SPRIN

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TYLE

R PAUL M

CCARTHY

THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

DIVISION OF REGIONAL & CITY PLANNING

CANDIDATE

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GRADUATEPORTFOLIO

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RÉSUMÉ

PROFESSIONAL GOALS

MEMOS

REFLECTNARRATIVE ESSAY

ENTRY STATEMENT

GOOGLE SKETCHUP

JOURNEYPLANNING DEFINITION

COURSE OF STUDY

ULI HINES URBAN DESIGN COMPETITION

CASE STUDIES

PROBLEM SET

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

TERMINUSACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

WRITING SAMPLE

VISUAL PRESENTATION

GRADUATE PROTFOLIO STATEMENT

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, Bilbo Baggins tells his nephew Frodo,

“It’s a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you

might be swept off to…” Written nearly 60 years ago, these words ring true still today. The journey of life will take you amazing places, but you first

have you leave your door.

For the past two years my journey has taken me through the Division of Regional and City Planning at the University of Oklahoma. From here, I can go just about anywhere.

The pages are designed to reflect subway maps found in any major metropolitan area. These maps are easy to read, helpful to tourist, and most importantly get people where they want to go. It is also a metaphor for life, and my time here at the university. I can look back on where I came from, and what station of life I am at now. Although the future is uncertian, I have a map to help guide me in getting to the next station along the way, and eventually to my destination.

To the committee:It has been my pleasure to be in this program for the past two years. Thank you for your guidance and direction, and thank you for being apart of my journey.

Tyler Paul McCarthyTy@ou.edu1.913.226.6042

2900 S Chautauqua Ave. Apt 117 Norman, Oklahoma 73072

EDUCATION The University of Oklahoma - Norman, OK Masters of Regional & City Planning Concentration in Urban Design Graduation: May 2012

Southern Nazarene University - Bethany, OK Bachelor of Science Graduation: May 2009

HONORS & AWARDS

2012 - ULI Hines Student Design Competition - Urban Designer 1st Place Honorable Mention Collaborated with a team of architecture & MBA students to design, phase, and cost out a site in Houston during the 2 week competition. Responsible for concept and maps

2011 - NASA Fellowship Center for Spatial Analysis Summer Program GIS mapping, Access datebase projections; certified

ACTIVITIES 2011 - 2012 - University Ambassador A goodwill student ambassador for the College of Architecture and for the University of Oklahoma

2010 - 2012 - University of Oklahoma Big Event Community Recruitment Executive Worked with a team to find & confirm 150+ jobsites for the largest community service event in Oklahoma

EMPLOYMENT 2008 - Present - Oklahoma NYI Camps Programming Director Responsible for the creation of camp schedule, budget, and designing/creating large scale ‘Survivor’ show type challenges for 400+ campers per week; managed volunteer staff

SKILLS

ERSI ArcGIS 10

Access DatabaseAdobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator

Google Sketchup 8

AFFILIATIONS 2010 - Present - American Planning Association 2010 - Present - Student Planning Association College of Architecture - University of Oklahoma

RÉSUMÉ

ARRIVALGRADUATE PROTFOLIO STATEMENT

DIVISION OF REGIONAL & CITY PLANNING

CLASS OF 2012

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

ENTRY STATEMENT

As children we are often asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” For some people, this question is easily answered and they live their whole lives knowing the answer. There are also people who live their whole lives being haunt-

ed by this question, yet refuse to answer it. There are others who keep searching far and wide for the answer to that question. I am

in the last group, seeking my answer by continuing my education at the graduate level at the University of Oklahoma.

My interest in Regional and City Planning as a career began when I started to hear talk of urban renewal projects like Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Bid, Kansas City’s Pow-er and Light District and Oklahoma City’s MAPS 3. Even growing up, my interest in city planning dates back to the countless hours just studying maps in the library, and playing Sim City way past my bedtime.

I believe that OU is the best place for me to launch my journey into the real world. During my undergraduate studies, life presented me with some major challenges. My grades suffered as result of it, but I didn’t give up. I set new goals, one of which was to attend graduate school. I worked quickly to fix the things I could and hard to improve my grades in hopes that I would better my future. I am hard-working, well-rounded and creative. With a degree in Regional and City Planning, I can cre-ate career goals and projects, and work toward their fulfillment. Attending OU also provides me with a way to stay close to my family and friends in the Oklahoma City area while attending school.

My undergraduate degree is from Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Okla-homa, where I received a B.S. in Ministry and Theology in the spring of 2009. I have a passion to help and serve people. I have picked the MRCP to expand on a tangible way to help people live their day-to-day lives. Whether generating sidewalks so children don’t have to walk in mud to school, or improving traffic flow for an easier commute to work, I am in the business of people, and people never go out of business.

While the future holds many things I cannot predict, I still imagine what I would do with my MRCP if all the chips fell into place. I would like to begin my career in a major metropolitan’s lesser suburbs. I am passionate about helping the poor. While many urban renewal projects cater to the affluent or tourist sections of town,

I would like to focus on the neglected neighbourhood of the city. I would love to work with city and local leaders to create better zonning laws, improve infrastruc-tures, and create funds for these projects with the overall goal of improving the quality of life for these poorer parts of town.

A specific project I would like to spearhead is the creation of sidewalks in Bethany, Oklahoma. This community needs sidewalks badly, but the city does not have the resources to make sidewalks a priority. However, I believe with creative fundraising and the incorporation of programs like the National Safe Route to School Program, Bethany can become a more pedestrian friendly community.

After that, I’d like to move on to work with the larger metropolitan area. My focus would be on a viable mass transit system for the modern Midwestern metropolitan cities. A safe, reliable, environmentally friendly system doesn’t have to be relegated to New York, London, Washington D.C. or Chicago. A Midwestern city has different needs than cities on the coast, and would need to create a unique system based on unique needs such as a heavy car-centered culture, and the distance large cities like Oklahoma City have from their down-town cores to suburban cities like Edmond or Yukon, Oklahoma.

The final benefit of the MRCP is the intangible sense of purpose it will give me. I’d be doing what I love while helping my community in the process. I am attracted to this program because it would allow me to be in a position to actively seek out solutions to the different types of problems growing cities are having. Standing on the sidelines is no longer an option; I want to be a part of something greater than myself. Each city has unique needs, so the possibilities are only limited by my imagination, and of course physics.

PROFESSIONAL GOALS

Transitioning into a new era of life isn’t easy, but I am excited for the possibili-ties, opportunities and challenges that await.

I came into this career with a clear goal, to make a difference in the community I live in. That is still very much true today. Whether I am working for a private firm, or in the public sector, I want to make a positive impact not only on the city, but the people I am surrounded by. City planners not only invest in cities, but they also invest in people. I want to leave a positive mark on both people and place. When planner put people ahead of designs, good things happen.

Specifically, I want to start off in a private sector. This will give me have flex-ibility of location. I am drawn to larger metropolitan areas that has good tran-sit system. If I had it my way, I would sell my Ford Escape Hybrid and live in close proximity to my church, work, and other attractions the city has to offer. It is important that I live out how I would design. Living in the heart of the city would give me great experiences that will help influence my work as an urban designer, and help me discover the subtle nuances of city life. Also private firms work for different cities and clients, I would be able to get to work for a wide range of projects giving me more tools to be the very best I can be.

When I ever decide to settle down, I see myself moving back to the Midwest, and then working in the public sector. This will allow me to experience both sides of planning life. Working for a city has its own challenges, but I feel that getting experience in the private sector first will help me take these on better.

There is a possiblity that I might work for an energy company in a GIS related office. This would allow me to still use GIS. I would be doing a different sort of master planning, but one that still uses the skills I learned while at the Univer-sitty of Oklahoma.

Being a good steward of the resources God has entrusted to me is something I hold close to my heart. It is my goal to pay off my student debt as quickly as possible, and live within my means, where ever that might be, for the rest of my life. This will help me be about to give back to causes I am passionate about.

Every time I meet a new person the conversation is the same, when asked what I do. “Oh you’re a City Planner?” said with

a slight impressed tone, but that is instantly followed by “What ex-actly do you do?” said with a slight puzzled tone. I may in fact be the

very first person they’ve met that has been studying city planning, and in doing so, I’ve opened their minds up to a whole new realm of thought.

The question to what exactly a planner does, is one question that I will have to an-swer for the rest of my life and to answer that I have yet to think of a standardized answer. The simple answer is a little bit of everything. Part architect, part engineer, part lawyer, part ecologist, part economist, part historian, part politician, the city planner is a chameleon of sorts able to fill in the gaps and know just enough about everything in order to get things done. This puts planners in a unique vantage point; we are able to see the big picture. Each of the people we work with comes to the table with a set worldview, and it is our job as a planner to mesh each of the other ones together into a beautiful synergy of a solution.

Planners are future oriented we are able to prepare and anticipate the needs of the people before things reach critical mass. Whether that is placing elementary schools or creating transportation systems, planners use information to make decisions that effect tomorrow.

Planning is also progressive and idealistic. Throughout each of the trends of plan-ning over time there is an overwhelming theme of striving towards perfection. We want to make the lives of the people better by creating better connections between people and the built environment. This has been expressed many different ways throughout time, but it will continue to ring true for generations to come. Because we are idealistic, we never should settle for mediocrity. Planning to me is never set-tling for how things are, but to seek out and create a better tomorrow. We will never step in the same river twice.

To be a planner is to live knowing you’ll always have to explain your craft.

COURSE OF STUDY

JOURNEYPLANNING DEFINITION

5013 - History and Theory of Urban Planning – From Mesopotamia to Postmodern civilizations, cities have evolved. This course shows how city development has changed and evolved over time but is driven by humanity’s quest for utopia: the perfect city.

5113 - Urban Planning Research Methods – How to interpret and use data to predict trends and make projections and forecasts.

5213 - Principles and Practice of Urban Planning – A first hand look at what planners are doing right now in the real world, and what we might ex-pect from the profession. Fort Worth, Texas was case study for this class.

