The Succession of Place: Returning to Resilience in Cairo, Illinois by Lauren Fraley

THE SUCCESSION OF PLACE RETURNING TO RESILIENCE IN CAIRO, ILLINOIS Lauren N. Fraley | Master of Urban Design

The Succession of Place: Returning to Resilience in Cairo, Illinois Lauren N. Fraley

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Urban Design in Urban Design at The Savannah College of Art and Design ÂŠ May 2013, Lauren Nicole Fraley

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The Succession of Place: Returning to Resilience in Cairo, Illinois

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Architecture Department in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Urban Design in Urban Design Savannah College of Art and Design

Lauren N. Fraley Savannah, GA May 2013

LIST OF FIGURES [ figure by author unless otherwise noted. ] PREFACE: P.1 - Cairo, Illinois. Drawn by John Casper Wild. From Wild, The Valley of the Mississippi Illustrated in a Series of Views, 1841. Lithograph, 5 3/4 x 9 1/8 in. St. Louis Mercantile Library Association. 05 P.2 - View of Commercial Avenue from 8th Street. March 2013. 06 INTRODUCTION: 0.1 - Harold N. Fisk, 1944. Map of ancient courses of the Mississippi River, Cape Girardeau, MO - Donaldsonville, LA. Plate 22-10. 07 THE SUCCESSION OF PLACE: 1.1 - Place perception across territorial scales. 13 1.2 - Successional Praxis in Urban Design -- as applied to Cairo Ill. 16 PROCESSES OF DISTURBANCE: 2.1 - examples of cities and disturbance events over history. 18 2.2 - (all five): images of Detroit: the poster child for shrinking cities. These images shed light into the severe state of decline in the city. Image credit: Patrick Cooley, October 2012. 19-20 2.3 - (above left): aerial image of Villa Epecuén (Google Earth, 2011). (above top to bottom): detailed view of streets, homes and businesses; staircase to nowhere amidst the salt-encrusted ruins of an abandoned home; rusted clawfoot tub; flood-waters reveal a rusted vehicle. image credit: Juan Mabromata AFP Getty Images, 2011. 21-22 2.4 - Villa Epecuén from the air today. Image credit: Juan Mabromata AFP Getty Images, 2011. 22 CAIRO, ILLINOIS: A DYING CITY: 3.1 - Cairo, Ill. Proposed plan, 1818. Reproduced in Lansdon, John M. A History of the City of Cairo, Illinois. Chicago: R.R. Donnellet & Sons Company, 1910. 26 3.2 - Cairo, Ill. Proposed plan by Strickland and Taylor, c. 1838. Reproduced in Lansdon, 1910. 27 3.3 - Cairo, Illinois 1867. Drawn by Albert Ruger. Printed by Chicago Lithographing Co. Lithograph, 19 3/ 4 x 28 1/ 4 in. (50.2 x 71.8 em). Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress. 28 3.4 - Proposed plan 1856. Ohio River between Mound City and Cairo. Drawn by F. H. Gerdes, 1864. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress. 29 3.5 - Cairo, Illinois, June 1861 Bird’s Eye View. Engraving. Artist unknown. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, June 8, 1861, p. 60-61. 29-30 3.6 - Cairo, Illinois, flood, showing buildings near the flood waters, 1913. Image taken by Chicago Daily News photographer. Photo, print, and drawing collection, Library of Congress. 31 3.7 - Piling sandbags against the floodwall during the height of the flood, 1937. Photograph by Russell Lee. Photo, print, and drawing collection, Library of Congress. 31 3.8 - Cairo Floodwall looking into the city, taken March 2013. 32 3.9 - The Cairo Gate, taken March 2013. 32 3.10 - Aerial of aftermath of the 2011 flood at Cairo, showing the city as an island. Image retrieved from Google Earth, October 2012. 32 3.11 - section studies of Cairo of what would have been inundated if not for the levee system. 33 3.12 - hydrology and flooding map, highlighting inundated land from the 2011 flood. 34 3.13 - Flood Frequency graph. 35-36 3.14 - residential dwelling sitting in a pond of seep-water, March 2013. 35 3.15 - seepage causes large sinkholes such as this one, located in the middle of Commercial Avenue. The hole has been there long enough for plants to grow up in it. image taken March 2013. 36 3.16 - Civil War Harper’s Weekly, June 1861. 38

