urban assemblag es urban assemblages Kelly Homan Master of Landscape Architecture Thesis Auburn University Spring 2012 2 To Matt A N U R B 4 A N urban assemblages R B abstract 6-7 rationale 7-8 birmingham 10-26 the shifting city 12-12 the west end 22-25 research site 26-41 assemblages 42-57 definitions 44-47 mappings 48-57 operations 58-93 orientation 66-69 adjacency 72-77 displacement 78-81 dispersal 82-87 discoveries 88-93 case studies 94-101 reflections 102-107 5 Abstract 6 Urban Assemblages explores a landscape strategy for the adaptive reuse of abandoned homes throughout the West End neighborhoods of Birmingham Alabama with the goal of making these properties once again valuable to local communities. Urban Assemblages seeks to empower these communities to become involved in this transformation process. The thesis explores creative deconstruction techniques, repurposing of existing materials, and establishing worker training programs focusing on the trades of deconstruction and material salvaging. It further proposes fostering an ongoing relationship between local art organizations and local communities as a strategy to re-establish neighborhood enthusiasm for the potential of abandoned sites. Urban assemblages is explored through the theoretical framework of assemblages. Assemblages are utilized as a method of framing a set of complex conditions to more thoroughly understand them. Research Question: How can landscape assemblages be used to empower local communities within the urban field of West End Birmingham? 7 Rationale 8 Over the past seventy five years, cities across the United States have been experiencing a change in population. A lengthy industrial decline, low employment opportunities, the current housing market crisis, and an economic recession have resulted in a loss of population throughout many cities. Notably the majority of this loss is occurring within central areas of the city while an increase in population is occurring in outer suburban neighborhoods. What is left behind as people have moved from the city are abandoned homes and vacant lands scattered throughout central city neighborhoods. It is estimated in some of the hardest hit cities that upwards of 15% of the properties sit abandoned. Entire blocks in many locations reveal row upon row of dilapidated and decaying structures. To the people who have stayed, these properties represent a daily reminder of a neighborhood in decline, decreasing property values, increasing crime rates, and a multitude of safety concerns for communities. To the city these properties represent a huge burden to already struggling neighborhoods as well as an unprecedented decrease in tax revenues. Both the city and the local communities have a motivation to see these properties become valuable once again. Birmingham Alabama is no exception to the shrinking city phenomena. The population of Birmingham has declined by 30% over the last sixty years. Within older, lower income neighborhoods this percentage reaches as high as 50%. (Evans 2005) These communities which are already vulnerable from the nation?s ongoing recession find they are slowly being dragged further into decline as abandoned properties continue to multiply. Urban Assemblages proposes a community based revitalization project to begin to help the city and the community reverse this ongoing negative trend. 9 B I R H N A M I H N I G Birmingham Alabama fig 1-7 12 13 A Shifting Founded in 1871 Birmingham Alabama materialized from the unifying of three small, adjacent farming towns. Nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian mountain range, Birmingham reaches out over 152 square miles through a deep valley system fringed by long steep ridges running north-east to south-west. Slicing through the ridges and directly bisecting the main valley runs the railroad corridors which paved the way for Birmingham?s role as a steel and iron production powerhouse of the Southeast. (Atkins 1999) Due to the abundant deposits of iron ore, coal, limestone, and dolminite from 1881-1920 Birmingham was one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Early Birmingham entrepreneurs discovered a wealth of these raw materials in compacted arrangements allowing for low production extraction costs. Because of this characteristic, the largest central valley, Jones Valley, would quickly swell with people from all over the country flocking to the promise of prosperity. Birmingham became known for its famous quantities of steel and iron production, along with its rich forest lands and meandering creek systems responsible for draining the valley and along which much of the industrial factories were located. (Atkins 1999) At the peak of the industrial boom, Birmingham held a population of 341,000. Beginning notably in the 1960s the city began spreading beyond the central valley, over the largest ridges and into smaller adjacent valleys. What would be soon be termed ?suburbia? methodically started sprouting up everywhere. As the steel and iron industry slowly declined and Birmingham chugged towards a post- industrial city, people steadily moved away. As the factories closed new generations of young adults headed to the suburbs or adjacent cities to find work. Parents fearing increasing crime problems in inner city neighborhoods fig 8 A Shifting City sought refuge in the seeming safety of the suburbs or in smaller more rural cities. Over 40 years starting in the early 1960s, Birmingham?s central neighborhoods would lose 20% of their population. Between 2000 and 2011, the latter half of which included the worst American economic recession since the great depression, this would increase another 12% for a total loss of close to 100,000 people or 1/3 of the population over 50 years. (Evans 2005) Such a population shift left a trail of abandoned structures and vacant lands in its wake. fig 9 fig 10 fig 8 fig 11 fig 13 fig 12 15 the ridges and the valleys FIG 14 16 black developed land gray undeveloped land blue valley creek je? erson county the ridges and the valleys downtown birmingham je? erson county?s ridge and valley systems 17 The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham in 2008 produced a set of populati on and employment projecti ons for the years 2005 through 2035. The analysis included both Je? erson county and Shelby county and reveals a conti nuati on of the shift ing city trend over the next 23 years. (RPCGB 2008) The overall populati on of the city will grow in the shape of a donut. The donut whole, central Birmingham , will conti nue to hollow out as people shift towards the city fringes. The data also indicates the areas decreasing in populati