Collaborators:
East St. Louis Action Research Project (ESLARP),
University of Illinois
Architecture
372/374, Prof. Robert Selby, School of Architecture, University
of Illinois
Landscape Architecture 338, Prof. Brian Orland, Department of
Landscape Architecture, University of Illinois
Urban
and Regional Planning 378, Prof. Kenneth Reardon, Department of
Urban and Regional Planning, University of Illinois
In 1990 the Department of Urban and Regional Planning completed the
first coperative master planning study to be conducted by the university
in partnership with a neighborhood action group in East St. Louis, in that
case the Emerson Park Development Corporation (EPDC).
In the ensuing years the growing community-university partnership has laid the groundwork for major new initiatives in the provision of housing for lower income residents. Present studies include an ESL Housing Authority investigation of the market for, and potential siting of, a range of housing options including cluster homes and scattered site developments both in the public and private sectors; and an EPDC initiative to site 200 new housing units to take advantage of the location of a new light rail station shortly to start construction in Emerson Park.
This class focuses on the siting and green space development issues associated with these housing plans at scales ranging from city-wide strategic plans to green space design associated with particular housing layouts.
Our design proposals are intended to help illustrate the various options available to citizens both in making appropriate responses to the constraints of existing site and neighborhood conditions, and in achieving satisfying and enhanced quality of life for future residents.