Date of Award

5-2010

Document Type

Terminal Project

Degree Name

Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP)

Department

Planning and Landscape Architecture

Advisor

Dr. Barry C. Nocks

Committee Member

Dr. Mickey Lauria

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to propose a series of implementation strategies for the Sterling Community Master Plan. From August 2009 to April 2010, the author worked as a member of the consulting team hired to develop the master plan. This document may be regarded as a companion to the Sterling Community Master Plan, and is intended to serve as an action-oriented guide to the redevelopment of the Sterling neighborhood.

The issues discussed in this project reflect many of the major problems facing the Sterling community. However, this project does not presume to address or solve every neighborhood dilemma. Detailed implementation strategies for stormwater management systems and infrastructure repairs, for example, are not provided in this document. Rather, these issues are addressed in terms of phasing related to other neighborhood development strategies.

This project primarily provides strategies to deal with housing and neighborhood change. The overarching challenge is one of creating decent and affordable housing for current and new residents without gentrifying the neighborhood in the process. To this end, the second chapter examines the literature on community development corporations, community land trusts, neighborhood planning, and gentrification to illustrate the issues involved in the development of a comprehensive, neighborhood-focused housing strategy in Sterling. The third chapter then utilizes the insights gained in the previous chapter to propose a series of implementation strategies for the Sterling Master Plan. The third chapter also explores the issue of project prioritization and describes how currently unimproved areas of the neighborhood could be prepared for future rehabilitation or development.

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