Thesis Proposal Rough Draft

The typical late nineteenth-century family moving into the suburbs sought space, sanitation, and security.  With the rise of automobile sales in the 1950’s, the car justified and made living outside of the city almost effortless.  The suburbs promised a higher quality of living that could not be found in most urban centers.  Although living in the suburbs today may be economical, they are seldom safer or more convenient than living in an urban core.

Urban sprawl has become detrimental to the urban fabric due to its inefficient uses of land resulting in poor density ratios, promotes extensive and unnecessary automobile use, and destroys remaining habitat and potential farmlands.  Despite these consequences of suburban dwelling today, there are several viable independent solutions that are not only alternatives, but begin to hint at a means for structuring future growth for urban areas that suffer from low densities.  How can we encourage people to move back into the city, and still provide the amenities that once made living in the suburbs an appealing thing?  How can we get people out of their cars?

In June of this year, the Gateway EcoDistrict Pilot Study was released, enumerating suggestive possibilities for structuring future growth of the gateway neighborhood. “Public engagement and outreach provided an understanding of community needs and desires. An assessment of current environmental, physical and infrastructure conditions in Gateway yielded a greater understanding of potential development options. Together, these factors informed recommendations for catalyst projects designed to generate further development around the EcoDistrict concept.”

1. Connectivity – Both physical and social connections between different areas in Gateway are lacking.

An ecological business park would be more than a catalyst in attempt to achieve this neighborhood’s goals (identity, security and appearance) as well begins to tackle some larger issue of district energy, returning new habitat, and becoming a node that is supportive of public functions.  This new development adjacent to the existing Transit Center would engage those utilizing mass transit and become a place destined by many. The addition of a streetcar alignment would extend out to the neighboring communities providing access to the eco-park and other available transit options.

The City of Portland was once developed around a vast streetcar network, which began in 1872 with a horse drawn line on 1st Avenue. The early streetcar lines served both as a mode of transportation and as an organizing tool for new development. They were constructed with the intent of drawing people to live in new, outlying neighborhoods. Before any new development began, developers would first extend a streetcar line into the area. Street railway companies would then add these new streetcar lines to their systems.  Between 1890 and 1925, streetcar lines opened up at least 14 of Portland’s historic neighborhoods for development. Over time, streetcar commercial districts evolved as the activity centers and main streets that still exist in Portland’s close-in neighborhoods. These early transit investments allowed people to commute greater distances from new residential developments to the industrial and employment areas in Central Portland.

Although, none of the original streetcar lines from the 1920’s remain, Portland still strives to regain the vast network of public transportation it once had. Today this includes 156 bus routes, 4 Light rail transit alignments, 1 street streetcar alignment, 2 additional light rail alignments slated to be complete by 2015, among other regional transportation options.  Over the last 20 years districts adjacent and near these vital arteries have proven to be prosperous, showing signs of healthy development and boasting rider-ship numbers of over 100,000 riders a day.   Light Rail Transit is a proven catalyst noted for rejuvenating urban neighborhoods, and providing quick, accessible transport to the resources and amenities that attract people to those districts, but they cannot do it alone. Other urban improvements need to take place if a system equivalent to a Streetcar system is going to be successful. An alignment is capable of bringing in density and a district has to be ready to make the necessary changes to deal with this influx.

Other inventive solutions that have begun to surface in the Pacific NW over the last decade are eco-districts and transit-oriented developments (TODs).  According to Portland Sustainability Institute (PoSI), the organization charged with leading the effort, an EcoDistrict is a neighborhood or district with a broad commitment to accelerate neighborhood-scale sustainability. In order to gauge performance, the initiative utilizes the following seven categories: community vitality, air quality and carbon, energy, access and mobility, water, habitat and ecosystem function, and materials management. These innovative programmatic solutions begin to tackle our dependency on non-renewable energies at a scale much larger than the single edifice. The twenty-minute neighborhood that Portland boasts is also another worthy option to look into.

Currently, automobiles and light trucks in the United States are responsible for one-half of all greenhouse gas
es emitted by vehicles globally, and the U.S. only possesses 30% of the 700 million vehicles in the world.  Carbon dioxide from personal vehicles in the United States emitted 314 million metric tons in 2004. That much carbon could fill a coal train 55,000 miles long, which is long enough to circle the earth twice.  The U.S. accounts for a disproportionate amount of greenhouse gas emissions because vehicles are driven farther, have lower fuel economy standards, and burn fuel with higher levels of carbon than many of the cars in other countries.  U.S. automobiles had an average fuel economy of 19.6 miles per gallon in 2004, for an average annual consumption of just over 600 gallons of gasoline. United States gasoline contains 5.3 pounds of carbon per gallon. This carbon ends up in the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide, resulting in more than 1.5 tons of carbon emissions produced by U.S. automobiles yearly.

For some of us, the media and up-bringing has taught us that our life is not complete until we marry, have 2.5 kids, own a home that has a two car garage, white picket fence, and have a huge backyard that we throw barbeques in every weekend.  This conditioning has caused millions of people to seek out this [American] dream, and they are reaching towards the suburbs to reward their hard work.

Fit of site and Program to inquiry

The shopping center adjacent to the Gateway transit center is extremely disjointed and abundantly impervious.  The existing Transit center platform offers no clues on how to access the neighborhood.  New development in this portion of the Gateway neighborhood would repair the detrimental suburban like symptoms emanating from the big box stores it contains.  It will provide adequate housing, retail, business, and habitat space to ensure the longevity of Gateway generations to come.  This node will become a social amenity while setting the tone for future development in the area. Success with this project can become fodder for future exploration in EcoDistrict design and TOD.  The addition of a streetcar would provide a viable connectivity solution the Gateway neighborhood could greatly benefit from.  Making the line adjacent to the Transit Center increase public modal options while making this portion of the neighborhood immensely desirable towards people look for a lifestyle less dependent on the automobile.