portfolio_internship_9.8.16

PORTFOLIO

URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN

J. MASON

WELCOME

LAFAYETTE PHOTO BY JASMINE MASON

J. MASON

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COVER LETTER

Mason, Jasmine M4536 W. Bethel Ave. Apt. 714 C, Muncie, IN, 47304 | 618-560-6866 or 618-560-6804 | [email protected]

September 8, 2016

Aimee Fant, MAP CoordinatorMuncie Action Plan (MAP) Team2005 High StreetMuncie, IN 47302

Dear Aimee Fant:

I hope to find that you are still accepting applications for the Muncie Action Plan (MAP) internship. I was delighted to hear about this opportunity because it so closely aligns to my skills and experiences. As an urban planning major at Ball State University, I focus on developing stronger neighborhood plans and communities, urban design graphics, and I actively seek more outreach opportunities.

In my portfolio you will see samples of works related to improving on cooperative and comprehensive planning processes, which has thus far been a well-crafted ambition of the MAP team. Another reason I would be a beneficial addition to your project is my prior experience. In 2014, I performed voluntary downtown revitalization planning in Lafayette, IN at the MatchBOX Coworking Studio. Public outreach surveying, graphic renderings for review by political staff, and geographic mapping and database retrieval are a few of the tasks I was entrusted with by deadlines for the city. In 2015, I worked on a Ball State Immersive Learning project with Albion, IN on the Hidden Diamonds Park expansion that required analysis of transportation and the business communities. These roles have given me a multidimensional perspective and skillset to successfully take on the MAP mission, promoting, supporting and encouraging progressive development projects in Muncie, Indiana.

I look forward to the opportunity to further develop my skills and contribute to the success of MAP. I am confident that I will compliment your team. I welcome the opportunity to further discuss my compatibility in the near future. Thank you for your consideration.

Best regards,

Jasmine Mason

EDUCATION B.S., 2016, Ball State University, Urban Planning and Development

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2010 - Present Attended product knowledge seminars during employment and filled out daily retail financial records, responsible for training new hires, member of businesses health and saftey committee, trusted for ability and judgment to meet company standards, assisted with procedures and layout, problem solving and communication, documentation od input and output of valuable material

2015 Albion Parks and Recreation Immersive Learning Master Plan Riverside-Normal City Immersive Learning Incentive and Neighbor hood PlanVOLUNTEER

2014 Burris Academy Building Better Cities - 4-6 grade planning develop ment project for sustainable cities White River Clean-Up - Riverside clean-up in Muncie, IN 2015 ArcGis Collector Surveying for two neighborhoods in Muncie, IN

SKILLS

Excel Spread Sheets Google Sketch Up Arc Map/Catalog Photoshop Indesign Illustrator Arc GIS Collector Handdrawn Charrette Graphics

REFERENCES

Lisa Dunaway, AICP, LEED®AP [email protected] Lohren Deeg , ASAI [email protected] Dr. Amy Gregg [email protected]

CERTIFICATIONS/MEMBERSHIPS

Student Planning Association American Planning Association National Society of Leadership and Success Incident Command System Certified (2016) Single Resources and Initial Action Incident Certified (2016) National Response Framework Certified (2016)

J. MASON RESUME4536 W. Bethel Ave. Apt. 714 C, Muncie, IN, 47304 | 618-560-6866 | [email protected]

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URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN PORTFOLIO

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PURDUE PHOTO BY JASMINE MASON PAGE 6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TCO

Cover LetterResume

WRITTEN WORKNeighborhood Action Plan

ANALYTICAL WORKProforma

CHARRETTE GRAPHIC WORKMonon Trail Development

Charrette Exhibit

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WRITTENWORK

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Boundaries & Rental Registration InitiativeNeighborhood Boundaries & Rental Registration

The Neighborhood Boundaries and Rental Registration initiative relates to the Neighborhood Organization Workbook (NOW), historical research on RNC, the MAP, and research done on homeowner/renter rights. It relates specifically to the NOW Appendix A: “Additional Information;” “Getting to Know Your Neighbors;” “Solving Neighborhood Problems;” and “Robert’s Rules of Order: A Short Summary.” It also relates to the implementation section of the MAP, under Civic and Social Engagement where it states, “All civic and community groups should create opportunities to explore solutions to issues and problems of concern to the community. They should seek alignment with the recommendations of MAP and collaborate across interests, missions, and constituencies.”

