Urban Assemblages

Abstract

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.