IOWA
MAPPING ANALYSIS OF AMES
The aim of this project was to analyze a specific city to identify different issues of urban design from various perspectives (Morphological, Visual, Functional, and Social aspects) at region, city, and neighborhood scale. Based on the studies from the various data from maps and critical analysis, design strategies based on meaningful built environment data could be proposed to enhance the livability of the people in the area, as well as, the aesthetic qualities in the physical environment of the city.
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The fundamental question or more precisely, the criticism about city planning arises from the adequacy of assumptions on which the planning field is based upon. Though I do agree with Mrs. Jane Jacob to a large extent that a city can neither be a total work of art nor can it be totally statistically organized, I’m still apparently inclined towards the second line of doctrine as discussed by the author Leslie Martin; the doctrine of the ‘statistically ordered city’ which is based on the surveys, quantification, analysis, assessment, and prediction. (Martin, 1972)
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The area chosen is in the west part of the city of Ames which is the neighborhood directly west of Iowa State University Central Campus bordered by Lincoln Way on the north. The selected region appears to be a predominantly residential high-density large multi-family neighborhood that is home to many apartments for students and other establishments like restaurants and commercial facilities. Many house buildings with adequate greenery and fairly good size of blocks are noticed. An elementary school and a middle school in this area brings an opinion that there could be many working-class people with many young children. The street widths are moderate with a good amount of pedestrian pathways. The area is bounded by and well connected with all other parts of the city through Lincoln Way on the north, Mortensen Road on the south, Hayward Avenue on the east, and South Dakota Avenue on the west which also connects the area with U.S. Highways 30 and 69. The connectivity gives an assumption that employees who work in nearby cities like Boone, Nevada, Ankeny, and Des Moines also might be the residents of this suburban region which is cheaper in living costs and convenient to other daily needs.