Why this is important

RNC has an opportunity for improved relations between the student and nonstudent population. Familiarity and responsibility between these groups will lead the community to stronger identity, efficiency and cooperation. The community of Muncie’s extent to which residents talk with neighbors, and do favors for neighbors were measured at the metro area scale from 0 to 2. Muncie received a 0.92 (Livability Index Data). The social involvement in this community is lower than the national average of 0.98.

This relates to the neighborhood survey that shows most of the professions in the neighborhood are students and the largest age group is 20 to 24 (Riverside-Normal City Survey). Analyzing these results leads to the possibility that there may be weakened relationships between the student population and the local population as well as homeowners and renters (mostly students).

The goal is to:

-Help residents describe the benefits of living in the neighborhood (to assist with branding and campaigns).-Identify goals that the neighborhood has and the timeline for those goals.-Identify the boundaries of the neighborhood areas to help get people together.-Identify available participants and resources.-Resolve conflict between homeowners, landlords and renters.-Improve communication, and encouraging cooperation.-Discover how to be a good neighbor referencing the MAP and the NOW which includes Fig ure 1, “How to Be a Good Neighbor.”

To the right is an excerpt from the Riverside-Normal City Neighborhood Action Plan. RNAP was a project under development by Ball State University’s third-year urban planning undergraduates. The objective of this project was to create a neighborhood action plan for Riverside-Normal City neighborhood in Muncie, Indiana. My personal written task was to educate the neighborhood on how to process complaints and issues amongst the community of college students and locals using the policies and documents provided by the City of Muncie for this community. The document in full also explains how boundary identification can help with the beautification and improvement of a community. In all this was a successful and useful document for the neighborhood to use for future improvements.The graphic charrette below waas completed for this master plan initiative.

GRAPHIC CHARRETTE BY JASMINE MASON

Executive Summary of Marion, Indiana Comprehensive Plan and Research As the Marion Redevelopment Group (MRG) delved into the Marion Comprehensive Plan, we realized that they have not quite begun to implement some of the main ideas in their plan. What is exciting is that they have already considered and included many of our existing development goals, such as changing the zoning to allow for more efficient use of the vacant and occupied land in Downtown Marion, and building downtown mixed use with residential.

MRG also found there is an increasing potential to integrate a lot of the youth programs, such as the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Club, and Police Athletic League. All of these groups want to work together to create a safe city network for Marion youth. They work to promote activity, inspire athleticism, and enforce safety and work cohesively to improve the quality of life. It became relevant to us in Assignment One that youth sports are highly celebrated in Marion and brings the community together. MRG is forming objectives to meet the Marion’s high standard of encouraging and supporting athleticism, and this will no doubt become an enhanced major cultural attraction for the community.

In regional analysis, MRG discovered that each industries average person annual wage in Grant County is lower than the state average. The next set of regional data our redevelopment group found interest in was that in 2001 through 2005, Grant County lost over 21% of their manufacturing jobs, and it has continued to decline in the region up to 2009. This analysis presented a set of data, which showed the effects that large manufacturing industries have on the area. Not only Marion, but Grant County as well, is being incapacitated by the loss of jobs, which can be said for everywhere in the Mid-west. MRG is hoping to create a standard of leadership, by selecting agglomeration or cluster industries and markets that Marion can specialize in. These will draw long-term employment.

Finally, the supply of ready sites led us to new discoveries in the political world of developmental planning. Via the East Central Indiana Regional Partnership, we found that there are an estimated 44 listings for ready to be developed land in Marion, some of them completely vacant, but still useable building structures of the 3,000 or so vacancies in Grant County. These are MRG’s opportunities to spark re-development, renovation, preservation, and beautification initiatives in Marion and more precisely the downtown area. These are some of the major highlights and lessons of the analysis and data collection performed in this assignment.

Economic Condition & PerformanceWhat did MRG learn in Assignment one - observations and clarifications:In assignment one, MRG immediately noted the key traits of Marion that would support economic development in the area. A significant trait to the City of Marion and its downtown is its infrastructure, which we originally identified as “bones”. Bones are the essential framework. Vacant storefronts and abandoned mixed-use buildings are a great opportunity and are essential for economic recovery. Marion’s vacant land is available for land actuations at a low price, meaning preparing it for economic activity and redevelopment should be simple; MRG may be able to buy land at an inexpensive price. MRG also observed a weak count of pedestrian traffic. Most movement is from vehicular traffic. As it is, two state roads cross through the downtown, which is another great opportunity for development. However, the absence of implementation brought us to other observations, and upon further analysis a more appropriate description to Marion’s current state is “resignation”.

