IPRO 320 has been tasked

with assisting in designing the

site plan of a significant plot

of land in the Bronzeville

community. The land has been

donated to the non-profit or-

ganization that our team will

be assisting. The organization

plans to develop a Green hou-

se and a series of hoop houses

which will be utilized to ad-

dress many of the social, eco-

nomic, and financial problems

prevalent in the community.

After months of research, prelimi-

nary sketches, and site visits to existing

green houses and aquaponics facilities,

we have put together our own design

for a greenhouse amidst the Bronzeville

community. Sponsors Charles and

Danie Sutton have had a vision for over

a decade, and we can now say that it has

finally been reproduced on paper. The

next step is acquiring the funds we hope

to merit for our LEED design.

Ipro 320 : On a Mission

Final Report:

Executive Summary

Purpose & Objectives

Organization and Approach

Analysis & Findings

Conclusions & Recommendations

Appendix

Bronzeville Urban Development IPRO 320

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History

The Bronzeville community is made up of Chicagos south side neighborhoods Douglas,

Oakland, and Grand Boulevard. It was known as the Black Metropolis in the early 20th century in

response to the massive influx of African Americans migrating from the south during the Great

Migration of 1916 in search of industrial jobs. Black businesses thrived in the area following the

migration with over 731 established by 1917 and nearly $100 million in real estate holdings

due to a combination of a local consumer-driven economy and the flourishing of arts and enter-

tainment venues. WWII and legislative restrictions on restrictive housing covenants (which

largely confined residents to local shopping), among other factors, led to one-third of the hous-

ing stocks in Bronzeville being vacated and abandoned.

IPRO 320

Bronzeville : Once known as the Black Metropolis

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Issues

An Urban Juncture Foundation report brought to light many of the social, economic, and health

needs of the area in a deep dive study done on Bronzeville in 2005. Of the nearly 100,000 residents of

Bronzeville, more than half of working age are unemployed; those who are employed have a median

household income that is 55% below the national average. The high school graduation rate in the area is

less than 50% and violent crime rates are 5 times than the rest of Illinois.

One of the key economic and social concerns in Bronzeville is the rising rate of foreclosures and un-

used industrial lands; the combination of the two has led to close to 40% of the area being dominated by

vacant lots and plots of land. The brownfields can be traced back to the railroad and meatpacking indus-

tries that provided many of the jobs in Bronzeville once. Miles of railroad tracks which originally con-

nected to stockyards and meat processing plants were abandoned and are no longer used. The health of

the community is affected by factors such as an increase in risk of HIV, hypertension, asthma, and rates

of hospitalization prevalent in minority communities. Much of the health concerns can be attributed to

the fact that a large proportion of the communities in Bronzeville are food insecure and display the char-

acteristics of a food desert. A food desert is characterized by little to no access to grocery stores or out-

lets such as farmers markets through which fresh and affordable foods are made available. Studies have

shown that food deserts disproportionately affect segregated groups in urban areas, especially single

mothers, children, and the elderly.

We began by analyzing, studying, and researching the

area in order to gain a holistic idea of the site under consid-

eration. The team went to the site to gain a basic idea of the

layout of the site as well as its structural characteristics. The

team then went on to develop a plan outlining how develop-

ment can best be carried out which included the types of ma-

terial, projected greenhouse sizes, sectional areas, etc. Ideas

and requirements from the sponsor were highly considered

when making decisions. As a final step of the project, the de-

cisions made were then translated into AutoCAD drawings,

3D renderings, and a physical model to scale.

The research did fill the first few weeks. We looked at

books, web sources, and definitely sought our sponsors to

obtain information on aquaponics, what LEED designs entail,

and history of the community for which we are working to

help. At the same time, we were also making visits to some

precedents of the green house and aquaponics system we

had in mind. The sketching of preliminary ideas based on

what we were seeing and hearing what our sponsors envi-

sioned had also begun. The first design evolved from pure

assumptions, but halfway through the design process, we

developed a Design B and a Design C. When we finally re-

ceived the first report about how contaminated the embank-

ment actually was, we were able to proceed as we had al-

ready developed a preliminary design in which we would

cap the embankment.

Organization and Approach

Page 3

Grabbing a bite after getting

measurements from the Alpha

Site and heading to Chicago

State s Aquaponics facility.

Model of the Green house by

Michael Smith .

We made many discov-

eries as we researched

more in depth about such a

project. There were many

things that were crucial

they be considered to de-

velop a true , successful

LEED design.