on will also decrease in employment opportuniti es. The West End is projected to have the largest employment decreases in the city losing 1,000 jobs by 2035. (RPCGB 2008) Change in Populati on ?The Donut Effect? -3.5% 1-10% 11-50% 51-100% 101-175% FIG 15-19 18 2005 2035 Populati ons Projecti ons 1970 Employment Projecti ons -11% 0-10% 11-50% 51-100% 101-254% 19 maps TDP Birmingham and west side The purple represents over 18 thousand tax delinquent properti es throughout Je? erson County. Tax Delinquent Properti es Harvestable Materials 20 The neighborhoods of Oakwood Place, Smithfi eld, Arlington West, Central Park, and Rising West Princeton currently contain close to 700 tax delinquent properti es not including the year 2011. Many of these properti es have been tax delinquent for over 6 years. There is a correlati on between tax delinquency and abandoned properti es and currently the city uses tax delinquent status to track abandoned properti es. Valley creek cuts through the center of the West End ? owing west out of Jeff erson County connecti ng with the Black Warrior River system. Demolished and Condemned Properti es Tax Delinquent Properti es West End Birmingham West End High Value Harvestable Materials The city currently demolishes 40-50 properti es a month. These maps represent a multi tude of properti es that could potenti ally provide valuable materials and land to local communiti es. 21 place holder, maps of west end location West End Bham_Neighborhoods selection NNAME Arlington-West End Central Park Graymont Oakwood Pl Rising - W. Princeton Smithfield West End Birmingham Five neighborhoods of West End Birmingham. 22 As populations continue to shift, abandoned homes and vacant lands will continue to multiply. Jefferson county has close to 18,000 tax delinquent properties. Close to 30% of these properties have been tax delinquent for 10 or more years with 50% delinquent for 5 years or more. In 2004 it was estimated that close to 70% of these properties are possibly abandoned. (Evans 2004) The neighborhoods included in these maps are Arlington West, Central Park, Graymont, Oakwood Place, Rising West Princeton and Smithfield. The West End was chosen as a research area due to its particular vulnerability to all of the problems associated with a shifting city, along with the sheer number of abandoned homes and vacant lands within these neighborhoods. West End Birmingham began to see rapid decline in the late 1980s. (Pelfry 2011) What was once seen as a bustling commercial destination for local Birmingham residences has become in many areas a boarded up ghost town with aging infrastructure, poorly performing schools systems, and high crime rates. Block after block are speckled with empty, aging and structurally warped single family residences, many of which have been deserted and decaying for years. When standing in downtown Birmingham looking towards the sky line and surrounded by revitalization projects such as Railroad Park and the Barons future baseball stadium, the West End visible in the distance lingers as a reminder of neighborhoods also in desperate need of revitalization. West End Birmingham Smithfield Central Park Arlington-West End Oakwood Pl Graymont Rising - W. Princeton 23 abandoned properties throughout west end birmingham 24 tax delienquent properti es west end birmingham 25 S I T E E Research Site Valley Creek Discursives The fi rst explorati on for a research site focused on the many abandoned properti es along the fi rst three miles of Valley Creek with in an interest in harvestable materials as well as restoring the upper porti ons of the creek. The ecologies of Valley Creek were studied as well as tax delinquent properti es mapped in order to fi nd relati onships between the properti es and the surrounding city structure including future city projects in the West End. This initi al explorati on of Valley Creek and the properti es along the creek led to several discoveries. Categorizing and valuing the properti es in terms of how each could be used for the community was a thesis in itself and in terms of scale, to large of a project to focus on an initi al pilot project for community engagement. With respect to the creek, it was determined that the water polluti on in the creek cannot be remediated without major changes within the watershed as a whole. The speed at which storm water enters the creek due to impervious surfaces, valley creek ? oodplain and tax delinquent properti es 28 Valley Creek Smithfi eld Arlington C e n t r a l Park O a k w o o d Place Graymont Rising West Princeton poor development practi ces, and a leaky sewer system throughout Jeff erson County will conti nue to lock the creek into its current state. Without addressing these three issues along with the larger watershed, restoring the creek would be very di? cult and costly. The Freshwater Land Trust of Birmingham recognizes these issues and has begun purchasing land adjacent to the creek with hopes if future creek restorati on projects. 29 The second exploration for a research site involved mapping intensities. GIS layers were extracted and crossed to reveal relationships Information such as social hubs, bus routes, potential ecological corridors, and tax delinquent properties were overlayed and points of interaction were selected for further investigation. While this method established sites that could potentially be earmarked for adaptive reuse, none of the sites were of a substantial size and afforded enough reusable materials for the scale needed for a pilot project (many of the abandoned properties are less than 1/10 of an acre sites) 30 abstract ink drawings of intensities 31 Research Site 32 The third research site explorati on established criteria. Those criteria are as follows: 1. located within West End Birmingham 2. larger than 2 acres 3. valuable harvestable materials (such as brick) 4. adjacent to valley creek 5. close proximity to future city projects or established social hubs 7. abandoned residenti al buildings Research Site 33 Smithfield Central Park Arlington-West End Oakwood Pl Graymont Rising - W. Princeton ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Site Criteria adjacent to upper valley creek residenti al property located in the west end abandoned structure structure worth>100k size >2 acres adjacent to condemned properti es adjacent or visible to social hubs 34 Research Area Criteria 35 The research site is located roughly three miles west of the start of valley creek in the neighborhood of Oakwood Place and consists of thirty-seven abandoned duplexes. Eighty percent of the site is in the flood plain, and according to community members the duplexes have been empty for at least five years. 