5483 - Urban Transportation Planning – An overview of local, state and federal transportation issues, solutions, funding, and strategies. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was the case study for this class.

5463 - Computer Mapping & GIS Planning – An overview of the basics in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

5713 - Urban and Regional Analysis – Also known as “Fun with Census Data”, when school was in session, this class taught the principles for how planners extrapolate data and turn it into something useful. Lawton, Okla-homa was the case study for this class.

5203 - Urban Land Use Controls – Who knew the location of a bike path would be so controversial it wound up in front of the United States Supreme Court? From Euclid to Kelo, this class studied the cases that help shaped the planning profession, and gives the legal support for what we do as planners.

5513 - Subdivision and Planned Unit Development – From design, phasing, and costing out working in a multi-disciplinary team, this class devel-oped a subdivision in a real world setting. Norman, Oklahoma was the case study for this class.

FALL 2010

SPRING 2011

COURSE OF STUDY

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011 5353 - State and Local Finance and Budget Systems – It takes money

to run a city and a nation. This course studied the sources of funds and where monies go inside government.

5525 - Comprehensive Regional City Planning Project – Worked in studio to develop n updated comprehensive plan for the City of Newcastle, Oklahoma.

6643 - Urban Design Theory – An overview of 20th and 21st Century urban design strategies.

5960 - Directed Readings – A look a sports arena development in the city in relation to its design, location, and cost.

5813 - Environmental Planning Methods – From bioswales to impervi-ous pavement, this class overviewed the range of environmental issues that help or threaten life in the city. It also used a project to study how the built environment affects a watershed. Goldsby, Oklahoma was the site for this pro-ject.

5653 - Urban Design Seminar – Population increases may cause urban designers to think outside of the box in order to solve the challenges of space, high population, and privacy; the solution: Skyvillas. Shanghai, China was the case study for this class

5970 - IQC Community Workshop – Making a street better doesn’t have to cost a fortune. This class applied Jan Gelh’s placemaking fundamentals and put them in a real world scenario.Norman & Pauls Valley, Oklahoma were the case studies for this class.

5053 - Planning Management – There will be a time when this planner is leading the way. This class gave a premier in office issues, and been an effec-tive leader and manager, and how to develop a ‘Big Idea’ for your city.

5443 - Urban Ecology – Cities rely on systems that people take for granted everyday. This course answered the questions where our water comes from and where our trash goes; the answers are more complicated then you might expect. Dirty Jobs has nothing on this class.

REFLECTNARRATIVE ESSAY

Trains come and go, but in the mean time you wait at the station. Waiting give you a chance to take a breath, pause and

reflect. With clarity of mind you step onto the platform and wait for the next train to arrive. It’s a bittersweet place. That is where I find

myself after three years at the University of Oklahoma, waiting to board the next train that will take me on my next adventure in a new land. Reflect-

ing on the past makes my departure not as harsh or abrupt, although a part of me would love to stay, I need to be ready for the train when it arrives. These past two years have absolutely been the best! There could not have been a better way to end my years of formal education, then right here in the Division of Regional and City Planning. I have learned many things in my time here, both in and outside of the classroom, and will take these life lessons with me wherever I get off the train next.

My journey started in a different building on a different part of campus. I had origi-nally wanted to graduate with a Masters in Human Relations. I would have been in the Physical Science Center’s 7th floor. It was a good program, and I enjoyed my brief time there, but I could tell early on that it wasn’t the right fit for me. I knew I still wanted to stay in school, so I did some ‘soul-searching’ to really settle down and pick a path that would just right. I had always been an outspoken voice about the poor conditions of urban form I was living around in Bethany, Oklahoma. These complaints mainly fell on deaf ears, so I jumped at the chance to put myself in a position to actually make a difference in people’s lives by shaping the way they in-teract with the built environment. I had already received a degree from Southern Nazarene University in Theology and Ministry. That dealt with shaping people’s lives on the spiritual level. Now I could make a difference in the physical realm too.

Even before I was enrolled in the program I began to think of what types of urban form I liked best. I commuted from the northwest side of Oklahoma City, where I was living at the time, to Norman everyday for class. I made it a point to take a different route home at least twice a week. It was during these exertions I got to

travel down some new roads. A road you’ve never been on is a wonderful thing. There’s a rush of excitement because you aren’t quite sure of where it leads. I got to see another side of the city I was beginning to call home. I traveled through some nice and rough neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods had un-kempt lawns, houses in disrepair, and worn down streets. But here in the “bad” part of town, there were people outside, kids playing in the yards, adults talk-ing on front porches, and people walking carrying bags from the store on dirt paths. Sometimes these trips would take me through the “good” parts of town. These neighborhoods had old-fashioned streetlights, immaculate lawns, three car garages, and sidewalks connecting everything. But there was thing missing: there were no people.

I had grown up thinking that life in the suburbs was tops. As my worldview began to expand by my trips to different places across the globe, I realized that not everyone grows up in a posh suburban setting like I had experienced in Johnson County, Kansas. My trips to and from Norman, Oklahoma helped to challenge that way of thinking; I was ok with letting that go.

The houses might be luxurious, the cars might be fast, the streets might be in pristine condition, but those so-called-good parts of town were missing one im-portant element; the human element. That element was what I had spent the previous years of my undergrad trying to understand. Throughout my classes here in the Division of Regional and City Planning, I’ve tried to remember that I don’t plan for a nice sketch, or a magazine article, or a great picture, but for people; people with real feelings, hopes, homes, fears, and aspirations. I feel like I’ve learned how to do just that over my course work in the program. I want to plan for people.

Some of the most important lessons in my life I haven’t learned in a classroom. Although I value my education highly, I am more about the journey it took to get there instead of just aiming for the destination. To reflect on my time in RCPL without acknowledging the other, non-academic, skills I’ve acquired would only tell half the story. But my very being in RCPL either

WHAT LED ME HERE

WHAT I’VE LEARNED HERE

directly or indirectly taught me those lessons. I’ve learned more about myself in the past two years. Cheesy as the phrase “finding myself ” sounds, being in RCPL helped me do just that.

There obviously have been major academic breakthroughs as well. Lessons in the class-room had a strong focus on practical skills that one will need when entering the work-force. I loved the practical nature of all the courses. Each professor would infuse a lecture with stories from their own experiences from Austin, China, Florida, or Fort Worth. Of-ten guest speakers were brought in from around the Oklahoma City area to speak to the class about how this topic applies in the real world. There was a strong focus on collabo-rative learning by working in groups within the class. As RCPL will be inter-disciplinary in the real world, I’ve had the opportunity to work in inter-disciplinary groups on several occasions. Working in so many group projects I learned how I work and lead as well. Meeting deadlines is a part of life, something I’m getting better at as I grow up. But these group projects have helped me know what leadership styles I naturally gravitate towards, what “battles” to pick with others about the project, and how to read people in order to avoid critical mass. I could have easily done my worked by myself and turned it in without the help of other people but I would have missed out on one of the most important aspect of being a planner, building relationships. We have to do that with our co-workers, our clients, politicians, and people from other disciplines that are involved in planning. Building rela-tionships adds that human element to planning. Being in RCPL helped me to hone and refine those relationship-building skills.

It was just one of those weeks where nothing was coming together. What seemed so sim-ple at our Monday meeting was now looking at stretching far beyond the Friday dead-line we had set for ourselves. It was now Friday; even though we had been working all week we still didn’t have a deliverable. We were nowhere close to having a breakthrough moment either. I remember being in studio frustrated with life, ArchGIS, and my map partners Phillip Walters and Tsung-Hsien Lee.

The computers that had worked so easily the semester before at the Arc-on-Main, were now somehow missing a key element. Some internal bug in systems of Gould Hall was

making my job a living hell. My frustration with technology was beginning to get the best of me and I was starting to get irked by everything. It had been a very stressful week, and instead of letting myself vent, I began to internalize the issue. I could solve this problem on my own. But the longer the technology foiled my attempts the more I was irrationally getting frustrated with Phillip and Tsung-Hsien. I was flat out mad at the world.

The computer I was working on decided ArchGIS had had too much and froze it for me just when I was almost completed. Five hours of work, gone. (Another life lesson, click save religiously). Having to start all over again, I got up and switched computers. Maybe this time it would work. In the hour that passed for the computer to log me on, I asked another planner friend Justin DeBruin, for help with the GIS. Sometimes it takes stepping away from the problem to see the solution. It took Justin’s fresh set of eyes to fix what had been stressing me out all week. It was a back-alley way to fix the problem, a way I hadn’t thought of before, but it worked. Three clicks later we go for launch! Suddenly, my attitude instantly improved.

Turns out I wasn’t mad at Phillip or Tsung-Hsien, I was mad at the technology. I should have learned to ask for help sooner. Doing so would have saved me from that whole mess to begin with. Being stubborn and prideful set me up for frustration.Sometimes the best way we learn things is through the school of hard knocks. Thank-fully my friends forgave me for my poor social skills that week.

In my final semester as an RCPL student I entered an urban design competition. I was with three other architects, and a business administration student (My project is pic-tured later on in this portfolio). We set out to win the grand prize of $50,000! I would be playing the role of Urban Designer. A good fit since that is my concentration in the program.

It was a mild winter morning the first day of the Spring 2012 semester, when we learned that our project was going to be centered on an

urban in-fill site in Houston, Texas. We then spent the next 14 days creating, mapping, drawing, and designing

a 16-acre shopping-entertainment-residen-tial complex for a corner of down-

town Houston. The chemistry of our group was solid.

We set to work

NON-ACADEMIC LESSONS

WORKING TOGETHERSTU

DIO

ULI

instantly. Over the next two weeks, I spent about 16 hours a day working on the project in that tiny fishbowl competition room in Gould Hall.

