Search
Now showing items 1-10 of 44
CompactCities : analyzing the urban spatial structure in cities with growth restrictions
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005)
A compact city form is one that espouses high intensity development within a restrictive geographic area. Its perceived benefits include (a) saving agricultural land (b) inducing shorter commute trips, thus less consumption ...
Material worlds : [de]constructing the ethos of concrete in Mumbai
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008)
What can a building material tell us about a city? As the most widely used structural building material in the world, reinforced cement concrete shapes the urban form of several of our largest megacities Sao Paulo, Cairo, ...
The evolution of Al-Azhar Street, Al-Qahira, Egypt
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000)
The historic quarter of Cairo, al-Qahira, is going through a period intense transformation that is threatening the physical environment as well as the social and economic fabric of the city. The transformations taking place ...
Infrastructure as a vehicle for community building : an urban design strategy for Iztapalapa, Mexico City
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015)
Mexico City suffers from flooding, water scarcity, pollution, subsidence and enormous financial costs related to water infrastructure. Poor governance contributes to the city's water troubles by creating overlapping political ...
"Young Town" growing up : four decades later : self-help housing and upgrading lessons from a squatter neighborhood in Lima
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005)
This thesis examines self-help housing policies in Peru by revisiting Independencia, one of Lima's young towns (squatter settlements), forty-five years after its founding. The study was designed to better understand how ...
Food urbanism : urban agriculture as a strategy to facilitate social mobility in informal settlements
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008)
Can community-based urban agriculture generate stronger communities? How is this possible? This thesis explores the possibility of community development through application of community gardens in an informal settlement ...
Border fusion / Fusión en la frontera : integrating industry, habitation and exchange in a divided city
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007)
The urban fabric of communities along San Diego/Tijuana's la Línea or border wall are characterized by high degrees of spatial fragmentation: -- a condition typical of border interface areas in politically partitioned or ...
Synthetic ecology : revisiting Mexico City's lakes project
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011)
Mexico City was founded 700 years ago on man made islets in the middle of a lake. Today, it faces a contradictory situation were water is running scarce, but simultaneously the city runs the risk of drowning in its own ...
Which way is up : towards accessible wayfinding in transit stations
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006)
Passengers' most frequent interaction with a rail transit system is at its stations, which represent the beginning, the end and sometimes the middle of transit trips. The design of these stations can greatly affect a user's ...
Work 'n' play in the informational city : F2F interaction and emerging work and leisure patterns
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999)
The death of distance does not equal the death of cities and of urban life. Cities are transforming their roles and functions in reaction to a major technological shift --from post-industrial to informational. And contrary ...