataloging existing built structure, natural elements and infrastructure; possible program elements; and possible implementation strategies.
282 acres would have been pretttttttty big to catalog after all.
cha·rette noun \ shəˈret\: an intense effort made by architectural students to complete their solutions to a given architectural problem in an allotted time or the period in which such an effort is made
for last weeks design charrette, i presented two scenarios for the site along with some basic analysis. the idea was to illustrate the dramatic change in site conditions through loss of population and then built structure, that led to the current vacant and forgotten landscape in the Kinsman neighborhood.
the two design scenarios suggest improved economic, social and physical conditions in the neighborhood over time with both small and large interventions.
scenario 1: Scrap metal and an industrial heritage create new opportunities and an identity for the Kinsman neighborhood and its residents.
this diagram was used to portray site feeling and physical changes that will happen overtime
-Cleveland Institute of Art & Cleveland School of the Arts use existing warehouse buildings for large scale piece manufacturing
-Scrap yards surrounding site support material needs of classes
-Recycling yard is added to the site to “organize” materials as well as create jobs for the community
-Said recycling yard should create power in some way
-”Park” area next to site becomes display space for sculpture and improved public green
-Bridges into site become neighborhood signifiers by being amended with scrap metal and artistic talent of students working in the area
-Storage and collection of scrap metal creates space in interesting ways
-both pedestrian and train traffic experience improved by sculpture or metal goods
-parcel sizes decide on program elements for different parts of site
-identity elements on bridges change as students involved go through the program
this diagram was used to portray site feeling and physical changes that will happen overtime
scenario 2: An urban forest of high quality native species takes over the void left after population loss while creating regional ecosystem benefits.
-This will suggest to the city, and surrounding areas, plants that can be used and left basically untouched, that will resist looking like the scrub plants left in the current landscape.
-Create a native seed bank and street tree “grove” for the county.
-Infrastructure is consolidated and residential units (11) from the interior are removed, while the adjacent residential area is improved.
-Rapid Transit stops become “forest” stops with land bridge atmosphere attributed, to remove the “dark corner” feeling created by entering the site under crumbling bridge structures
-Stormwater pipes under site can be day lit in forested areas and improved to be areas of retention and treatment (some of Cleveland’s largest and oldest sewer pipes lay under this site)
-….must research the contamination on site more, as i assume there is quite a bit, the “park” that was created next to the in-tact public housing unit south of the site was created on a landfill in 1952, and this was previously a heavily industrial area because of the rails
-Existing buildings (only 4 warehouses) become urban nature education centers and/or a magnet school based around agriculture (which is, supposedly, a growing trend in the Cleveland area)
during a capstone meeting today i was reminded of a goal i had when applying to schools: don't forget WHY i wanted to get my masters in landscape architecture in the first place. well, its quite interesting to look back at my original statement of purpose that was a piece of my graduate school applications. this final capstone projects scope feels like kismet.
the full version:
When I look at my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, and beyond, I see the widespread dilemma across our nation; suburban sprawl and the strain it puts on urban city centers. I see potential. I see solutions that lie at community leaders’ fingertips. Landscape Architecture is the tool I hope to use to become a part of that solution. My long-term objective is to be recognized as a landscape architect who has created urban landscape designs that have transformed a community. Through such training I plan to turn the potential I see into the reality of the revitalization of urban environments.
When I realized there is a career path focused around using nature to make our cities better, I felt energized and empowered. Our job as a generation and as a culture is to think about how to make our cities better. How to overcome decay and neglect of our once great civic centers, to focus on restoring the remaining strong bones others may see as beyond repair before disinterest and economic despair dissolves what chance our cities have left. While researching ways to make my dream a reality, I found great passion for making cities more beautiful, for redefining what is good and beneficial to a city, for place-making rather than building for the sake of building. I understand how important it is to build from the community, out. To see ones place as your own, and understand how it works as a living, breathing organism.
Coming from a background of Journalism, I see the story behind a community. I look at what they need, the missing pieces highlighted through their struggles, and use that to find solutions to give that story a “happy ending.” I love seeing the change in a community with a simple addition of a park, or restoration of a community center. I do not want to use my journalism skills to write about a community changing, I want to grow on those skills and use my passions to physically change that community and let the story tell itself by means of a new attitude, new businesses, new jobs and new successes for that community’s residents.
