Renovating Chicago (Logan Square)

The final Action project has arrived for the Urban Planning class, a mix of architectural studies, city design, science, and math. In this unit, we studied more about the efficiency and quality of urban panning as a whole. Featuring TedTalks of speakers such as James Kunstler and Ellen Dunham-Jones expressing their feelings on today's urban planning. Some activities involved actively considering how to improve the immediate area around us such as widening roads, or expanding sidewalks, creating bike lanes, and even try improving the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority). Now the actual Action Project had us redesign an area of our choosing. What I decided upon was a small block in the NorthWest corner of Logan Square in Chicago. Just below you can not only see what I made out Tinkercad, but my whole process of redesigning the block at Diversey & Pulaski.

____________________________________________________________________________

Google Maps Edit, VG, 2016

So upon deciding an area, I've heard from many people that Logan Square lacks much greenery and plants in a multitude of locations. Based on my inspiration from Majora Carter, who I agree with the importance of having more greenery around anywhere really, but of course an obvious focus on cities, I decided to include some more environmentally aware decisions whilst redesigning the block. Originally, my intention was to modify an entire few miles where the tracks run down, but that was clearly too much for a single person to handle in such limited time, so shrinking the area, that I worked on, I chose a space with 2 empty lots that are clearly not in use anymore, as they're rundown unorganized parking lots that are rarely used. Considering this, I looking around the surrounding area of this space and noticed there was already a park and a food market, so it would be pointless to add another one of those as they're already present. I thought to myself, what could any of this be used for? Then after inspecting the area more and more, I figured that there was no activity center nor clothe store within near proximity. That's what I decided to add, for the sake of the community that lives there.

Revamped Logan Square, VG, 2016

As you can see just here, this is the plan I had, include 5 additions or alterations as Carter's "greening up" concept stuck with me, so I decided to reorganize the residential parking lot so not only that it's more organized, but also so that it can be used by the neighboring business employees. What was added was a concrete block in the middle featuring trees and bushes to separate the parking lot and give it a sense of organization. Another thing that was added just added shrubbery around emptier parts (which are most likely taken up by concrete, which can be broken to get to the dirt for planting purposes) just because it never hurts to add some trees or bushes in an area that seems so barren in comparison to its surroundings. So with a remodeled parking lot, and added greenery, I manage to think of one last thing to assist Majora Carter with her ideals of greening up the ghetto, and that was added a solar panel to the roof of the business building that wasn't too busy.

Volumes, VG, 2016

Now, modifications aside, what about the two new spaces? Well the Fitness Center is a simple cylindrical building with a height of 45 meters, and a diameter of 30 meters. Now to find the volume of a cylinder, we simply find the area of the circle base, and multiply that by the height. So 3.14 (pi or π) x  15^2 (radius squared) = the area of the base, so we multiply that by the height to find the volume, which is 31,792.5 meters cubed. Then of course the volume of the clothing store, which is incidentally a half-cylinder, which had a practically identical formula to finding the volume of a cylinder, except it's only utilizing half the area of the circle, as it is just that. So we'd have 1/2 (or 0.5) x {27^2 (radius squared) x 3.14 (pi or π)} x 35 which amounts to 40,058.55 meters cubed for its volume. Now obviously, the purpose of each building is as the name suggests, as the clothing store would either be a large brand or even just a locally run business, as long as there's a place that distributes clothes as there's nothing of the sort nearby in this area. Then of course the fitness center is, simply put, a gym. Given that these area both right next to a bus stop, that shows that transportation is no problem, and access in general will be great for the residents who live nearby. Speaking on that concept of transportation, there's another  concept that was reviewed in class known as "T.H.I.S." which stands for Transportation, Housing, Infrastructure, and Services. So in that aspect, transportation has easy access to these 2 services which also makes nearby housing more desirable, so that's how my project relates to that concept known throughout urban planning. So to review, now instead of having a desolate slab of concrete with minimal usage, we have brimming opportunities for communities with more environmentally friendly energy sources, and simply housing that's now wanted more. A nearby Aldi and park make this area great to go to or live in!