Detroit: Urban Housing [re]Considered

Abstract

Detroit's urban landscape transcends all inherent notions of what an urban landscape should resemble. It is within the framework of Detroit's tattered urban fabric that this investigation takes place. The concept of hard edges defining streets, sidewalks and buildings is not predominant in Detroit, nor is the traditional concept of urban density. How can one re-introduce a form of density to Detroit that isn't merely "filling the gaps" but that truly responds to the fragmented and abandoned landscape? How does it respond to a city that continues to lose residents at a rate of 1,500 a month' ? What needs to happen is a reintroduction of density to Detroit that is rooted in the spatial arrangements associated with the built as well as the landscaped environments. These spatial arrangements - the individual, the collective, and the in-between - are all associated with the urban environment and are uniquely present in Detroit today. How can a housing project reintroduce spatial configurations based on the three mentioned spaces while still responding to Detroit's unique urban characteristics? How can the traditional functions associated with these spaces be introduced into a new housing development in Detroit? These spatial arrangements, however, are not only limited to the built form (individual housing units and apartments), but need to be equally expressed within the landscaped environment. Understanding the surrounding landscape is as equally important as knowing the built environment. It is through a sensitive understanding of how the landscape functions within a site and how it relates to its surrounding context as well as to the surrounding buildings that encompass a large portion of this thesis investigation.