High speed suburbanism: Developing transit infrastructures in a disconnected metropolis

The current interest in developing mobility alternatives such as high-speed rail and commuter rail systems in our auto dominated American regions poses new possibilities to reimagine our sprawling, disconnected, suburban landscapes. Since the patterns of development that automobile infrastructures have produced over the last century radically differ from the urbanisms that traditional rail systems once served, the integration of new transit systems into this contemporary context has potential for radical innovation. This thesis examines the impact of new modalities within our suburban environments and problematizes the monofunctionality of a ground plane fully dominated by the automobile. Through a multilayered fabric of mobility infrastructures, garden dwellings, retail strips, working units, and public outdoor spaces, this proposal condenses and reorganizes the suburban landscape into a field condition transit development with emerging nodes of connectivity to the ground, rail, and city landscape.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Architecture

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Architecture

Grantor

Rice University

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• McWilliams, John Riddle, Jr

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Pope, Albert

• Transportation
• Architecture
• Urban planning
• Regional planning
• Arts
• Sociology

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1911/62183

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.rice.edu:1911/62183