Off-campus UMass Amherst users: To download campus access theses, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your UMass Amherst user name and password.
Non-UMass Amherst users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this thesis through interlibrary loan.
Theses that have an embargo placed on them will not be available to anyone until the embargo expires.
Access Type
Open Access
Document Type
thesis
Degree Program
Architecture
Degree Type
Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
Year Degree Awarded
2013
Month Degree Awarded
May
Keywords
sustainable, urban, village, Springfield, affordable, housing
Abstract
In the United States, traditional urban centers, particularly in the Northeast, have suffered from neglect, dilapidation, and the general decay of their built environments over the last 50-60 years. Corresponding with this on the social side are increased poverty, unemployment, crime, and the disruption of the family unit.
Our current knowledge of the disciplines of architecture and sustainability can be applied to a built solution that will yield a greater public good. Good design can improve the lives of people by creating homes, neighborhoods, and villages that are comfortable, secure, and sustainable for all of the activities that make life enjoyable.
Sustainability not only allows us to help save the planet and ourselves, but it also allows for the conservation of the limited resources that might be available to inner-city middle to low income populations. If a family’s or a city’s basic resources are drained by homes and buildings that perform poorly, there will be an impact on the overall quality of life and reduced possibilities for that family (or that city) to improve their standard of living.
Early on, in this process, I had thought about the Six Corners neighborhood of Springfield as a candidate for this design intervention. When an F3 tornado devastated the neighborhoods of Six Corners and Old Hill on June 1, 2011, the problem became clear and I decided to focus my attention on a particularly hard hit area on the border of the two neighborhoods, which has become the subject of this thesis.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/4107096
First Advisor
Kathleen R. Lugosch
Second Advisor
Stephen D. Schreiber