Shrinking gracefully : looking for effective planning and design approaches for small town America

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2007.

গ্রন্থ-পঞ্জীর বিবরন
প্রধান লেখক: Fugate, Jeffrey N
অন্যান্য লেখক: Susan C. Silberberg-Robinson.
বিন্যাস: গবেষণাপত্র
ভাষা:eng
প্রকাশিত: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2008
বিষয়গুলি:
অনলাইন ব্যবহার করুন:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39846
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author Fugate, Jeffrey N
author2 Susan C. Silberberg-Robinson.
author_facet Susan C. Silberberg-Robinson.
Fugate, Jeffrey N
author_sort Fugate, Jeffrey N
collection MIT
description Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2007.
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spelling mit-1721.1/398462019-04-12T09:06:45Z Shrinking gracefully : looking for effective planning and design approaches for small town America Looking for effective planning and design approaches for small town America Fugate, Jeffrey N Susan C. Silberberg-Robinson. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Urban Studies and Planning. Architecture. Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2007. This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-72 ). The term "shrinking" is often considered a death sentence for Small Town America. Public officials, planners and residents often try to "solve" the condition of shrinking, applying the same tool kit used for growth, with little success. A widespread assumption is that shrinking is the opposite of growth and synonymous with decline, and therefore common practice in planning and design practice has been to try and reverse the trend of population loss, often with last-ditch efforts such as free land offers, problematic industrial recruitment or unrealistic visioning exercises. If growth, even in its most destructive forms, can be made smart, can shrinking be made graceful, and if so what approach is needed to achieve it? This thesis argues that shrinking is not the opposite of growth but rather requires a much more complex and nuanced understanding, and that the condition of shrinking does not have to be a terminal diagnosis for a small town. Those communities that identify, adapt, and reuse existing human and physical assets can in fact shrink gracefully, especially given that shrinking is seldom a rapid process, but rather one that plays out over generations, providing the luxury of time to be purposeful about the planning and design process. (cont.) The stories of two very different communities are told here. Each, in response to generations of shrinking, has recently engaged in asset-based planning processes. These two approaches lead to suggestions of a planning approach that diverges from the traditional rural development model, which relies heavily on physical infrastructure investment. Rather, by engaging the realities of the shrinking condition, being deliberate in the planning process, and linking the creation of social capacity to the tools of physical planning and design most likely to be utilized when faced with limited resources--in particular: adaptive reuse of community icons, consolidation of redundant programs, multi-purpose physical infrastructure--a community can meet the challenge of shrinking gracefully. Jeffrey Neil Fugate. S.M. M.C.P. 2008-01-10T14:25:30Z 2008-01-10T14:25:30Z 2007 2007 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39846 182726649 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 73 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Urban Studies and Planning.
Architecture.
Fugate, Jeffrey N
Shrinking gracefully : looking for effective planning and design approaches for small town America
title Shrinking gracefully : looking for effective planning and design approaches for small town America
title_full Shrinking gracefully : looking for effective planning and design approaches for small town America
title_fullStr Shrinking gracefully : looking for effective planning and design approaches for small town America
title_full_unstemmed Shrinking gracefully : looking for effective planning and design approaches for small town America
title_short Shrinking gracefully : looking for effective planning and design approaches for small town America
title_sort shrinking gracefully looking for effective planning and design approaches for small town america
topic Urban Studies and Planning.
Architecture.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39846
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