JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
| dc.contributor.author | Stockard, Jahlil | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-05-09T14:17:54Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-05-09T14:17:54Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-05-09 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10429/2467 | |
| dc.description | This thesis explores neighborhood planning through the lens of biophilic design as a means to promote health and well-being for the residents within the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood. The idea is to redevelop vacant lots/buildings within the neighborhood for uses that strive towards revitalization. Regardless of where you are in the world, the need for shelter is one of life’s necessities. Detroit, specifically, has an ongoing issue with housing availability at affordable rates. In 2022 there was a 7 point, $203 Million plan introduced by the Mayor of Detroit and Detroit city council members (Detroit Housing Plan of 2022). The plan is to develop affordable housing options for Detroiters to be funded. Out of the $203 million provided, $100 million of those dollars were set aside for five affordable housing projects in Detroit (theneighborhoods). As a result 536 affordable units were created or preserved. One of the affordable housing projects is located in the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood. To couple the affordability aspect of housing, the public spaces outside the homes should serve to promote the health and well being of the users in these spaces. Terra bright green examined the relationship between biophilia and design. The authors developed 14 patterns of biophilic design that ensure health and well being rooted from nature. The scale in which it is needed to approach housing and public spaces is the neighborhood scale. The “Planning to Stay: A Collaborate Project” by Wiliam R. Morrish and Catherine M. Brown , is a framework for neighborhood planning that relates to liveability and portrays the identity of the neighborhood. The neighborhood elements and organizing themes in combination can be used to analyze neighborhoods. The first of three questions guiding me through my research and findings is: Where is the best location for affordable housing? In addition, how will the inclusion of affordable housing impact the neighborhood assets? How can biophilia improve a neighborhood? Can the patterns of biophilic design be a solution for redevelopment for vacant parking lots and land? How does the community contribute to the neighborhood’s identity? What’s the community like and how is it conveyed in the built environment.? Biophilic design can be used to incorporate nature back into the neighborhood scale. The natural elements of biophilic design will promote the health and well being of the users of the spaces. The inclusion of affordable and market housing avoids displacement while supporting a truly mixed-income neighborhood of residents. Evidence sustaining this thesis would include interviews with the community, photography of existing conditions, building typology study, mapping of vacancies relating to buildings and lots. In addition to any existing affordable housing, parking lots, greenspaces, and biophilic elements. As a result, the mapping methods and interviews would provide areas for opportunity within the focus area. The building typology study provides various housing options for implementation within the focus area. The critique of this approach could be related to the affordability of biophilic design elements. At what point is the limit of “too much” nature. On the contrary, some questions arise like does nature have any effect on humans anymore? Has the use of technology diminished our natural connection to nature? The critique that biophilic design at this scale has not been tested before. The limitations are indeed the perception of the elements of biophilic design. Nature has been excused from multiple aspects of design for so long that it might appear to be a new phenomenon to some people. The design might have to go as far as tricking the user to avoid a predetermined reaction which could take away from the curated experience. The excursion of biophilia or nature in the public interviews of the Milwaukee Junction community is a limitation that could have been revisited. The neighborhood’s identity relies on the community that makes it up. The neighborhood’s assets rely on the people that make up the community. The people that make up the community need available and affordable housing options to reside in. The use of biophilic design at these different scales of a neighborhood will | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Detroit’s affordable housing issues are mainly centered around availability. With the excessive amount of vacancy, the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood is a top candidate for redevelopment. This thesis explores neighborhood planning through the lens of biophilic design as a means to promote health and well-being for the residents within the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood. The City of Detroit created a seven point plan to develop affordable housing options to be funded in 2022 (detroitmi.gov). Out of the $203 million provided, $100 million of those dollars were set aside for five affordable housing projects in Detroit (theneighborhoods). As a result 536 affordable units were created or preserved. One of the affordable housing projects is located in the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood. The Planning to Stay neighborhood framework written by William Morrish and Catherine Brown (2000) provides a clear understanding of the physical features and themes within the neighborhood. These physical features essentially define a neighborhood and the themes are helpful for analyzing a neighborhood. These neighborhood elements in unison were used to analyze Milwaukee Junction and a much more developed neighborhood in Brush Park. In order to successfully implement affordable housing options a study of different housing typologies needed to occur. The housing typologies studied are between single family homes and large apartment buildings. Some methods used to further the process were mapping, interviews, composing scale models, and taking photos/videos. Using the findings from my research related to affordable housing and neighborhood planning, biophilic design will be the key to connecting all these framing concepts within the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood. Biophilic design developed by Terrapin Bright Green, wants us to connect our inherent need to associate with nature in the modern built environment. The 14 patterns associated with biophilic design are meant to promote the health benefits of a space. These patterns can be applied to various scales and should be catered to the user population. The goal is to develop a plan that incorporates biophilic design, the neighborhood elements, and affordable housing options. | en_US |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.title | The Biophilic Neighborhood | en_US |
| dc.title.alternative | A Framework for Affordable Housing and Connection to Nature | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