I live my life trying to make each place I call home better than how I found it, and hopefully help one more person understand how to live less negatively in their environment. Presently I try to make a difference by volunteering with the Cleveland Metroparks and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Volunteering at the Metroparks has allowed me to get involved in a place that shaped who I am today and the way I feel about my surroundings. I currently work the most with a group nicknamed “IGO,” or the Institute of the Great Outdoors. I strongly believe in the groups mission which is “to provide recreational experiences and educational classes that connect people with nature.” We need as a culture to not lose the ability to have a connection with nature, and volunteering for IGO is a step I can take to make sure that connection stays strong. Volunteering at the Natural History Museum has allowed me to look back at what came before and understand how we live today better by understanding the past.
Through my passion, skills and desire to make a difference combined with an education in Landscape Architecture I will be able to make a difference in the urban centers of today and tomorrow. Urban sustainability, the architecture of cities, restoration of buildings and the addition and improvement of greenspaces is what excites me.
Many personal experiences of mine have reinforced in me the importance of green space in human lives. I have been gardening both for nourishment and decoration since I was a child. Successfully researching plant characteristics and choosing correct species for every location, then watching them thrive, is one of the most satisfying events that I have had the pleasure of experiencing. Landscape architecture used innovatively in an urban environment can bring that to people, young and old, who may not normally have gotten that chance. My gardens not only gave me a place that was my own responsibility to care for, but also a beautiful subject for another passion of mine, photography. Looking through my extensive portfolio of photography from throughout the years, an obvious theme appears. My love for the natural landscape is apparent as my favorite subject. I look forward to applying my art training and experience in landscape photography to the profession of landscape architecture. The spatial skills I have gained and strengthened through my photography and personal landscaping will provide a firm foundation to designing smart outdoor space. My knowledge and interest in plant husbandry will work in-sync with my spatial skills to give me the base I need to grow into a successful landscape architecture professional. I want to work to find new and creative ways to bring natural sustainable elements into areas where it no longer exists or has been so negatively impacted that nature struggles to survive. Sustainability isn’t just a word, it is a life style, and through Landscape Architecture I hope to awaken the caretaker in each of us.
Landscape Architecture is an ancient profession, and we as a nation need a group of focused, sustainability-minded, individuals to revive this important aspect of urban infrastructure. We need imaginative leaders, who understand how urbanization is putting a strain on our environment. We need people who will design places around three aspects; economic growth, community well being, and the natural environment, to make cities better. To make a place where people want to live, are living happy fulfilling existences, all while remaining actively vested in their communities. We need people like me.
Today was rough. I have spoken with my professors and classmates about problems that could come up because of my choosing a capstone site in an area close to my heart, the place i spent my high school years. Before today I was being careful not to assume my audience had any knowledge about the area or its issues, and I thought that would be the major issue with my personal connection to the site.
Well, I was wrong.
I went down a HUGE rabbit hole of aerial and historic images today. It started out all well and good, looking for images from the early 20th century in my site. It ended up being a really depressing trip though hundreds of images showcasing Cleveland's golden age and all the beautiful buildings (and full streets!) that existed from the 1900's to the 1950's. The planning that appears to have NEVER taken place after a certain point in history is infuriating. Now I am by no means an expert on all of Cleveland's history, but I just do not understand the thought process behind taking many of the cities main roads from what they were in 1948 to what they are now. All beautiful stone buildings, large residential houses and boulevard styling to bare parking lots and abandoned buildings.
My question is were those parking lots ever full? Where there ever years where the city needed the built environment it created?
UNFORTUNATELY, that is NOT my capstone question. UNFORTUNATELY X2, there only exist minimal aerial images and 2, TWO, images of areas of my site in the historic records I combed.
So back to the problems of loving the CLE, there was the issue of time; i spent 7 hours doing this with little real capstone project forward movement, and the issue of feelings; it was actually really rough and really really sad looking through all this stuff, I just want Cleveland to thrive. Is that too much to ask? (yes, Kammeron, it is, you have 5 months and you are one measly grad student)