Disease, Urbanization and Colonization Analytical Model

Providence, RI

RISD - Urban Design Studio

Fall 2021

In collaboration with Ben Roland

Urban development in Providence through time disregarded the voices of underrepresented groups and destroyed the natural landscape which led to surges in certain health outcomes in those underrepresented communities. We take two contrasts as a paradigm for the study of these conditions. Indigenous peoples’ first contact with Europeans happened in Rhode Island in 1600’s which led to a 90% decrease in population. And today, the occupants of the modern-day West End, most of which are people of color, who are more likely to suffer most from common health conditions due to the lack of resources and the highly urbanized landscape of the lower-income neighborhood. In one axis, we track the demographics of the West End, while in the other, we depict development in the city of Providence from the site to the center of Water Place. In the third dimension, the prevalence of urbanization-related health outcomes exists as the connection between the axes of development, race, and time. The diseases represented are: plague, cholera, syphilis, smallpox, tuberculosis, COVID-19, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, cancer.

Toshiko Mori THREAD

Analytical Drawings

RISD - Architectural Analysis Spring 2021