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Stepping in Suburbia: Designing Pedestrian Spaces in Suburban Settings

Thacker, Jay

Abstract Details

2009, MARCH, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Architecture (Master of).

Along with the rest of suburbia, the suburban commercial strip has been criticized for decades for its antagonism towards the pedestrian - toward walking as a way of coming or going somewhere. The buildings along suburban commercial strips are separated by terrain that is unfriendly to the pedestrian. Parking lots, driveways, wide avenues, perimeter fences, and even landscaping prevent pedestrian connectivity and comfort and therefore discourage individuals from walking rather than driving, even for short distances. What can be done to adapt these environments not just to accommodate pedestrian circulation, but to create a desirable pedestrian experience while still efficiently accommodating automobiles? What is being asked for is 'good' pedestrian spaces for suburban commercial districts. The solution to this problem involves pedestrian oriented space, its character, and its features and the composition of those features.

Pedestrian spaces have been studied by many authors and architects, from Louis Mumford to Mark Childs. Increasing credence is being given to community design that seeks to restore the notion of walking as a realistic method of going places in the suburbs. What is proposed here is a thesis that draws from those studies a set of principles that will function as a guide for interventions in the suburban commercial strip. When implemented, these principles will result in good pedestrian spaces - spaces that are comfortable, beautiful, and enjoyable. The principles and the research from which they were drawn will be presented in this thesis document. They will then be put to use in a design project focused on the suburban commercial strip toward the end that its visitors will walk a little more, drive a little less, linger and even loiter, and experience a sense of place and of community. This study will be valuable to anyone who is interested in urban design in the suburbs or is concerned with and looking for solutions to the ravages of the automobile on the suburban commercial strip that have rendered it unsightly, uncomfortable, and plain unaccommodating to the pedestrian.

Jay Chatterjee (Committee Chair)
Elizabeth Riorden (Committee Member)
60 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Thacker, J. (2009). Stepping in Suburbia: Designing Pedestrian Spaces in Suburban Settings [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1222999192

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Thacker, Jay. Stepping in Suburbia: Designing Pedestrian Spaces in Suburban Settings. 2009. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1222999192.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Thacker, Jay. "Stepping in Suburbia: Designing Pedestrian Spaces in Suburban Settings." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1222999192

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)