For one person to take on a project of this scale by himself or herself would be fool-ish. Teamwork was critical to getting the project completed. Like many other projects I’d worked on in RCPL, it took relying on people to get things done. I can’t do it all by myself. All the other projects in every other class seemed to have led up to this one, ‘The Granddaddy of Them All’. In my mind this was the capstone to my Urban Design con-centration. Even though technically it wasn’t a class, I was still applying all the acquired knowledge I had learned in RCPL into this project.

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) competition was great for me to help to explain the reasoning behind design choices to the architects. They had a vague understanding of urban design but I got to expose them to many cool things. I’ll never forget the reaction one of the architects had when I showed him the different types of bioswales. “Oh we are doing that!” he exclaimed! He was familiar with the concept, but when I showed him how different cities and neighborhoods have adapted them, which was when it really sunk in for him what they do. It was moments like that, which made me think, “I love what I’m doing.”

I was technically responsible for demographic data, maps, and parking. But my role on the team was much larger. I kept pushing the architects to develop and run with our big idea. I tired to make sure no one got too pigeon holed in their thinking. This would make sure that when we had an idea, we could say with confidence that we were willing to stake our share of the prize money on that. That litmus test of sorts helped us refine our ideas. I used my role as planner to keep my eye on the big picture, help others see the big picture while we all individually add our unique elements.

We hung our hat on the idea of creating a “front porch” type neighborhood for down-town Houston. Not only was our site a the entry way to Downtown Houston, we wanted to make sure that the people inside that community felt welcomed, causal and friendly. We called our idea “The Veranda”. It featured a large lawn that would be the center for community activity.

When we began to design our project it was easy for us to think of our site as the new Downtown, but in reality our design needed to compliment not compete with the Down-town. This matter came to a head on the issue of mass transit. Our site was within walk-

ing distance of two stops. Having a stop on site would get people to come here, but it would have been so impractical to morph the existing light rail to zig-zag up to our site. After a long deliberation but we decided that our site wasn’t the ‘center of the universe’. We ended up strengthening the connections to the rail stop and other districts across the bayou by widening sidewalks, adding bike lanes to roads, and creating a pedestrian bridge to span the bayou. Sometimes the hardest part of the project is showing or exam-pling the reasons behind the elements you did not include.

After two weeks we turned our project in and waited. We would have to wait twenty days to find out the results of our efforts. Out of the 139 teams that competed we received “First Place Honorable Mention”. The top 4 teams moved on to the next round and re-ceived money. We missed it by one place, but everyone on our team was extremely proud of the product that we turned in. The decision to move into Gould Hall was made long before I arrived, but I indirectly benefited from the choices made by RCPL faculty, which provided for the close connections to the architects on my team. Much like I would find if I was working in the same office in a design firm.

When not in class I found myself getting involved in the campus life of the University of Oklahoma. For the past two years I served as the Community Recruitment Execu-tive for the Big Event, OU’s official day of community service, and served as a Student Ambassador for the College of Architecture. During my reign as Ambassador I was able to meet several alumni from the Board of Visitor meetings. Prior to coming OU, I was pitiful at networking, small talk, and meeting new people. It wasn’t that I was shy, far from it, I was haunted by the few attempts that I had in my undergrad that I came away with feeling rather embarrassed. OU gave me the chance to come out with a fresh start.On the first Board of Visitors meeting of the 2011-2012 school year, the first at Gould Hall, one Board of Visitors visitor was keen on visiting one room in particular. This was none other then our studio’s namesake Mr. Jim Duncan. I was a feeling a little intimi-dated at first. The previous spring I had attended a party in his honor in Boston at the American Planning Association (APA) National Conference, and was informed about his illustrious career. So I was trying to be on my best behavior when he arrived that after-noon. I was expecting his inspection of the studio space to be uptight and formal, but it was the total opposite, it was relaxed and casual.

He sat with us over looking the South Oval and marveled at all the modular furniture, and he told us stories. It was a great experience to here some personal stories of legend

CONFIDENCE

in the business. Mr. Duncan was once like me jobless and about to graduate. And he turned out quite all right. Maybe someday I’ll have the pleasure to visit with young RCPL students and tell them my stories while in RCPL. This chat was the first of many I would go on to have at the Board of Visitors meetings throughout the year.

Confidence is one of the those non-academic things that I gained from my time here, not related to any class, but was just the result of me being here. This confidence helped me as I talked to practicing planners at the Oklahoma APA Conferences in Norman and Bartlesville and APA National Conferences in Boston and Los Angeles as well as making cold-calls to jobsites throughout the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area for the Big Event, and even meeting the President of the University of Okla-homa David L. Boren at the 2011 Big Event too.

During my time at OU I was also a Community Recruitment Executive for the 2011 and 2012 OU Big Event. I was able to talk my fellow RCPL friends into participating both years. I do my best at things I am passionate about. I care about cities. The Big Event offered me the opportunity to improve the quality of life for people all across the Oklahoma City area by sending volunteers out to organizations to run a day camp, or remove graffiti off a street, or by planting flowers in a park. The Big Event helped me add that human element I will need for my planning career.

My passion for the community must have been evident because I was honored to re-ceive the 2012 Big Event Executive of the Year. I am so glad to have been a part of that organization during my two years in the RCPL program. I hope that RCPL con-tinues to volunteer in the community and participate in ways to give back.

Within academia, I have learned countless things. My first class was His-tory and Theory of Urban Planning taught by Dr. K. M. Wieters. That

class was a favorite of mine. We flew 2000 years of history in a semester. His-tory is something I love. History answers how things got this way in the first

place. Each city has so many fascinating quirks just waiting to be discovered. Sometimes these quirks are found in the physical markers of the city. But some-

times it is in the personalities of the people running them. I can’t wait to return to New York City and point to things, and exclaim “ROBERT MOSES BUILT

THIS!”

When I go work for a city a simple review of that town’s history will uncover the likes and dislikes as well as sensitive subjects that early awareness of might actually help me keep my job. This class affected how I’ll approach planning by focusing on how we got here. Solutions might just be under the pages of a history book.

Knowing the history of urban form will help me be a good urban designer. There is clearly a revival of pre-World War II types of neighborhoods. We have seen how big-box stores and large parking lots affect the quality of life of the people in the com-munity. The car might not disappear but how we handle it will get better. No longer can we simply add more lanes. But history tells us that people like to walk, they just need to given the option to. So the solution isn’t just sidewalks, but creating mix-use areas where all of lives needs are easily accessible just by walking out the door.

I love it when it works, and I curse it when it doesn’t. I have love-hate relationship with the program Geographic Information Systems (GIS) (although more love then hate). I’ve studied maps ever since I was little. I am never lost! I would study them so much, I always knew where I was even when I was taking a new route home from Norman my first year at OU. GIS let me be able to make maps!

Making a good map is like telling a good story. It is about communication, and know-ing your audience. When you make a map, the story comes alive on the page. This allows people to interpret the story for themselves. There’s a lot of design that goes into making a good map. It takes a good eye to develop a nice looking map. I hope it is evident, if in nothing else from my portfolio design, that I have a flare for good visual displays.

Dr. Shen’s GIS class led us through the basics of the software and all the tools and tricks I would need for GIS. Demand for people who know GIS is growing, and I hope that I can land one of those jobs. The class also taught me that data is just data until it tells us something. We can have plenty of good data and have accurate shape files, but if it doesn’t tell us anything useful it is not helpful. The class taught me to ask interesting questions, so I would be able to get usable information from the data.

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Freshly out of the GIS class taught, I started a two-week course to further my knowledge of this software. I was awarded a NASA Fellowship from the Oklahoma Space Grant and Center for Spatial Analysis. It was a great experience. Seeing that NASA logo on my nametag was one of those, “this will look great on my resume” moments. As I walked around the National Weather Center proudly sporting that badge it made me feel like I had “arrived”. This program furthered my understand-ing of GIS and introduced me to other software and mapping techniques. Learning software is a like learning a language, the more you use it the more you retain. I plan on using GIS and other mapping software in my career as a planner.

These experiences will help me be a better planner because I am able to communi-cate idea not only verbally, but also visually to. This is tool I need in order to com-pete in the ever increasingly noisy marketplace.

There were several classes in RCPL that dealt with math, such as Urban Planning Research Methods, Urban and Regional Analysis, and State and Local Finance. I hadn’t had a formal math class since high school. I took advanced placement math and “clep’d” out of needing to take any math classes during my undergrad. I loved math, I just thought I was done with it, so I buried it in my mind. (It ended up deep in the back. Way back next to the “Babies 1st Christmas” file). My undergrad dealt with the abstract, now I had to shift back to concrete ways of thinking, so I struggled at first in these classes.

After a while it started coming back to me, and I really enjoyed the new ways sta-tistical math could be applied to solving urban problems. There are many different ways it can be applied but I know one thing, I need to be honest, and don’t manipu-late the numbers. The hardest thing to do might be to tell a mayor that our town is not growing and cuts need to be made. Being a ‘yes-man’ in that moment would cause serious harm to the town. Statistics help us find coloration and causation and help determine if something is significantly impacted by the changes.

From time to time I have met alumni of the program or heard stories of alumni told to me in class. OU has had many Presidents of APA, and many other significant movers and shakers within the profession. The bar has been set very high, and I

don’t want to disappoint. I want to continue the legacy set forth before me. People leave OU and go out and do great things. I am going to be one of those people. And through-out it all, I want to make a difference in people’s lives.

A subway platform is just cold cement until people come and give it life. I have had the opportunity to meet great people in my time at OU. Two years has come and gone far too quickly, if could I would do it all again. Like a tourist clings to a transit map, I will carry the things I’ve learned here with me… where ever this train I’m waiting for takes me.

NARRATIVE ESSAY

MATH

CONCLUSION

PORTFOLIO

MEMO

PROBLEM SETS

MEMO: Date: 27 October 2011

TO: Paul Thompson

From: Tyler McCarthy

Subject: Library Bond Issue

The goal is to create a state of art library that will be the focal point

of regional social activity, learning, and civic pride. Total construction will

be $18,600,000. Construction will be paid for through city bonds. The city

would have to issue 1826 bonds that will all be retired after 23 years.

