"So What if I am a Kid?"
Example
target groups include children, single
parents, traditional family and the retired
elderly.
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Mike Russell* is a third-grader at a local elementary school. He has one older brother and both of his parents work. Mike lives in the Emerson Park neighborhood and after school he is watched, along with his brother, by his next-door neighbor. The two boys enjoy playing outside in the front yard. His parents are concerned because of the threat of crime in the neighborhood due to the high number of abandoned buildings in the area. They have watched other neighborhood children grow up in the neighborhood and all too often fall into a life of drugs and crime. They are committed to raising Mike to be a responsible young man and to provide him with as many opportunities as they can. Given Mike's curiosity and his love of the outdoors, his parents would like to see a park or recreational area in their neighborhood. This would be a place that Mike could go and spend time outdoors with other children his age. His parents would like to see child care available near their home. They don't want to rely on their neighbors all of the time. If a recreational center with after-school programs were available, they would have more piece of mind knowing that Mike was in safe hands, doing something fun and productive, and enjoying the life of an 8-year-old. |
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Morris Simms* works hard. By day he is a construction worker for a developer in St. Louis. At night, he is both Mom and Dad to his children. Being a single parent sure isn't easy but Morris does the best he can. He hates getting home late from work, hoping that his children have found something productive to do after school. When he is sitting in traffic on the Poplar Street Bridge at 5:30 PM, he worries about what his children have been up to and dreams of moving to a neighborhood where his children can walk to and from school and spend time at a community center or park until he gets home. He thinks about how nice it will be when East St. Louis finally gets those new Metrolink stations. Maybe then he can leave the car and the traffic behind and "worry" about spending a little more time with his children. |
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Mrs. Anita Jones* is a 42-year-old social worker with the St.Clair County Department of Human Services. She has been a resident of the Lansdowne neighborhood her entire life and she now works for the welfare of her city's residents. She has seen a lot of broken families during her career and is constantly seeking new ways to bring stability to the lives of the members of her community. She is active in the Neighborhood Action Committees and watches with great anticipation the developments related to the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center proposed for her neighborhood. Mrs. Jones is proud of her city and wishes that more commercial areas would be available so that she could help promote business in East St. Louis. She feels the best way to encourage business is to develop near the heart of the public that will be using it. A grocery store within a 5 minute walk of her home would not only be a tremendous help to her schedule, but would encourage her and neighbors to leave their cars at home and walk to the store or beauty salon. Just a few years ago, these ideas would be unheard of but today, progress finally seems to be finding her community. |
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Pearl Sampson* has been a lifetime resident of East St. Louis. She remembers when it was a roaring town in the 1950's and was once voted one of the best American cities. Times have changed and a lot of things have gone and withered away. Although the streets don't gleam like they once did, she still has a lot of pride in her city and confidence that it will once again become a fine town. Mrs. Sampson's needs have changed along with East St. Louis. Having retired from her job as a school teacher some years ago, she likes to spend her spare time outdoors or visiting her grandson in St. Louis. She remembers all the fun she used to have at Kenneth Hall Park and she still enjoys going there when she can. The proposed changes for East St. Louis have her excited for the city's future--and her's as well. |
In the following pages, the most desirable locations for building housing will be located based on Capability Criteria and Suitability Criteria.
Capability Criteria focus on eliminating undesirable locations for housing by looking at basic land capabilities such as flooding, hazardous sites, etc.
Suitability Criteria focus on identifing suitable areas to support places where residents want to live and what they want to do.
The final step is to combine the Capability map with the Suitability map to narrow down the proposed sites. The fictional situations discussed above were used to create design issues for each target group which are discussed in the New Urbanism section. New Urbanism is a movement which tries to recreate the neighborliness of traditional cities and avioid the sprawl of modern cities.
* this is a fictional narrative
