Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of Alley Maintenance in the City of Detroit

green infrastructure;detroit;alley;sustainability;School for Environment and Sustainability

Soni, ShrutiAstudillo, RobertoWang, XinyiSung, Wonana, na ;

University of Michigan

关键词: green infrastructure;    detroit;    alley;    sustainability;    School for Environment and Sustainability;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/148812/Environmental%20and%20Social%20Impact%20Assessment%20%20of%20Alley%20Maintenance%20in%20the%20City%20of%20Detroit_P41.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

The city of Detroit suffered a significant declinesince the 1950s. As the city continues to recover,development has spurred growth, particularly inthe Villages of Detroit. The alleys in the city houseessential utility systems such as: sewer, electric, phonesystems. These areas have fallen into disrepair, erasedthrough vacancy, or illicit activities. In addition, cityinfrastructure systems, some reaching capacity, are inneed of repairs and attention by city officials. Throughthe course of this project, revelations about the city’scomplex infrastructure systems and governmentalstructure became apparent, as limitations wereimposed on access to information, design restrictions,and new knowledge on stormwater systems.The objective of this project is to understand andprovide potential solutions to the use of the alleynetworks in the Villages of Detroit. By studying therole of alley infrastructure from case study cities,we gain an understanding of the alley potentialsthat use social and green interventions. At the sitescale, we sought to understand the existing systems,opinions and uses by residents. Analysis and surveyinformation from community members demonstratea need to repair alleyways as residents continue touse alleys despite existing conditions. Developingsustainable interventions in a legacy city allowed thegroup to understand design barriers and the role ofconstant conversation among municipal partnersand organizations. For instance, the placement ofthe storm sewer network within the depreciatingalley network creates a barrier to the implementationof green infrastructure per the request of the DetroitWater and Sewer Department (DWSD). This constantidentification of blockades reconfigured this projectfrom one of design interventions to designing towardspolicy tolerance and acceptance by location officials.Our study focuses on developing potential solutionsto answer these observations and provide a possibleframework for the alleys of the Village in Detroit. Thisproject sought to understand the Villages througha landscape design lens by analyzing the variousdynamics that provide a sense of place. Explorationsinto case study cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, andcurrent projects in Detroit, this project gained anunderstanding of the diverse potential of alley usesin contemporary design. This project also examinedsocial components by analyzing the feedback from thecommunity through an on-line survey. Our approachedembraced social media as an inclusive platform todeliver community feedback. The current state of thealley network in the Villages ranges from non-existentdue to vegetation to centers of commercial activities.Through this study, this project will provide potentialinterventions and support for alley revitalization,noting the feedback from the community organization,residents and the constraints identified by DWSD.