Proposal-3

Summary Thesis Proposal Outline

Kenneth A. Ballard

January 14, 2008

Program Entry: January, 2007

Rethinking Homeless Living:

...establish a (self -built) community-based living facility where people living on the streets can have their basic needs met in a stable, sanitary environment free of violence, drugs and alcohol until they are able to access (traditional) housing. ~ Dignity Village

Thesis Abstract:

The highest concentration of the Las Vegas homeless community is in our downtown district where the Mayor and city council has made a clear and focused effort to not only revitalize downtown and attract tourists, new business but to eliminate a large number of its citizens. Within a 4 mile radius of the core of downtown are 5 shelters. These shelters set out to provide the basic of basic needs... shelter for the night, a hot dinner and assistance to contact other social services. This type of “assisting” the homeless in Las Vegas follows the same format as most of the nation and our homeless community is viewed and assessed in the same manner as those in Los Angles or Miami. Simply to offer an over crowded, under funded, ‘night’ stay only facility is not a ‘be all, end all’ solution to providing housing for the homeless community. A successful homeless community within the Portland, Oregon area has provided an ownership based- model that is self-owned, self-built, self-sustaining, self-governed and relies upon its citizens for the means and methods for continued growth. This ownership based model does not look at the number of people served in a day, week, month but the number of people that have been re-integrated back into the main-stream community.

Thesis Statement:

In the city of Las Vegas there is an estimated 14,500 people within the homeless population. Nevada is the second fastest-growing state in the nation, the promise of steady work to sustain the casino industry and the booming construction industry has enticed thousands of new residents each month for the past several years. Although Las Vegas is proud of its low unemployment rates, no state income tax and inexpensive bountiful food buffets there is an alarming amount of homeless, the staggering 14,500 homeless equates to nearly all of the 0.68% of Nevadans who are homeless; ranking the highest in the US and more than double the national average.

Statistics support that although the Las Vegas homeless population percentage is more than double the national average, the homeless of Las Vegas have suffered from economical hard times, slowing of the housing market, and diminishing low-rent housing. A recent survey indicated that 16 percent of the homeless population are employed, 25 percent are veterans, 31 percent are disabled 33 percent have made Las Vegas their home for over a decade and at least 73 percent have, at a minimum, a high school education.

I will evaluate how and why a self-built, self-owned homeless community can better serve the downtown Las Vegas homeless community and lessen the financial impact to the city as well as influence the stigma surrounding the homeless community...

Framing the Thesis:

• How is the work situated in terms of historical, social or cultural context?




• Main stream perception of the homeless not wanting to be more than they have become.


• What about this type of community can change the design and function of tradition shelters?

• To what other disciplines other than architecture and design am I looking at during the thesis and research?




• Non architectural/design topics


• Alternative education models that surround themselves in ownership


• The principles of Hassan Fathy providing affordable housing built and maintained by the user (community).


• Applying principles of developing other traditional transitional housing for a mainstream social issue (AA, battered women, foster homes)

• Architectural lessons from non architectural




• Principles of the room/school layouts


• Economical and environmental benefits to a self-built housing/community


• What aspects of the traditional architecture can influence the non-traditional aspects of the self-built housing/community

• How do I see my thesis on terms of its relationship to practice, where practice is understood as a culturally suited activity?




• How can the architect as a planner have a positive impact on a community where the two typically do not have common interaction?

• Who is the audience...




• The city planners of Las Vegas


• The homeless


• The shelters for the homeless


• Other architects and public figures

Methods of Inquiry:

• Design Inspiration:




• materiality




• earth material housing


• alternate construction (materials)


• Case studies of several established self sustained homeless communities, primarily Dignity Village.




• Do the “proposals to provide” fit within the Las Vegas culture and expectations of the homeless?


• Are the needs, standards and guidelines universal to all homeless or are there special
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• considerations to be aware of?


• What makes the Portland model successful?


• Interview the homeless both in and out of shelters.




• What aspects of a shelter is a turn off.


• How can a sense of ownership define a space?

Building Program:

• Examine the methods, aspects, and planning techniques of Hassan Fathy and how they can be implemented/adapted to an American homeless culture?




• Identify local resources


• Adapt Fathy’s ideas and techniques to locally available resources and materials


• Identify where the principles of Fathy’s design, material selection, and overall attitude for providing architecture for the poor is successful.


• Examine the role of the Architect during the planning and oversight of developing a community master plan.




• Why the architect should be a voice of advocacy for the development of a “self-built” homeless community... ensuring acceptable, safe, pleasing and sustainable architecture


• Identify access to the bus system, social services (health, job placement, community centers), onsite gardening/food source, storage, waste removal, infrastructure...


