PD360 Portfolio

University at BuffaloSchool of Architecture and Urban Planning

Raymond Chetti

15 Emmett Court West Babylon, NY, 11704direct: (631) 943 - 6208e-mail: [email protected]

Portfolio of

Works

Introduction

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Dear Viewer,Thank you for taking the time out to view my portfolio! Following my resume, my portfolio is divided into four sections to reflect the skills I have learned during my studies as an environmental design undergrad at the University at Buffalo. These sections are:

1. Data gathering,analysis, and illustration

2. Unique writing samples

3. Graphic design & digital media

4. Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

The first section focuses on comparing two central cities and their MSA’s. We gathered United States Census data and compiled a database that contained socioeconomic information for both cit-ies and their respective MSA’s. After gathering total population, demographic, median household income, and median housing unit values, we developed a series of graphs to visually commu-nicate large quantities of data in an easy and legible format. For the purpose of this portfolio, only excerpts from the “Findings,” “Charts and Graphs,” and “Conclusions” were used.

My unique writing samples include two works. The first work is about my definition of “urban planning,” while the other work in-cludes excerpts from a term paper about a plan called the Coney Island Redevelopment Plan. My “urban planning” paper was one of the first times I questioned, “What is urban planning?” and to this day, I keep that definition close to my heart. For the other piece we had to pick any plan of our choosing and describe the justifications for each action that the plan called for. Similar to the first section, this version is also excerpted and does not con-tain the whole report.

After taking Environmental Design Workshop II, I learned how to utilize graphic design & digital media tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign to visually communicate urban planning and design concepts. The assignments include changing “Helvetica” font to change the mood of a photo, designing a poster, and designing a PowerPoint Presentation.

The last section includes a couple of GIS maps I created for a couple of projects I did for two separate GIS classes. The first project is about identifying areas that are suitable for a com-munity development grant by finding the most distressed areas in the City of Buffalo. The other project is about whether or not financial wellbeing affects whether one may attend a public or private university.

Once again, thank you for reading and viewing my portfolio, if you happen to have any questions about any of the work you may see here, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Raymond Chetti

Resume

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EducationUniversity at Buffalo, The State University of New YorkBachelor of Arts, Environmental Design. Minor, Architecture. Anticipated: May 2010.GPA: 3.48/4.0

Korea University. Seoul, South KoreaExchange Student, Spring 2008.GPA: 3.55/4.0

Related Work ExperienceIntern–Green Map Systems, New York, NY–(Dec 2008–Jan 2009) •Created community portrait of Green sites for Manhat- tan’s East Village using Green Map System’s universal iconography to promote sustainable living options for community residents. •Analyzed importance of each Green site by performing individual site visits. •Performed additional research to enhance Open Green Map database (www.opengreenmap.org)

Transportation Systems Intern-DMJM Harris, New York, NY–(Dec 2007–Feb 2008) •Reviewed plans and made comments for construction plans for new train station at Yankee Stadium. •Analyzed and commented on bridge inspection reports for the MTA. •Created new client folders, researched files for refer ence and general filing. •Dealt with various clients and other professional organizations in the New York City area.

Office Assistant–Bohler Engineering, Ronkonkoma, NY–(May 2007–Aug 2007) •Visited newly acquired work sites and photographed area for engineers. •Prepared and packaged approved plans ready for delivery. •Delivered and picked up packages to clients and other organizations throughout the New York area. •Made copies of site plan packages and various documents. •Created new client folders and pulled files for reference.

College ExperienceSeoul Design Olympiad Conference 2008 – (Oct 2008) •Participated in an international design conference in Seoul, S. Korea where designing a sustainable urban future was the main theme. •Created presentation based off of Seoul Design Olym- piad entitled “Designing for a Sustainable Urban Future.” •Presented presentation (“Designing for a Sustainable Urban Future”) about key speakers and topics back at home university.

