This web page is the result of
a cooperation between the residents of a 21
block neighborhood on the east side of Springfield, Illinois, their
Neighborhood organization (TSP)
and the East St. Louis action Research Project (ESLARP)
represented by faculty, staff and students from an interdisciplinary design
studio from the university of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the departments
of Architecture, Landscape architecture and Urban planning. The project
took place during the spring semester of 2000.
For the past thirty years America's
central cities have been faced with population shifts to the suburbs, declining
tax bases, decreases in services, and increases in crime. This process
has taken once vibrant and vital areas and thrown them into the midst of
neglect and deterioration. The TSP area is an example of how this process
have effected the lives of residents in these areas. More information of
the conditions in the Neighborhood can be found in Background
research.
The purpose of our project has been
to record the current conditions of the TSP neighborhood and create a document
that includes a set of concrete proposals that can assist TSP in achieving
their primary goal of improving the living conditions for the residents
in the area. A specific goal of the process has been to generate participation
by as broad a group of residents as possible to secure a plan that serves
all residents of the neighborhood. A well developed strategy for the desired
changes in the neighborhood is necessary for success in implementing any
larger scale programs. Another relevant issue is that a planning/design
document like the one developed by this project is important for the chance
of success in obtaining funding for neighborhood improvements. For these
reasons, the goal of this project has been to prepare a plan for physical
improvements that reflects the goals for change that residents has expressed
throughout the process.
|
