As an investigation of the environmental
potential of existing urban areas, this thesis
attempts to use an integrated network
approach to create a local, social and
cultural identity in a Detroit neighborhood.
By focusing on the important role the
public realm plays within the urban
landscape, the project creates a dialogue
between the natural and built components
of the urban realm by taking advantage
of the potential of existing infrastructure,
social factors and context.

The main focus of this thesis creates a
design strategy that gives character and
identity to an area of the city that has been
fragmented as a result of recent changes
in economic and social factors. The project
achieves this by weaving nature into the
urban fabric. The research in this thesis
culminates in a project which identifi es
a marginal area in Detroit and suggests
alternative uses for the surrounding spaces,
giving emphasis to the natural component
of the urban landscape as a tool to critique
the re-appropriation of spaces that
outlived their original vitality. The concepts
and fi ndings from this thesis could be
applied in any city towards the ecological
reconditioning of marginal areas.

2008

2009

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