Mount Airy ForestSustainable Community Development

An IntroductionMt. Airy Forest is the largest public park space in Cincinnati. The park has transitioned from a forest to farm space back to a forest. Designated as a protected space in 1911, Mt. Airy Forest has practically remained untouched. Over 100 years later, we were curious as to what could be developed in the area. The following are research steps and proposals our group made to make a sustainable development option in Mt. Airy Forest.

Assignment OneContext Analysis

Street Classification Map Circle Radii Map

Mt. Airy is a very accessible com-munity. I-74 cuts right through the park, and US Highway 27 (Coler-ain Avenue) lines the park, bring-ing access to the neighborhood.

Land Use with Buffers

Mt. Airy has a lot of property built in both the 19th and 20th centuries. You can still locate rehabilitated country homes and farmhouses, but Ranch houses, Colonials, and Tudors, with some in disrepair have greater prevalance. Housing nearly 10,000 residents in its 4.1 square mile area, Mt. Airy offers a style of suburbia that many find comfortable, within City limits.

Community Oriented Graphs

Businesses in Mt. Airy

Assignment TwoSite Analysis

Public Transit

Utilities

Since Mt. Airy Forest is located within city limits, we thought that transit would be a major component; However, Mt. Airy Forest has very few transit options, with all of the lines facilitating the area opperating around the proximity of the park’s border. Even looking at utilities was surprising, as they were also quite sparse.

B

A

Elevation with Cuts

Water

Vegetation

Climate

Assignment ThreeSuitability Analysis

Mt. Airy Forest has some great potential for multiple types of developments. By mapping important features and characteristics in this forest, we can graphically determine the most suitable place to design.

Flood Potential

Water Sources

Vegetation

Soil Drainage

Slope Percentage Elevation

Road Map

Assignment FourCase Study Analysis

Hot Springs, Virginia

Hot Springs, Virginia and Mount Airy Forest both have similiar topographies, with sloping, rugged terrain and numerous ridges and valleys. The major difference between the two sites, however is that Hot Springs largely consists of a massive valley, while Mount Airy consists of a wealth of small valleys and ridges.

Hot Springs is a lower density, higher income area than Mt. Airy, with larger houses situated on larger parcels. This is where our project differs.

Assignment FiveStreet Layout

Using the topography as a guide, we designed the streets in a conscientiousfashion, looking to sustain connectivity with the existing conditions.

The area we chose has relatively easy topography to work with when compared to the rest of the forest. These two elevation cuts show the total elevation difference in important development areas to be just 50 feet.

Elevation Cuts

Road Types

Prominade

Roadway with Bike Lane

Roadway

Roadway with Bike Lane & Parking

Assignment SixConcept and Final Development Plan

Figure-GroundStreet Classification

Parcels

Road with Light Rail

Residential Road

Road with Bike LaneBy incorporating a multi-modal transportation system in our model, our dense, semi-urban site will lead to more sustainable practices around the city. These three SketchUp renderings display the usage of each class in the street network.

The ModelConcept and Final Development Plan

Our final model comprised of over 250 units, with 5 different types of units. With the majority of the units being duplexes and rowhouses, our community is a dense sub-urban community. Our commercial district, which comprises of mixed use development, follows the light rail corridor, making it accessible to locals and people from other communities. Accessible. Sustainable. Maintainable

Thank YouJ. Sagalow A. Wroblewski J. Christian S. Keen