• Cost analysis for the construction of a shelter and operating costs vs. a self-sustaining, self built “shelter” by the homeless.

Technical Issues:

• How does the infrastructure work?




• sanitation


• water


• air-condition


• food source


• Cost analysis for the construction of a shelter and operating costs vs. a self-sustaining, self built “shelter” by the homeless.

Location of Site:

• How can the potential cost of a site be offset by other funding that is currently in place?


• Identify what aspects of site location would best suit the community at large, the city, local business and the homeless possible site locations




• Downtown area near Bonanza and the Spaghetti bowl (I-15 and I-95)




• Owner: Mesquite Partners, LTD


• Size: 5.78 acres


• Zoned: M (Industrial)

• Industrial area just North of Downtown near Losee and Lake Mead along I-15




• Owner - City of North Las Vegas


• Size: 6 acres


• Zoned: FWY

Public Policy:

• How does rethinking homeless living ...?




• Impact the tourist experience


• Cost reduction implications of security personal


• Will public parks be reopened


• Reverse/abandon the ‘no feed law’


• Rethink sense of ownership


• Rethink sense of community (reunite the community as a whole)


• Rethink affordable housing


• Rethink basic needs


• Rethink social programs

Theory:

• What is needed for basic survival?




• Rethink affordable housing


• Rethink basic needs


• Rethink social programs

Thesis Proposal - Preliminary-2

Kenneth A. Ballard's PP Distance M. Arch Thesis Proposal

To the Thesis Committee at Boston Architectural College

Practicing Professional Distance Masters of Architecture Program

Boston, Massachusetts

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Introduction

This type of community, a self sustained homeless community; has been of interest to me for many years... I first read an article, Dignity Village Sets Precedence for Homeless Settlement; in the May 2002 edition of ARCHITECTURE about a community in Portland, Oregon and was intrigued with the comment of community, living conditions, day to day operations of the occupants and techniques used to build and sustain this community.

I first toured the community in October of 2004, where I was inspired by the willingness of this homeless community to help them selves in a manner that involved developing their own sense of belonging, living accommodations, community and re-habitation.

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The Community

This community could become the location, idealism and control point as to how the homeless are viewed and housed......

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The Housing Types

The housing types although not expected to be the be-all, end-all to the traditional homeless shelter or the typical Las Vegas track home; the units must provide the basic necessities: shelter from the elements, a place to come home to everyday, sense of ownership and sustainable.

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The Location

This site for this ideal community should not be discarded to the far reaching outskirts of town as the main consternation of the current homeless community is mostly centralized to the downtown area. A few sites have been identified:

1. Downtown area near Bonanza and the Spaghetti bowl (I-15/I-95)

2. Downtown area between Mojave and N. Pecos along Stewart

3. Industrial area near Losee and Lake Mead adjacent to I-15

There may also be other sites that are just as qualified or even more qualified that have yet to be explored.

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The Leadership

The leadership of this community needs to local (originating from the homeless community) with local support from an individual within the business, political or industry community.

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The Community Involvement

The Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson communities should be supportive or at the minimum non-destructive to the ideal of supporting the homeless community in helping rise their status within the main-stream communities by creating a stepping stone towards full re-integration into the main-stream communities.

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The Ownership

This community, although part of the local jurisdiction and responsible to the ordinances, laws of its governing municipality should also demand from its residence another set of conduct and bylaws to help control the activates, construction appearance and livelihood. As well as provide a larger sense of ownership a part of belonging, as it is truly theirs as they have created it.

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The Community Goals

This community will have an established set of regulations that allow for development of ones progress towards re-introduction into the main-stream community as well as construction and methods regulations.

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The Funding

This community could become self sustained in a sort period of time. The current status of many of homeless is not a blique as many seem. The homeless community is full of fallen potential and untapped potential, many are blue collar workers that fell on hard times and left with nowhere productive to go, others are professionals that tried to make it on their own and their business failed due to a poor financial strategy while others are still yet to have their potential realized...... The beginning will require able and willing support outside the homeless community to help, support and provide at its early stages. Possible areas for financial revenue include: arts and crafts, vehicle repair, other work programs




Research: A Partial Bibliography

HousingDignity Village Sets Precedence for Homeless SettlementsPortland , OregonArchitect/Designer: Mark Lakeman Author: Randy Graggph.; p.47-51; May 2002; ARCHITECTURE (02-49)

Porter-Truax, Mary. Pawn on a Chessboard. Mustang: Tate Publishing, LLC, 2006.

Borchard, Kurt. The Word on the Street: Homeless Men in Las Vegas. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 2005.

Kubler, George. The Art and Architecture of Ancient America, Third Edition: The Mexican, Maya and Andean Peoples. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1984