The Chinatown stories : investigating water (in)justice through transmedia urban design in the L.A. River

Presenting a case study of the L.A. River, this thesis analyzes the L.A. River revitalization master plans from 1996 and the subsequent efforts by public and private entities to create "an equitable, natural river." It demonstrates that the current urban design framework neglects to take a finegrained approach to distinctive river stretches and communities, lacks clear water justice objectives, and fails to adequately represent local stakeholders, and thus lacks the ability to actualize their vision. This thesis argues that the discipline and practice of urban design can use transmedia storytelling as a tool for power- and knowledge-sharing between urban designers and community members to achieve water justice objectives in the L.A. River. The thesis proposes a transmedia urban design method that incorporates transmedia stories and transmedia community engagement to inform the development of a just urban design.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• He, Mengqi Moon.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• James Wescoat.

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/129042

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/129042