The school district has been the city’s biggest partner. They provide

book drives, fundraising, and educational programs for the community. They

have asked for additional space (e.g. classroom or conference room) for

evening ESL classes. Learning lab spaces will be included in the design.

Cost not included by the bonds would be facility maintenance and

initial start up cost of books, buying additional new books, future technology

upgrades and staff. Benefits of a new library are mostly intangibles, so very

hard to quantify. Lowering childhood illiteracy and increasing attendance at

the library are ways to see if the library was worth it retrospectively. These

projected intangible benefits out weight the construction cost.

Libraries last much longer than 23 years; it would be a good

investment on the city. The no-build option would use the water fee revenue

on remodeling existing city buildings.

STATE & LOCAL FINANCESTATE & LOCAL FINANCE

GOOGLE SKETCHUP

PARTNER MIKE LEWIS

GEOGRAPHIC INFOMATION SYSTEMS

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Arrival Times

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Anchor SteamBLVD Tank 7GD Herecules Double IPARed Hook ESBBLVD Harvest Dance*Rouge Dead Guy ALe*Spaten Oktoberfest*

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Shock TopBudweiserBudweiser SelectBud Light

George Killians Irish RedMichelob Amber Bock*

Guiness

IQC COMMUNITY WORKSHOP

SUBDIVISION & PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT

Norman, Oklahoma wanted to attract high-end retail in the University North Park TIF

District. Tax Incremental Financing has been used in other cities to spur development and diversify

the local economy by attracting different types of businesses. The following are other cities with a

similar background as Norman, which also have TIF districts. Comparing the use of Norman TIF

districts to others we can see how well Norman TIF districts are doing.

The City of Olathe, Kansas is a southwestern suburb of Kansas City. It is the county seat

of Johnson County. The population of Olathe increased in the last half of the 20th Century as

the population of the central city, Kansas City, declined. Currently the population of Olathe is

estimated to be around 125,0001, a population comparable to Norman. The distance from Olathe

to Kansas City’s downtown is around 20 miles, about the same distance Norman is to Oklahoma

City’s downtown. (Coincidentally, Interstate 35 connects them both to the central city). Olathe was

founded in 1857, and remained a sleepy cow town until the post World War II building boom.

Olathehas10TIFdistricts,aswellasmanyother‘benefitdistricts’.ABenefitdistrictis

similar to a Planned Unit Development (PUD), and primarily used for residential areas. Residents,

who use the facilities connected to the neighborhood more, pay for the upkeep of those areas2.A

TIF is used to bring in new businesses for a commercial retail development, which will “diversify”

the Olathe economy3. Olathe will “freeze” the taxes at that originating level for a given amount of

time. The current TIF structure was approved in 20093,butthefirstTIFdistrictsinOlathebeganas

early as 20024. Olathe sets standards for design guidelines for what the TIF will look like, which are

consistent with the “Planning Commission and City Council”3. This will ensure the look of the TIF

is consistent with the look of Olathe, as well as limiting one-use only type of buildings. The ten TIF

districts in Olathe have different goals. One called Southgate, began in 2002, as means encourages

development on the south end of Olathe. This provided an entrance and exit to the city along I-354.

Anotherisan“EntertainmentDistrict”whichiscurrentlyunderthereviewandproposalstages4.

Another’spurposefocusesonattractingmedicalrelatedbusiness/researchtoOlathenearOlathe

Medical Center4.

The City of Plano, Texas is a Dallas suburb. The population of Plano is just over double

1 US Census Data. by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olathe,_Kansas2 Benefit Districts. http://www.olatheks.org/Finance/EconomicDevelopment/BenefitDistricts3 Purpose of Olathe TIF. http://www.olatheks.org/files/CityDocuments/ccp/F-7.pdf4 Olathe TIF. http://www.olatheks.org/Finance/EconomicDevelopment/TIF

CASE STUDIES: TAX INCREMENT FINANCE DISTRICTS

of Norman’s at just under 260,0005. Plano covers only 77 square miles to Norman’s 177 square miles

gives Plano have a density of nearly 4,000 people per square mile. In Norman has a roomy 500 people

per square mile5. Plano is a southern town, which has one major attractor to the area like Norman’s

University does. Plano is home to the Frito-Lay Company.

UnlikeOlathe,PlanoonlyhastwoTIFdistricts.ThesearetheShopsatWillowBend,andthe

historic downtown6. Plano also calls these Tax Incremental Reinvestment Zones or (TIRZ) but they

functionexactlylikeaTIFdistrict.TheShopsatWillowBendofferhigh-endretail,limitedorselective

marketstores,andtraditional‘bigbox’storesoranchors.SuchbrandnamesincludeLacoste,Appleand

BestBuyrespectively7. The historic Downtown Plano area features shops, restaurants and a live music

culture8. This gives Plano residents a sense of community, as the downtown is restored as a prominent

place for festivals and public gatherings. Plano has used the TIRZ to spur new development as well as

redevelop existing space.

The Village of Palatine, Illinois is the last of our case studies. Palatine is a northwestern suburb

of Chicago. The population is just under 70,0009. Palatine is only 13 square miles which makes for a

much denser city9. Palatine is slightly further away from its the central city than Norman is from its.

Eventhoughthevillageissmall,ithasthreeTIFdistricts.ThesearelocatedatDowntown

Palatine, Rand Corridor and Dundee Corridor. The purpose of these TIFs was designed to attract

businesses such as a Wal-Mart10. They also wanted to “preserve” the linear commercial development.

This will attract car dealerships too. This is important to note since Norman wanted so called high-end

retailers,herewehaveasuburbancitywantingtoattractaverage/regularretailers.

OlatheandPalatinehaveprovedthatcitiescanspecificallyattractcertaintypesofbusinesses

to occupy a TIF district. Plano shows us that in a new development, such as the University North

Park, high-end retailer can be attracted to there especially in the big city where other commercial areas

compete for their business. Norman seems to have let any store lease on the property regardless of its

product. This lessens the appeal to other high-end stores that wouldn’t like being next to a lower-end

store and may look Norman by when searching for a new or additional OKC metro location.

5 US Census Data. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plano,_Texas6 Plano TIF http://www.planotexas.org/For_Site_Selectors-Tax_Increment_Finance.aspx7 Shops at Willow Bend stores. http://www.shopwillowbend.com/shopping8 http://www.theplanofeastival.com/9 US Census Data. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatine,_Illinois10 Palatine TIF. http://www.palatine.il.us/businesses/economic_development/palatine_tif_districts.aspx

STATE & LOCAL FINANCE

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF URBAN PLANNINGWRITING SAMPLE

TakeMeOuttotheBallpark:

Planning Sports Facilities as Means of Urban Redevelopment

Introduction

The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, the taste of crackerjacks, all of these things are

associated with professional sporting events. Over the past century, sports have evolved from a small

social event on Saturday afternoons in the park, to huge multi-million dollar events. The ability for an

Americancitytohostlarge-scalenationalsportingeventsmeansthecityhasapotentiallyhugenew

source of revenue.

The evolution of sports has impacted the planning and design of stadiums. Simple games

requiredsimplefacilities.AssportsgrewinprominenceinAmericanculture,sotoodidtheplanningof

stadiums. No longer will a simple concrete bowl be adequate for the tastes of the postmodern crowd.

From the high school to the professional level, stadiums are evolving side by side with the sports they

hosts, and the cities they reside in.

Sporting events have become an important industry for a city’s economy. The role of the city

planner is to work with the architects, developers, and professional franchises to capitalize on this

relatively young industry. Sports facilities, just like any other mega-project, are a huge investment for

the city; thoughtful decision-making is needed before actions are taken.

Sporting entertainment is largely based on disposable income, and therefore not a necessity, and

since sporting venues are a huge investment of cities funds, a legitimate question can be asked; is all

themoneyinvestedintoasportsredevelopmentprojectworthit?Althoughitisahugeinvestmentfor

a city, when done correctly, world-class sports facilities can bring economic redevelopment, spur new

growth, and create positive community spirit and identity. City planners need to be aware of the politics,

outside competition, and multiple voices that are coming to the table when tackling a mega-project such

as a new sports stadium.

History

Gone are the days that a city could get by with placing a stadium on the outskirts of town or

creating one that simply accommodated sitting for large crowds. Today stadiums are lavish facilities,

mini-cities within themselves, which require very detailed background studies before one shovel hits

the dirt.

Rod Sheard, author of The Stadium: Architecture for the New Global Culture, writes that over

thehistoryofsportsandcivilization,stadiumdesignhasfallenintofivegenerations(Sheard100).In

thebeginning,stadiumswerehumble.The“firstgeneration”ofstadiumdesigncoversahugeamount

ofhistory;roughlylastingfromtheconstructionofRome’sColiseumin72ADtotherestorationof

Athens’OlympicStadiumin1896(103).Overallthesestadiumswerearchitecturallysimpleandhad

few amenities; all but the very rich stood. They served one primary purpose only and that was to

provideroomforfanstoobservethegames;“thefirstgenerationsofstadiumswerelargeanddistinctly

uncomfortable places (103).”

Advances in technology,specifically the television,slowlyshiftedstadiums into the“second

generation” (107). Television was a mixed bag for stadium design. Citizens now had the convenience

ofwatchingeventsfromthecomfortoftheirhomes.Eventattendancedeclined(107).Togetfansback

in the stadium seats, stadiums needed to have more of the comforts of home. Dilapidated stadiums were

now an embarrassment for a city as images of the city, stadium and events were being broadcast all over

the world. Stadiums were now being built near freeways to accommodates the fans automobiles, for

arrivingandparkingease(108).Stadiumswerebecomingdomed.In1965,theAstrodomewasthefirst

fully air-conditioned stadium in the world. This was not only a feature the fans enjoyed, but a domed

stadiumensuredoptimalandpredictableplayingconditions(109).Tenyearslater,in1975,America

was still following the same practices when a small town outside of Detroit, Michigan landed the bid for

a 80,000 seat domed stadium at the intersection of two interstates (Spiroli 30). The stadium had more

seats then the citizen of Pontiac, Michigan did (31). Over in Seattle, the Kingdome was build with such

a disconnect with fans in mind that local press enjoyed Marines’ away games more than being at home.