36 37 valley creek footprints of existi ng abandoned duplexes 38 household median income 25K valley creek riparian zone duplexes street Community 95% African American single family residence service industry occupati ons 39 15TH PLA CE SW F A YETTE A VE ALABAMA A VE MADISON A VE ROADS ACCESS 5? CONTOURS FLOOD PLANE VALLEY CREEK PARCELS SITE WATER FLOW Site Analysis Inventory Gis Mapping Oakwood Pl 40 Riparian Edge Early Successional Plants Abandoned Structures Commercial Buildings Single Family Residences Site Analysis Inventory Gis Mapping Oakwood Pl 41 A S E M B L A G S E M A S Assemblages ?complex constellations of objects, bodies, expressions, qualities, and territories that come together for varying periods of time to create new ways of functioning? (Deleuze and Guattari 1984:311) 43 Assemblages are defined as collections of components relating to and acting on one another. This term can be found in several disciplines including philosophy, ecology, art, and archeology. Assemblages are dynamic and complex. Components fit together linked by process, occurring within a particular habitat and performing together in a particular way. Through design landscape architects ?develop, transform, and create assemblages. They do this by gathering, composing, redistributing, emphasizing, and enhancing existing material, expressive, and processual components? (Barnett 2010:2) Some examples of possible assemblage components might include people, plants, and wildlife. In ecology, assemblages are defined as various species living together and ecologist are interested in how these species depend on one another. The ecologist usually depicts this information through food chain diagrams beginning with the larger dominante species and moving down the food chain. These assemblages are not random collections of things, but a collection of things that come together in a chosen place for a reason. This concept is shown clearly within archeology. Things unearthed in a dig from a point in time constitute an assemblage of things, all expressing a unique character of everyday life in a certain culture (Stivale 2005) The French artists Jean Dubuffet first introduced the term assemblage to describe his method of producing collage artworks. He refers to his artwork as an assemblage to emphasize the process of creating the artwork is the actual artwork. Assemblages describe the act of ?turning found objects into three-dimensional structures? (AssemblageArtists.com) A key concept to art assemblages is the idea of ?found? or combining existing material parts into some sort of whole artwork. In the philosophical work A Thousand Plateaus Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari define assemblages as ?complex constellations of objects bodies, expressions, qualities, and territories that come together for varying periods of time to create new ways of functioning?. Deleuze and Guattari?s assemblages include expressive components such as expressions, feelings, qualities, words, and events. Deleuze and Guattari use a scene to describe this point. The scene is of a child looking through a window and watching a horse collapse in exhaustion from pulling a heavy cart. The horse lies dying in the middle of a street. The components of this assemblage, the horse + child +cart, etc. are in a clear relationship, but Deleuze and Guattari also describe ?active and passive affects? as part of the assemblage. Included are feelings such as pulling or proudness, the blinds from the window blocking some of the child?s view, the horse biting 44 landscape architectures traditional view of site. She is proposing this traditional view of site is bounded and disconnected and she describes a transition in this frame to a site as a ?node of interactions? She further explains that ecology and landscape architecture have a vested interest in cross disciplinary involvement in the world of design. (Hill 2005) Her notion of place (site) is comprised of systems and flows with no boundaries and people are part of these systems. Any actual boundaries of any given place are purely cultural and not physical. The urban field in another interesting metaphor for complexity proposed by James Corner of Field Operations. In his essay Terra Fluxues, Corner describes the landscape as an ?apparent incoherent or complex condition that one might initially mistake as random or chaotic can, in fact, be shown to be highly structured entities that comprise a particular set of geometrical and spatial orders?. He goes on to suggest the landscape is a space of horizontal actions he labels the urban field. This field ?attempts to create an environment that is not so much object that is designed, as it is an ecology of various systems and elements that set into motion a diverse network of interactions.? (Corner 21-33) In a different approach Ginger Strand?s essay ?At the Limits: Landschaft, Landscape and the Land? defines how people the bit etc. (Stivale 2005:78, Deleuze and Guattari 1984:257) What the horse is doing and not just the horse itself is part of the assemblage. ?How something occurs is as important as what occurs? (Barnett 2010:3) Assemblages have emergent properties. Emergence theory explains the workings of complex systems found within the natural world. These natural systems emerge, interact, become disturbed, change, and reorganize. Within these systems, the individual parts of the system collectively affect the larger system as a whole, yet do not necessarily contain the characteristics of the larger systems. In this way the parts are said to have emergent behaviors. (Encyclopedia of Evolution) These systems are open systems in that they are resilient and adapt to disturbance emerging with a greater level of complexity. Assemblages are emergent, complex systems constantly in a state of flux. Currently there are many landscape architects, academics, ecologist, and writers suggesting there is value in understanding the landscape as a complex living system. In her essay Shifting Sites Kristina Hill explains where this shift in thinking towards a greater degree of complexity originated and through her explanation she redefines 45 assemblage currently view the landscape. She suggests the landscape is viewed like a photograph of the landscape might be viewed, a static framed pathway into the imagination very pictorial and worth fantasizing about. The ?pretty? in the picture is intriguing. The landscape then becomes a place people search for the aesthetic and the picturesque. Strand credits Frederick Law Olmstead as embedding this view of the landscape into American