designing adaptable
urban spaces
Thrust 1 leverages the re-imagination and re-design of urban spaces to accommodate a greater diversity of functions in order to more easily adapt to potential disturbances.
Image: Seattle Department of Transportation
THRUST 1 focus
Diversity of uses
New visions for the function of public space, particularly the right-of-way, could help to support a more equitable distribution of resources during disruptions.
Diversity of social interactions
Diversity of use in urban spaces supports the formation of relationships that enable communities to respond collectively to disasters.
Food systems
We focus on entities that play a role in small- to mid-scale food production, sales, and consumption: agriculture, farmers’ markets, and restaurants.
Ongoing Research Activities
Policy Comparison & Municipal Government Interviews
After comparing ROW regulations across our Seattle & Tempe study areas, we begin conducting interviews with relevant city staff. These interviews serve to hone our understanding of the policy content and processes in each city.
Ground-Truthing
After gathering POI data, we visited each business in our Seattle study area to verify existing information and to add additional spatial information. This updated data allows us to visualize spatial attributes of the ROW.
Student-Driven Studio
Our team is working closely with a cohort of master’s students to further explore potential adaptability of the ROW in the University District through a 2-quarter hands-on studio course. Organizations such as the UDistrict Partnership and Seattle Department of Transportation are partnering with us and these students to provide insight and guidance. The students have already worked with our team to conduct interviews with food-related businesses. Next quarter, they will explore a broad range of ROW visualization techniques and design strategies to further adaptability and resilience.
Mapping the Disaster Response Process
This component of the research explores different triggers and responses that occur when a disaster takes place, in the context of public space, the right-of-way, and food systems. Visualizing this flow of actions between and among different disaster response actors will help us to identify potential points of intervention.
Gathering Geospatial Data About Food-Related Businesses
We are currently gathering point of interest (POI) data about our case study sites in order to both quantify and characterize the potential adaptability of the ROW and to understand the ecosystem of food-related businesses within our case study communities.
Policy Content Analysis
To understand the ways in which spatial adaptability of the right of way (ROW) manifests in existing regulatory frameworks (e.g., city codes), we are conducting a policy content analysis in our case study communities, Seattle, WA and Tempe, AZ. Identifying existing barriers to flexible use will help us to identify opportunities for improved flexibility during future disruptions.
TEAM MEMBERS
The Thrust 1 team is based at the University of Washington and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
CONTACT us
Please reach out if you are interested in learning more about our research.