Sustainable Placemaking: Restoring the Vitality of Underutilized Infrastructure

Abstract

A city experiences natural manipulation through time as the demographics, economy, technology, and industry evolve. As a result, formally prominent sites and buildings become neglected. This thesis explores a model of sustainable placemaking that adaptively reuses currently underutilized infrastructure to sponsor a restored definition of place for a community. I will illustrate how a small town has the opportunity to inform the larger society that living in a self-sustaining localized environment is achievable. The model of sustainable placemaking is illustrated through a case study in Frederick, Maryland. This historically sensitive, yet progressive, city offers exemplary circumstances of how a modest sized town, attentive to preserving its historical heritage, can incorporate sustainability. My study focuses on a blighted area, adjacent to a newly developed pedestrian creek front, to demonstrate how the City of Frederick can revitalize its sense of place with the sustainable redevelopment of existing underutilized infrastructure.