minds and notes this way of framing the landscape ?does not show us how the landscape might lend us beyond the limits, helping to create a better world.? She goes on to suggest seeing the landscape as an ?environment?, might be a start to reframe the perception of landscape. ? When nature is landscape, we look at it. When nature is environment, we live in it.? (Strand 2008:84) Seeing the landscape as an assemblage proposes a frame that builds on the above ideas of complexity. For example assemblages have the ability to expand Strands above quote to say ? When nature is a landscape, we look at it. When nature is environment, we live it in???when nature is an assemblage, we understand it. Understanding people are part of the assemblage breaks from Strands suggestion that the landscape is something we look at or even that we live in. The idea of assemblage suggests that people are the landscape; People are a part of the system. Much time was spent experimenting with mapping assemblages and how to graphically show ideas of process and connections. The following diagrams from early in the thesis exploration display different attempts at both understanding the concept of assemblages and graphically representing assemblages. FIG 20 46 qualiti es assemblage expr essions de t e rrit orializ a ti on l a n d s c a p e a r c h it ect t e r r i t o r i a l i z a ti o n s i g n s pe op le wi ld life assemblage plant s abtract interpretati on of an assemblage 47 Creek + Bridge + Community + 48 Creek + Bridge + Community + + + + Components Preys On Pollinates Eats Hides In Plays With Lives In Spreads Picks Smells Catches Builds With 49 Water+Structure+Plant Communities People+Creek+Wildlife 50 Water+Structure+Plant Communities People+Creek+Wildlife The diagram displays an assemblage of wrens+wood (framing in the abandoned structures) + goldenrod. The diagram attempts to show links between these components. Wrens nest in structures, goldenrod attracts insects providing food for the wrens. Decaying wood attracts beetles and spiders for the wrens, wrens spread the seeds of the goldenrod and goldenrod provides materials for wren?s nesting habits Wren+Wood+Goldenrod 51 Heron+Water+Sweet Gum Tree The diagram displays an assemblage of blue herons, water, sweetgum trees, and children, all of which are existing components on the site. Links show the heron nesting in the sweetgum trees, the water (valley creek and the flood plain) providing food habitat for the heron, children climbing trees, and the abandoned duplexes providing habitat for rats and lizards, food for the heron. 52 assemblage mapping began with a site inventory of potenti al components Left diagrams depicts an assemblage of goldenrod, swallows, children, the arts, fund raising events, and local community organizati ons through di? erent seasons over one year. 53 assemblages shift constantly. Connected components move throughout any site in a constant fl uctuati on. 54 higher biodiversity lower biodiversity common wren gray heron ground squirrel raccoon oakwood elementary, local neighborhood kids adventitious grass habitat site secti on valley creek movement mapping:summer 55 ABANDONED TAX DELINQUENT VACANT Plants Organizations Arts Structure 56 heron structure cat child city Wildlife Organizations Arts Structure 57 OO P A e operations A T II ns e operations Operations Operations are used both as a design technique and an exploratory tool to 1. Investigate ideas of creative deconstruction 2. Explore the theoretical framework by creating assemblages of people, wildlife, plants and building remnants 3. orchestrate an engaging public green space for local communities. The operations use existing assemblage components, redistribute them, and enable a new condition. Each operation is a type of deletion or erasure and removes portions or entire buildings. Many of the exterior walls, as well as sections of the buildings interiors remain and are reconfigured in ways that enable such components as play spaces for children, nesting locations for wildlife, and debris catchment piles for flooding and rain water. Along with the three aforementioned goals, two additional ideas are researched as methods for reconnecting the community with the abaondoned site. The first idea is the use of art as a tool to motivate community vitality. The newly formulated structures provide platforms for the arts. The larger goal being to connect Birmingham?s already established and thriving art culture to the existing problem of abandoned properties. The two types of art suggested for the Urban Assemblages project are site specific dance and community theater. The second idea establishes worker training programs providing instruction in the trade skills of deconstruction, construction, and material salvaging. Each operation was initially explored by itself as a single design move across the entire site. Amplifying the operation allowed for a thorough exploration to establish where each operation should occur within existing site conditions. For example which operation would perform in an edge condition verses a north facing condition vs. a flooding condition. The four operations are Orientation, Adjacency, Displacement, and Dispersal. 60 61 Orientation Adjacency Dispersal Displacement 62 63 existi ng buildings 64 proposed operati ons 65 66 The operati on of orientati on explores assemblages of sun, people, wildlife, and plants. The duplexes chosen for the operati on of orientati on are located in the areas of maximum sun exposure. All walls with the excepti on of the north- south oriented walls are deleted. The north-south walls remain along with certain secti ons of the interior ceiling framing. Landings are constructed with existi ng materials along the east sides of the walls, which include sitti ng areas and re-purposed metal railings. The reconstructi on of the walls provides nesti ng areas for birds and wall niches within the interior and exterior of the walls for small wild life habit. Mixes of wild? owers and grasses are seeded around each structure which in turn responds to the sun/shade patt erns thrown by the walls. Orientation 67 The orientati on walls associate with multi ple parts of the assemblage. This assemblage might include West End high school children chatti ng aft er school in the summer months watching the house wrens and thrashers bouncing from structure to structure while collecti ng seeds and fruit from golden rods and goose berries, lizards bathing on the sunny side wall ledges, and long horned beetles and bees sipping nectar from lemon balm just coming into bloom. All of these components, and many others, ? uctuate in, around, and through the orientati on walls. 