“Nowhere on earth does Seattle’s Kingdome seem more inadequate a place to watch baseball…[then

when one] is behind home plate at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.” Seattle Times writer Tom Farrey

wrote in 1995 (Sheard 87). Car friendly, and massive multi-use stadiums mark this era (107).

The “third generation” would focus on the family (109). Stadium violence grew in the 1970s

and1980s,aswellasseveralfataltragediesthatfinallytriggeredcityofficialsintoaction(111).City

planners looked to the popularity Walt Disney World, which opened in 1971, as the new goal for stadium

designers (110). The goal of third generation stadiums was not only to create a comfortable physical

space, but a comfortable atmosphere where families could enjoy the game, and each other without fear

of crowd violence or engineering malfunctions. The “third generation” lasted until the late 1980s (112).

Two things ushered in the “fourth generation”, satellite TV and advertising. Sporting events

were now being broadcast all over the world. Companies now could broadcast their brand, image, and

name all over the world (115). Stadiums were now the “backdrop to the televised performances (116).”

Ownerswererealizingthephysiologicalimpactsofviewingemptyseatsontelevision.Apackedfull

30,000-seat stadium looks better than a half full 80,000-seat stadium (116). Corporations were buying

upadvertisingleftandright.Everythingwasupforgrabs;eventhenameofthestadium.Allthemoney

exchanging hands got civic leaders thinking how they can get their hands on that sort of money.

Thecurrent,“fifthgeneration”ofstadiumsdesignsfocusesonurbanregeneration.

The 21st Century has a new potential has emerged; the ability of stadiums to shape new cities

and to regenerate decaying areas of old cities. The stadium typology can provide all the elements

required to achieve a criticalmass capable of sustaining city life: a criticalmass containing

residential, commercial, retail, leisure and transport components… It is a less tangible piece of

architecturethanthepreviousfourgenerations;itwillbeidentifiedandcategorizedbyitsglobal

presence and by its regional regenerative potential (Sheard116).

Thisisthecurrentgenerationofstadiumdesign,iswherecityplannersfindthemselvesworking.

It is very important that city planners understand where we have come from; in order to understand

where we are now and where we are going as a city. With the knowledge of the past, we can make better

decisionsaboutthefuture.Itwouldbeveryfoolishforacitytoapprovea“firstgeneration”stylestadium

today. Stadiums have gone from a building with one, single, inclusive purpose, to a building that has

multiple external purposes not limited to the physical stadium grounds but to the surrounding neighbor

and districts.

Economic Impact: Direct, Indirect and Intangible

Good parents care for their children and provide for their children a better future. Likewise, city

planners should act in a caring wait with the decisions they make as stewards of the cities in which they

work. They should care about the city and want what is best for it. With city’s budgets tighter due to the

economic recession, city planners need to make sure that plans are not only environmentally sustainable

– meaning the ability for a development to co-exist on the land without a negative impact – but be

economically sustainable – meaning having the ability to have a positive return on investment. City

planners and civic leaders should not be in the business of creating city debt, as that would acting as a

bad stewards of citizen’s tax dollars and federal funds.

Direct and Indirect Impacts

Sportsstadiumscanprovideasourceforpositiveeconomicgrowthinthecity.Economic

benefitstoacityarecategorizedinthreeways,“direct,indirectandintangible(Spirou,Bennett25)”.

Direct impacts are a known quantity that can be accounted for by sales receipts. Indirect impacts can

also be found by comparing game-day revenues with non-game day revenues, as well as pre-stadium

and post-stadium sales revenues. Intangible effect can only be estimated, and are largely subjective in

nature.Asourceforcalculatingtheintangiblecanbewhatothercity’spresshastosayaboutthecity

and event.

Direct spending is collected from things directly associated with the sports stadiums, such as

ticket sales, stadium parking passes, concessions. Indirect spending comes from retail, restaurants, non-

stadium merchandising and television advertising revenues. Intangible aspects are how people perceive

the city on a local, national, and global scale (21-22).

The total economic impact of a stadium on a city can be calculated a number of ways. Most

commonly is amethod thatusesamultipliereffect.Accountingfirm,PricewaterhouseCoopersuses

a three-pronged multiplier approach. First measured is the direct impact plus indirect and induced

spending related to the franchise. Then wages and salaries of ownership, workers, and the like are

measured. Lastly, total employment in the areas and jobs created by the franchise is measured (21).

AnothermethodusedbytheEdwardShilsthattheUniversityofPennsylvaniacollectsallthe

known direct revenue, such as ticket sales, parking, concessions, and advertising, then multiplies that

numberby1.7tofindtheamountof“indirecteconomicimpactyieldedbydirectspending”(Spirou,

Bennett 22). This number is then multiplied by 2.6 to find the estimated economic for the entire

metropolitan area.

Just as a parent would not lie to his or her child, a city planner has a duty not to lie to the public

with statistics. In any statistic there is the possibility of lying and manipulation. One needs to make sure

that one’s sources are sound. Manipulation of statistics to turn public perception from negative into

favorable for a proposed stadium breaks the sacred bond city planners have with the public. “Studies

are often commissioned by team owners or groups trying to justify public investment, [so] the potential

for bias is high (Santo 57).”

Acritiqueofusing themultiplier effectmethod is that itdoesn’t account for“newmoney”,

generated by visitor and tourism spending. Locals are simply shifting money that would have been spent

elsewhere and putting it in the stadium area (60). “Sporting events provide additional entertainment

options for a metropolitan area residents but do not increase their leisure budget (58).” This means

that people are spending their money downtown at the stadium instead of spending their money on

entertainment found within their suburb. So one area will thrive while one area suffers. This is known as

substitutiary spending (59). This is important for city planners to understand. City planners need to be

aware of the limitations of statistical evidence and the methods that produced them. This is not the ideal

situation for city planners. Planners in the urban core need to work with suburban planners to understand

the true nature of economic impact surveys.

Anotherwaypeopleliewithstatisticswhenreportingeconomicimpactsisbydefininganarrow

areatodefinetheregion,therefore,everyoneoutsideofthatsmallareaisconsideredavisitor,andthusis

considered “new money”. The ideal situation is to have events where 100% of the spectators are visitors

from outside of the metropolitan area. This is misleading since up to 95% of spectators at events can be

locals (Santo 58).

If city planners want the stadium to spark economic growth or redevelopment they need to factor

in“leakage”,ormoneythat“leaks”outfromthelocaleconomy(59).Ahighleakageratemeansfewer

dollars that stay in the local economy. Leaks are found in moneys paid to franchise owners, player’s

salaries, saving accounts, even corporately owned food or retail franchises in the sports entertainment

district (59).

Since the multiplier system is prone to high bias, and neglecting substitutiary spending and

leaks, a new form of measurement is needed. Planner can use empirical evaluation process. This uses

datafromcitiesthathavealreadycompletedbigevents,andsportsvenues.Thefindingswillhelpcity

planners to decide where or not a similar undertaking is economically viable for the community on the

whole. The empirical evaluation studies data that looks at cross-sections results – meaning multiple

cities or counties – and time-series results – meaning over several years and even decades, how well did

those cities do before and after the event or stadium completion (60).

Charles Santo points to a study done by Coates and Humphreys in 1999. Where Coates and

Humphreys looked at “37 US cities that had hosted top-level sports team from 1969-1994.” The studies

concluded that some sports franchises have a “negative impact on per capita income (Santo 61).”

ABaadeandDyestudyconductedin1996compared“48UScitiesfrom1958to1987”and

found“nosignificantdifferencesincitieswithteamsornewstadiumsfromthosewithoutthem.”Anda

similarstudyin1997found“nosignificantincreaseinemploymentoroutput”in“10UScitiesthathad

gained major league franchises from 1958 to 1993 (60-61).”

Cities like stadiums because they can also increase space for conventions, expos and other one-

timenon-sportmega-events.Amega-eventstudyconductedbyP.K.Porterin1999showedthatnon-

event tourism is down in the host city due to a perceived “crowding out” effect. The potential for 100%

occupancy rate of hotels drops as low as 80% full. Porter found this data when he studied sales data from

thethreecountiesthathavehostedSuperBowlsbetween1979and1996(61).

The economic impact information that planners get is a mixed bag. Planners wanting a new

stadiumtosparkeconomicgrowthintheircityneedtofactorinbothgoodandbadfindings,aswellas

factor out studies with statistics bias or ones that have been manipulated. Over all author Rod Sheard

asserts that

[Stadiums] can be massively expensive to build, but they can also generate huge amounts of

money.Thepowerandfiscalweightofsport inincreasingasandindustryaroundtheworld,

and I believe the 21stCenturywillestablishsportastheWorld’sfirsttrulyglobalculture.Itwill

become the internationally recognized social currency (Sheard 7).

Thisisalsoanotherfactorthatcityplannersneedtoweighinordertofigureoutifanewstadium

or arena is right for the town in which he or she works. If trends continue, Sheard’s assertion will

be correct. The value that towns place on sports may far out weigh the realistic cost of construction,

maintenance and negative economic impacts.

Intangible Impacts

Since there is now no guarantee that a stadium, sports franchise, and a sports entertainment

districtwill produce significant returns on investment,why do cities still green light huge stadium

projects?Thisiswherefactoringintangiblescomesintoplay.Ifoneisnotcarefulintangiblebenefitscan

becomethemajoritydeterminate,oversoundfinical/economicdata.

Sports hits at something in the center of the human condition. Stadiums are the place where

this happens. The architecture and the event go hand in hand with the city they reside in. Together, all

three pieces – architecture, event, and city – help transcend citizens out of the everyday. The slogan for

ABC’sWideWorldofSportsveryaccuratelyrepresentshoweveryonefeelswhensportsareatitsbest.

