Rebuilding Block By Block

This is the last action project for my class Urban Planning. The title of this unit being Flow, we looked at the different ways that certain cities function and what might go into them. We also looked at how Urban Planning itself can affect cities over a longer period of time and how it can be used effectively or ineffectively. For this, we looked at historical examples like Amsterdam’s growth as a city. TED talks were also a huge part of this unit because they allowed us to look into different perspectives of those who might want or have an effect on urban planning. This led us to talk to some professionals who use urban planning daily like Itay Porat and Whitney interior design. For this final action project, the purpose is to choose a certain section of a city and redesign it for the better.

"My City Park 1" by Bill Ward's Brickpile is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The area that I’m redesigning is 4008 S Michigan. It’s a part of the Bronzeville neighborhood and is currently an open lot and an abandoned building right next to it. It’s also right next to where I used to live for my freshman year at my school. Some of the strengths from this is that it does allow for bigger trucks and people to move through the neighborhood besides having the main streets. Because it’s an open lot, it does make me wish that it served a bigger purpose than just being an underutilized area. What could make this a better area is giving it more purpose for the people in the area.

“Screenshot of the Area being remodeled”,Google maps, 2023

The shape of my area is a rectangle:


Rectangle Length: 135.5ft
Rectangle Width: 95.88ft

Total Area (L * W): 135.5 * 95.88 = 12,991.74ft2

For my model the dimensions will be scaled by 1 in: 27 ft


When I asked one of my family members about the area this is what she said,“When we lived on 40th and Michigan Avenue, there was a lack of accessible resources in the area. There was a need for more local grocery stores with there only being one in the neighborhood. It might also be great to have more places for entertainment like a movie theater or Community Center. The neighborhood never had an open park space that allowed people to be outside which would’ve been nice to see”.

Based on an article from WTTE, Bronzeville is known for their nightclubs and dance halls that allowed people to go enjoy different environments in the neighborhood. Today, some of those same clubs and halls are abandoned and the area that I’ve chosen to redesign would have potentially been one of those places. ChicagoHistory.org even states that it was one of the first neighborhoods in the United States that was built entirely for and with black people in mind.


Here’s a screenshot of the current area and what I want to change:

“Current Screenshot of the Area”, RBL,2023

Here’s two things that inspired me when looking at remodeling this area:

The Ron Finley Project - Implementing gardening on a community basis. It also shows how sustainable gardening can be for a community and how many people could benefit from it.

"Garden of the phoenix" by jlodder is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Garden of the Phoenix - Visually having an area that serves as a garden and for the people. Not only this, but only using a small part of a park to make a nice place in the neighborhood.


Here’s an updated screenshot of the area that I’m redesigning:

"Area Redesign", RBL, 2023

Here’s a list of some of the improvements I’ve made:

• One of my ideas is turning part of the abandoned lot into a garden. This would allow for another space in Bronzeville for people to coordinate local events or just use as a way to give back.
• I would also make sure that the area itself is covered in community art and voices. This would be helpful to create a new focus on the area that would help to bring more people to enjoy the environment.
• There would also be a bench added to a side of the small garden. One of the biggest things with gardens is allowing for places for people to enjoy the environment if they might not want to walk through the graden’s trail.
• For the abandoned building, I’d turn it into a store for the garden. I decided to include this because it would allow for some community engagement towards the garden and have a store that can directly affect the garden in some way.
• I’d also add a 13x8in soccer court in the area. This is not just because I like soccer, but because there’s a lot of basketball courts in the areas nearby. With this in mind, soccer is often left to the side but this could allow for new opportunities for the community to play it with an open court. It could lead to open tournaments or just some casual games.

My design connects with SDG 11.4 which is to strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage. Though it’s not directly on a global scale, it does contribute to how my neighborhood might grow and making sure that there’s a community space that’s safe for anyone. It would also allow for a point in funding that wouldn’t be hard for some to reach for a park allowing for a way to give back to the neighborhood. This design aligns with SDG 11.7.1 which is Average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with disabilities. Parks themselves give an open and welcoming space for anyone who might need it and a step to getting more set up in the area. Because it’s public, it also doesn't discriminate against who can use the park and when they might be able to, which can give a lot of new opportunities for some people to live and possibly be a part of how it grows as a community space.

Here’s a 3D version of my redesign:

“Area Redesign in 3D”, RBL,2023

Plant prism on top of square (Block With Green Plants):

Area - 0.8in x 1.2in = Cubic 0.96cu. In = 25.92ft

Soccer Ball Radius - 0.25in = 6.75ft in real life 

Volume for Scaled Soccer Ball - (4/3) π0.25in3 = 0.0654 cu. In = 1.7658ft in real life

Triangle with square (Block with Purple and Blue Sections):

Area of Triangle - ½  x 0.5cm x 1cm = 0.25 sq. cm = 0.098sq. in = 2.646sq. ft in real life

Area of Rectangle  - 0.5cm x 1cm  = 0.5 sq. cm = 0.19sq. in = 5.13sq. ft in real life

Area of the Base: 0.5 x 1cm = 0.5 sq. cm =  0.19sq. in = 5.13sq. ft in real life

Volume of Full Pentagon (Model): 0.098sq. In + 0.19sq. In x 0.19sq. In = 0.1341sq. in

Volume of Full Pentagon (In Real Life): 5.13ft + 2.646ft x  5.13ft = 18.70398sq. ft

Some of the biggest challenges with this action project was deciding what to turn myspace into. For a while, I knew the space that I wanted to improve but wasn’t sure how to improve it. This took me a long time to set up but once I found the concept it made it simple to work off of. This taught me that the earlier decisions are made to work towards this project the easier it would be to finish later on. I also learned that scaling some of these designs out takes a lot of work and oftentimes is more difficult the less time someone would have to work on it. 

This Last Action Project this term taught me that our neighborhoods are constantly changing. In some cases they could be a good thing or a bad thing, but we all can have some type of voice in how they might change in the future. It also showed me that I can make some interesting changes myself if I think about it a little bit and look at how those changes might have an effect on my community in the future. Not only this, but how I might want to look at those things myself and have a bigger impact. If I were to do this project again I might want to see how choosing a different area mighy approach and what new improvements I’d want to see. 

• The Ron Finley Project. Ron Finley Project. (n.d.). https://ronfinley.com/

• United Nations. (n.d.). Goal 11 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/