Kingsway East Neighborhood Plan
How might we work with local leaders to identify a plan to mitigate the effects of segregation?
LOCATION: St. Louis, MO
SKILLS: Research, Co-Creation, Indesign, ArchGIS
TIMEFRAME: Aug 2019 - Dec 2019 (5 months)
TEAM: Interdisciplinary student team of undergraduate liberal arts students and graduate architecture students mentored by Judith Arnold
ROLES: Researcher, Designer
AUDIENCE: Community leaders in Kingsway East, WashU professors
CONTEXT:
As part of the class, Segregation by Design, my team partnered with local leaders in the Kingsway East neighborhood of St. Louis to create a neighborhood plan that covered the history, current condition, and future plans for the area.
DELIVERABLES:
The team’s research was published as a chapter in the book Segregation By Design and shared with partners in a final presentation.
CAUSATION:
Our team conducted intensive secondary research to understand the history of the neighborhood and the institutional forces that have systematically disinvested in its majority black residents.
Historical Overview
Conducted secondary research on local history from founding of St. Louis to present day
Placed neighborhood in historical context
Overview and Factors of Segregation
Explored less localized concepts and theories around segregation and its impacts
Conducted literature review on the factors and impacts of segregation
CONSEQUENCES:
Our team conducted a present-day analysis of the neighborhood. We collected our own data through systematic observations, analyzed archival data, and attended neighborhood meetings.
Systematic Observations and Archival Data
Conducted systematic observations of the neighborhood
Used Census and ACS data to construct neighborhood maps using ArcGIS
Analyzed patterns in data to share with residents
Neighborhood Meetings
Attended two neighborhood meetings and listened to community interests
Shared ideas for mitigation strategies with community members for feedback and guidance
MITIGATION:
Our partners came into the project focused on questions around vacancy prevention and crime reduction but as we continued in our research and attended neighborhood meetings, it became clear that higher levels of resident involvement were needed if their other goals were to be accomplished. Attendance at neighborhood association meetings consisted of only a few residents on a single block and they struggled to work and connect with neighbors farther away. According to our secondary research, this block was historically home to the wealthier homeowners in the neighborhood and so we identified a need for outreach to lower-income renting families.
Long-term Vision and Goals
Identified areas for possible intervention based on research and discussions with local leaders
Laid out explicit
Implementation Tactics
Outlined possible implementation tactics for community leaders to follow based on a framework of focusing first on the recruitment of more residents for the neighborhood association
FINAL REPORT:
Book Chapter
Contributed to content throughout chapter, from literature reviews to plan overviews
Designed page layouts in Indesign using provided template
Partner Presentation
Created summary board of team research
Presented findings to partners, mentors, and professors
REFLECTION
Started conversations around need to have framework for better connecting partners with WashU resources to assist with implementation. While we ended with over 80 pages of information, I was left wondering how helpful our involvement actually was. Conversations I had with my teammates and partners have prompted the work I’m doing now with the WashU DFA redesign to think about how community-engaged clubs and classes like this one can better leverage WashU resources for our partners.
This project was also a wonderful opportunity to engage with more traditional design students and apply my skills in a context not explicitly outlined as a design research project.