Together with the athletes we feel “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”.

Through sports entire cities and nations feel a sense of pride and achievement. The 1988 Summer

Olympic in Seoul, South Korea showed the world that “everything was still alright (Olympic Stadiums).”

Mostrecentlythe2010FIFAWorldCupwasheldinthedevelopingnationofSouthAfrica.“Positive

SouthAfricanspointtotheupsurgeintourism,nationalpride,thelackofpredictedbloodbathsanda

briefdownturnincrime(BleacherReport).”Tenofthestadiumsareunusedandinfrastructurecostsare

notpaidoff(BleacherReport).ForbothSouthKorea,andSouthAfrica,thefactthat“theydidit”farout

weightedanyfinancialnegative.Boththesecountrieswerecreatingsocialcapital.“Socialcapitalmakes

democracy work. Political renewal rests in the values and institutions that sustain community. People’s

desire and willingness to join associations or groups – their sense of civic virtue – will build connections

that provide the social glue for future initiatives (Jordan-Zachery 119)”. So city planners may not be

justifiedbyspendinghugeamountstobuildastadium,butifthecitizensfeeltheyhavebeentranscended

to a high-class city, it makes the project more marketable to the public.

Anotherintangibletoconsideristhephysicalbuildofthevenueitself.Inmedievalpeoplesaw

cathedrals as the iconic, focal point of a city (Gannon 22). The stadium has become the new “town

symbol” of the postmodern era. Stadiums not only “house their respective activities but are also symbols

of the highest level of achievement (10).”

City planners can use the stadium as an icon itself. “The landmarks and the symbols of our cities

and our cultures have been the build monuments. For better or worse they show what we were and

what we are (Sheard 16).” City planner can now kill two birds with one stone so to speak, a world class

stadium can also double as city icon. The great stadiums of our time help create intangible brand for a

city.

It is hard, if not impossible to pin down in economic terms the exact measure that intangible

factors have on a city. Non-the-less it is an important part of the planning process for city planners to

consider. Some the intangible impacts can be discovered by conducting popular opinion surveys. Once

the stadium is built city planner can use resources like Google Trends to track city buzz. Negative results

and bad press about current sports facilities could be a signal for city planners to start the preliminary

work on a new sports entertainment district.

Including Sports in the Comprehensive Plan

While economic feasibility studies are still going on, it is critical to determine if the city or

communityevenwantsa large stadiumor sportvenuecoming innextdoor.Even if there is ahuge

economic boost to the city, the noise and light pollution attributed to the stadium might be more than

residents had bargained for. Just like how city planners work with residents on transportation or other

urban redevelopment projects, it is so very important to have community input and support.

“The struggle over the ‘public good’ pits people against each other thus resulting in the creation

of‘enemies.’Theseare‘…identifiablepersonsorstereotypesofpersonstowhomeviltraitsorintentions

can be attributed (Jordan-Zachery 14).” No city planner wants to be cast as the evil puppet in the hands of

the rich developer. That is why it is so important for city planners to educate the public on the positive

thingsthestadiumwillbringtotown.Again,thiscanonlyhappenifthatplannerhasdonehisorher

research and has unbiased statistics at his or her disposal. Using manipulated statistics will only be a

point of rallying troops against the project, for those who bring tar and feathers to city council meetings.

TheArizonaCardinalswerelookingforanewhome.Theyinvestigatedthreepotentialsites,

and selected one on the Tempe-Mesa border. The Tempe City Council didn’t even put the stadium

resolutionontheballot.LeavingtheteamownersandarchitectstogowithplanB.Theyrealignedthe

stadiumsoitwastobecompletelywithinthecitylimitsofMesa,Arizona(Gannon32).Thisshowsus

howimportantitisforcityplannerstoactaseducatorandambassadorsofourmega-projects.Because

ofTempe’srebellion,stadiumconstructionwasdelayedbyseveralweeks.Actingasaneducatorisnot

acatchallguaranteethatplanswillcontinuewithoutahitch.Butitsuredoeshelpwhendreamsare

backed up by sound statistics and logic.

(ThestadiumwasmovedonemoretimeoverwhenconcernsfromtheFAAwerebroughtup

about the stadium’s proximity to Phoenix’s airport (Gannon 44). The University of Phoenix Stadium

nowresidessafelyawayfromallairplanesinGlendale,Arizona(62).)

In the past cities have rather hastily thrown together sports stadium on the edge of town in order

tostealafranchisefromcity.Butsportsshouldbeapartofthecomprehensiveplanfromthebeginning.

Including sports into the comprehensive plan allows cities to go ahead and dream big dream with or

without a team. Cities can answer land use and zoning questions ahead of the team’s arrival or where a

newstadiumshouldbebuild.BecausecityplannerknowX,Y,andZ,weareabletoplacethestadium

at a site that is congruent with the overall comprehensive plan.

It is important for the city planner to keep ones head when tracking trends in sports venue

creation. Often times the loudest voice is the one with the most money. Sometimes that voice does not

express what are best for the city. This is where the comprehensive plan becomes a very useful tool.

When the trend was to have large stadiums on the outskirts of cities, Toronto stopped that by placing the

SkyDome(nowRogersCentre)intheheartofdowntown(John,Sheard37).ThefirstAmericancityto

buckthattrendwasBaltimore,whichwillbediscussedingreaterdetaillateroninthispaper(Peterson

150).

Including sports as an industry in the comprehensive plan also allows for future growth of the

city. The stadium should no longer be considered an isolated building, but it should be incorporated

into a town and region as a district (John, Sheard 27). The ability to include sports as a part of the

entertainment district is important because stadium expansion, and commercial development are

typically done in phases over a period of many years (28).

The Sports Entertainment District

Thepasthastaughtusthat“firstgeneration”stadiumsarenolongeracceptabletothepostmodern

fan, and that mega-multipurpose stadiums placed at the intersection of highways leave fans disconnected

from the sport they are attending and the city around them. This means that city planners should not to

put all of our eggs in one basket. City planners need to think of non-game day uses for the stadium too,

such as concerts, rodeos, conventions, and other non-sport events.

Kevin Lynch’s famous work, The Image of a City, describes the how the stadium can be used

as an attraction with in the city (Lynch 49). Using Lynch’s principles, the stadium becomes the icon or

landmark of the entertainment district. This creates a focal point to which shops and restaurants can

be centered around. In a walk-able downtown setting the stadium can become a meeting point where

visitors who are unfamiliar with city streets, can use in reference for a rendezvous point or in-case-one-

gets-lost point. Planning for an entertainment district also provides a year-round destination. This has

an intangible factor for the sports franchise, as their brand can be visible to the casual tourist even in

the off-season. Since National Football League teams only have eight home games a year, while Major

LeagueBaseballhascloserto81(Peterson150).

Features of the entertainment district can be movie theaters, local restaurants, boutique and

jewelers, nightclubs, and open-air concert plaza or a city lawn. The possibilities are only limited by

one’s imagination.

Case Study: Olympic Stadium; Montréal, Quebec

In1970theSummerOlympicsawardedtothecityofMontréal,Quebec,Canada.Afirstanonly

timeCanadahashost theSummerOlympics.Aspreviouslydiscussed,mega-eventscanbeamixed

blessing for any municipality. Such is the plight of Montréal. When cities plan mega-events, they are

ontheclock.Eventswon’twaitforstadiumstobefinished,theywilljustfindanothercitytobeheldin.

Montréal’s Mayor Jean Drapeau had grand visions for his Olympic Park. That vision soon was spiraling

into chaos at best (Olympic Stadiums). Scandals, controversies, labor disputes, and rising construction

costs are all phrases that city planners do not want to hear, least of the International Olympic Committee.

Construction was so far behind schedule that the roof on the Olympic Stadium was no completed until

after the games (Gordon 136). Leaving the citizen of Montréal adding $14 million post-Olympics to add

the roof (Olympic Stadiums).

Whatwassupposedtobeastadiumwitharetractableroof,andsoaring17-storysportsoffice,

hotel and restaurant tower, was reduced to solely the hastily thrown together stadium (Gordon 138).

Only just days before the Opening Ceremonies, cranes working on the stadium came down (136).

Construction delays were not the only problems that Mayor Drapeau faced. The cost of the stadium

was also soaring. The original estimates of the Olympic Park were $310 million; the actual cost of the

Olympic park was about $1.61 billion (Olympic Stadiums).

However before the Olympics came to town, Mayor Drapeau managed to bring a top-level

expansion team to the city in 1969. Surely having both a major league tenant and a world-class sporting

eventwouldensure economicprosperity inMontréal’sSt.LawrenceRiverfront anddowntown.But

Montréalcouldnotgetpastismountainofdebtitownedonthe“BigO”.Andin2004,theMontréal

Exposplayedthe lastgameinOlympicStadiumbefore theymovedsouth toWashington,D.C.Two

yearslaterinNovemberof2006,Montréalfinallypaidoffthestadiumthattheystartedbuildingmore

than 30 years ago (Olympic Stadiums).

City planners can use Montréal as an example of what not to do. What was touted as a “self-

financingOlympicGames (Gordon136)” in reality, it turned intoafinancialburden for theCityof

Montréal.Whetheritwasnostalgia,orfearofrepeatingthedisasterof1976,theLosAngelesOlympic

Organizing Committee choose to use the 1932 Olympic Stadium for the ’84 games rather than build a

new stadium. The use of a preexisting stadium coupled with changes in Olympics sponsorship rules, Los

Angeles1984becamethefirstfinanciallysuccessfulOlympics.

Again,aspreviouslystatedinthispaper,stadiumcostarehigh,butthesportsteamcannotbe

the only anchor and mechanism for economic redevelopment. It must be paired with a whole district of

options.