68 69 existi ng wall constructi on proposed recon? gurati on 70 71 secti on adjacency walls 72 Adjacency The operati on of adjacency explores the idea of introducing the arts into the assemblage. Site specifi c dance is a form of art which is meant to engage people with the landscape and the adjacency walls provide a platf orm for this to occur. The adjacency walls also provide seati ng and play structures for local communiti es These are low walls located on the edges of the site. Metaphorically they represent assemblage links in that all of the adjacency walls deconstructed from one duplex are physically connected just as all components in any assemblage are connected. secti on adjacency walls 73 The adjacency walls would also be constructed in ways that invite small wildlife into and through the walls, while providing perches and landings for larger wildlife and birds. Site specific dance is said to ?enhance? or ?dramatize? the landscape and many of the companies that choreograph site specific dance performances include the community in the performances. The adjacency walls provide tight geometries to respond to the ?rules? many dance performances establish that guide and form the dance. 74 75 FIG 21 FIG 22 FIG 23 76 Site Specific Dance FIG 24 77 FIG 25 FIG 26 FIG 27 78 Displacement The operati on of displacement erases the building interiors, while maintaining the shells of the buildings at various heights. With four of the displacement buildings all exterior walls remain to the height of the fi rst ? oor with the excepti on of the walls facing the center; these walls are removed. Framing from the interior is reused to create large stages for community theater based groups interested in community outreach projects. Large metal sca? olding structures double as support for the walls along with support for set props. FIG 28 79 Two additi onal buildings remove all walls down to the exterior wall footi ngs, which outline the building?s footprint. With this operati on the base structure block columns that act as supports for the buildings will also remain and be reveneered with salvaged brick. 80 81 82 Dispersal The operati on of dispersal deconstructs the buildings completely salvaging materials for reuse throughout the site. Porti ons of the materials are reconfi gured in piles and pallets on the north edge closest to Valley Creek. If the site ? oods or there are large rains, sediment becomes trapped within and around the piles and pallets. This is turn provides small animal habitat as food for urban herons that frequent the riparian zones and feed in the early morning hours when people are scarce. The constructed piles and pallets also serve has seati ng platf orms and play structures. This area is shaded year round by groves of nati ve sweet gum trees. 83 84 herons feeding in early morning displacment operation+valley creek section 85 Orientation+Adjacency+Displacement+Dispersal Creative deconstruction can allow for adaptive reuse of materials, the bulk being brick, block, and wood framing. Other materials for possible use particularly for the operation of dispersal could include shutters, doors, railings, roofing shingles, and concrete landings used for the building entrances. This type of deconstruction allows for visible remnants of the buildings to exist. These remnants provide a visual link to the past. 86 Orientation+Adjacency+Displacement+Dispersal 87 Discoveries from the operation explorations include: 1. Design interventions to any site are a form of disturbance. For example an abandoned building is an assemblage, and the deconstruction and reformulation of materials causes a disturbance within the assemblage. Animals living in the building, water pooling around the building, children playing or hiding in the buildings, all reorganize as the operation changes the platform on which the assemblage comes back together. When the assemblage reformulates, it?s a new assemblage with new components. Design interventions could enable the new assemblage to be more diverse in components. Spring Summer 88 Discoveries Fall Winter 89 2. No component in the assemblage has more or less value than another. Each operation permits component interactions with the goal of maximizing those interactions. The orientation and dispersal operations display these concepts well. The adjacency and displacement operations primarily focus on the programmatic elements of the site and less on the ecologies of the site. A more thorough exploration is needed to address how these two operations could respond to additional assemblage components. components are a equal parts of multiple assemblages 90 3. While exploring the operati ons, the community?s ability to become involved in the proejct was evaluated. Will these communiti es care about this site? Is there an organizing neighborhood structure within the communiti es? Is the erasing and reconstructi ng of walls feasible? What materials can realisti cally be reused? Because of the site?s high visibility community members call the city yearly asking that the abandoned duplexes be removed, and they have been calling for many years. Currently the building are not on the city?s condemned list, and there is no plan to remove them in the near future. The West End communiti es are working communiti es with a higher than average unemployment rates (citydata.com) The neighborhoods in the West End also have organizati onal structure, neighborhood associati ons, and neighborhood council members all which may have interest in helping these communiti es organize around the reuse of abandoned sites. With respect to the materials and wall constructi on, it was discovered that many of the valuable materials with in the buildings have already been removed. Items such as counter tops, copper wiring and pipes, hardware etc. are no longer in the buildings. So the bulk of the materials that could provide value both for reconstructi on, and in potenti al resale are mostly brick, wood, concrete block, steel I beams, and shingle roo? ng. It was also determined through the operati on explorati on that the site probably contains more materials than would be needed for constructi on. These materials could be stored, sold, or donated to local non-pro? t organizati ons such as Habitat for Humanity which currently needs roo? ng materials. Some materials could also be donated to tornado damage rebuilding in citi es such as Pratt City and Cordova. shutters brick doors framing block 91 4. Words are powerful components of the assemblage. How the assemblage is ?described, framed, allocated meaning?? can affect future states of the