Structure above infrastructure: reconnecting communities torn by invasive infrastructure

Abstract

Communities play an enormous role in the development of a city’s urban fabric. These communities shape the use and growth of the urban fabric as they feed resources into it. However, that same fabric has developed to be less than equitable for some of the people that inhabit it. Architectural exclusion in the form of large-scale infrastructure disparity has torn that fabric and separated or split communities. These tears and separations can cause sociopolitical and economic divides in the urban setting and can become a catalyst furthering animosity between social groups that have experienced inequitable situations. To combat these inequities and social and physical divisions, it is important to reclaim spaces stolen from these communities and create common community, public, and social spaces based on each community’s specific needs. This thesis uses the communities surrounding the 65-70 interchange in Indianapolis, Indiana as an example, responding to the needs of the adjacent communities based on existing resources and accounts from local members of the community to inform a program that will be beneficial and act as a catalyst for community growth and reconnection. The goal is to develop a method for identifying and resolving issues in communities caused by invasive infrastructure.