How Urban Systems Shape Cities: Enhancing Public Life Through Green Stormwater Infrastructure
The systems which influence the urban environment dictate the quality of the space. By designing with these systems in mind, the urban environment will improve for people. While working on the Public Life Counts! project, I analyzed people moving through spaces and staying in spaces within the Capitol Hill neighborhood. This data was used to create design recommendations based on the findings. The Public Life Counts! document can now be used to inform data-driven design in Capitol Hill and around Seattle. I built my own study off the Public Life Counts! project. The purpose of my study was to take urban systems into account when redesigning Pike and Pine, between Broadway and 12th, Pine and Union, in Capitol Hill. The methods used to create this redesign were a site analysis, precedent studies, and a literature review. The site analysis gave me contextual evidence about the site, the precedent studies informed my design process, and the literature review justified the design. By using these three approaches, I developed 6 guidelines for the site: creating an overhead catch system, reclaiming streets for pedestrians, increasing urban canopy, creating a system of bioretention planters, creating flexible space, like a plaza or town square, building a dog park, and building outdoor furniture. By including these guidelines into urban sites, cities can become more accommodating to people and the natural systems that occur within them. This in turn will make our cities more livable, lively, and comfortable.