Leadership ExperienceExternal V.P, President, & Korean Culture Night Coordinator–Korean Student Association (KSA)–(2008-2009) •Strengthen relations with other clubs by attending their meetings and events. •Coordinate and schedule executive board and general board meetings. •Set agenda and facilitate meetings. •Help KSA executive board coordinate club events. •Collaborate with a number of individuals and organizations to coordinate KSA’s annual Korean Culture Night performance.Resident Advisor - University Residence Halls and Apartments (URH&A) – (Fall 2007) •Enforced the rules and policies of the residence halls. •Developed floor community by organizing floor and residence hall wide events while collaborating with other RA’s and organizations. •Created monthly bulletin boards with information related to campus issues. •Attended weekly meetings with hall director.

Treasurer - Asian American Student Union (AASU)–(Fall 2007) •Attended budget hearings. •Maintained and ensured that the organization stayed within budget for all events. •Completed expense and money request forms in order to use club funds. •Participated in campus-wide events: Relay for Life, Buf- falo Kids Day, Linda Yalem Run.

AwardsPhi Eta Sigma Honor Society - Spring 2007Dean’s List for Academic Achievement – Spring 2007

Capital One Bank Foundation Scholarship – Fall 2006-present••

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Data Gathering, Analysis, and Illustration

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Project 1: City vs MSA Comparison

Research Methods

Developed a comprehensive report with charts and graphs to illustrate our findings based off United States Census Bureau data from 1950-2010,

1. Census data was collected from the United States govern-ment website called American FactFinder. Since decennial census data had to be collected for total population, racial composition, median household income, and median housing unit value from 1950 – 2007, American FactFinder was the perfect resource to locate data for 1990 and 2000.

2. After collecting data for 1990 and 2000, data had to be then collected for 1950—1980. The only way to do this was to search through printed versions of the United States Census for the years 1950 – 1980. 3. After researching all of the census data that was needed, the numbers were then compiled into an Excel document for easy viewing. While monetary values for the years 1950—2000 were in their own value (not fixed for 2007 inflation values), these val-ues were then converted (median household income and median housing unit value) into 2007 dollars (adjusted for inflation) by using the United States Department of Labor inflation calculator (http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm). 4. Based off the modified census data, charts, graphs, and pie graphs were then created that portrayed population change, de-mographic composition, median household income, and median housing unit value for the years 1950—2007 (for projecting pop-ulation, projected population was calculated for 2010 by using a formula noted below).

LimitationsIt was impossible to find census data for the year 2010. For-tunately, it was possible to base the 2010 population off of the United States Census estimate for the year 2007 and data from 2000. The formula to determine the 2010 population of Spring-field, MA, San Jose, CA, and their MSAs are as follows:

FindingsStarting from 1950, the City of Springfield start-ed off with a population gain of 7%, but quickly lost 13% of its total pop-ulation within a period of 20 years between 1960 – 1980 (Fig 1). During the eighties, Springfield ex-perienced a rather small population increase of 3%, only to lose 5% of its total population be-tween 1990-2010.

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Springfield, MA & MSA Population Growth 1950-2010

City of Springfield, MA

Springfield MSA

Fig 1: Graph illustrating Springfield MA pop decline while its MSA’s pop increases.Source: U.S. Census BureauGraph: Generated by author

The City of Springfield lost a total of 6% of population from 1950 - 2000 and is expected to lose a total of 10% of its population by the year 2010.

Unlike the city’s population loss, Springfield’s MSA experienced a tre-mendous population gain between 1950 – 2000 and is expected to substantially grow in population between 2000 – 2010 (Fig 1). Accord-ing to the US Census, Springfield’s MSA grew by 33% between the fif-ties and sixties and then experienced a small population loss of 2% in the seventies. However, after a period of dormitory population growth in the eighties, the population grew by 11% during the nineties and is expected to grow by more than a 35% of its total population between 2000 – 2010. Between 1950 - 2000, Springfield’s MSA grew by 45% and is expected to grow by an additional 35% by the year 2010.

