Reclaiming residual space from elevated transport infrastructure : time, space, and activity under the Chicago Brown Line

This thesis studies the non-transport functions of the residual space generated by elevated transport infrastructure and its relationship with abutting neighborhoods The space under the Chicago Brown Line, among all other elevated train lines, is often considered as an undesirable and useless urban eyesore. As part of the transit authority's right of way, such space is usually labeled "mass transportation corridor" on planner's land use maps. However, more careful observations reveal that a considerable portion of the land underneath the train tracks has been actively used by the adjacent residents or business owners for a variety of purposes other than providing transit service. These observations place an interesting question mark on the stubborn negative common perception of the residual space associated with the elevated train lines and other large scale transport infrastructure: why the fact that such residual space is actually being used cannot change the notion that it is not usable? By categorizing the observed activities under the Brown Line into private, quasi-public, and public use types, it is clear that most of the spontaneous reclamation actions are intended for private activities.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Su, Jing, S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Kenneth E. Kruckemeyer and Anne W. Spirn.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

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

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/33744

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/33744