assemblage? (Barnett 2008:3) The larger collection of abandoned properties throughout the West End are intimately tied to such phrases as urban blight, urban decay, neighborhood destabilization, neighborhood decline, etc. These phrases frequent multiple news media when describing Birmingham?s West End neighborhoods. Urban Assemblages along with future adaptive reuse projects has the ability to begin to change the discursive elements of the assemblage thats is the West End. Words like productive, valuable, and performative can enter the discourse as communities slowly shift perspective. The examination of the operation explorations revealed the site as much more than abandoned buildings however, particularly with respect to existing ecological systems. For example viewing the site from the perspective of plants and wildlife, the current discourse would be completely different. In this respect the sites are not abandoned. Abandoned sites represent potentially very rich ecologies, particularly when there are hundreds even thousands of these types of sites in close proximity. As people have disappeared, plants and wildlife have come back in. As the discourse shifts, so will eventually the existing assemblage components connected to the discourse. It is then important that this new discourse describe these sites in a way that values ecological components of the assemblage. ?Birmingham at a cross roads.....Can we come together?? urban blight FIG 29 92 urban blight 93 S I T E a e S E Case Studies C U D Reimagining Cleveland RE-IMAGINING clEvElANd R E s o u R c E b o o k Reimagining Cleveland is an initi ati ve that began in 2008 with the goal of transforming vacant land throughout struggling neighborhoods in central Cleveland. (Ideas-to-Acti ons 2008) The project started small, with the idea of modest vacant lots becoming community gardens, phytoremediati on projects, pocket parks, and small urban farms. The pilot project sought to turn ? ft een acres of vacant land into usable, producti ve space. Funding for the implementati ons came from a combinati on of city funds, non-pro? t organizati ons, and grants. Due to the success of the pilot project, in two short years Cleveland has not only changed the percepti on of vacant land to local communiti es, evidence found in the growing parti cipati on from neighborhood associati ons but also att racted larger funding resources. In 2010 the leaders of the initi ati ve put in to moti on what they are calling Reimagining Cleveland 2.0 which is currently in a research phase of a much larger scale projects that could transform more than just single lots, but the city as a whole. ?Re-imagining a More Sustainable Cleveland 2.0 is a study to identi fy large-scale catalyti c projects in the following categories that could create lasti ng change in Cleveland: agriculture, alternati ve energy, contaminati on remediati on, land assembly, neighborhood stabilizati on, sustainable patt ern of development, and storm water retenti on? (reimaginingcleveland.org) In December of 2011, the project received its largest grant yet of one million from the federal government. ?From Vacant to Vibrant?-reimagining Cleveland FIG 30-35 96 23 1 flowering trees 2 gravel path 3 hedge row Children enjoying riding through the Brooklyn Centre neighborhood pathway volunteers working on the construction of a pathway through the Brooklyn Centre Orchard Bottles used as construction material for a pathway view showing a neighborhood pathway layout 1 2 3 Plan showing a neighborhood pathway layout VACANT LAND re-use PATTerN BOOK R E - I M A G I N I N G c l E v E l A N d 97 Louisiana Green Corps: Case Study: deconstructi on/constructi on training programs for local communiti es Louisiana Green Corp was started in 2008 with the goal of training low income, at risk youth between the ages of 17 and 24 in the ? eld of green constructi on and deconstructi on. The program has graduated 250 students to date. Parti cipants begin in the classroom learning green constructi on technologies, followed by in the ? eld training throughout local communiti es in building renovati on, deconstructi on, historic preservati on, home weathering, and material salvaging. The goal of the program is to ?provide green job training to unemployed, underemployed, court involved, or otherwise disadvantaged New Orleans youth? The program awards technical certi ? cati ons along with job placement assistance. The program is funded through the Department of Labor?s Nati onal Emergency Grants and organized through ? ve local organizati ons, including local businesses and non-pro? ts. Job Corp is a nati onal organizati on with 124 programs nati onwide and an 87% success rates for graduates ? nding employment or going on to a four year college. The closest Job Corps programs to Birmingham are located in Gadson and Montgomery. FIG 36-39 98 99 Pathways out of Poverty Green For All: Informati on Source for Worker Development Programs Pathways out of poverty is an organizati on that was created in 2009 by the Obama administrati on and is funded by the American Recovery and reinvestment Act. Pathways out of poverty provides training programs focusing on individuals living below the poverty level and provides a range of skills related to green industries and green technologies. One of the prioriti es of pathways out of poverty is assisti ng organizers in creati ng meaningful, lasti ng partnerships within a community to establish worker programs that qualify for federal grant money. In 2009, Green for All (parent organizati on of Pathways out of Poverty) convened at a two days conference to brain storm ideas on helping workforce practi ti oners establish worker development programs. Pathways out of Poverty is both a source of case studies for existi ng worker development programs across the United States as well as informati on on the types of partnerships that work for such programs The ideal model for a worker development program would include 1.community based organizati ons, labor groups, colleges, local business service providers, and/or nonpro? t organizati ons 2. central intake agencies (agencies that conduct community outreach to low income communiti es to ?screen in? eligible individuals,3. GED preparati on agencies 4.career ladders (various points of paths and opportunity with the training) 5.performance measures. 