Urban Studies Senior Seminar Papers

 

 

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 25
  • Publication
    Neighboring Development, Distant Goals: Competing Visions for Philadelphia’s Chinatown North/Callowhill in Light of the Reading Viaduct Redevelopment
    (2016-01-01) Marcus, Emily
    Philadelphia’s Chinatown has had a long history of land loss. Projects like the Vine Street Expressway and Philadelphia Convention Center have created contention between Chinatown and outside developers. Most recently, this conflict has come to a head over the proposed redevelopment of the Reading Viaduct, an abandoned rail viaduct from Philadelphia’s industrial age. Friends of the Rail Park, a non-profit organization, seeks to transform it into an elevated park, and Phase 1 of the project is located in Chinatown North/Callowhill. This proposal has brought back old hard feelings and created a debate over the true identity of the neighborhood. Rail park proponents want to see a diverse community unified around a modern and high-end park, while Chinatown advocates wants to see an increase in affordable housing and community space. Despite the vast differences in these visions, both sides are poised to make them a reality; the Rail Park is in its final round of fundraising, and Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, a community development corporation in Chinatown, is set to break ground on a mixed-income residential and recreational space this June. With both sides working separately but effectively to realize their visions, development in Chinatown North/Callowhill complicates the traditional gentrification narrative and serves as an example of development without displacement.
  • Publication
    El Barrio: Latino Relationships in North Philadelphia and Impacts on Puerto Rican Businesses
    (2007-01-01) Casellas, Marisa
    Abstract: Latinos are the fastest growing minority in the United States. Every year hundreds of immigrants enter the U.S. both legally and illegally searching for a better life and greater economic and social opportunities. While there is much talk in the media about how Latino immigrant groups interact with African American and Asian communities, the relationship between different Latino groups is hardly ever mentioned. A variety of Latino groups have made North Philadelphia a home and immigrant haven; establishing businesses and participating in the labor force. In establishing themselves, many groups such as Dominicans have opened new businesses where Puerto Rican ones previously existed. North Philadelphia is not only a cultural haven but also a center of great Latino tension. Hispanics are divided politically; yet do not realize that these tensions are slowly tearing the community apart. Community leaders and residents do not publicly address the issue and are often hesitant to talk about it. With an already divided community and a fast growing community of new immigrant businesses owners, how are Puerto Rican businesses affected by these changes? The aim in doing this thesis is not only to better understand how Latinos in North Philadelphia interact with one another but to also understand why so many Puerto Rican businesses have closed and if they have been pushed elsewhere due to any Latino tensions. Through interviews with community leaders and residents as well as various trips to North Philadelphia, I will attempt to understand what factors influence tensions among Latinos and establish the link between Puerto Rican businesses.
  • Publication
    The Implementation of a Public-Use Bicycle Program in Philadelphia
    (2007-12-19) Bonnette, Brittany
    Philadelphia has many worries: from a declining economy, to a population decrease, to severe gun violence. The city suffers from these worries as well as high taxes, poor transportation options and few jobs for many workers, all detrimental the quality of life of Philadelphia citizens. Severe congestion, high costs of car ownership as the mounting price of public have severely impeded personal mobility in the city. One answer to this detrimental problem can be found in Europe, through public-use bicycles (PUBs). In over 60 European cities, PUBs have made an enormous impact on personal mobility, allowing citizens to access the city through bicycles, used as a part of public transportation. Through user accountability and theft deterrents, PUB programs provide citizens with a highly efficient and reliable transportation option. Philadelphia could benefit greatly from such a program. Through a study of successful PUB programs throughout the world, Philadelphia can garner information regarding implementation, funding, operation, and infrastructure. All this information will be put forth in order to deliberate on the best practices of other models and see them replicated in Philadelphia. It is hoped that, in the future, Philadelphia will have a very successful large-scale public-use bicycle program, the first of its kind in North America.
  • Publication
    Mixed Income or Gentrification? Hawthorne's Spatial Transformation
    (2007-01-01) Mooney, Natasha
    About one year ago I first heard about the New Urbanist urban planning paradigm and the powerful effects it could have on society and the environment. This urban design movement calls for “compact, mixed use, walkable, and relatively self-contained communities.”1 I searched the Congress for the New Urbanism’s Web site to find neighborhoods influenced by New Urbanist principles in Philadelphia and learned about the Martin Luther King Plaza—four demolished public housing high-rises replaced by mixed-income, mixed use, low-rise housing units. This development struck me as an unusual opportunity to study a planned community in the urban core that included affordable housing. At first I wanted to research how New Urbanism affected the community in terms of social cohesion. But when the rubber met the road, my ideas were too large to be accomplished in one semester. At the drawing board again, I decided to concentrate on how people used and interacted with the built environment compared to how the architects of MLK Plaza intended for the space to be used. I would research the plan and the planning process and observe the area to discern the architect’s intent for the space versus how the community was using the space. This would provide an assessment of New Urbanism in practice, revealing how the community’s behavior was in fact shaped by the built environment. As the data came in, I struggled to make sense of it all. I was trying to isolate the work of the architect and the response of the community, when in fact MLK Plaza development is part of a greater context of multiple public and private players, and includes not only the project site but the surrounding area as well. I began to understand just how many forces were working to create this neighborhood, this place. The residents, the businesses, the Philadelphia Housing Authority, the developers, the architects, the Avenue of the Arts, the neighbors, the councilman, the displaced. I had been trying to confine my research to the architects and the current residents without seeing the rest of the equation. Though many questions remain, through my research, observations and interviews, I have been able to draw some conclusions about the impact this public development is having on the neighborhood and its future. I give special thanks to those who made time for interviews, and to my cousin Cheyenne who first enlightened me about New Urbanism and set me down this fascinating path.
