Urban Planning Portfolio - Fall 2022

653 Parkland Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45244 +1(513)787-9681 keithja@mail.uc.edu

University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

Anticipated Graduation: May 2024

Bachelor of Urban Planning / GPA: 3.95

Dean’s List (2019-2022)

APA Ohio Student Member Cincinnatus Scholar

Member of the UC Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Participating in the Professional Practice Program, alternating semesters of classroom study with work in the field of planning.

West Clermont High School, Batavia, OH

August 2015 - May 2019

Honors Diploma / GPA: 4.46 / Rank: 9

AECOM, Los Angeles, CA

May 2022 - July 2022

• Served as a project intern for the Transportation/Rail department involved in multiple local and regional transit projects.

• Assisted in creation of the Draft Environmental Impact Report for LA Metro Eastside Transit Corridor Phase Two involving a 4.6 mile possible expansion of an existing light rail line through East Los Angeles with the proposed terminus in the City of Whittier.

• Assisted in creation of AzDOT Electric Fleet Conversion Study involving research of participating programs, incentives and existing and future conditions report.

• Assisted in the creation of the Draft Environmental Impact Report for LA Aerial Rapid Transit involving the creation of a 1.1 mile, zero-emission aerial gondola from Los Angeles Union Station to Dodger Stadium.

McBride Dale Clarion, Fairfax, OH

August 2021 - December 2021

• Served as an assistant to the private sector development team.

• Consulted clients through the entitlements phase of development, including receiving governmental approvals for projects and attending meetings.

• Responsible for researching project background including but not limited to evaluating current zoning regulations, necessary variance proceedings, and making submittals for clients.

Union Township Planning and Zoning, Cincinnati, OH

June 2020 - August 2021

• Created the search database for the department used to archive zoning documents and project plans.

• Executed administrative tasks including accepting/filing zoning per mits and executing planning and zoning review for new projects.

• Communicated with community about questions/concerns pertaining to property limitations and project insight.

• Assisted in legal proceedings for project variances and township trustee meetings.

UC Army ROTC Program

Participating in the Army ROTC program involving enrollment in Military Science courses, Field Training Exercises, and Physical Fitness tests to earn an officer commission in the US Army upon graduation.

DAAP Tribunal Member

Member of the college’s student government group, acting as liason to the university’s main student governemnt. Served as Senate representative Spring 2022.

Great Parks of Hamilton County

Active volunteer at park events aimed at improving the ecology and preserving public lands of Hamilton County as well as improving guest experience.

Microsoft Office

Illustrator

InDesign Photoshop Acrobat

AutoCAD 2020

Sketchup/V-Ray

ArcGIS Online ArcGIS/ArcMap

Los Angeles

A City on the Move

My most recent co-op was spent with AECOM in their Los Angeles, CA office, working with the Transportation Department on Transportation Planning projects largely encompassed within the City and County of Los Angeles.

This opportunity presented me with the ability to work in a sector of planning had little professional experience in, work with a large company known for its groundbreaking projects worldwide, and the chance to work in a global city like Los Angeles.

Many of my projects involved working with Los Angeles Metro, who serves a population of more than 10 million in a service area over 1,400 square miles. Metro is what makes Los Angeles a “City on the Move”, with funding from Measure M, so many informative projects have taken off in Los Angeles and will continue for the next 30-40 years.

Throughout this spread, I’ve given a few projects that had the opportunity to work on, along with their profile and my contributions.

Crenshaw Northern Extension

Project Description:

The Crenshaw Northern Extension would be a northern continuation of the Crenshaw/LAX light rail line, traveling entirely sub-grade, to the base of the Hollywood Hills at Hollywood/Highland. The project currently has three alignments proposed all of which would connect to multiple existing and proposed rail and bus lines, including the E-Line (Expo), B-Line (Red), and the D-Line (Purple).

Image sourced from LA Metro

Individual Contribution:

My support for the project included the research and creation of site plans for the proposed stations along the three alignments of the Crenshaw Northern Extension. This involved visual analysis and code research to determine the uses, dimensions, ownership, and history of the properties directly adjacent and impacted by station construction.

