Designing diverse neighborhoods

• Main Author: Wu, Kathryn K.
• Published: Georgia Institute of Technology 2012
• Subjects: Diversity; Atlanta neighborhoods; Urban design; City planning; Neighborhood planning; Neighborhoods
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1853/42757

This thesis argues for diversity as an important element for urban neighborhoods. This argument is framed by three questions. First, what are the recent findings from urban design, planning and architecture research and practice about achieving neighborhood diversity? Second, what are the physical ingredients of traditional, diverse urban neighborhoods that enable diverse populations, lifestyles and incomes? Third, what design strategies can be formulated, based on the evidence above, to design and implement diverse neighborhoods? Three neighborhoods in Atlanta are the focus of the detailed analysis of diversity. These are: Inman Park, Ansley Park and Virginia-Highland. These three neighborhoods were chosen because of their similarities. They all appear to be single family detached neighborhoods but are actually diverse in terms of housing type and owner/renter occupancy; they are perceived to have unique identities in architectural styles, but actually have a diversity of styles and ages of buildings. They all are perceived to be fully gentrified but in fact, house diverse populations in terms of age, income, race and lifestyle. The conclusions of this thesis include written recommendations, based on current neighborhood design ideas as supported by the analysis of Atlanta neighborhoods.