  • Publication
    Profound & Profane Places: The Adaptive Reuse of Sacred Spaces in Philadelphia
    (2016-01-01) Kelly, Kristen
    Purpose built churches from the late 19th and early 20th century are typical neighborhood landmarks and can be seen throughout Philadelphia. In addition to the massive architectural value that these buildings hold, they capture significant cultural and religious heritage for the city and its residents. Though many churches today are facing difficulties maintaining properties, new forms of use have emerged which bring new life into sacred spaces. This research examines the role of adaptive reuse in providing opportunities for the preservation of historic church buildings. It also investigates the successes and failures of two recent adaptive reuse projects in Philadelphia of sacred spaces originally designed by Frank Furness. This research seeks to illustrate the value purpose built churches hold for their communities, and demonstrate the renewed relevance they possess when provided with new uses.
  • Publication
    Social Capital in Power Networks: A Case Study of Affordable Housing Development in Winston-Salem, NC
    (2010-12-23) Ognibene, April
    This research unifies studies on macro- and micro-level relationships regarding changes in city-level partnerships and changes in social capital, or ties between community members. Social capital, a concept popularized by Robert Putnam, is often studied apart from issues of power, but power is a crucial component in other constructions of the term (most notably, the work of Pierre Bourdieu). This study uses Putnam’s conceptualization of social capital by using the survey instrument he commissioned, the Social Capital Benchmark Survey (SCBS), to measure social capital across communities. However, this study embeds this data in a city’s power relations, using interviews and document review to determine how relationships and partnerships changed among the city’s powerful. Winston-Salem, NC provides an ideal case study due to its moderate-city size and local investments to grow social capital. The city is studied over two years, 2000 and 2006, for general changes in social capital, intra-sector changes, and diversity within the affordable housing industry. Ultimately, the research suggests that overall growth in social capital will produce more productive partnerships among the powerful, and that sectors governing the spaces with social capital growth will obtain more control and leverage in their partnerships. Weaknesses in social capital, which for Winston-Salem include measures of intolerance, can be noticed within cross-sector relationships as well. The research suggests that changes in social capital are manifested at the leadership level, however increasing social capital in Winston-Salem only strengthened the existing power hierarchies in place, and did little to increase community involvement in decision making.
  • Publication
    Ethnicity, Space, and Politics in Afghanistan
    (2009-11-01) Dubow, Benjamin
    The 2004 election was a disaster. For all the unity that could have come from 2001, the election results shattered any hope that the country had overcome its fractures. The winner needed to find a way to unite a country that could not be more divided. In Afghanistan’s Panjshir Province, runner-up Yunis Qanooni received 95.0% of the vote. In Paktia Province, incumbent Hamid Karzai received 95.9%. Those were only two of the seven provinces where more than 90% or more of the vote went to a single candidate. Two minor candidates who received less than a tenth of the total won 83% and 78% of the vote in their home provinces. For comparison, the most lopsided state in the 2004 United States was Wyoming, with 69% of the vote going to Bush. This means Wyoming voters were 1.8 times as likely to vote for Bush as were Massachusetts voters. Paktia voters were 120 times as likely to vote for Karzai as were Panjshir voters. While Wyoming composes .2% of the American population, those 7 provinces represent a full sixth of Afghanistan. . .
  • Publication
    “Home Alone” at the Piazza: Privatized Public Space in Philadelphia
    (2016-01-01) Bernardin, Kimberly
    The Piazza at Schmidt’s is a 2009 Philadelphia mixed-use development of apartments, retail and 80,000 square feet of paved open space, meant to foster vibrant urban interaction. Initially, the Piazza was highly community-oriented: the developer incorporated the neighborhood’s requests for walkability, filled the retail space with local artists, and hosted many public events. However, this early community-based success was unsustainable because of the developer’s inherent private-sector commitment to maximizing the return on investment. Today, the Piazza is chronically underused because the drive for short-term profit has sabotaged the long-term viability of the public space. The Piazza at Schmidt’s is a telling example of why the system of privatized public space may be ineffective: because the original arts community was less profitable, it was not given the chance to thrive, and the resulting public space has lost its sense of vibrant urban life.
  • Publication
    Vegetable Prescription Programs: A New Take on Holistic Health
    (2016-01-01) Blickenderfer, Zoe
    This article evaluates the efficacy of Vegetable Prescription programs through a case study of the Sayre Good Food Bags (GFB) program at Sayre High School in Philadelphia, PA. This paper answers the question, how do vegetable prescription programs affect their members’ attitudes, behaviors, and habits towards vegetables and cooking? Vegetable Prescription programs typically are the result of relationships between health care providers and farms or farmers’ markets. The Sayre GFB program is a result of the relationship between the Sayre Health Center, and the Sayre Garden. Through interviews with GFB members and administrators, this study found that vegetable prescription programs have a moderate impact on members’ cooking and eating habits, but this particular program also served as a tool to promote food justice and intergenerational learning. The Sayre GFB program serves as alternative to the expensive and/or poor quality produce the members usually encounter at supermarkets. Many members were excited by the variety of produce and the inclusion of recipes for the vegetables in the bags. Many members used the GFB as a tool to promote their own well-being. The GFB members were most excited about the youth interns at the Sayre Garden. More research must be done to analyze the health effects of vegetable prescription programs, as we as to compare the effects of this type of vegetable prescription program to similar programs across the country.