Sunday, May 4, 2014

More Thesis Development

By Alan Kirkwood

This blog post just shows more of my thinking in regards to my thesis on city centers and focal points for development and redevelopment to the surrounding areas. A sample from my future thesis book:


The first and primary spot for redevelopment is the current Lincoln Mall site and that area around it. The reason for this is because Matteson is known for Lincoln Mall. It's current failure and state is one of the primary things that one associates with Matteson initially. Just the signs posted inside and on the exterior of the mall led to much community excitement, and stirred thoughts for a brighter future for all of Matteson as a result of this mall renovation. Redevelopment for this site is the main driving factor for the entire community and village. As a result, this will be a mixed-use site which includes educational, cultural, business, retail, food & entertainment as well as some residential and outdoor space. This focal site is almost what one could say the catalyst for the future redevelopment of many other areas of Matteson, a first step to many goals over a forty year time frame.

From what I've notice from many city center redevelopments as well as many master planning projects in general is that there is a part of the overall site/area that is a focal point that feeds into the overall design. This particular spot is the stimulus for a new attitude or mindset for its surrounding parts whether it be a small feature of a building that becomes a part of the overall concept of the building or something large such as a new park that creates the entire feel of a new building complex or community built around it.

In the case of the Edmonton City Centre Redevelopment Plan, the history and culture of the former airport was the driving part of the different firms that proposed their ideas to the competition. By using ideas of connectivity that one could say stemmed from the idea of airports and air travel and how that connects people from place to place. Other areas will use this one catalyzing new development to cause a rebirth or a refresher to its existing surrounding area. This can be seen in a development like Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.

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