Victoria street downtown is a vibrant core street with trees, flower pots, and brick sidewalks. this street demands a lot of attention and is a very popular place in Kamloops. Victoria st Main starts at 1st Ave and continues until 5th Ave where the street turns from 2 lanes into 4 lanes and the feel of the vibrant core street is diminished. The sketch on the right is a continuation of the street to make it feel more apart of the main street. The Scketch on the bottom is one that shows some infill on what is now a parking lot. the scketch I designed is a draft of a mixed use building that has store frontage, a parking lot on the second level and office space above.

** According to Planning and development manager Randy Lambright, urban infill is on the rise, especially secondary suites and carriage houses, which saw notable increases following the establishment of regulations more specific to carriage houses and garden suites two years ago.

" I can definitely say there's been an increase in applications the last few years ," said Lambright, and that includes all types of multi-family housing, from secondary suites straight through larger townhouse and apartment-style complexes.

Article by: Jennifer Stahn, Info Tel Multimedia. Mar25 2013 - Urban Infill on the Rise.http://infotel.ca/newsitem/Urban-infill-on-the-rise/IT1151

The Growth Management Cycle describes the stages a region, area or neighborhood undergoes as it developes. This cycle is never ending and can also work in reverse which could negatively impact the surrounding communities.






Image: Karri Loadman, BA, MPLAN

Hey everyone! just a quick question, if you live in Kamloops whats two things you would change about downtown and whats two things that you like about it?

Public Realm

This Picture illustrates the ideal relationship between buildings and the street, that makes for a pedestrian friendly environment.
                                                                                                               Image: Karri Loadman, BA, MPLAN

Applied Research Proposal  

                    

The Fine Line.

Brent Kelly

Summary statement of proposed project

Where is the line, between livable and congestion? At the core of Kamloops lies a look at the past with older homes on “perfect” lots of land. With new initiatives in land development more and more of the older and larger lots in the downtown core are starting to disappear. Where there was once a single home, now two of the same sizes are built, as a resident how much impact can this have on life in the downtown core? 

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to define a clear line between too much or too little in the means of urban infill and how either of those can affect the life of Kamloops residents in the downtown core. Urban infill has many effects, loss of green spaces, shaded areas from the sun, and emotional impacts of stress or anxiety. By looking at the Official Community Plan (OCP) it can be determined what changes need to be made in order to buffer residential and commercial spaces. Because the city of Kamloops is limited in height due to flight paths the only “suitable” way to build is to spread between existing homes and infrastructure.

Goals and objectives of the project

The objective of this project is to make an amendment to the Official Community Plan (OCP) to accommodate more space into the downtown core. With the amendment in use, a goal of this project would to be recognized by other cities and implemented across British Columbia.

Methodology and analytical approach

To gather information on the preplanned future of the downtown core I will use the Official Community Plan (OCP) as well as get a better understanding on what limitations are in place to divide residential and commercial land uses. An interview with a City of Kamloops Planning staff member will provide information regarding what can be changed and what ideas have been discussed within the City of Kamloops but not implemented into the OCP. Procuring data from the “Smart Growth Movement” will gather information about limiting urban sprawl and will provide information about the other side of urban infill.

Previous Studies

Most studies are focused on urban sprawl. The Urban Growth Boundaries project is an economic development tool that creates a mapped line that separates land on which development will be encouraged or prohibited, which can be helpful in regards to creating a limit on where the urban environment can transition into a suburban type community. Within the Housing Policy Debate of 2001 there was a review of 22 major central cites that monitored the number of new construction permits in the metropolitan area vs. single family dwelling units with would identify where the residents preferred to live and from that it would provide a picture on what they thought to be fit living conditions in a neighbourhood.

Plans for Dissemination of work

Disseminating the project will be done by creating a blog which will accurately describe and allow user feedback on the research that will aid in the collection of data and public support. The blog will support a chat function that will hold debates on the relevance and impact of the acquired material. Buildex is one of Canada’s largest tradeshow, with over 13,000 design, construction and real estate management professionals in attendance it is an ideal place to gather information and views from people working within the industry. And will further lead to interviews on the urban infill debate.

Reference cited

Sitko, Nicki. “Urban Growth Boundaries: Economic Development Tool or Unwanted Interference?” Thursday, April 21, 2005 http://www.umich.edu/~econdev/urbanbound/

J. Terrence Farris. “The Barriers to using urban infill development to achieve smart growth.” March 31, 2010. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10511482.2001.952139

Finch, P. 2005.  Article title: Housing, density and design, Volume 218, p41-42. Retrieved from Arts & Humanities Citation Index.

Farr, D. 2008, “Sustainable Urbanism: Urban design with nature.” p1-304. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2008

Beatley, T. 2004, “Native to nowhere: sustaining home and community in a global age.” p1-392. Washington, DC: Island Press, c2004.

Calthorpe, P. & Fulton, W. B. 2001, “The regional city: planning for the end of sprawl.” p1-304. Washington, DC; London: Island Press, c2001

Contribution of the project to your academic goals and objectives

My Father worked in regional government for all 35 years of his career and monitored many projects as they passed from the planning into the construction phases of their development. Watching him deal with the public at public hearing notices was amazing, the problem solving, and the quick thinking lead me to find a career similar to what I have witnessed throughout my childhood. From the classes I choose in high school I was eligible for the ARET program at Thompson Rivers University, I thought I would enjoy that the program covers many aspects of the construction and development industry. I am currently in my second year of my studies and from the knowledge I have acquired since enrollment is that there is much more to a building than 4 walls and a roof, the surrounding environment and infrastructure, as well as community play a big role in what and where residents can build homes or offices or multi- use buildings. My academic goals may change slightly as the days go on but the overall accomplishment is to be an Architect/Project Manager specializing in urban development.

  

Budget

This project will not require very much material as it will be mostly visual data and collection. The majority of the costs associated with the project will be travel costs as getting a look at what larger cities have done in the way of urban infill. Lists of possible expenses are listed below;

Travel: $500.00 – Traveling to conventions, larger cities, and around neighbourhoods.

Digital Camera: $180.00 – Documenting landscapes, and visual representation to city officials.

Buildex: $350.00 – Networking with industry professionals and familiarizing myself with new planning technologies.

Additional Miscellaneous: $1000.00 – Conferences, Parking, Batteries, Lodging, Ink, and Paper

Total: $2030.00  

Hi there, welcome to my new blog! On this page is where we will be talking about The Fine Line between liveable and congestion within the downtown core of Kamloops. This research is focused on how much urban infill can impact human life and what can happen as a result of encroachment on public spaces by larger structures. Please comment or share your thoughts on this topic as any input is appreciated!