Patching the holes of the city : an urban design framework for redevelopment of Arbutus-Broadway and nearby 21 blocks

• Main Author: Liu, Xue
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/18312

Vacant, skipped-over or underused parcels of land in otherwise built-up environment can be identified in every city. These undeveloped or underutilized parcels of land are like "holes" of our city fabric. As the demand for new housing and services grows in urban areas, great opportunities and spaces for future developments are availed. The means to revitalize these "holes" in our dynamic city have gained more and more attention from the public. Theoretical responses have come through a long way from Modernism, to Postmodernism, Gentrification, and now New Urbanism. Even though new urbanism was originally an alternative to suburban sprawl, it provides existing urban built areas a broader vision of re-urbanization that crosses scales of Region, District, Neighborhood, and Block to Building. Sharing the similarities with the City of Vancouver’s urban design ideology, New Urbanism is the theoretical basis for this project. It specifies the study within Kitsilano East area, and to create an urban design framework that cross overlays of Open Space, Circulation and Urban Fabric. New Urbanism also provides the theoretical context through the following site planning and site design of Arbutus-Broadway and its nearby 21 blocks. This thesis project is hoped to be a drop in the sea that pushes the urban redevelopment wave forward while it creates a mixed-use, vibrant Arbutus-Broadway area, and supports its role in the city as a whole. === Applied Science, Faculty of === Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of === Graduate