6 diversi? ed funding mechanisms. (greenforall.org) FIG 40-41 100 Pathways out of Poverty 101 REFLECTIONS S I T o 102 REFLECTIONS S T C U n 103 Landscape assemblages of people, wildlife, and remnant architecture can be used to empower local communities within West End Birmingham. Through creative deconstruction what is currently seen as devalued unproductive property, can be transformed into valuable community public space. Programmatic elements such as art performances, worker programs, and ongoing partnerships between city organizations, non-profits, and motivated community leaders can be used to help communities envision new purposes for the thousands of abandoned properties in their neighborhoods. The following is a list of questions and responses that were brought up in reviews, in thesis studio, and in advisory committee meetings that discuss the strengths and limitations of the thesis. 1. Would Urban Assemblages require funding from the city? Most of the case studies researched that involved pilot projects reusing abandoned or vacant sites did require initial city funding and organization. Along with the city additional funding came from partnerships with local nonprofit organizations, private donors, and state and/or federal grants. In many instances, a local university was involved providing ideas and analysis. Certain types of adaptive reuse projects fall under green building initiatives that could possible qualify for grant money through the Obama administration?s Sustainable Community Initiative or HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds. Birmingham is currently working through round 1 of NSP funding. NSP funding focuses more on home rehabilitation for the purpose of low income housing, however ?landscaping? is included and could possibly be allocated money. A good resource for up to date federal grant information is the Ferguson Group blog www. thefergusongroup.com. 2. What occurs on the site when there are no arts performances? Incorporating arts programs as a programmatic element to the site is meant to engage communities with the landscape, the arts, and the abandoned structures in a way that is not currently imagined. This is envisioned to occur at various times 104 throughout the year, but is not attended to be the only use of the site. The site is first and foremost a public green space for local communities, specifically communities living directly adjacent to the site. 3. How it is decided which components in the assemblage the landscape architect works with? This question was raised frequently in reviews and advisory meetings. Assemblages are infinite and everything is a part of an assemblage. But it is impossible for a landscape architect to design with every component, or to even research and know every component. Early in the thesis process when trying to understand what assemblages are how and they function, a site inventory of existing assemblage components was complied. Components were then linked together via diagrams based on how they might interact. For the purpose of understanding assemblages, no specific valuing systems was applied to these components aside from a subconscious one used when choosing which site components to use for research purposes. Assemblages by definition do not value one component over the other; all components are equal. Critique of the thesis however suggested a valuing system would be needed in order for the landscape architect to begin to decide which components to work with. An example of a valuing system would be to privilege native wildlife over invasive or to only value components society devalues such as rats or homeless people. 4. Were the assemblage mapping explorations valuable to the thesis? The thesis exploration began with very little understanding of what assemblages are and how they might be used as a framework for a project. So as the project was explored, so was an understanding of assemblages explored and in this respect the mapping exercises helped greatly. The diagraming clearly shows different components and connections. The golden rod+swallow+arts+child diagram begins to try and show elements of time. Where the diagrams are limited is expressing process. More investigations are needed, possibly using other types of medium, to better express components in a process with each other. Another interesting exploration may include trying to graphically express the unknown elements in the assemblage. This might begin to consider the unpredictable nature of assemblages and a need to acknowledge this characteristic in design. 5. To what extent is Valley Creek part of the thesis? The thesis began with an interest in Valley Creek and the abandoned materials located within the flood plain along the first three miles of the creek. The more 105 Valley Creek was explored the more the thesis shifted away from restoring the upper portions of the creek. The problem lie in that there is nothing actually wrong with the creek, but many things wrong within the surrounding watershed. Therefor the entire watershed would have needed to be studied. The two main things affecting the water quality of the creek are storm water and leaky sewer drains throughout Jefferson county. Instead of proposing expensive retrofitting techniques, Urban Assemblages proposes that the creek is still an asset to communities without restoration. Currently the environmental organization Fresh Water Land Trust is buying up property directly adjacent to the creek for possible future creek restoration projects. 6. If the pilot project is successful, what would the next adaptive reuse site be? Currently the city of Birmingham uses tax delinquency to track abandoned buildings and vacant properties. However there are many degrees of tax delinquency that range from recently tax delinquent to tax delinquent for many years. Recent tax delinquency would more than likely be properties in good condition with possible occupancy. Properties tax delinquent for several years or more could represent properties that have been abandoned . But whether or not a specific property is in disrepair and to what extent is currently not available through GIS mapping. To further investigate which properties would be most appropriate for adaptive reuse a more thorough analysis of each property is needed and new GIS information created. This would need to involve a neighborhood scale site by site inventory which would allow the city to begin to understand which properties or groupings of properties might best serve the communities and in different ways. 7. How is the project connecting to the larger assemblage that is Birmingham? Urban Assemblages explores connecting socially between the local neighborhoods and the greater city. This is done through programmatic elements such as arts projects, worker training programs, working with local nonprofit organizations, and city involvement in the project. However more research is needed into the many ecological connections to the greater Birmingham area and the relationship those connections have through time. An interesting characteristic of an assemblage is its ability to adapt and change with the environment. In this way, the assemblage is unpredictable. Further explorations would entail scenario investigations as to how the assemblages might shift, change, and reorganize over many years. Because of this unknown quality, further discussion is also needed as to the role the landscape architect has in the formation of the assemblage. The landscape architect is part of the assemblage, but to what 106 extent? Is he or she an ungoing interactive component? Understanding the landscape architect as an orchestrator of possible conditions would need to be further investigated. 