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High speed suburbanism: Developing transit infrastructures in a disconnected metropolis

Posted on:2011-02-07Degree:M.ArchType:Thesis
University:Rice UniversityCandidate:McWilliams, John Riddle, JrFull Text:PDF
GTID:2442390002456370Subject:Architecture
Abstract/Summary:
The current interest in developing mobility alternatives such as high-speed rail and commuter rail systems in our auto dominated American regions poses new possibilities to reimagine our sprawling, disconnected, suburban landscapes. Since the patterns of development that automobile infrastructures have produced over the last century radically differ from the urbanisms that traditional rail systems once served, the integration of new transit systems into this contemporary context has potential for radical innovation.;This thesis examines the impact of new modalities within our suburban environments and problematizes the monofunctionality of a ground plane fully dominated by the automobile. Through a multilayered fabric of mobility infrastructures, garden dwellings, retail strips, working units, and public outdoor spaces, this proposal condenses and reorganizes the suburban landscape into a field condition transit development with emerging nodes of connectivity to the ground, rail, and city landscape.
Keywords/Search Tags:Transit, Suburban, Rail, Infrastructures
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