rachel lindt portfolio 472015

Rachel Lindt // Portfolio

Master in Urban and Regional Planning Candidate 2015UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Spring 2015Figure 1: Poster for Master’s Capstone Project for Client, The Trust for Public Land 3

Fall 2014Site PlanningFigure 1: Layers of the Fashion District Conceptual Diagram 5

Figure 2: Fashion District as Latino Plaza Conceptual Diagram 6

Figure 3: Green Alley Proposal 7

Spring 2014Transportation and Land Use: Transit-Oriented Development Studio

Figure 4: Grand Station Intervention 9

Figure 5: Design Strategy Conceptual Diagram 10

Winter 2014Introduction to Physical Planning

Figure 6: Palms Neighborhood: Return to Rail + Architecture Transformation 12 Figure 7: User Groups and Teen Place Preference: Cheviot Farms Market on National Boulevard 13 Figure 8: Pedestrian and Cyclist Amenities Proposal for the Intersection of Motor Boulevard and National Boulevard in the Palms Neighborhood 14

Fall 2013Graphics + Urban Information

Figure 8: Photoshop Panorama Rendering After Intervention (Left-Side) 16 Figure 9: Photoshop Panorama Rendering After Intervention (Right-Side) 17

Figure 10: Sketch-up Rendering After Intervention, Looking West 18

Figure 11: Sketch-up Rendering After Intervention, Plan View 19

Spring 2015Master’s Capstone Project

My Master’s capstone is an applied-research project for The Trust for Public Land, a national non-profit organization focused on land preservation for people. The research focuses on understanding the challenges and barriers to standardizing green alleys citywide in Los Angeles and other cities. Throughout this academic-year process, I have developed the following skills:

• Creating an interviewing instrument, recruiting interviewees, and conducting interviews

• Analyzing data sets and visualizing findings• Organizing and writing an academic research project• Developing a research methodology• Communicating and working with a client

The following figure is the poster for the exhibition held in April 2015.

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Assessing the Potential to Implement Green Alleys Citywide

Alleys have been utilized for many purposes throughout history, including housing, waste, and business. Yet, alleys are associated with unsightly and unsafe activities. Today, cities are revisiting alleys as opportunities for providing multiple benefits within increasing urbanization.Green alleys expand upon single-purpose infrastructure of alleys and convert underutilized alleyways into community assets and resources for environmental, economic and social benefits.

water recharge + reuse

design of permeable pavers

maintenance + liability of permeable pavers

design of stormwater BMPs

bulky item, garbage + recycling pick-up

water quality

landscaping/greenery

Avalon Green Alley Network Demonstration Project

>> Standardization of green alleys is context sensitive and can range from a city-developed and implemented program to a public-private partnership

>> Alleys in Los Angeles have overlapping ownership among city agencies and regulations, which creates challenges, barriers and opportunities

BENEFITS OF GREEN ALLEYS

Los Angeles’sUNTAPPED RESOURCES

WHAT IS A GREEN ALLEY?

CASE STUDY MODELS

INITIAL FINDINGS

RESEARCH DESIGN

maintenance of stormwater BMPs

East Cahuenga Alley Revitalization ProjectChicago Green Alley Program Seattle Alley Network Project

WHY GREEN ALLEYS FOR LOS ANGELES?

Chicago Seattle Los Angeles Hollywood

Bureau of Street ServicesDepartment of Water and Power

Non-city entity

3838Park space is

below national recommendation

%

Bureau of Sanitation Bureau of Sanitation

Non-city entity

Bureau of Street Servicesasphalt

Bureau of Engineering

Bureau of Engineering

Adjacent Landowner

>> Review of academic literature + planning documents surrounding green alleys that discuss best practices, case studies, and research findings

>> Interviews with personnel from City of Los Angeles agencies

>> Case studies of four green alley models with various objectives

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Rachel Lindt, UCLA MURP ‘15 | Advisor: Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris | Client: The Trust for Public Land | Los Angeles Sustainability Collaborative

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Creates functional public, open and social space

Stormwater management; provision of green space; supports active transport

Beautification that promotes local economic development

>> Create a broad vision for green alleys in the City of Los Angeles

>> Foster a city-wide recognition of the benefits of green alleys through:

>> Piloting projects>> Streamlining the development and implementation process>> Piloting a program>> Developing a green alley toolkit>> Weaving into existing and future planning documents>> Establishing an official program

>> Change zoning to allow secondary building frontage onto alleys and incentive through policy

>> Name alleys to give identity and promote placemaking, investment and development

land

Over

900900 linear miles of alleys

& approx. 7,500 center line miles of streets

5656Approx.

Billion gallons of average

annual urban runoff enters our watersheds

Research Questions(1) What are the best practices for standardizing green alleys at the city level? (2) What is the institutional capacity for green alley implementation at the city level?

