Reno Park Studies – Page 2

Reno Park Update 091125B: ANC

November 25, 2009December 31, 2013Reno Park Studiesanc 3e, ancs, politicsLeave a Comment

One more legal aspect worth mentioning are the Advisory Neighborhood Councils in any given site. There are three ANCs in the subject area, 3E, 3F, and 3G. The division between these three wards is at the park, as seen below.

As you can see, each ANC consists of a handful of single-member Districts, which elect the individual neighborhood councillors. Because of the different densities in the project area, the number of SMDs in an ANC varies, as does the size of the SMD. So, 3F04, which represents a cluster of apartment buildings, is geographically small, while 3F03 is vast because it mostly represents a handful of people, deer, and some of the more intelligent trees.

Continue reading ➞ Reno Park Update 091125B: ANC

Reno Park Update 091125A: Preservation / PUD

November 25, 2009December 31, 2013Reno Park Studiesfort drive, fort reno, fort reno park, historic architecture, landmarking, pud, zoningLeave a Comment

Two small additions to the analysis of zoning regulation. First are PUDs. PUD stands for Planned-Unit Development. In a PUD, a developer negotiates with community representatives, offering certain amenities to the public in exchange for some reprieve from aspects of Zoning Codes. There are four PUD structures (in red) here: Van Ness Station, the Saratoga, Friendship Center, and Mazza Galerie.

The other major legal framework is the landmarking system. There are a handful of landmarks (red), the Grant Road Historic District (blue), and the not-landmarked-but-sensitive Fort Drive area (yellow). The master plan will have to harmonize with the legal strictures imposed by them.

Reno Park Update 091115: Cyclist’s Perception

November 15, 2009December 31, 2013Reno Park Studiesalleys, ambiguity, bicycles, nolli plans, property, sidewalks, streets, tenleytown, tobago dcLeave a Comment

Sorry for the break between posts; the past few weeks have been pretty hectic, but there’s some good stuff coming down the pipeline. First off, let’s finish off the analysis of space and access. The subject now is the bicyclist.

Bicycling exists in a strange middle-area of the law. A bike is a vehicle in DC, but bikers can ride on the sidewalk and don’t have to register or undergo inspections. Culturally, cyclists travel in a more uncertain space, not all that welcome on the street or the sidewalk. A lack of any particular bicycle infrastructure means that there is no place of positive certainty anywhere near Tenleytown. I have to admit that judging conditions was more difficult here because of the more varying conditions cyclists find themselves subject to.

That’s reflected in the composite above; It’s really gray. And pretty dark.

To look at the way the image was composed follow down below.

Continue reading ➞ Reno Park Update 091115: Cyclist’s Perception

Reno Park Update 091028: Driver’s Perception

October 28, 2009February 8, 2014Reno Park Studiesalleys, ambiguity, automobiles, buildings, geography, maps, pedestrians, privilege, property, tenleytown, tobago dc1 Comment

In the last two updates, I showed that the disconnect between physical and social boundaries complicates any analysis of the spatial architecture of the Tenleytown-Tobago area. Of course, it’s worth looking at the vehicular perception of space.

Continue reading ➞ Reno Park Update 091028: Driver’s Perception

Reno Park Update 091022: Property as Figure

October 22, 2009December 31, 2013Reno Park Studiesambiguity, buildings, maps, property, tenleytown, tobago dc1 Comment

In the last post, I showed this map of the neighborhood, which expressed the gradients of permeability the T-T area. But this might not perfectly show how different the city looks without property laws. Look after the break.

Continue reading ➞ Reno Park Update 091022: Property as Figure

Reno Park Update 091021: Pedestrian’s Perception

October 21, 2009December 31, 2013Reno Park Studiesambiguity, maps, pedestrians, politics, property, roads, shared space, sidewalks, society, streets, urban form1 Comment

I wrote in the last update that any analysis of the spatial relationships of a suburban-style city needs to consider the legal rules and social sentiments that coexist with physical boundaries. Of course the laws vary based on your “mode” of travel, with pedestrians getting a bit of leeway in terms of “travel.”

But let’s do pedestrians. How do they interact with space?

Continue reading ➞ Reno Park Update 091021: Pedestrian’s Perception

Reno Park Update 091017: Nolli Fails

October 17, 2009December 31, 2013Reno Park Studiesambiguity, geography, maps, nolli plans, rome, suburbs, tobago dc, urbanism1 Comment

This is what the average street looks like in Tobago. 30 foot setback, grass, buildings.

This is a part of the Nolli Plan. It’s a famous figure-ground drawing of Rome by a man of the same name that makes a visual comparison between structures and open space. There had been many drawings of Rome before, but Nolli’s particular drawing innovates on the others by showing the ground floor interior spaces or courtyards as part of the white space. It revealed columns and arcades, relating architecture to the urban form.

Continue reading ➞ Reno Park Update 091017: Nolli Fails

Reno Park Update 091005B: Zoning

October 5, 2009December 31, 2013Reno Park Studies, Uncategorizedau park, boundaries, buses, chevy chase, fort reno park, geography, metro, murch school, nation park service, organization, pedestrians, planning, tenleytown, tobago dc, transportation, walking, zoningLeave a Comment

So what is the relationship between zoning and buildings? (Again colors are off!)

Continue reading ➞ Reno Park Update 091005B: Zoning

Reno Park Update 091005A: Zoning Definitions

October 5, 2009December 31, 2013Reno Park Studiesau park, boundaries, chevy chase, fort reno park, geography, murch school, nation park service, organization, planning, tenleytown, tobago dc, zoningLeave a Comment

So, property and school districts are both legal structures that have strong effects on the perception of space and the organization of social networks. But generally, the legal structure that affects the commercial and economic growth of spaces is zoning.

Zoning, quickly, is a Progressive-era policy from the early 1900s that dictates what uses can or cannot exist on a certain piece of property or in a general area. The Modern Movement picked up the concept as a way of guaranteeing a healthy city, as did the Garden City and Regional Planning movements. Generally, its effects have been good – like keeping smelting plants away from residences. But it’s also led to unhealthy homogeneity and a commuter culture that was less prominent before governments began micromanaging the fabric of cities.

This is one of the wonkier posts, but it’s important to understand what has been planned for the area.

Continue reading ➞ Reno Park Update 091005A: Zoning Definitions

Reno Park Update 091004B: Bike Routes

October 4, 2009December 31, 2013Reno Park Studiesalleys, au park, bicycles, bike routes, chevy chase, fort reno park, sidewalks, tenleytown, tobago dcLeave a Comment

OK, so the color here is seriously off. I may have to redo some of these maps in a RGB color space. For now, enjoy the eye strain!

I haven’t discussed the role of bicycles in the T-T area, but here’s a map of suitability for bike access. Bear in mind that there are no facilities for bikes, only one designated routes.

Blue is the one designated bike route that passes near Fort Reno Park, and therefore gives bikers a little more respectability. Green is sidewalks and dark gray is alleys, both places where cyclists have to share the road with pedestrians as well as drivers. Light gray paths represent neighborhood streets with little traffic and generally no center dividing lines. Yellow indicates busier, possibly divided streets where bikers might have some problems with the cars. Red streets are arterials where biking is either dangerous or “disruptive” for automobiles.

That’s it for now.