Case Study: Oriole Park at Camden Yards; Baltimore, Maryland

Whenmega-multipurposestadiumswerealltherageincitiesacrosstheUnitedStates,Baltimore

completely ditched this trend when construction for Oriole Park at Camden Yards started in 1989

(Provoost 110). Prior to Camden Yards, stadiums would be built on the outskirts of the city; developers

wouldremoveallobstaclesthatstoodinitsway.Baltimore,andHOKSport(nowPopulous)decided

to put the new baseball stadium just south of the downtown core (130), and would let the site dictate

theshape.Thedesignofthestadiumwasthefirstretro-lookingmodernstadium.Ittooktheformofthe

streets around it, much like the 1910s era stadiums did. The stadium was a huge hit because if anyone

canappreciatenostalgiait isbaseballfans.Itevenperseveredan1898warehousebehindrightfield.

“The warehouse contains shops, pubs, restaurants, and a museum (110).”

Baltimoredidmore that justcreateanew trend in stadiumdesign.Baltimore’snewballpark

succeeds not just architecturally but also economically. “Camden Yards helped revive the dilapidated

inner-city area and to strengthen urban functions (Provoost 110).” The nostalgic style of baseball’s

yester-yearhasbeenrepeatedcountlesstimes.CityleadersacrossthecountryuseBaltimore’sshinning

example as a model of what could happen in their cities. Just two of the many examples of cities that

followedinBaltimore’sfootstepsareSanFranciscoandDenver,whenthecitiesbuiltAT&TPark,and

Coors Field respectively.

KeepingaMajorLeagueBaseballteamwasnottheonlythingthatcityplannershadinmind

inBaltimore(Peterson150).ThecitysetitssitesonobtainingaNFLfranchise.BaltimorelostitsNFL

franchisewhenIndianapolisstoletheColtsin1984(151).In1996,BaltimorewasawardtheBrowns

franchise from Cleveland, and construction began on a new football stadium immediately south of

CamdenYards.(IronicallythenewNFLteam,theBaltimoreRavens,playedtheirfirsttwoseasonsinthe

very stadium that the Colts’ owners moved away from). The football stadium was completed in 1998,

andthusfinishedthesportsentertainmentdistrictprojectforlowerBaltimore.M&TBankStadiumis

architecturallycongruentwithOrioleParkatCamdenYards.Baltimorenowhostsnotonlytwoworld-

classstadiums,butaMarylandScienceCenter,NationalAquarium(Provoost110),andconnectionsto

Baltimore’scentralbusinessandInner-Harbordistricts(Peterson151)allaroundtheballparks.Baltimore

achieved one more thing, by making sports an integrated part of downtown, “it returned [sports] to the

place where they belong, in the center of the community (Provoost 110)”.

Case study: Power and Light District; Kansas City, Missouri

Itusedtobe,“ifyoubuildtheywillcome.”Butthathasturnedinto“ifyoubuilditwillthey

come?”forKansasCity.Inthelate1960s,KansasCity’sNFLandMLBfranchisesworkedwiththe

City of Kansas City to secure new homes on the eastern side of Kansas City. In 1973 the Truman Sport

Complexopened(Peterson245).ThislefttheKansasCity’sNBAfranchisealoneinKemperArenain

theWestBottoms,aboutamilefromcenterofdowntown.Defying logic, thestadiumsfartheraway

fromthedowntowncoreprosperedwhileKemperArenastruggledtogetfanstocometogames.Several

minorleaguehockeyandsoccerteamswouldcomeandgobeforeKansasCity’sNBAfranchise,The

Kings, would leave. The owner moved the team into a new facility in Sacramento, California.

During that same time period Kansas City’s downtown experienced urban decline as did most

US cities. So the possibility of Kansas City regaining a downtown sports anchor seemed unlikely. Until

an urban redevelopment project came on the scene in the late 1990s, early 2000s. The “Power and Light

District” as it was to be named, would redevelop an area of mostly parking lots north of I-70.

TheSprintCenterwouldbeatitscore,andKansasCity’shiatusfromtheNBAwouldhopefully

beover.“OnAugust4,2004votersapprovedahotelandrentalcartaxtohelpfinancetheSprintCenter

(Roberts)”.Asof2010,nosuchanchorhasbeenfoundfortheSprintCenter.In2005KansasCitywas

offered as bait to the owners of City of Pittsburg, when owners threatened to move their NHL franchise

to Kansas City. Pittsburg leaders worked out a deal and the Penguins stayed put (Roberts). Kansas City

also missed out on landing the 14thWNBAfranchisewhentheleague’s14thmemberfolded.Atlantawon

the bid for the new team; the Detroit Shock has since moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, again Kansas City

missed a team anchor.

KansasCity’shopesoflandingaNBAteamareallbutgonesinceOklahomaCitylandedthe

Thunderin2008.EvenwithoutananchorintheSprintCenter,thePowerandLightDistricthasthrived

and was named one of the top downtown urban redevelopment projects in the world. It continues to thrive

wasanightlyentertainmentvenue,withoutdoorconcertspace,restaurants,nightclubsandretail.And

throughout the year the Sprint Center is full of concerts, college basketball tournaments, and exposition

gamesforboththeNHL,andNBA.TherearenocurrentrumorsofKansasCitylandingateam.

Thankfully, Kansas City planners did not put all of their eggs in one basket. Since the possibility

of team-franchise anchor for the 18,500-seat Sprint Center, were slim, planners looked at other means

of making the Power and Light District a success. Mixed-use zoning, walk-able streets, and connections

toKansasCity’sconventioncenter,BartleHall,has integrated thePowerandLightDistrict into the

downtowncore.Fortune500company,H&RBlock,hasa17-storyofficebuildingthatanchorstheother

side of the Power Light District. If a professional sports team does decide to call the Sprint Center home,

the Power and Light District will enhance the fan experience. The delay may work in Kansas City’s

favor, because fans and visitors will already be familiar with the Power and Light District.

Final Thoughts

The initial goal of this paper was to weigh the economic impact a stadium and sports entertainment

districts have on a city. Whereas there is huge initial investment, the only way to make back the initial

start up cost is by planning for the entire area. This prevents an economic vacuum in the event that

the team leaves the city. Sports stadiums and sports entertainment districts can be a spark that ignites

economic growth and revitalization of a city, but it cannot the only thing that cities rely on for tax

revenues and city branding.

Sportsentertainmentdistrictsdohaveapositiveeffectacity’seconomy.Butitisnotaguarantee

that they will be successful. Many more factors come into play, which determine the successfulness of

the entertainment districts, which are beyond the scope of this paper. It would worthwhile to investigate

possible factors of weather and climate, and international cities. (With the exception of a few places, the

authorlimitedhisfocustojustAmericancities.)Anotherparameterworthmoreinvestigationthatwas

barely touched upon would be to study the effects cities and countries have after hosting the Olympic

Games and World Cup.

ItistheopinionoftheauthorthatsportsareaveryimportantofAmericanculture.Theevidence

inthispapersuggeststhateventhoughthereisariskofhugefinancialloses;citiesarestillwillingtotake

on such a risk. Therefore, city planners must do quality and sound research in order to ensure the best

possible results. Stadiums do and will foster the promotion of positive community spirit. The evidence in

this paper suggests some economic gain has to be seen in order to ensure viability. City planners are the

ones that listen to the competing voices, educate the public, and give well-informed data to civic leader,

so that they can make an informed decision. Bibliography:

“1976MontrealOlympicStadium.”OlympicStadiums.1996.Web.15Nov.2010.http://olympics.ballparks.com/1976Montreal/index.

htm

Gannon,Todd,ed.EisenmanArchitects:UniversityofPhoenixStadiumfortheArizonaCardinals.NewYork:PrincetonArchitectural,

2008. Print.

Gordon,BarclayF.OlympicArchitecture:BuildingfortheSummerGames.NewYork:Wiley,1983.Print.

Lynch,Kevin.TheImageoftheCity.Cambridge,MA:Technology,1960.Print.

John,Geraint,andRodSheard.Stadia:aDesignandDevelopmentGuide.Oxford,UK:Butterworth-Architecture,1994.Print.

Jordan-Zachery,JuliaS.UrbanSpaces:PlanningandStrugglesforLandandCommunity.Ed.JamesJennings.Lanham,MD:Lexington,

2009. Print.

Petersen,DavidC.DevelopingSports,Convention,andPerformingArtsCenters.3rded.Washington,D.C.:UrbanLandInstitute,2001.

Print.

Provoost,Michelle,ed.TheStadium:TheArchitectureofMassSport.Rotterdam:NAi,2000.Print.

Roberts,Rob.“ArenaTeamUnveilsFinalDesign|KansasCityBusinessJournal.”BusinessNews|TheBusinessJournals.18Aug.2005.

Web.08Nov.2010.<http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2005/08/15/daily37.html?jst=b_ln_hl>.

Santo,CharlesAndrew.,andGerardC.S.Mildner,eds.SportandPublicPolicy:Social,Political,andEconomicPerspectives.Champaign,

IL:HumanKinetics,2010.Print.

Sheard, Rod, Robert Powell, and Patrick Bingham-Hall, comps. The Stadium:Architecture for the NewGlobal Culture. Singapore:

Periplus, 2005. Print.

Spirou,Costas,andLarryBennett.It’sHardlySportin’:Stadiums,Neighborhoods,andtheNewChicago.DeKalb,IL:NorthernIllinois

UP, 2003. Print.

“WhiteElephantsandWastedMillions:AWarningTotheWorldCupHopefuls|BleacherReport.”BleacherReport|EntertainingSports

News, Photos and Slideshows.Web. 10 Nov. 2010. <http://bleacherreport.com/articles/515728-white-elephants-and-wasted-

millions-a-warning-to-the-world-cup-hopefuls>.