Resignation applies to the unresolved threats posed to the community. These threats have become accepted as the fate of the economic reality. For example, the inevitable abandonment of the remaining factories and manufacturers will further devastate the economy, leaving citizens without jobs and decreasing the residential population. Still, another reality is that the future of Marion can be changed to accommodate the existing population and its visitors. Proof that a more viable economic plan can exist shows in the observations of surrounding cities. The regional advantage Marion has over neighboring cities such as Kokomo, Fort Wayne, and Muncie provide opportunity for successful local and small businesses. These companies can capture small markets, including markets that cater to rural populations and lifestyles. Another possibility is increasing housing options which will encourage a twenty-four hour market, namely in downtown. Activity is an attraction itself, helping us to conclude that the key trait needed for a successful economic development is people and residences. MRG wants to plan for living, working and recreation as incentives. The redevelopment group also wants to plan for the convenience of the demographic we want to attract. MRG plans to diversify the community, expand progressive development, and specialize in markets and districts to improve identity.

What we need to form an economic development plan:What MRG hopes to discover are our partners in planning. Our group observed that past planning has been poor, leaving the city with a liability and giving MRG an opportunity to provide Marion with the proper tools for executing progressive planning. MRG needs to know the public policies that might be putting developments on hold. We need to contact public administration and meet with those on the redevelopment committee, to receive and give suggestions. MRG also needs to discover how to implement a downtown market. Our group must determine missing aspects that competing cities possess. MRG would also like to determine the reasoning for previous market failures and land uses; this will tell the redevelopment group which development types are feasible.

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AnalyticalWork

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I will be using the IndianaMaps website to collect data for the time period 2010 national parks systems, and economic development. Downloads are free so I was able to get all of my shapefiles from this site and ESRI. I started by downloading the PPLS State file and PPLS County file for Indiana. I used these files to define county boundaries for the area of interest in the state of Indiana. The only county in Indiana with a National Park is Knox County, so I created two reference maps. One, zooming into Knox County so the boundaries could be identified in the Population map. And the second, a pan out of the state of Indiana, as reference to where Knox County in in Indiana.

The next file I was an Ecology Ecoregions shapefile with ecoregions polygons for the state of Indiana. This allowed me to show the boundaries for the different types of ecoregions in Indiana by two categories. The first, I symbolized by categories, unique values, and I used the value field of “Level Three Name”, which gives the ecoregions less specified categories referring to the land type. Second, I created a new layer that I would also make an ecoregions map, but that would specify a larger variety of land types, which is titled “Level Four Name”. These two ecoregions maps serve the purpose of identifying the type of national park that is located in Vincennes, IN, and what similarities this land type has with other sections of the state.

As it turns out, the land types across the state vary immensely. There both the northern and southern regions of the state have defining ecosystems that make up the agricultural land there. Northern Indiana has various types of plains and prairies. Southern Indian is home of many river valleys and hills, (bottomlands, uplands, lowlands). This tells me that the characteristics of a national park in the northern hemisphere of Indiana would have distinctively different resources, soil types, and geographic features than the George Rogers Clark National Park.

I then downloaded a population map, describing population changes within 32 miles of the park. I used graduated symbols to identify population size or quantity in this symbology feature because it would be less busy in color than using the categories selection. Also, using the quantities feature allows me to break down the population classification by determining the number of class breaks I want the data to split the population into. With the data I now I have I can tell that population in city centers is most crowded near Vincennes, and turns out to be the most largely populated area up until you head north east to Indianapolis. Once I had my location maps finished, I found the Recreational National Parks Systems shapefile on the IndianaMap website, and selected a symbol for the National Park where it is currently on all the maps. The ESRI National Parks tree symbol shows the location of the lone park on each map.

This analysis is of state parks, to see if northern Indiana could support and would benefit from a national park system. I used GIS data to see what area would be the best for a national park. This analysis stems from my hypothesis that Park systems are good economic triggers and wildlife homes. The problem is that a national park in northern Indiana does not exist to cause the ` “economic butterfly effect” that is happening in park areas around the nation.