LIST OF FIGURES

3.17 - Cairo Public Library, taken March 2013. 39 3.18 - The public swimming pool has been changed into a "private pool" in order to remain segregated, 1963-64. Photograph by Danny Lyon. Photo, print, and drawing collection, Library of Congress. 40 3.19 - Analysis of a shrunken economy showing vacancy and abandonment. 41 3.20 - Analysis of racial distribution today with vacant lot overlay. 43 3.21 - Analysis of poverty rate with vacant lot overlay. 44 3.22 - Analysis of unemployment with vacant lot overlay. 45 3.23 - Population graph of Cairo, Illinois. Image taken March, 2013. 46 3.24 - Existing conditions in Cairo, Illinois. March, 2013. 47-48 PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO: 4.1 - Existing conditions on 8th Street, showing empty storefronts, vandalism, and abandonment. Image taken March 2013. 50 4.2 - Remnant of tile foundation and entrance to a demolished building on 8th Street, taken March 2013. 50 4.3 - Diagram of dismantle + remediate process of a planned retreat. 51 4.4 - Dismantle + remediate process over time on 8th Street. 51-52 4.5 - Contaminated land. Source EPA, 2013. 53-54 4.6 - Phytoremediation plant selection (a sample), all of which are native to the region. Source Illinois Native Plants Society, 2013. 55 4.7 - Phytoremediation process of detoxing the soil at various depths. 56 4.8 - step-by-step breakdown of the dismantle process. 57-58 4.9 - Phase 0 Plan and Section Study. 59-60 4.10 - Phase 1 Plan and Section Study. 61-62 4.11 - Phase 2 Plan and Section Study. 63-64 4.12 - Phase 3 Plan and Section Study. 65-66 4.13 - Phase 4 Plan and Section Study. 67-68 4.14 - Phase 5 Plan and Section Study. 69-70 4.15 - Before shows existing conditions of vacancy and devaluation on “Millionaire’s Row.” After shows phytoremediation post-demolition. 71-72 4.16 - Before shows existing conditions of fire and abandonment in Freedmen’s District. After shows the ruins and remnants amidst a floodplain forest. 73-74 PART II: MEMORIALIZING PLACE: 5.1 - Memorial Mound and “time capsule” for Cairo, successional burial of a dying city. 75-76 5.2 - generational burial mound: familial succession. 77 5.3 - Cairo’s burial mound: urban succession. 78 5.4 - earthworks burial mound design parameters. 79 5.5 - conceptual gesture-sketches of the mounds. 80 5.6 - cut and fill operations, plan, section cuts, calculations, and wire gabion stacking diagram. 81-82 5.7 - memorial mound plan evolution from existing to fully inundated with section-elevation below. 83-84 5.8 - earthworks as a way of reintegrating history, culture, and natural systems to connect with the river and region. 85-86 5.9 - earthworks mounds layering over time 86 PART III: RETURN TO RESILIENCE: 6.1 - Masterplan of “returning to resilience.” 88 6.2 - floodplain forest showing mound + wetlands in background. 89-90 6.3 - a place of refuge during inundation. 91-92 CONCLUSION + REFLECTION 7.1 - initial concept to revive the city of Cairo (vignette of 8th street) as a way to “plan for resilience.” 93 7.2 - Mississippi meanders showing the wild, shifting nature of the river system. 94 7.3 - Final board. 97-98 7.3 - final thesis exhibit with accordion structure beneath showing phasing plans and sections. 99-100