Charts and Graphs

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Springfield, MA Demographic Composition 1950-2007

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Fig 3: Graph illustrating rapid increase in non-white population.Source: U.S. Census BureauGraph: Generated by author

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Fig 4: Graph illustrating minute increase in non-white population.Source: U.S. Census BureauGraph: Generated by author

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Data Gathering, Analysis, and Illustration (cont’d)

Fig 5: Rapid increase in non-black populationSource: U.S. Census BureauGraph: Generated by author

Fig 6: Similar trend as Fig 5Source: U.S. Census BureauGraph: Generated by author

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San Jose, CA Demographic Composition 1950-2007

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Unlike Springfield, there has been continual pop-ulation growth in the City of San Jose, since 1950. The most rapid periods of growth occurred in the fifties and sixties. During each decade, the population grew by over 110% (Fig 2). The rate of growth has slowed, but the city’s population continued to grow none-theless. It grew by 41%

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and 14% in the nineties. The US Census predicts a 7% increase be-tween 2000 and 2010. When compared with Springfield’s expect-ed population loss of 11% from 1950 – 2010, San Jose’s population growth should be immense come 2010. It is expected to have gained a 910% increase in population since 1950.

Fig 2: Rapid population increase in San Jose and its MSA Source: U.S. Census BureauGraph: Generated by author

in the seventies, 24% in the eighties, and

Following a similar population growth pattern to the City of San Jose, San Jose’s MSA continually grew since 1950. The most rapid periods of growth also occurred in the fifties and sixties where the population grew over 120% in the fifties and 65% in the sixties (Fig 2). Following the sixties, the popula-tion growth of San Jose’s MSA slowed down, but continued to grow. It grew by 21% in the seventies, 15% in the eighties, and 12% in the nineties. According to the 2010 population estimate formula and the population growth formula listed above, San Jose’s MSA is expected to grow by an additional 10% between 2000 – 2010. When compared to the city’s 910% increase in population from 1950, the MSA is expected to have gained a 580% increase in population since 1950.

ConclusionAccording to data from the US Census Bureau, the following con-clusions may be made: Both cities have become ethnically diverse over time, but San Jose and its MSA experienced a more rapid increase in non-black minorities. By 2000, San Jose’s non-black minority population surpassed the white population. Springfield saw steady and gradual increases in black population since 1950, while its MSA experienced a minute increase in both minority populations. While Springfield’s black population was gradually increasing, the city experienced a non-black inward migration during the seventies. In both cities, non-white populations grew faster than in their MSAs...

American Factfinder. (2008, October 7). US Census. Retrieved October 7, 2008, http://factfinder.census.govUnited States, Bureau of Census. (1950). Census of population. California.United States, Bureau of Census. (1950). Census of population. Massachusetts.

Sources Sited

Unique Writing SamplesProject 2: “Planning as a Concept”Defined “urban planning” and described what it means to us.

"Planning" may be understood different ways by a number of vari-ous and diverse individuals. If you ask anyone walking around on the street, “What is your definition of “planning,” they will surely all give you different answers. However, when one thinks about what "planning" is, the most general definition is: thinking about a specif-ic topic or event ahead of time. For example, your mother is turning fifty and you want to PLAN the best "half-a-century-old" surprise party ever. Of course when thinking about this surprise party, there are a number of factors one must account for: what venue, the guest list, the presents, what time people will get there, etc.

Unfortunately, the concept of “urban planning” maybe a term that is unknown to some. Even though the addition of one term might create a whole new concept, the concept of "urban plan-ning" bears a similar meaning to the previously noted definition of “planning.” While the thought of “planning” a surprise party, small get together, or date is clear to many, “urban planning” involves thinking about a particular project or action that will have an effect on the social environment of the affected sur-roundings (humans and environment included). When develop-ing these projects or actions, the framework thinkers’ intention is to improve the welfare of not only human beings, but also the environment as well. By thinking about the physical and built environment and how it affects our social well being, we can bet-ter improve our everyday lives and those of future generations.