An Excerpt of Data and Methods

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My results were that there are not many geographical likenesses between the northern and southern hemispheres of the state, so an ideal or copy-cat site for a National Park in the north cannot be determined by the Eco cities geographic feature, alone. The information given at the beginning of this proposal can help determine what kind of economic, demographic, and environmental data we would need to know where a park in the north could be located. A similar distance, sixty miles or less from Indianapolis, would be ideal. It should be in a highly populated area, in need of an economic boost in spending and job availability.

The industrial north of Indiana would likely become a home to a prairie National park. The historic or resource reference I will use will be the area of Mounds State Park. This site holds important historic context as well as near the resourceful limestone industry popular in Indianapolis. A national park here will solidify the security of the parks continued recreational purpose, which is currently being threatened by the proposal of a damn to create a reservoir that will flood the entire park and cause extreme gentrification of many surrounding neighborhoods. As it turns out, my proposal solves an even larger problem, how to solve the gentrification issue that would arise due to the proposal of the White River Damn and Reservoir. The solution is to push for the state to hand over the property to the federal agencies that could vote in the peoples favor, and make Mounds State park a national park, the first in the northern half of Indianapolis.

Results Reflection

I learned to better navigate some of the trickier functions of ARCmap, one of those being the join feature. It is interesting how the table can be popped into the data, to create tangible locations and tools used to identify certain features. I also learned that starting small with the problem can lead to a solution that will ultimately solve other, and sometimes more important and exciting, problems.

If I were to do this project again, I would make my problem statement that the White River Damn would cause extreme gentrification in areas along the White River, how do we find a solution to stop the progress of this development or otherwise deal with the displacement of many families and their homes. The solution would be what I found in the results, and I probably would have gotten more data usage out of this project, as well as I would not have been stuck for as long on what to do with the data to solve a partly fabricated problem. In all, this was an educating project.

K N O XK N O X

P I K EP I K E

D A V I E S SD A V I E S S

G I B S O NG I B S O N

G R E E N EG R E E N E

D U B O I SD U B O I S

S U L L I V A NS U L L I V A N

Eastern Corn Belt Plains

Interior Plateau

Interior River Valleys and Hills

Central Corn Belt Plains

Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains

Huron/Erie Lake Plains

Loamy High Lime Till Plains

Clayey High Lime Till Plains

Lake Country

Elkhart Till Plains

Mitchell Plain

Glaciated Wabash Lowlands

Pre-Wisconsinan Drift Plains

Crawford-Mammoth Cave Uplands

Illinois/Indiana Prairies

Knobs-Norman Upland

Kankakee Sand Area

Green River-Southern Wabash Lowlands

Outer Bluegrass

Middle Tippecanoe Plains

Whitewater Interlobate Area

Kankakee Marsh

Wabash_Ohio Bottomlands

Wabash-Ohio Bottomlands

Chicago Lake Plain

Michigan Lake Plain

Maumee Lake Plains

K N O XK N O X

P I K EP I K E

D A V I E S SD A V I E S S

G I B S O NG I B S O N D U B O I SD U B O I S

N a t i o n a l P a r k s S y s t e m , I NN a t i o n a l P a r k s S y s t e m , I N

0 8 16 24 324Miles

Not to Scale

Not to Scale

K n o x C o u n t y K n o x C o u n t y R e f e r e n c eR e f e r e n c e

M a p M a p

1 inch = 3.16 miles

LegendRecreational National Parks System in Indiana

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park

EcoregionsLand Type

Central Corn Belt Plains

Eastern Corn Belt Plains

Huron/Erie Lake Plains

Interior Plateau

Interior River Valleys and Hills

Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains



Population 20100 - 1215

1216 - 2100

2101 - 4142

4143 - 16034

V i n c e n n e s , I n d i a n aV i n c e n n e s , I n d i a n a



Ecoregions 2Type of Ecoregion (Detailed)

Clayey High Lime Till Plains

Loamy High Lime Till Plains

Chicago Lake Plain

Crawford-Mammoth Cave Uplands

Elkhart Till Plains

Glaciated Wabash Lowlands

Green River-Southern Wabash Lowlands

Illinois/Indiana Prairies

Kankakee Marsh

Kankakee Sand Area

Knobs-Norman Upland

Lake Country

Maumee Lake Plains

Michigan Lake Plain

Middle Tippecanoe Plains

Mitchell Plain

Outer Bluegrass

Pre-Wisconsinan Drift Plains

Wabash Ohio Bottomlands

Wabash Ohio Bottomlands

Whitewater Interlobate Area

Map Created by Jasmine MasonBall State University GEOG 265Map Created on November, 2015