VISUAL PRESENTATION

HISTORY & THEORY OF URBAN PLANNING

ARIC YA

RBERRY

ADELLE Y

ORK

TY M

cCARTH

Y

GRANT HROM

AS

OHM D

EVANI

RETAILRETAIL

OFFICEOFFICE

OFFICEOFFICE

RESIDENCERESIDENCE

RESIDENCERESIDENCE

RESIDENCE

OPEN SPACE

PARKING

VACANT LOT

MID-RISE RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL-RESIDENTIAL

MID-RISE COMMERCIAL

HIGH-RISE COMMERCIAL

CULTURAL/INSTITUTIONAL

GOVERNMENT

111/2 MMMIIILLLLEEEEEE

11 MMMILLLEEE

111/2 MMMIIILLLEEEEE

111 MMMILLLEEE

1/2 MMMMMIIIILLLLEEEEEE

111 MMMILLLEEE

THEVER NDA

OBJECTIVES

THE BAYOU: RECONNECTING PLACE, PEOPLE, AND THE WATERFRONTTHE FRONT PORCH OF DOWNTOWN HOUSTON PHASING: PLANNED TO THRIVE

THE VERANDA: WELCOME, DOWNTOWN HOUSTON!

A SENSE OF PLACE: RENEWED IDENTITY

CULTIVATE A “FRONT PORCH” IDENTITY WITHIN DOWNTOWN HOUSTON Become the first impression upon entering downtown Maintain vistas towards the Houston skyline + Buffalo Bayou

REINFORCE CONNECTIVITY TO NEIGHBORING DISTRICTS Realignment of I-10 HOV exit ramps remove east-west barriers to development Walkable streets lessen perceived travel times and provide a view toward each destination

RENEW THE CONNECTION BETWEEN PLACE, PEOPLE + THE WATERFRONT Balance the competition between the built and natural environment Encourage pedestrian movement from downtown to the site and provide for hiking, biking, and kayaking

CREATE A THRIVING DOWNTOWN DISTRICT Self-sustaining community providing amenities for residents and a destination for visitors Farmer’s markets and eco-educational spaces add unique programming to downtown

EXISTING

0

xeriscaped parking garage

franklin st to washington ave

trail connection to existing parks

8888 8888 8888

8888 8888 8888

commerce street pedestrian promenade

biofiltration landscaping

downtownHouston

panoramic city view

1/2 MMMIIILLLEEE

11111111 MMMMMIIIILLLLLLEEE

HARRIS COUNTY

BALLPARK

CONVENTION

SHOPPING

THEATER HISTORIC

SKYLINE

residential pocket park

courtyard structured

parking

bayou drop-in

B

B

A

A

outdoor recreation

rental

Veranda View Plaza

farmer’s market

Buffalo Bayou Eco-Museum

The Veranda is a place where na-ture and development coincide in an urban environment.

It offers a panoramic view into and out of the city, and opens itself to cultures that overlap in a desire for an sustainable lifestyle.

The Franklin - Commerce Street connection opens the water to the sky, giving the Bayou breathing room.

It connects people and place and embraces the push towards a sus-tainable future.

future green space for intramural fields

future connection to intramural fields

commerce street bridge towards METRORail

pedestrian bridge connection to

downtown

PHASE ONE

1

Constructs a framework for the development and establishes an eastern edge.

Retail:Residential:

Commercial:Parking:

Hotel:

51,089 S.F.62,31564,160103,4050

PHASE TWO

2

Lines the Franklin - Commerce Streetconnection with lucrative development.

Retail:Residential:

Commercial:Parking:

Hotel:

105,160 S.F.303,057113,0720105,690

PHASE THREE

3

Completes the Franklin - Commerce Street connection. Provides parking for next phase.

Retail:Residential:

Commercial:Parking:

Hotel:

30,639 S.F.156,146 (61,278 S.R.O.)0485,0940

PHASE FOUR

4

Creates the northern edge of the develop-ment and encompasses neighborhood green space.

Retail:Residential:

Commercial:Parking:

Hotel:

168,716 S.F. (39,864 AFF.)182,065 (30,066 S.R.O.)278,64900

Museum DistrictZooRice UniversityMedical PlazaReliant StadiumGalleria ShoppingUptown

CoffeeBankHaircutGroceryFitness CenterHouston BalletBayoufrontAmtrakHistoric DistrictAquariumParksPost OfficeLibrary

3-8

min

15

-20

min

s10

-15

min

Convention CenterFine DiningMinute Maid ParkToyota CenterH.I.S.DUniversity of Houston

DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS

LIGHT RAIL / BIKE PATHS

PROXIMITIES

PROPOSED FIGURE / GROUND REGIONAL COMMUTER RAIL CONNECTIVITY GREEN SPACE / PROPOSED “PARK LOOP” SECTION B

ELEVATION A

1

2

1

2

10 25 10010 25 100

minute maid park

toyota center

Sam Houston Freeway

I-610

convention center

discovery green

houston pavilions

park shops at houston

center

amtrak station

u of h downtown

market square

2012

ULI

HINES

RETAILRETAIL

OFFICEOFFICE

OFFICEOFFICE

RESIDENCERESIDENCE

RESIDENCERESIDENCE

RESIDENCE

OPEN SPACE

PARKING

VACANT LOT

MID-RISE RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL-RESIDENTIAL

MID-RISE COMMERCIAL

HIGH-RISE COMMERCIAL

CULTURAL/INSTITUTIONAL

GOVERNMENT

111/2 MMMIIILLLLEEEEEE

11 MMMILLLEEE

111/2 MMMIIILLLEEEEE

111 MMMILLLEEE

1/2 MMMMMIIIILLLLEEEEEE

111 MMMILLLEEE

THEVER NDA

OBJECTIVES

THE BAYOU: RECONNECTING PLACE, PEOPLE, AND THE WATERFRONTTHE FRONT PORCH OF DOWNTOWN HOUSTON PHASING: PLANNED TO THRIVE

THE VERANDA: WELCOME, DOWNTOWN HOUSTON!

A SENSE OF PLACE: RENEWED IDENTITY

CULTIVATE A “FRONT PORCH” IDENTITY WITHIN DOWNTOWN HOUSTON Become the first impression upon entering downtown Maintain vistas towards the Houston skyline + Buffalo Bayou

REINFORCE CONNECTIVITY TO NEIGHBORING DISTRICTS Realignment of I-10 HOV exit ramps remove east-west barriers to development Walkable streets lessen perceived travel times and provide a view toward each destination

RENEW THE CONNECTION BETWEEN PLACE, PEOPLE + THE WATERFRONT Balance the competition between the built and natural environment Encourage pedestrian movement from downtown to the site and provide for hiking, biking, and kayaking

CREATE A THRIVING DOWNTOWN DISTRICT Self-sustaining community providing amenities for residents and a destination for visitors Farmer’s markets and eco-educational spaces add unique programming to downtown

EXISTING

0

xeriscaped parking garage

franklin st to washington ave

trail connection to existing parks

8888 8888 8888

8888 8888 8888

commerce street pedestrian promenade

biofiltration landscaping

downtownHouston

panoramic city view

1/2 MMMIIILLLEEE

11111111 MMMMMIIIILLLLLLEEE

HARRIS COUNTY

BALLPARK

CONVENTION

SHOPPING

THEATER HISTORIC

SKYLINE

residential pocket park

courtyard structured

parking

bayou drop-in

B

B

A

A

outdoor recreation

rental

Veranda View Plaza

farmer’s market

Buffalo Bayou Eco-Museum

The Veranda is a place where na-ture and development coincide in an urban environment.

It offers a panoramic view into and out of the city, and opens itself to cultures that overlap in a desire for an sustainable lifestyle.

The Franklin - Commerce Street connection opens the water to the sky, giving the Bayou breathing room.

It connects people and place and embraces the push towards a sus-tainable future.

future green space for intramural fields

future connection to intramural fields

commerce street bridge towards METRORail

pedestrian bridge connection to

downtown

PHASE ONE

1

Constructs a framework for the development and establishes an eastern edge.

Retail:Residential:

Commercial:Parking:

Hotel:

51,089 S.F.62,31564,160103,4050

PHASE TWO

2

Lines the Franklin - Commerce Streetconnection with lucrative development.

Retail:Residential:

Commercial:Parking:

Hotel:

105,160 S.F.303,057113,0720105,690

PHASE THREE

3

Completes the Franklin - Commerce Street connection. Provides parking for next phase.

Retail:Residential:

Commercial:Parking:

Hotel:

30,639 S.F.156,146 (61,278 S.R.O.)0485,0940

PHASE FOUR

4

Creates the northern edge of the develop-ment and encompasses neighborhood green space.

Retail:Residential:

Commercial:Parking:

Hotel:

168,716 S.F. (39,864 AFF.)182,065 (30,066 S.R.O.)278,64900

Museum DistrictZooRice UniversityMedical PlazaReliant StadiumGalleria ShoppingUptown

CoffeeBankHaircutGroceryFitness CenterHouston BalletBayoufrontAmtrakHistoric DistrictAquariumParksPost OfficeLibrary

3-8

min

15

-20

min

s10

-15

min

Convention CenterFine DiningMinute Maid ParkToyota CenterH.I.S.DUniversity of Houston

DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS

LIGHT RAIL / BIKE PATHS

PROXIMITIES

PROPOSED FIGURE / GROUND REGIONAL COMMUTER RAIL CONNECTIVITY GREEN SPACE / PROPOSED “PARK LOOP” SECTION B

ELEVATION A

1

2

1

2

10 25 10010 25 100

minute maid park

toyota center

Sam Houston Freeway

I-610

convention center

discovery green

houston pavilions

park shops at houston

center

amtrak station

u of h downtown

market square

URBAN DESIG

N COM

PETITIO

N

THE V

ERANDA

I only made it here because I had help from numerous people along the way. From my first days in Pre-K to my last days of Gradauate School, my friends, family, teachers, and many others have encouraged me and challenged me to succeed. I’d like to take this moment to say thanks to everyone who’s had a hand in helping me navagate my way through my years of education and while at the University of Oklahoma.

Goodbye seems so final, so I’ll end until we meet again. Thank you.

TERMINUSACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CO

MPR

EHEN

SIVE

EXA

M C

OM

MIT

TEE:

DR.

GU

OQ

IAN

G S

HEN

DR.

CH

ARL

ES W

ARN

KEN

DR.

K. M

EGH

AN

WIE

TERS