Since the early days of human civilization, urban planning has played a critical role in the evolution of the human society in which we know today. For example, the complex aqueduct sys-tem that was developed by the ancient Romans helped bring fresh water to their thriving cities. Before the aqueduct system could be built, scholars, engineers, and early urban planners of Rome identified the problem of a lack of fresh water to be a prob-lematic issue to the city’s growth and survival. After discovering the problem, they developed the theory of bringing fresh water

from a distant source to their city via the aqueduct system. After developing this physical infrastructure of the aqueduct, the Romans were able to use fresh water comfortably to live better lives.It took hard work and determination by a diverse range of individ-

uals to complete the task of building this aqueduct system. During the planning process, scholars, early urban planners, architects, engineers, government officials and even the community had to work together. While focusing on finding solutions to the problem, gaining a mutual consensus of certain individuals and the coop-eration of all those involved in the project are key to the project’s success. It would not have been possible otherwise.

The concept of “urban planning” was and will be an important factor that will help improve the lives of all living things and their environment.

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Unique Writing Samples (cont’d)

Project 3: Coney Island Redevelopment PlanAnalyzed, critiqued, and commented on the justifica-tions in the Coney Island Redevelopment Plan (2007).

Background and Introduction to Coney IslandDuring the early to mid-20th century, Coney Island was con-sidered the premier urban getaway destination. Devoid of the stresses associated with urban living, people of all ages, races, and backgrounds came to gather at Coney Island for its exciting and vibrant entertainment district that was once defined by its three prominent amusement parks:1. Steeplechase Park (1897 – 1964)2. Luna Park (1903 – 1946)3. Dreamland (1904 – 1911)

By 1970, these amusement parks went out of business and Coney Island was beginning to show signs of decline and disinvestment. According to the Coney Island Development Corporation(CIDC), the size of the amusement area shrunk by more than half its original size dur-ing its transition from one of New York’s most exciting areas to one of New York’s fastest declining areas (Fig 1). While los-ing a considerable portion of its amuse-ment park area to poor investment and restrictive zoning codes, Coney Island’s once historic district is presently defined by vacant areas, empty parking lots, limited employment opportunities, and limited signs of street life.

Coney Island amusement area—pre park closures.

Fig 1: Coney Island amusement area shrinking since the closing of its three prominent amusement parks, post 1965Image Source: Coney Island Develop-ment Corporation

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Existing ConditionsAccording to the New York City Department of City Plan-ning, the area that is to be rezoned is currently C7, a commercial district limited to large open amusement uses (Fig 2). Residential housing is not permitted here.

Since the closing of Steeplechase Park in 1964, the amusement area has kept shrinking year by year. Only a few landmark icons of the historic Coney Island remain. While developing a master plan to promote economic growth and development in this area, the Coney Island Development Corporation calls for the historic preservation of existing landmarks in an effort to respect Coney Island’s rich history (Fig 3).

Fig 2: Existing C7 zoning and rezoning Image Source: New York City Depart-ment of City Planning

Fig 3: Historic landmarks marked for preservationImage Source: New York City Depart-ment of City Planning

Proposed Rezoning PlanWhile the current C7 zone restriction limits development only to large, open amusement uses, the new rezoning plan seeks to create three distinct dis-tricts that have varying land uses.

As illustrated in Figure 5, the plan uses Stillwell Avenue, Surf Avenue, and Keyspan Park as edge bound-aries to distinguish three separate districts referred to as Coney West, Coney North, and Coney East. As

Fig 4: Creation of separate districts within rezoning boundaryImage Source: New York City Depart-ment of City Planning

noted by the illustration, Coney West and North will be zoned for mixed-use properties that integrate both residential and retail land uses. Coney East is specifically designated to build upon and further develop Coney Island’s open amusements while also adding enclosed amuse-ments, entertainment retail and hotels to create an environment that would develop year-round businesses.While each of these three districts are defined by specific land uses, the City of New York also determined that each district will be required to abide by certain urban design guidelines. In an


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JustificationsConey North & West - Residential & Retail District

effort to preserve Coney Island’s historic character and landscape, these guidelines would establish each district with their own set of special zoning codes that would define building densities and maximum heights. In an effort to preserve the historical character that Coney Island is known for, these guidelines would also help create appropriate transitions into surrounding neighborhoods.

