Thesis Defense: May Avenue Urban Interventions

MAY AVENUE URBAN INTERVENTIONS:

Using GIS to assess the quality of urban form and simulate effects of possible solutions in Oklahoma City

Shane Hampton

URBAN FORM •  Street layout and design elements •  Block size and shape •  Parcel size and shape •  Population or employment density •  Floor area ratios •  Land use mix •  Open space network •  Shape and position of buildings on parcels •  Parking lots •  Details like window or door placement

URBAN FORM

URBAN FORM

URBAN FORM

URBAN FORM

IMPACTS OF URBAN FORM

•  Public Health •  Society and Community •  Fiscal Sustainability •  Economy •  Environment

PUBLIC HEALTH

Counties with low density and large block size have lower rates of physical activity and higher rates of obesity and high blood pressure.

Reid Ewing et al (2003). Relationship Between Urban Sprawl, Physical Activity, Obesity, and Morbidity.

American Journal of Health Promotion.

PUBLIC HEALTH

Higher housing densities predicted less depression. Areas with higher density of car commuters had more depression.

Rebecca Miles et al (2011) Neighborhood Urban Form, Social Environment, and Depression.

Journal of Urban Health

HEALTH IN OKLAHOMA

•  1/3 Obese •  2/3 Obese or Overweight (#6 in USA) •  Top ten for diabetes, physical inactivity, hypertension

SOCIETY & COMMUNITY

Automobile dependency and social isolation take away from community, while urbanist approaches could enhance or stimulate a sense of community.

Steven Cochrun (1994) Understanding and Enhancing Neighborhood Sense of Community.

Journal of Planning Literature.

SOCIETY & COMMUNITY

Architectural elements are thought to encourage people to spend time in the public realm and increase social interaction. However, “the theoretical and empirical support for the notion that sense of community can be created via physical design factors is ambiguous at best”

Emily Talen (1998) Sense of Community and Neighbourhood Form:

An Assessment of the Social Doctrine of New Urbanism. Urban Studies.

FISCAL & ECONOMIC

Compact urban form saves money on infrastructure and improves the efficiency of emergency services.

William Coyne (2003) The Fiscal Cost of Sprawl: How Sprawl Contributes to Local Governments’ Budget Woes.

Environment Colorado Research and Policy Center Report.

FISCAL & ECONOMIC

Economic development may depend on creating walkable urban centers as consumer preferences change.

Gary Pivo & Jeff Fisher (2011) The Walkability Premium in Commercial Real Estate Investments.” Real Estate

Economics

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

Sprawl consumes open space, farmland, and natural habitat at a much greater rate than compact development.

Burchell et al (2005) Sprawl Costs: Economic Impacts of Unchecked Development


Automobile-oriented design requires more impervious surfaces that increase runoff, erosion, and water pollution.

John Bailey et al (2009) Our Way to Water Shortages: How Sprawl Aggravates the Effects of Drought.


Residents of compact urban areas with transit access consume 40-50% less energy.

Jonathan Rose Companies (2011) Location Efficiencies and Housing Type.

DISSENTING VIEWPOINT

“In attributing primary causal power to physical form… the New Urbanism rei#es and conceals a wider range of causal forces at work.”

Charles Rutheiser (1997)

MEASURING URBAN FORM

“What gets measured gets done.”

MeasureExisting

Conditions

AnalyzeStrengths &Weaknesses

ProposeInterventions

Simulate andEvaluate

Inform Policiesand Development

Incentives


•  Accesibility •  Connectivity •  Density •  Diversity •  Nodality

Emily Talen (2011) Sprawl retro#t: sustainable urban form in unsustainable places.

Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design


•  Population density •  Geographic proximity to services •  Block size •  Sidewalks and bike lanes

Chanam Lee and Anne Moudon (2006) The 3Ds + R: Quantifying land use and urban form correlates of walking.

Transportation Research Part D


•  Street network: Block perimeter, cul-de-sac ratio •  Density: Lot size, housing unit density •  Land use mix ratio •  Accessibility: Distance to commercial, transit, park •  Pedestrian access: % of units within ¼ mile of commercial land

use, % of units within ¼ mile of transit

Yan Song & Gerrit-Jan Knapp (2004) Measuring Urban Form: Is Portland Winning the War on Sprawl?

Journal of the American Planning Association


•  Population Density •  Land Use Mix •  Accessibility – Proximity to Commerce – Proximity to Park Space – Proximity to Transit

•  Connectivity – Area within ¼ Mile –  Intersection Density


OKLAHOMA CITY

NORTH MAY AVENUE I-44 to 63rd St.

NW EXPRESSWAY

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Study AreaCensus Blocks & Parcels

MID-CENTURY URBAN FORM

“Blighted… obsolete… inadequate… leapfrogged”

Galina Tachieva (2010) The Sprawl Repair Manual

MID-CENTURY URBAN FORM

Mid-century urban form is a middle ground between new urbanist nostalgia and the car.

