spaces should be legible. Legibility means the extent to which the cityscape can be ‘read', understood and experienced. People who move through the city engage in wayfinding. They need to be able to recognize and organize urban elements into a coherent pattern. These mental maps consist of five elements - paths edges nodes districts landmarks Many city dwellers cannot define what makes a city a great place to live, but most people can definitely state what makes a bad environment. Kevin Lynch suggests that a lack of attention to any one of these 5 areas results in infrastructure breakdown and therefore urban planners should target these areas in their neighborhood improvement efforts. ASSIGNMENT: Project 1 Part 1: Analyze the University of Maryland Campus and Areas along Route 1 - Select a University of Maryland Campus Plan, which is one of the subareas in the city of College Park. Print out the map on an 8.5" x 11" sheet and indicate the 5 urban elements - paths, edges, districts, nodes, landmarks. List 3 positives and negatives of the current urban plan. Use Google Earth (https://www.google.com/earth/) or maps from the College Park homepage (www.collegeparkmd.gov) as a base. Part 2: Select an Intervention -Based on your personal knowledge and experience of the campus, identify 1 improvement you would make as an urban designer to the campus plan. Part 3: Neighborhood and Area Identification - Locate the spot on a map and include the image in your submission. Part 4: Research and Analysis - explain the necessary change (intervention), describe the effect the change will have on the surrounding area and explain why this intervention will improve the UMD urban plan. Part 5: Visual and Graphic Support - Provide images, sketches and/or documentation from your research of what the change might look like. Your project will be 6 pages long: 1 UMD master plan (8.5" x 11") 3 typed written pages (8.5" x 11") 2 pages of photos, diagrams, images (8.5" x 11")/n Shifa Shaikh Professor Curtis RDEV 250 13 September 2023 Shaikh 1 Project 1 Kevin Lynch's, Image of the City, was a paramount publication in regards to urban planning, with his theory distributing the built environment into several urban elements-paths, nodes, landmarks, districts, and edges. The University of Maryland's campus can similarly be analyzed through the lens of Lynch's theory, delving into both its advantages and disadvantages. The current urban plan of UMD's sprawling 1,340 acre campus maintains a wide array of benefits. One ongoing utility of merit is the construction of the Purple Line, which will supply a system of increased connectivity and integration between the campus and surrounding communities. Moreover, over the past five years, campus development has progressed at a comprehensive scale, with the rapid construction and renovation of academic, research, housing, dining, and athletic facilities on campus to address any insufficiencies, including the A. James Clark Hall, Brendan Iribe Center, Heritage Community, and the E.A. Fernandez IDEA Factory. Lastly, the extensive variety of student residential communities-from residence halls on-campus to apartment complexes fringing the outskirts of UMD-allows for the accommodation of a diverse population on campus, fully furnished with an assortment of amenities, including health, wellness, and dining resources. On the underside of these assets, however, the campus plan has its share of shortcomings as well, outlined within the University of Maryland Campus Facilities Plan, which divides these drawbacks into varying categories. For instance, in terms of infrastructure, a few congregations Shaikh 2 of undersized and outdated buildings on campus may not fulfill today's preeminent research and learning expectations due to physical and functional deficiencies. In order to better satisfy the university's educational standards, these select buildings may be prospective sites for future renovation or redevelopment. For instance, in an article published by The Diamondback, in order to construct the state-of-the-art, ecologically progressive Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center, UMD demolished Shriver Laboratory and a segment of Holzapfel Hall, two of the campus' more antiquated buildings. In terms of flaws in the campus' sprawling land assets, several districts are lacking in accessible open spaces, including rec fields, malls, quads, and courtyards. Moreover, other land assets are inadequately utilized, such as the area west of McKeldin Library which could be repurposed for infill development–the process of developing vacant, overlooked land in urban areas or other enhancements. Lastly, the lack of mobility is a limitation on campus. This issue is rooted in UMD's expansion following the expeditious increases in enrollment after World War II. Adhering to a suburban model of development that prioritized vehicles and roads, the campus effectively diminished its focus on pedestrian environments and open green spaces. The resulting repercussions seen today include the congestion of vehicles and an insufficient system of connectivity for pedestrian and bike networks across campus. In order to address this deficiency in maneuverability, one intervention I would integrate into the campus plan as an urban designer would be to add a pedestrian and bike bridge extending out of the Regents Drive parking garage and crossing overhead the street. The construction of a bridge overhead Regents Drive, a high-volume arterial street, would present a significant opportunity to enhance the campus' circulation system and establish an approach to mobility centralized around pedestrians. This pathway would serve as a means of safe access to Shaikh 3 the buildings and sidewalks of Regents Drive for those on bikes and scooters, further facilitating an ease of travel. Pedestrian and bike bridges are further instrumental in separating pedestrians and cyclists from vehicular traffic and adding an artistic element to the built environment. A bridge would additionally address the limited range of sight for both pedestrians and vehicles when navigating the street, with large shuttles parked adjacent to sidewalks that obstruct one's vision and can foster endangering situations for pedestrians and commuters alike. Thus, in order to progress with a sustainable pattern of development, UMD must adhere to Lynch's emphasis on the legibility of landscapes. Whether it be emphasizing pedestrian mobility and lessening the congestion of vehicular traffic to refurbishing campus infrastructure, UMD can reinforce this ideology by thoroughly contemplating each decision regarding the campus' growth and advancing towards a common, coordinated vision for the future. Figure 1) Hand-drawn sketch of proposed pedestrian bridge extending from the Regents Drive parking garage to the opposite side of the street. A M 2022.60pgle 8ឃ្ល Shaikh 4 NO PARKING Figure 2) Hand-drawn sketch of pedestrian bridge concept from the opposite angle. 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