According to the New York City Depart-ment of City Planning, together, both of these mixed use development dis-tricts would create approximately an additional 450,000 new housing units (900 of them being affordable hous-ing units) while also adding 460,000 square feet in retail. As illustrated in Figure 6, the rezoning plan calls for the creation of mixed-use residen-tial neighborhoods with ground floor

Fig 5: Detailed Coney Island North, West, and East rezoning planImage Source: New York City Depart-ment of City Planning

within Coney North retailand West. It would also designate the parcels along Surf Avenue to be mixed-use residential with ground floor retail.

1. As stated in New York City’s comprehensive document , “PlaNYC 2030,” New York City will need an additional 265,000 housing units to accommodate their rapidly growing population by 2030. As es-timated in their document “New York City Population Projections by Age/Sex and Borough 2000 - 2030,” New York City is expected to grow by over 1 million people while Brooklyn alone is expected to grow by about 250,000 people by that year. In preparation for this rapid population increase, this rezoning plan intends to create a bulk of additional housing units to sustain the anticipated needs of New York City and the borough of Brooklyn.

2. According to the New York City Department of City Planning, “the proposed demapping of the existing park area requires the replacement of an equal amount of parkland and approv-al of New York State legislation.” While obeying these specific guidelines outlined by New York State, the area east of Keyspan

Park and west of the Cyclone would be mapped as newly created park-land. As illustrated in Figure 6, the remapped parkland area will create a continuous outdoor amusement park area along Coney Island’s his-toric Boardwalk, and will also create a newly mapped park that will embrace the area’s unique beachfront location. Through the creation of a continuous outdoor amusement park area and a boardwalk park, the plan hopes to improve the visibility and walk abil-ity for pedestrians from surrounding neighborhoods to the beach and his-toric Boardwalk.

Fig 6: Remapping of existing parkland area (currently used as parking lots) from light green areas to dark green areas in effort to: 1) create continuous outdoor amusement park area, 2) create vibrant mixed use residential neighborhood in Coney West, 3) create new boardwalk park to enhance pe-destrian connections between surrounding neighborhoods and boardwalk.Image Source: New York City Depart-ment of City Planning

3. Despite the lack of space designated for parking in the rezoning plan, the Coney Is-land Development Corporation’s Strategic Plan encourages private developers to cre-ate public parking spaces within their own private lots and parcels. The lack of parking areas in the rezoning plan could be an initia-tive led by New York City to create pedes-trian-friendly environments where the focus of the design is the human being, not the automobile. In a case study based in Seoul,

Fig 7: Gwanghwamun Plaza project—cut of traffic lanes and creation of public plaza. Image Source: Seoul Metropolitan Government

S. Korea, the current mayor is attempting to transform their “hard city,” a city revolving around the auto-mobile, into a “soft city,” a city that is human and pedestrian-orientated. In Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Plaza project, a major traffic artery located in down-town Seoul will be transformed from a 16 lane road into a 10 lane road. With the extra space from the removal of these six traffic lanes, the Seoul Metro-politan Government intends on creating a public plaza that will enhance and enrich the neighborhood’s cultural atmosphere (Fig 8). Similar to Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Plaza project, the lack of space designated for parking and automobiles is a step for New York City in becoming a pedestrian-oriented society where the focus of the design is the pedestrian, not the automobile.


