Porous Public Space: An Integrated Typology for Urban Housing

Abstract

In response to the erosion of public space in North American cities, this thesis provides a method of integrating public space in urban housing through typology. Arising from a culture of privatism and a planning strategy most interested in attracting investment, the prominent approach to development is site-selfish and mono-programmed, contributing to the erasure of diversity and public life. This thesis proposes a typological response to the threat posed by mono-programmatic and self-contained megastructures by working to uncover the entanglements between architectural type and social, political, and economic forces. The concept of the porous city is employed to imagine ways of transcending the dominance of the developer model. The typological method creates a new narrative, subverting typologies towards the possibility of a porous city. The design response demonstrates principles for combining housing and public space, creating an integrated typology for urban housing that begins with public space.