Bibliography

Interest

*experience within Homewood during the Urban Design Build Studio; this is still on going.

Have Read

Solà-Morales, Ignasi. “Terrain Vague.” Anyplace. Ed. Cynthia Davidson. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1995. 118-23.

Hardy, Hugh. “The Romance of Abandonment: Industrial Parks.” 2005.

The above have helped me to narrow down my focus to abandonment in residential neighborhoods, as well as the beginnings of the 'parts’ to which I am currently defining.

Argument

Edensor, Tim. “Industrial Ruins: Space, Aesthetics and Materiality.” Berg Publishers, 2005.

Jakle, John A and David Wilson. “Derelict Landscapes: The Wasting of America’s Built Environment.” Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1992.

These two books helped me to define my thesis statement; a vacancies ability to serve as a critique of regulated urban space and that it needs both economics and social atmospheres to be transformed into something that can help a dilapidated neighborhood.

Reading

Economics/Vacancy

Mittleman, Hallie and Catherine Lamb. “Vacant Property Reclamation and Neighborhood Change in Southwest Center City Philadelphia.” July 2008.

“Vacant Properties: The True Cost to Communities.” National Vacant Properties Campaign Report, 2005

From these reports, I will be able to tie economics and vacancy together, as relevant to my argument, and allow my process to focus on the vacancy itself.

Place

“Vacant Land in Philadelphia.”  Philadelphia City Planning Commission Report, 1995.

"Demolition / Vacant House Treatment Study" Philadelphia City Planning Commission report, 1984.

For these reports, the focus is on the cause, effect and potential re-use of vacant lands pertaining to distressed residential neighborhoods.  This will help me to further define my site within Philadelphia and will provide a basis from which I can create my own taxonomy of types and patterns of vacancy.

To Read

Program

http://www.vanalen.org/urbanvoids/

The Urban Voids competition centered in Philadelphia allows me to study others choices of program in relation to vacancy within my chosen site.