8. How does Urban Assemblages encourage building community? Urban Assemblages is first and foremost about trying to help build communities. Birmingham?s West End has been steadily declining over the last twenty five years and the accumulating numbers of abandoned homes and vacant lands are significantly adding to a variety of problems within neighborhoods. Even with a demolish rate of 40 to 50 properties a month the city is barely making a dent. These properties need to be reimagined in a way that communities want to become involved. Without their involvement, the problem only gets worse. So the question becomes how to compose the assemblage in a way that helps communities envision what these properties can be, while creating sustainable and ecologically healthy spaces. Urban Assemblages begins the conversation on how to help communities take back abandoned properties. 107 Acknowledgments 108 Acknowledgments Many thanks to the following people: Matt, Mom, and Dad for support and encouragement in my many pursuits of knowledge Professor Rod Barnett for his patience and ability to teach me new ways of thinking Professors David Hill, Charlene Lebleu, Michael Robinson, Jocelyn Zanzot, and Jacqueline Margetts, for valuable guidance and critique throughout my time at Auburn University Dr. Jack Feminella, Matt Churnock and Philip Amthor for assistance with research Margie Woodbury, Taylor French, Long Zhou, Sissy Deng, Adrian Sharp, and Yimiao Li for going through thesis with me 109 References FIG 1-7 iweatherman ?untitled? Photo. Flikr.com. July 10 2009 < http:// www.flickr.com/photos/iweatherman/4905541414/> FIG 8 unknown ?untitiled? Photo. nbirmingham.net< http://< http:// nbirmingham.net/historyphoto1.php> FIG 9 unknown ?untitiled? Photo. nbirmingham.net< http://< http:// nbirmingham.net/historyphoto1.php> FIG 10 grandman ?untitled? Photo RedMountainPost.com August 29 2010 < http://www.theredmountainpost.com/birminghams-history- photographs-of-the-old-ensley-works-6463/> FIG 11 unknown ?untitiled? Photo. Al.com cira 1924< http://blog. al.com/spotnews/2008/01/bjcc_to_use_replica_of_familia.html> FIG 12 unknown ?untitiled? Photo. nbirmingham.net< http://< http:// nbirmingham.net/historyphoto1.php> FIG 13 unknown ?untitled? Photo. WoodrowHall.com cira 1914 < http:// woodrowhall.com/category/uncategorized/page/2/> FIG 14 Adapted From digiitaltopomaps.com < http://www.digital-topo- maps.com/county-map/alabama.shtml> FIG 15-19 Adapted From RPCGB.com < http://www.rpcgb.org/gis/ data/> FIG 20 Adapted From Bransonlakearea.com < http://www. explorebranson.com/gallery/index.php/attractions/butterfly/Butterfly- Palace-Boy-and-Butterflies> FIG 21 unknown ?untitiled? Photo. umich.edu < http://sitemaker.umich. edu/jkfogel/ann_arbor_dance_works > FIG 22 unknown ?untitled? Photo. dancemagazine.com. < http://www. dancemagazine.com/blogs/siobhan/3871> FIG 23 unknown ?untitiled? Photo. umich.edu < http://sitemaker.umich. edu/jkfogel/home > FIG 24 unknown ?untitiled? Photo. umich.edu < http://sitemaker.umich. edu/jkfogel/red_trail_photo_gallery > FIG 25 unknown ?untitiled? Photo. wikipedia.org < http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/File:Wolf_Trap_(national_park)_theatre_in_the_woods.jpg > FIG 26 unknown ?untitiled? Photo. columbiatribune.com FIG 27 unknown ?untitiled? Photo. milleroutdoortheater.com < http:// milleroutdoortheatre.com/events/30/ > FIG 28 unknown ?untitiled? Photo. seatletimes.com < http://seattletimes. nwsource.com/html/thearts/2009412100_outdoortheater05.html > FIG 29 Fletcher,Naaman ?Irondale-Stair? flicker.com < http://www.flickr. com/photos/naamanfletcher/> FIG 30-35 unknown ?varies? reimaginingcleveland.org < http:// reimaginingcleveland.org/ > FIG 36-39 unknown ?varies? lagreencorp.org < http://www.lagreencorps. org/ > FIG 40-41 unknown ?varies? greenforall.org < http://www.greenforall. org/what-we-do/building-a-movement/community-of-practice/green- pathways-out-of-poverty-workforce-development-initiatives > *all photographs and maps not listed are credited to Kelly Homan. GIS information courtesy of The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham 110 Bibliographies Deleuze, G. and F. Guattari (1987). A Thousand Plateaus. London, University of Minnesota Press. Waldheim, C., Ed. (2006). The Landscape Urbanism Reader. New York, Princeton Architectural Press. Corner, J. (2006). Terra Fluxus. The Landscape Urbanism Reader. C. Waldheim. New York, Princeton Architectural Press. Wise, J. Macgregor ?Assemblage? in Charles J. Stivale (Ed.), 2005, Deleuze: Key Concepts.McGill-Queens Univeristy Press Lister, Nina-Marie. Ecological Design or Designer Ecology? in Julia Czerniak and George Hargreaves (Eds) 2007 Large Parks New York, Princeton Architectural Press. Hill, Kristina Shifting Sites in Carol Burns and Andrea Kahn (Eds) 2005 Site Matters . New York, Routledge Evans, Mary (2005) The Prevention, Management, and Re-Use of Jefferson County?s Tax Delinquent Property Harvard University, John F Kennedy School of Government Barnett, Rod (2010) A Ten Point Guide to Assemblages www.rodbarnett. co.nz Strand, Ginger ?At the Limits: Landschaft, Landscape and the Land? in Markonish, Denise and Thompson, Joseph (Eds) 2008 Badlands MIT Press Parr,Adrian (2005), The Deleuze Dictionary. Revised Ed. Edinburgh University Press Atkins, Leah (1999) The Valley and the Hills University of Alabama Press Pelfry, David (2011). Birmingham Black and White City Paper Tinker (2011). About Assemblage. AssemblageArtists.com . April 23 2012. http://www.assemblageartists.com/ Mitchell, Melanie and Newman, Mark: (2002) ?Complex Systems Theory and Evolution? Encyclopedia of Evolution New York: Oxford University Press unknown author (2011) CityData.com Birmingham Metropolitan Planning Organization (2008) Regional Planning Commision of Greater Birmingham Population, Housing, and Employement Projections 111 112