Richard Reep (2010) Beyond Neo-Victorianism: A Call for Design Diversity

New Geography

GIS MEASURES

•  Block-level Census Data •  Parcels •  Streets •  Zoning •  Building Footprints (2004) •  Public Parks •  Transit Routes

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Population Density(Per Square Mile)

Legend

0 - 1,293

1,294 - 3,848

3,849 - 5,978

5,979 - 9,925

9,926 - 19,139

N

Warwick West

Ti!any House

LakeviewTowers

Big Box Stores

Big Box Stores

United FoundersBoulevard

Hospital

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Land Use Mix within 1/4 Mile0 = Homogenous, 1 = Even Mix

Legend0.0000 - 0.1268

0.1269 - 0.4058

0.4059 - 0.5926

0.5927 - 0.7844

0.7845 - 0.9680

N

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Percent of ParcelsWithin 1/4 Mile of Park or Open Space

Legend0% - 11%

12% - 31%

32% - 44%

45% - 73%

74% - 100%

N

Park

Med

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Smitty

Ross

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Percent of ParcelsWithin 1/4 Mile of Transit

Legend0% - 12%

13% - 34%

35% - 67%

68% - 89%

90% - 100%

N

Bus Route

7

7

8

10

107

7 88 10

7

7

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Percent of ParcelsWithin 1/4 Mile of Commercial

Legend0% - 6%

7% - 24%

25% - 48%

49% - 80%

81% - 100%

N

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VEArea of 1/4 Mile Network Bu!erSquare Miles

Legend0.0065 - 0.0281

0.0282 - 0.0553

0.0554 - 0.0740

0.0741 - 0.0937

0.0938 - 0.1146

N

NW EXPRESSWAY

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LLA A

VEIntersection DensityPer Square Mile

Legend0.0000 - 52.0513

52.0514 - 101.0599

101.0600 - 130.9415

130.9416 - 157.1434

157.1435 - 227.0958

N

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VEComposite Score

LegendLowest Performing

Highest Performing

N

SPRAWL REPAIR

“Propose strategically located interventions addressing explicit de#ciencies.”

Emily Talen (2011) Sprawl retro#t: sustainable urban form in unsustainable places.

Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design.

SPRAWL REPAIR

•  Retro#tting Suburbia (Ellen Dunham Jones and June Williamson 2008)

•  Sprawl Repair Manual (Galina Tachieva 2010)

SPRAWL REPAIR

•  New street connectivity •  New building types and land use mixes •  Redevelopment of sprawl land uses •  Parking lot in#ll development •  Arterial street redesign

SPRAWL REPAIR

SPRAWL REPAIR

SPRAWL REPAIR

SPRAWL REPAIR

SPRAWL REPAIR

SPRAWL REPAIR

Figure Ground: Before

Figure Ground: After

Northwest Expressway

United Founders Boulevard

NW EXPRESSWAY

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Percent of ParcelsWithin 1/4 Mile of Park or Open Space

Legend0% - 11%

12% - 31%

32% - 44%

45% - 73%

74% - 100%

N

Park

Med

ian

Smitty

Ross

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LLA A

VEPost-Intervention Percent of ParcelsWithin 1/4 Mile of Park

Legend0% - 6%

7% - 28%

29% - 44%

45% - 80%

81% - 100%

N

Med

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Smitty

Ross

New

NW EXPRESSWAY

LAKE

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Population Density(Per Square Mile)

Legend

0 - 1,293

1,294 - 3,848

3,849 - 5,978

5,979 - 9,925

9,926 - 19,139

N

Warwick West

Ti!any House

LakeviewTowers

Big Box Stores

Big Box Stores

United FoundersBoulevard

Hospital

NW EXPRESSWAY

LAKE

HEF

NER P

KWY

W I-44 HWY

N M

AY AV

E

NW 63RD ST

N VI

LLA A

VEPost-Intervention Population Density(Per Square Mile)

Legend0 - 1,301

1,302 - 3,848

3,849 - 5,979

5,980 - 9,925

9,926 - 19,153

N

NW EXPRESSWAY

LAKE

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LLA A

VEArea of 1/4 Mile Network Bu!erSquare Miles

Legend0.0065 - 0.0281

0.0282 - 0.0553

0.0554 - 0.0740

0.0741 - 0.0937

0.0938 - 0.1146

N

NW EXPRESSWAY

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Post-Intervention Area of 1/4 MileNetwork Bu!er (Square Miles)

Legend0.006710 - 0.042128

0.042129 - 0.065889

0.065890 - 0.082353

0.082354 - 0.099172

0.099173 - 0.142839

N

NW EXPRESSWAY

LAKE

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LLA A

VEComposite Score


Highest Performing

N

NW EXPRESSWAY

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VEPost-Intervention Composite Score


Highest Performing

N

EVALUATION OF MODEL

•  Reliable, but not independent •  Easily replicable over larger scale •  Macro land use ratio •  Variables measure street network more than once •  Z-scores are relative •  Variable scores may be more relevant than composites

POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS

•  More consistent indexing •  Establish regional ideal values for each variable

FUTURE APPLICATIONS

•  Set urban form target achievements •  Determine weaknesses •  Identify sites for “urban triage” •  Test impact of solutions, proposed developments •  Measure performance •  In%uence development incentives & policy

MAY AVENUE URBAN INTERVENTIONS:

Using GIS to assess the quality of urban form and simulate effects of possible solutions in Oklahoma City

Shane Hampton

Date post:	19-Jul-2015
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Thesis Defense: May Avenue Urban Interventions

Education