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The map to the left is a Suitability Map for National Park Systems. As stated in the results and response, the best place to build a park is where current parks reside. The benefit goes from merely increasing the financial and preservational support of one previous state park, to possibly solving the local political White River Resevoir issue. Below is a less complex reference map, to visualy describe the location of the suggested National Park in the current location of Mounds State Park.

The map also depicts the river buffer that could be the result of some minor and some major flooding. In conclusion, the flood waters from the resivoir would flood the famously historical state park. Putting the park under federal control as a national park may increase chances of preservation to both the culture and the enviornment landscape. The Poverty Level is meant to enunciate the argument that many people in severe poverty will suffer from the flooding.

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Proforma Analysis SampleThe given size of this module is one acre, totaling at 43,560 square feet. The commercial square footage in this acre total up to 18,030sq ft. This is ground floor commercial for the several multi-use buildings in this acre. The second floor was 20 units of residential with the same square footage. The units are mixed housing types from low income to lofts/studios. Altogether this low density acre module sits around 5.7 million in costs.

In this neighborhood and area of Indianapolis, there are mostly single residents ranging in age. The income types expected range from $50,000-$70,000 a year. This is based on the demographic information in the analysis. It makes since then to invest in open space studios or lofts. Low income housing insures renters.

Rent for apartments runs about $625.00. Financing for this project is projected to come partly from Indianapolis Housing Agency that assists and invests in low income housing in the Indianapolis area that is willing to follow certain building guidelines and regulations. Investors receive an almost 5% return in equity, about $5 million. This closed that gap and creates additional revenue.

Another option other than finding the $2 million is to change the housing type (in excel sheet two). Doubling the units and adding to their value by making the units market rate not only closes the gap, it also generates additional income. The new feasibility gap with 40 units at $1,000 is ($761,136). Return on equity is 6.70% or $8.1 million.

CGW CHARRETTE

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WORK

MONON GREENWAY CHARRETTE BY JASMINE MASON

GRAPHICS

CHARRETTE GRAPHICSWORK

J. MASON

The figure oposite this page is the Monon Trail Development Plan. The concept, research, and graphics are all my individual piece of this project. The image on page 16 and 17 is the finished plan rendering. I prepared an analysis of the original site, demographics maps and presented my final findings to the the Indianapolis Masters of Urban Design team and many professional urban planners, developers, engineers and designers.

The adjacent board was the final product titled Indy-Go Park Place to show how improvements on transportation connectivity could help increase density in the region of Indianapolis. I was required to figure the dwelling units for my site, to determine the overal density of the site. The goal was to increase density while not displacing surrounding residents or businesses within the site. There are also goals for development and community growth listed underneath community objectives.

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As my most unique talent, the charrette graphics section of my portfolio is intedned to be the most impressive and the most free form. All of the images posted hereafter are from either a Charrette Graphics class or renderings from projects throughout my education. The objective of hand drawn graphics is to improve your personal skill. I learned how to draw axonometric plans in the class and tilted skyviews. There is a short description underneat each image .

J. MASON

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CGW

PALM TREE BY JASMINE MASON

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CHARRETTE GRAPHICS WORK

MILITARY NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN BY JASMINE MASON

DOIT BEST CO-OPERATIVE CHARRETTE BY JASMINE MASON

J. MASON

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GRAPHIC CHARRETTES WORK

DOWNTOWN MASTER PLAN

J. MASON

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MUNCIE RAILROAD PARK REDEVELOPMENT CHARRETTE / TILTED SKYVIEW

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ABANDONED STOREFRONT CHARRETTE

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J. MASON

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COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA CHARRETTE

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DOWNTOWN MASTER PLAN

J. MASON

NIGHT RENDERING CHARRETTE

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GRAPHIC CHARRETTES WORK

MIXED USE RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL OR OFFICES CHARRETTE

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME

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J. MASON

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URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN PORTFOLIO

WHILE VIEWING MY PORTFOLIO

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JASMINE MASON OLYMPIC SCULPTURE PARK

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