C40 Students Reinventing Cities
The C40 Students Reinventing Cities Competition was a quarter long student lead project with the aim of creating sustainable climate resilient and vibrant communities. Our project area was the neighborhood of Highland Park in South Seattle. I worked collaboratively with a group of five other students and a faculty advisor. Each student was given a set of tasks to complete, and my direct contribution was in the creation of the final concept models in Sketchup. I also worked in coordination with two other students to examine housing. Specifically, which methods might be used to keep housing affordable and to reduce over gentrification and the displacement of current residents. This was my most rewarding project because it incorporated such elements as design, land use and examined solutions regarding social and environmental justice.
The images above show my Sketchup models for one of the intersections in our study area.
Re-Imagining Railroad Ave.
The Reimagining Railroad Avenue Project was a yearlong endeavor conducted by seniors in the Urban Planning Program in coordination with The City of Bellingham. The project focused on a prominent mixed-use commercial corridor in the heart of the city. The aim was to engage with the community and city officials to establish the community’s future vison for the area. Then to apply that feedback to create innovative redevelopment ideas and design concepts. Finally, to determine implantation feasibility, phasing, and cost strategies. All of which culminated in the creation of an overall plan highlighting potential redevelopment recommendations spanning the next 25 years.
The project was broken down into teams of students who each worked on a specific topic. My group was assigned to create improvements of environmental factors. Some of our proposed solutions were the creation of a community garden, green roofing, solar panels on new developments and raingardens. All our proposals focused on reducing the areas’ overall carbon footprint, mitigating flood risks and adding aesthetically pleasing features along the length of the corridor.
This was by far the most thorough planning-oriented project I conducted at WWU. It involved public engagement via surveys and presentations. We examined various aspects of the city and corridor focusing on topics such as economics, history, the environment, and transportation. Furthermore, software such as Sketchup, Illustrator, and InDesign were used to visually express redevelopment design concepts.
The images shown here highlight the design concepts I created for our group.
Bellis Fair Urban Village Redevelopment Plan
Senior Project
The Bellis Fair Urban Village Redevelopment Plan was my senior project that examined the potential to redevelop the Bellis Fair Mall into a vibrant mixed use urban village. The project took two months to complete and incorporated much of the knowledge I have gained from my college education including research on current plans, zoning designations, background of the community and assets, GIS mapping, Sketchup and adobe illustrator.
Other
Bellingham Econ Report
Indian Tribes & Clean Energy
Single Family Site Design
City of Bellingham & Railroad Ave Economics Report: This report used census data, excel and GIS to examine the economics of the Bellingham area. This was conducted as part of the year long Railroad Avenue Studio Project.
Indian Tribes and Clean Energy: This was a thesis project that looked at the unique relationship Indian Tribes have to clean energy and how many tribes are using their governmental autonomy to bring clean energy to their reservations. This was the final project in the Native American Planning course.
Single Family Site Design: This site design was created for the Plan Graphics class which covered things like site location, land use and housing designs. It introduced me to Sketchup, Adobe Illustrator and photoshop.