There were things in our

control as well as those out

of our jurisdiction. We

could not control what we

would find out lies in the

embankment. Having func-

tioned as a railroad over a

century ago, it was ex-

posed to chemicals and de-

bris that has made it con-

taminated and inaccessible

in the mean time. We could

dig the trees, dirt, sand, etc.

out of the embankment but

that would require a lot

more time and money. It

would also be hazardous to

potential workers who

would be exposing them-

selves and risking their

lives when it is unneces-

sary.

The solution we found

was to cap the top of the

embankment and build the

green house and hoop

houses over it. The design

of the green house also

needs to obtain LEED ac-

creditation to obtain the

funds necessary for B.U.D.

to carry on their vision. Af-

ter analyzing the cost of

materials, construction,

plants, etc. for an entire

railroad embankment that

goes over a mile long, we

learned that it would be a

very expensive project.

Thus, any money they could

get for presenting a LEED

certified building is essen-

tial to the development of

the first greenhouse and

hoop houses to get the pro-

ject in motion. Further on

you may find our calcula-

tions of what we estimate

the total costs

would be.

Analysis and Findings

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This project does not end

here. There have been talks

about a welcome center. At the

welcome center people may

learn about how this project got

started, the history of

Bronzeville, the goals and

achievements of the Co-op. to

actually educate people of the

Bronzeville community to

participate in the co-op and

even carryout the methods of

aquaponics in their own homes.

As a native of the Bronzeville

community, Danie is passionate

and hopeful about the

community flourishing once

again to be the community she

knew growing up. This dream

will provide fresh food and jobs

to the people of the community

who currently lack access to

fresh produce.

The unemployment rate in

the area increases at an

alarming steady rate, and this Co

-op may be of great help in that

aspect. It would provide work

that will be fruitful and

educational to the people who

partake in it. This project will

be a precedent to future urban

agriculture projects that may be

of interest to other

communities.

The overall design and layout of the green-

houses and hoop houses has been deter-

mined. The greenhouse design was based

on the design of the Joliet Junior Colleges

LEED Certified greenhouse. We have laid

out a floor plan similar to theirs, with the

major difference being the aquaponics sys-

tem we have introduced. The next step is to

make the greenhouses on our site LEED

Platinum. In order for this to happen a LEED checklist needs to

be analyzed and new systems and materials need to be incorpo-

rated into the B.U.D. greenhouse design based on the checklist

(i.e. rain water catchment, energy harvesting). The greenhouse

design needs to be tested to determine its thermal properties

and in order to better understand how to make it more energy

efficient.

After the greenhouse design is finalized it

would be best to design the Welcome Cen-

ter, which should be within the ComEd sub-

station on site. The entire building needs to

be retrofitted to function as an educational

facility, a grocery store, a housing facility for

researchers and it also needs a circulation

path to the top of the embankment. After

this is done ,the types of plants and the spe-

cial growing environment within each greenhouse needs to be

decided. Each greenhouse should function on its own and be a

growing environment for several different types of plants. Re-

search needs to be done on what are the best types of plants to

grow based on the necessity of the Bronzeville community and

based on the plants ability to be growing cycle and profitability.

On a Mission: Part II Page 5

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Activity Cost Description

Chartering a Bus (for 15 or more people)

$0.00

http://busrates.com/buses/BusResults/?t=2KNrtAcvGdU%3d&z=60616&o=proximity&r=50

Team Building Activity $95.44 A group activity for bonding or perhaps money for order-ing food when we may meet to work outside of class time.

Physical model mate-rials

$0.00

This money would help us in purchasing the materials es-sential for building a final, scaled physical model of our greenhouse design. Materials for a FINAL scaled model typically consist of wood for the structure of the building and possibly interior furniture for representing the experi-ence and program layout of the interior. Moss may be used for representing a grassy landscape and other vegeta-tion; also, metal wire is used for making trees that repre-sent the foliage on the site.

Due to the materials we would be using, we, the members of the Production Team, are certified to make use of the Model Shop on campus. So, we will be doing all production in the woodshop considering the size of this model.

For the reasons mentioned above, the strength, reliability, and pleasing aestheticism of the materials we use are im-portant for producing an accurate and durable representa-tion of our final design.

Gentec Heavy Duty Oxy Acetylene Cutting

$0.00

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200310560_200310560

Filtered masks $0.00

Steel door hinges and deadbolt lock for ex-tra security

$0.00 http://www.lowes.com/OrderItemDisplay?storeId=10151&langId=-1&catalogId=10051

Printing Materials $60.00 For IPRO day final presentation?

External Hard drive $0.00 For storing all our video and other documentation formats to prevent our Drive storage from being exceeded.

TOTAL $1450.00 (original estimated cost)

ACTUAL TOTAL $155.44

Appendix