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Coney East - Open & Enclosed Amusements, Entertainment Retail, and Hotel

According to the New York City Department of City Planning and the Coney Island Development Corporation, it is possible to revi-talize the historic amusement park and entertainment district by preserving and building upon Coney Island’s iconic landmarks and open amusements while adding enclosed amusements, entertain-ment retail, and hotels. While the amusement park would be an-chored by the Wonder Wheel, Parachute Jump, and the Cyclone, the addition of modern and traditional rides, enclosed amusements, restaurants, hotels, and entertainment retail (bowling alleys, movie theatres, and performance venues) would complement the open amusement area by creating a vibrant, year-round entertainment district that would embrace a broader range of entertainment goods and services than the previous C7 zoning plan allowed for.

Visions and Goals of Coney Island Development Comprehensive Rezoning Plan

According to the Coney Island Development Corporation, their four primary goals are:

1. Create and foster an environment that would develop year round businesses to strengthen the Coney Island economy. 2. Improve neighborhood conditions and quality of life, parks and other community facilities.

3. Facilitate the development of vacant and underutilized properties.

4. Encourage the development of new housing to create a stable consumer base in the neighborhood.

With these goals in mind, the Coney Island Rezoning Plan and the Coney Island Strategic Plan successfully create conditions and possibilities for these visions to become a reality; a reality where Coney Island is born once again as America’s Playground.

Coney Island Rezoning Plan

New York City Department of City Planning. 2008. Coney Island Comprehensive Rezoning Plan. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/coney_island/index. shtml (accessed November 10, 2008).

Coney Island Development Corporation. 2008. Coney Island Development Corporation. http://www.thecidc. org/ (accessed November 10, 2008).

Sources Cited

Coney Island Development Corporation. 2008. Coney Island Through the Ages. http://www.thecidc.org/News/ PressKit.html (accessed November 19, 2008).

New York City Department of City Planning. 2008. New York City Population projects by Age/Sex and Borough, 2000 - 2030. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/ census/popproj.shtml (accessed November 21, 2008).

PlaNYC 2030. 2008. Land, Housing. http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/html/plan/land_ housing.shtml (accessed November 21, 2008).

Seoul Metropolitan Government. 2006. Traffic artery to make way for public plaza. http://english.seoul.go.kr/today/ news/newsclip/1239894_3675.html (accessed November 21, 2008).

Graphic Design & Digital Media

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Project 4: “Finding Helvetica”Found examples of “Helvetica” font in the urban environment and digitally altered the originals to change the “mood.”

Original Photographs

Altered Images

Graphic Design & Digital Media (cont’d)

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Project 5: M&T Bank PosterDesigned maps and poster for M&T Plaza using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.


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Project 6: NFTA Metro Rail PresentationDesigned a PowerPoint Presentation promoting NFTA Metro Rail. Created several graphics for PowerPoint.

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Project 6: NFTA Metro Rail Presentation (cont’d)Designed a PowerPoint Presentation promoting NFTA Metro Rail. Created several graphics for PowerPoint.

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Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

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Project 7: Targeting Community Development FundsIdentified distressed areas in the City of Buffalo that would be suitable for a community development grant by identified Cen-sus Block Groups who experienced a high level of Intrametropolitan and Intercity Hardship Index (IIHI). The IIHI is measured by: unemployment, dependency, education, crowded housing, poverty, vacancy, and housing built before 1939.

Grouped together common land use types (ex: 210, 311, etc) by parcel to see which groups of parcels whose total assessed value is less than $100,000 and whose area is greater than 1/3 of an acre.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

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Project 8: Money, Education, and RaceIdentified where wealthy and financially depressed college students lived and analyzed whether or not their financial wellbeing (measured by median household income) restricted a person’s ability to attend a public or private college. Lighter parcels represent lower incomes. Red dots represent private college attendees while blue represent public college attendees

University at BuffaloSchool of Architecture and Urban Planning

Raymond Chetti

15 Emmett Court West Babylon, NY, 11704direct: (631) 943 - 6208e-mail: [email protected]

Portfolio of

Works

Documents

PD360 Portfolio