Variations on Suburbia: Integrating People-Oriented Design

Suburban development in Canada has grown increasingly dense in recent decades. Despite this, however, most new subdivisions continue to follow the picturesque planning principles of their lower-density predecessors. Garages dominate looping streets of compact semis and rowhouses, producing enclaves that lack the walkability, sociability, and mix of uses typical of urban neighbourhoods, as well as the elbow room and integration with nature traditionally associated with suburban life. Using a subdivision in Ottawa’s Riverside South neighbourhood, this thesis explores and evaluates alternative layouts for contemporary suburban subdivisions. This includes a reconsideration of road networks, the distribution and integration of open spaces, and suburban housing types. The study draws on multiple traditions and critiques of suburban design, from nineteenth-century railroad and streetcar suburbs to modernist and New Urbanist alternatives.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Architecture

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Dicorato, Alyssia Melina

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2026 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, distribution to students, research and scholarship. Theses may only be shared by linking to the Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be copied without proper attribution to the author; no part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2026-17123

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/45280