Client_Project_Poster_Version_5.indd 1 4/2/2015 9:02:14 AM

Fall 2014Site Planning

This course was a field-based urban design class organized in a studio format with the primary purpose of developing the knowledge and skills required to analyze, propose and present urban design plans and interventions. The key deliverable for the studio was a series of strategic action plans for my team’s assigned study area, the Fashion District in Downtown Los Angeles. My team’s plan included a physical planning proposal, design actions, and institutional and policy guidelines for implementation. In this course, I applied and developed the following skills:

• Hands-on physical planning experience through individual and group assignments focusing on the following elements:

• Location and accessibility, topography, land use, street network, block size configurations and plot layouts, set-backs and build-to-lines, built form and massing, density and floor area ratio, identity and architectural character, historical heritage, landmarks, open space, pedestrian circulation, parking, street furniture, signage, etc.

• Outreach and collaboration with stakeholders, particularly the Fashion District Business Improvement District

The following figures are selected individual works from a group-based final presentation and report.

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PHOTO CREDIT: BENJAMIN J. COLEMANLOOKING EAST ONTO E. 12TH ST FROM SANTEE STREET

EMERGENT

CANOPY

UNDERSTORY

FLOOR

LAYERS OF THE LOS ANGELES FASHION DISTRICT

VERTICAL LAYERS

USERSSHOPPERBUYERMERCHANTPARKING ATTEN-DANTFOOD VEDORRECYCLER

USERSMERCHANTTAILORSHOPPERBUYER

ACTIVITIESSHOPPINGBUYINGSELLINGCOLLECTING

ACTIVITIESCREATINGPARKINGSTORING

ACTIVITIESSHOPPINGBUYINGSELLINGCREATINGSHOWINGSTORING

USERSGARMENT WORKERPARKING ATTENDANT

ACTIVITIESSTORING

USERSMERCHANT

INTENSITY OF USE

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Spring 2014Transportation and Land Use: Transit Oriented Development Studio

This studio class brought together students of different backgrounds and interests within Urban Planning to individually and collaboratively analyze, evaluate and propose solutions for transit stations in Los Angeles County. My team focused on the Metro Blue Line Grand Station, located south of the I-10 freeway in Downtown Los Angeles. In this course I applied and developed the following skills:

• Synthesis of transportation planning data and projections• Design and physical planning skills (visualizing scale, density, and the physical dimensions of different built structure and the spaces between structures, as well as transportation system needs and infrastructure requirements)• Data analysis, graphic representation and design communication

The following figures are selected individual works from the group-based final presentation and report.

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STRATEGIC-TO-BROAD APPROACH

INTERVENTION TYPOLOGIES

Winter 2014Introduction to Physical Planning

This course was an introductory overview of physical planning concepts, mechanisms, issues and practices. The assignments focused on developing user groups and needs, behavioral design, and cultural, social and environmental objectives. In this course, I chose and analyzed the Palms neighborhood for 10-weeks, in which I developed the following skills:

• Map-making skills (land use, zoning)• Synthesis of complicated concepts into a diagram form• Participant observation • Built form and urban design analysis• Understanding of zoning, land use and various municipal plans

The following figures are excerpts from an individually developed and designed final booklet titled [RE]Generation, which is a compiled and final version of the assignments completed throughout the quarter.

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RENDERING OF PALMS STATION OF METRO EXPO LINE EXTENSION

PALMS DEPOT MOVES TO HERITAGE SQUARE, MONTECITO HEIGHTS

PALMS SOUTHERN-PACIFIC RAILROAD DEPOT ON MOTOR AVE. RED LINE RAIL DEPARTING FROM PALMS DEPOT HEADING EAST

PALMS POSITONED ON SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAIL LINE

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PALMS NEIGHBORHOOD: RETURN TO RAIL + ARCHITECTURE TRANSFORMATION

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TEEN PLACE PREFERENCE: CHEVIOT FARMS MARKET ON NATIONAL BOULEVARD IN PALMS NEIGHBORHOOD

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Fall 2013Graphics + Urban Information

This course focused on developing introductory skills in drafting, Sketch-up and Photoshop by analyzing the built form of a Los Angeles-based city block. For this course, I chose Venice Boulevard between Cardiff Avenue and Watseka Avenue in Los Angeles. After producing several graphic forms of this city block, I recommended and rendered a context-specific design intervention. In this course, I developed the following skills:

• Introductory drafting skills • Rendering of the built environment in 3-D form through Sketch-Up• Developing a context specific design intervention for Venice Boulevard (High visibility mid-block, continental crosswalk with flashing pedestrian beacon and landscaped median)• Rendering of design intervention through several tools within Photoshop

The following graphics are excerpts from the final project.

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