Urban ecology through the adaptive use of existing buildings
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Description
The urban environment of the City of New Orleans is geographically landlocked between the crescent of the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. Practically all available land for development has been saturated leaving only outlying areas for new development. In the past, traditional concentric growth, manifesting itself in the form of new peripheral development, attracted the affluent population to the suburbs leaving deteriorating inner-city neighborhoods to the poor Today, the necessity for conservation of energy and resources, a recessive economy, and priorities of historic preservation and environmental protection have created a demand for new solutions to the housing problem in New Orleans Economic and demographic research together with analysis of building types in selected neighborhoods reveals that many of the characteristics necessary to fulfill these needs are inherent in the existing buildings of uptown New Orleans. However, architectural modifications are required for the adaptive use of these structures to provide housing which meets contemporary living standards The fundamental hypothesis of this work is that changes in land use can occur while conserving urban resources through the adaptive use of the existing buildings. It is the intention of this study to demonstrate that the requirements of orderly urban growth can be accomplished through the adaptive use of existing structures. Land uses have been established which do not allow for residential growth and the expansion of facilities to meet the changing requirements of an inner-city population. The result of this investigation is a clear identification of the role of existing buildings in uptown New Orleans in the changing urban pattern of the city Established neighborhoods can accommodate the various requirements of a changing population by re-using structures which have previously served different functions. Zoning can be utilized as a major tool in modifying existing land use and control of density As an alternative to peripheral growth, the renovation and adaptive use of inner-city building stock can strengthen the city tax base, provide improved housing, alleviate transportation and energy problems by shortening trips to work, and contribute aesthetically to the scene. The quality of buildings constructed in this area provide excellent potential for recycling