Project Description:

The LA Aerial Rapid Transit system would connect Los Angeles Union Station to the Dodger Stadium property via an aerial gondola system, reducing traffic during game times primarily and providing another mobility option for fans and residents of the neighborhoods surrounding it. The project is quoted to provide a 6 to 7 minute one way trip and be able to carry a maximum of 5,500 passengers an hour.

Individual Contribution:

My support for the project included the reviewing an revising the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) as required by CEQA. I was tasked with reviewing and retrieving all supportive documents for the technical chapters of the DEIR and making the necessary substitutions for supportive documents.

Eastside Transit Corridor: Phase 2

Project Description:

Metro plans to create an eastward extension of the L-Line (Gold) from its current terminus with three alternative options, the furthest option would take the line 4.6 miles to the City of Whittier. The full extension would serve the cities of Commerce, Montebello, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, Whittier and the unincorporated area of East LA and Los Nietos-Whittier.

Individual Contribution:

My support for the project included the co-creation of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) as required by CEQA. I was tasked with reviewing and editing all technical chapters of the DEIR for their publication.

Image sourced from LA Metro

Image sourced from LA Metro

District Planning

Mill Creek Valley

Our goal was to create greater access to the Mill Creek and around the Mill Creek within our focus district. The vision was to create a destination and a point of connection between the neighborhood it intersects by means of mobility via the creation of a greenway and blueway system. This system will provide visitors with access to a waterway, nature, ecology, and passive/ active recreation.

Mill Creek

Re-imaging an Urban Waterway

The Mill Creek is a lesser known waterway of the greater Cincinnati area due to its lack of access causing underutilization. Being used for years as an industrial runoff outlet and becoming known as one of the worse polluted waterways in the country, the Mill Creek has regained attention for its restoration efforts.

Today, the Mill Creek is in need of a regional plan to redevelop the area for the people and businesses that surround it, a plan to create greater access and utilization of Cincinnati’s urban waterway.

Framework

The Creek as a Means of Transportation

Early settlements used the creek for movement of goods and people, today railroads, highways and trails line the creek’s banks.

Vision for the Mill Creek

The Creek as an Industrial Catalyst

With the rise of Industrialization, the creek gave life and power to many emerging businesses in the City. This use would eventually turn to overuse though and lead to many problems the creek has faced.

Mill Creek Greenway Implementation Analysis

Strengths

The Creek as a Barrier

Recent years the Creek has created a barrier for the communities it lines, much of its natural features stripped and channelized for efficiency purposes.

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Complete the Trail

One large overarching objective the group took focus on was the completion of an existing Mill Creek Bike Path. The goal became not only to finish the trail throughout the district, but to improve its current condition, create a better environment for users, and to extend its boundaries along the banks of the Creek and add in new green infrastructure to turn this pathway into the Mill Creek Greenway. Many of the improvements needed to create change and better access in the district have been noted on the illustrative plan to the right.

Illustrative Plan Strategies for Change

To achieve our goals and objectives set forth at the beginning of the planning process, we devised a series of strategies for change. These physical changes to the district are categorized by their cost, installation timeline, longevity of the project and the disruption is would cause to current access and mobility.

Impact

Concept Plan

Implementation

We decided on five broad implementation strategies for creating better access to the Mill Creek. Due to collaboration constraints and feedback, the implementation strategies will become more focused as the planning process commences.

Graphic created Nicholas Heaton

Concept Plan Impact

Graphic created Brandon Williams

Site Planning

English Woods

Tasked with developing a site in a West Side neighborhood of Cincinnati, almost entirely vacant and publicly owned. Goal was to create a more sustainable and diverse mix of land uses to support the redeveloping area.

English Woods

The neighborhood of English Woods began as a temporary housing project of the 1940s, its temporary status however grew into a permanent settlement. In recent years, it has been subject to demolition due to neglect and is now looking for a plan for the future that will provide sustainable living for the Mill Creek Community.

