Microcommunity: Opportunity is the Heart of Small Urban Spaces

UDM HOME RE:SEARCH HOME KNOWLEDGE HOME TITAN CONNECT

DSpace Home
→
University of Detroit Mercy Dissertation, Thesis, and Student Project Collections
→
Architecture Thesis Collection
→
View Item

Microcommunity: Opportunity is the Heart of Small Urban Spaces

Kaiser, Logan

URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10429/2052

Date: 2020-09-09

Abstract:

The microcommunity, which is a pocket within a defined area, often contained in a surrounding neighborhood or community, which creates a location that begins to relate to communities immediately surrounding community or neighborhood. The essence of microcommunity seeks to provide inclusivity in urban spaces, something that often is not expressed by many existing urban spaces. This thesis focuses on this idea of microcommunity and how the definition and concepts of microcommunity begin to inform more meaningful design outcomes and to provide more insightful urban design strategies. Through the study of microcommunity and the ideas it expresses in urban space, a microcommunal design criteria is produced, establishing a way to produce social and spatial opportunity for active groups and subcultures in urban spaces.

Description:

What is a microcommunity? How does microcommunity contribute to the study of urban spaces? What role does microcommunity play in the future design or outcomes of urban space? This thesis examines the idea of microcommunity and how it contributes to creating more meaningful urban spaces. This idea is achieved through the defining what a microcommunity is and what purpose it serves in determining stronger outcomes for urban spaces.To identify a microcommunity, it is important to understand the context of the space as well as how it creates the idea of destination or place within the urban environment. This idea relates to spatial and social qualities that contribute to the idea of a microcommunity and how they form the idea of location and place. Spatial, social and temporal aspects begin to help expand this idea, defining important elements of an urban space that contribute to the definition of microcommunity.As a result of these aspects, it can be understood that microcommunal space is the heart and child of opportunism both socially and spatially. Social opportunism deals with the idea the people congregate to a space for the social opportunity that lies there, regardless of the spatial elements that exist there. In opposition to this is the spatial opportunist, is more concerned with the spatial elements and spatial qualities that exist in an urban space, but are not necessarily concerned with the social opportunity that exists there. In microcommunal spaces, it is important to include both types of opportunism so that it better establishes a sense of location and place as well as does not create exclusivity of groups in urban spaces and environments.The basis of microcommunity begins to revise existing ideas and urban design principles from urban theorists such as Jan Gehl and William H. Whyte and begins to modernize them based on current and changing necessity for different types of opportunism. Microcommunity provides a strong lens to understand how to improve current urban design principles, looking at how existing spaces could have been or could be better established to form a stronger urban pocket and space.By establishing a better foundation to create stronger, more identifiable urban pockets, microcommunity begins to reshape how urban spaces are thought of, creating a better vision and outlook of how small urban spaces are designed.

Show full item record