11_09.06

__**revised/developed topic ideas and goals**__

the project will be a public space, TBD: cultural history museum, cultural center, or history museum- with open lands/park
 * 1**WOLF POINT . PUBLIC SPACE(S)

the project will be about:
 * the people of Chicago
 * civic site design
 * exploring the physical manifestation[s] of [urban] culture or history
 * celebrating urban culture or history

the project will be developed because:
 * this historic site is at the “center of everything” in chicago and deserves to be meaningfully accessible to the people of chicago
 * the city of chicago, while acknowledging it’s local history should facilitate the advancement and celebration of society and culture at both a local and global level

GOALS //exploration needed to refine project intentions:// wolf point is more connected to the commercial center (loop), burgeoning commercial center (river north), and a mixed use/ industrially gentrifying neighborhood (river west) than it is to other cultural/public districts such as grant park or museum park. this poses either issue opportunity.
 * create a meaningful public space on the site that is located at the center of present day Chicago.
 * create a building and/or space(s) that represents the people of chicago.
 * the 2010 census indicates there is no dominant ethnic group in Chicago. create a building and/or space(s) accessible & desirable & useful for all chicagoans (does this mean it is specifically not for tourists?)
 * create a respite for NE loop workers, and area residents.
 * “improve” the river area city-scape.
 * while remaining respectful of the history of the site as representative of the history of chicago, point to the opportunity of the future.
 * use the project to bring together different sides and aspects of community -just as the site is the confluence of the main, north and south branches of the chicago river.

the project will be about:
 * 2**NORTHERLY ISLAND, great lakes ecology center
 * the people of Chicago
 * significance of the great lakes to the world, region, and to chicago
 * this particular parcel of land as relative to lake michigan and chicago
 * furthering ecological sciences communications and education to the public

the project will be developed because:
 * many statistics out there about global water shortage, and the significance of the great lakes freshwater in relation to global situation
 * this site is currently “confused” (park/beach/muni bldgs/parking/yacht club/ harbor)
 * the land has never been “properly” used (i.e. never found it’s destined significant role in Chicago’s public spaces/lands (TBV with research). this site is unique and significant in the landscape and history of chicago

GOALS
 * foster Chicago’s place as a responsible world leader in fresh water ecology & environmental science
 * bring to together the leaders and inhabitants of the entire great lakes system and serve as both a repository and disseminator of collective knowledge, current issues and future concerns.
 * create an experiential “place” to educate people about the great lakes: history, the current situation, and initiatives both proposed and underway.
 * explore the relationship of the cities of the great lakes to the great lakes ecosystem.
 * foster the individual’s appreciation of and connection to the ecosystem of the great lakes.
 * clarify the island’s role in the Illinois lakeshore’s ecology and parkways system.
 * provide a place where one can “connect with nature” on a personal level

//notes needed to refine project intentions:// //project proposal could include interim solutions to evolve over time.//
 * //access to this land is very limited, and will limit or indicate potential usages.//
 * //masterplan historical, existing and proposed to be reviewed for context.//

urban housing for real people
 * 3.a** chicago urban housing

the project will be about:
 * quality housing solution(s) that meet needs of real people: social connections/interactions, physically healthy and sustainable environments, connections to natural, urban context, affordability, neighborhoods.

the project will be developed because: GOALS //exploration needed to refine project intentions://
 * while the chicago metropolitan region grew by xx%, the city of chicago population declined by -x% (approx 9%?). while there are many contributing factors, the net result is the city is not as densely occupied as it could be, and there are unoccupied properties resulting.
 * this population decline has a negative impact on the economic vitality and tax base which is needed to support improvements to schools, infrastructure and public safety.
 * senior populations are on the rise in the entire metropolitan area, but are the increasing the most in metro areas not served by mass transit and other urban services.
 * access to environmentally high quality housing is not equitable to different income groups, nor between occupant-owned versus rental housing in the chicago area.
 * the recent real estate meltdown has educated people about renting versus buying homes such that more people are likely to rent in the future.
 * create housing and neighborhoods with the attractions of the suburbs in the city of chicago; particularly areas well served by mass transit infrastructures.
 * create reasonably priced housing alternatives
 * explore integration of quality environments in rental housing to increase its attractiveness.
 * provide opportunities and create desirable areas for people to age in place in their community
 * offsite fabrication methods, other methods of efficient construction are of interest however seem difficult to propose effectively in project timeframe
 * appropriate housing typology is TBD: high-rise, multi-unit midrise, multi-unit low-rise, town/row-house, single family etc.


 * 3**.b URBAN HOUSING: sponsor a favela

adjustable and moveable housing appropriate for occupation by people

the project will be about:
 * quality housing solution(s) that meet needs of real people:
 * social
 * physically healthy (i.e. sustainable, environmentally ideal)
 * connections to natural
 * urban context
 * affordability
 * neighborhoods

the project will be developed because:

GOALS
 * more people now live in urban areas/cities than non-urban areas
 * xx % (70?)% of people living in cities live in slums
 * global urban population explosion indicates significant housing will be “constructed”
 * slum housing does not support of human needs such as sanitation, neighborhoods, access to nature, access to transport, etc.......list goes on
 * access to environmentally high quality housing is not equitable
 * create a “kit of parts” that is mobile, reconfigurable, environmentally-conscious for temporal housing.
 * sponsorship program
 * address the human need for connections to society and nature in urban housing solutions
 * create housing solutions appropriate for re-location and re-configuration that is affordable and sustainable for “squatters”