1 of 52 Cincinnati Neighborhoods

Only two main entryways with one through street

Smallest Neighborhood by population and land

Population of 402 in 2010 Census

Overall Goals 1 2 3 Housing Diversity Connectivity Address Community Issues

An overarching goal from the beginning of the analysis was to fix the lack of housing and housing diversity in the area.

With only one through street in the neighborhood, improving how cars and pedestrians would move was a large focus in this analysis.

The community surrounding English Woods faces many problems such as lack of basic needs and resources, so the new neighborhood needed to serve more than just its residents.

Past Development Pattern

Large Tree Canopy

Sutter View: most recent housing project; renovations in 2020

A temporary community of the past, pushing for a promising plan in the future

Marquette Manor: senior housing project

A complete community

What resulted from much research, design and revision was a new English Woods made for the community. An emphasis on resources and diversified land uses help make the English Woods more adaptable and created an asset for the community. The West Side of Cincinnati has gone through many changes, the changes made for English Woods hope to rebuild a lost community and help existing residents find stable housing. Many project housing developments create cold spaces, this development offers a new look at how large housing developments can intertwine with the community and become a place residents want to live, not forced to live.

High Density Commercial District

English Woods Commercial District may just be it’s most unique and ambitious aspect. Unlike much of its surroundings, this high density commercial district was made to accommodate for the needs that this isolated site has while also providing community wide assets. Offering a large amount of 1, 2, & 3 bedroom apartments, ground level retail, parking garages, a grocery store, dedicated bus station and a community center. Wide sidewalks and 4 lanes of road allow for all the circulation of traffic that will eventually fill this vibrant neighborhood center.

Street

Total Units

The multi-family/single-family residential district focused on here was designed to be dense and promote walking through the neighborhood not driving past it. The roadway network in this area is largely meant to limit driving unless necessary. Parking has been concealed as much as possible to limits the large setbacks that they usually require. The area was meant to resemble development of the past, in traditional garden cities.

Single Family Multi Family 36 122

Assisted Living/Senior Living

The proximity of assisted living to the senior landominiums was no coincidence but rather a thought out way to allow access for emergency services to the independent living if necessary. The large assisted living complex allows for 32 units of assisted living, an on site parking garage and a green roof implemented for aesthetics and to reduce cooling needs. This space is truly unique not only to the site but to the surrounding area as a dedicated space for Cincinnati’s aging residents.

Assisted Independent 80 32

North View of Single/Multi-Family Street

Tools: Illustrator, Photoshop

Senior Living Landominiums Tools: Illustrator, Photoshop

Residential Streetscape showing Single-Family and Multi-Family units

Relation of Multi-Family and Single-Family units to Commercial District

Senior Landominiums along tree lined median Looking North to Assisted Living Center and nearby Senior Living

Neighborhood Study Camp Washington

In collaboration with another planning student, we conducted a semester long study into the Mill Creek neighborhood of Camp Washington. We analyzed the neighborhood to learn about the past of the, its rise to prominence, its eventual decline, the present day state, and provided a number of ways to help improve its current state.

Inset Map: Camp Washington Tools: ArcMap, CAGIS2015

Neighborhood Analysis

To better understand the current state of Camp Washington, it was essential to us to create visualizations of the current capacity for change (building footprint map), how the neighborhood was traversed (linkages map), and how we felt these two combined to create the current state of the neighborhood and what areas were unique (imageability map).

Linkages

Tools: ArcMap, CAGIS2015

Building Inventory

Tools: ArcMap, CAGIS2015

Imageability

Tools: Illustrator, Pen/Pencil

Land Use

Tools: ArcMap, CAGIS2015

Neighborhood Surveying

Colerain Avenue Section

Mixed Use/Residential

Camp Washington’s industrial heritage and heavy population density at one time created a mixed-use environment within much of the neighborhood. With lack of space due to large industrial buildings many homes and businesses crowded along the other valuable pieces of land. Analyzing the mixed use typology of the neighborhood helped us understand what the neighborhood’s capacity for redevelopment would be.

Henshaw Avenue Section

Contact

Mobile: +1(513)787-9681 E-Mail: keithja@mail.uc.edu

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jason-keith-734394198