Densifying the American Dream - Initial Thoughts

Site - Baltimore
-abandoned or vacant lots in city center
-sites in other densifiable cities... houston? atlanta?

Architecture
-Urban housing prototype for infill city site
-Characteristics of suburban housing to be compared and applied to Urban setting
___Suburban characteristic / Possible Urban Answer
___Affordability/Prefabrication, Ownership w/ portion to rent, investment
___Square footage/Flexible and Multiuse Spaces
___Personal identity/Customizable facade and interior
___Ability to adapt/Swing units, used when kids are around, rent when old
___Privacy/Acoustic isolation planometric solutions
___Entry Sequence/Exterior Stairwell
___Green Space /green roofs, ebedded greenspace, courtyards, balconies Unlimited Parking reduced need due to access to public transportation
___Storage
___Lack of community/potential for communal spaces (kitchen, internet quick station?, copy machine?)
___Transportation headaches/ access to public transit, reduced commuting time
___Lack of near by ammenities/ limited commercial possible on the first floor
___Social isolation and uniformity /diversity, awareness of others
-Community scale needs?
-Adaptability of system to range of conditions for economic viability
___mass customizable prefabricated units, flexible public curculation?

Broader cultural relevance
-Need for viable urban housing
-history of the American dream
__economic forces driving homeownership
____driven by government economic policies - FHA and VA
____advertising by housing industry
____tax incentives for owning a home
__automobile
____government support of highway system
____cheapening of automobile makes it affordable
__cultural conditioning
____morality attached to owning a home in the 50s
____status of owning a home
__does the American dream exist today?
____generation that grew up in suburbia
____awareness of sustainability issues, transportation headaches, isolation
____renewed interest in urban living? TV shows, movies?
____is it mostly an ecomonic issue?
__suburban/urban dynamic
____explosion of suburbs and decline of urban vitality esp in 70s
____revitalization of some urban areas (Portland as example)
__changing demographics
____shift from nuclear families to smaller households
__sustainable aspect of urban vs suburban living
____use of existing transportation infrastructure
____conservation of agricultural land

Presentation as Performance
-Marketing Scheme? Market both to all the lifestyle benefits of urban living while simultaneously appealing the conscious of the buyers interms of sustainable living

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"In Baltimore, where I live, that economic downturn has been happening slowly over the last 50 years. The city has lost 400,000 residents since its population peak in the ’50s. According to current city records, there are 16,496 vacant buildings and 17,617 vacant or underutilized lots."

Dickenson, Elizabeth Evitts. “Vacancy.” Metropolis : the architecture and design magazine of New York. Dec. 2008.