A view of the Green Line: a renewal plan for visual experience in Chicago’s South Side stations

Abstract

Elevated rapid railroads have special visual qualities. Riders can see how the city is organized, the shape of the city`s skyline, city land use, and most important, how the city relates to itself. This thesis uses a phenomenological approach to visual theory that expands upon the seminal work of Appleyard, Lynch et al (1962), Halprin (1966), Venturi, Brown et al (1972) and Dorfles (1962). Chicago`s metropolitan area is divided and the south and the north sides have striking differences. The city land that parallels the elevated rapid transit railroad, in particular the urban vacant land, may serve as a visual assets both to riders and neighborhoods. This speculative design project proposes sequential forms that not only shape the elevated rapid transit railroad visual experience and deepen the rider`s grasp of the meaning of the South Side of Chicago, but may also retell the story of this racialized landscape. The thesis presents an analysis of visual and demographic data and projects a series of alternative speculative insertions in the urban landscape. The results have potential significance for urban design, landscape architecture, and art. By developing the experience of moving from a point of view from the elevated railroad, this thesis analyzes the value of landscape experience and suggests a new approach to urban landscape.