ABSTRACT

THE SUCCESSION OF PLACE: RETURNING TO RESILIENCE IN CAIRO, ILLINOIS Lauren N. Fraley | May 2013 Throughout history and across ecologies, rivers have played a substantial role in the process of urban planning and settlement. Rivers contribute as a life source, natural highway, defense mechanism, and in recent centuries as the right-hand to industrial manufacturing. The success or decline of river-cities is often subsequent to the ability to adapt temporally, as well as the balance and distribution of uses across the regional landscape. As deindustrialization and place detachment is becoming a recurring issue in river-cities, urban design has a responsibility to unfold the layers of ecology, culture, and commerce, which together form a palimpsest of meaning and change over time, to respond with a long-term, adaptable plan for more resilient river-city relationships. Analyzing the succession of place in river-city settings through the lens of regionalism and ownership, along with the ecological fluctuation and shifting landscape of river systems, forms the premise of this urban design concept, which specifically looks at the city of Cairo, Illinois, which sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Historically Cairo served as a crucial industrial and transportation hinge for the river valley. Over the past century, the city has experienced deindustrialization as well as numerous flooding events, resulting in job loss, population decline, and social as well as physical decay. Recognizing the current state of decline as an opportunity to initiate succession through a series of phases becomes part one of this exploration: dismantle infrastructure. Simultaneously, processes of bioremediation will be deployed as a way to detox the city as it returns to its baseline landscape, a natural floodplain. Part two is the idea of instilling memory through an earthworks burial mound for the city.In the process ofdismantling the city, materials will be collected to form the salvage-fill for the earthworks, becoming cultural artifacts and physical reminders of place. From there, this thesis will explore the concept of rebirth as a means of returning to and reclaiming the land as shifting river landscape.

PREFACE At length, upon the morning of the third day we arrived at a spot so much more desolate than any we had yet beheld that the forlornest places we had passed were, in comparison with it, full of interest. At the junction of the two rivers … lies a breeding place of fever, ague, and death; vaunted in England as a mine of golden hope and speculated in on the faith of monstrous representations, to many people’s ruin. A dismal swamp on which half the built houses rot away… teeming with rank, unwholesome vegetation in whose baleful shade the wretched wanderers who are tempted thither droop and die and lay their bones; the hateful Mississippi circling and eddying before it, and turning off on its southern course, a slimy monster, hideous to behold, a hotbed of disease, an ugly sepulcher, a grave uncheered by any promise; a place without a single quality in earth or air or water to commend it; such is the dismal Cairo! Charles Dickens, American Notes, 1843 Although the words of Charles Dickens were written over a century and a half ago, there is something to be said for their similar application to the present day condition of the city between the two rivers. Cairo, Illinois has never had a simple nor straight path toward growth and success. After two attempts to build the city, the idyllic vision of building on such a prime geographic location – at the confluence on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers; a gateway between North and South, East and West – finally succeeded, but not without a significant amount of economic and environmental problems. In Cairo’s early years, first priority was given to the construction of levees to tame the unruly floodwaters that filled the river valley annually. Post-levee construction provided the city with the ability to escape flooding and exist in a vulnerable landscape, essentially becoming an island during major flood events. The threat of inundation was not the only cause for concern for the small Illinois town, as it became a destination for African Americans post-

figure P.1: Cairo, Illinois in 1841.

PREFACE

figure P.2: Cairo, Illinois in 2013.

slavery in the late 1800s, bolstering the population while simultaneously feeding local white supremacy movements that linger still to this day. The population reached its peak in the 1920s at just under 20,000 inhabitants, when Cairo was in its full glory as a crossroads for river and rail transport. As manufacturing and transportation methods advanced, reliance on the river decreased and the city began its slow descent, both socially and economically. In the late 1960s Cairo reached its boiling point as racial tension over desegregation came to the forefront across the nation, resulting in one of the longest boycotts (over 300 days), violent outbreaks, and white flight. Rather than accepting equal rights and desegregation, the white population fled to the suburbs, taking their jobs and businesses with them and leaving Cairo in a state of unemployment and abandonment. Today, Cairo is a modern day American ghost town. Hosting 2,800 inhabitants, a population just above what it was in 1860, one can spend the day there and see less than a dozen faces. Every block in town has at least one vacant lot or abandoned building, and what used to be the vibrant commercial avenue (Eighth Street), there are empty storefronts, broken glass, vandalism, and fragmented remains of tile and concrete foundations of the buildings that used to exist. Cairo is not a shrinking city, it is a city that has already shrunken. This thesis explores the issue of community disinvestment and urban failure through analyzing the various forces of disturbance which have inhibited growth in deindustrialized river cities, focusing on Cairo, Illinois to propose a planned and orderly retreat through dismantling infrastructure, while simultaneously remediating the land to return to its baseline landscape: a natural floodplain. Using the rubble from demolition, a large-scale earthworks will be constructed as a burial mound and memorial for the city, telling a story of a community that was saved from collapse.

INTRODUCTION Just as a sculptor kneads, molds, and shapes a ball of clay, rivers carve ever-changing patterns, or mosaics into the landscape (figure 0.1). The seasonality of the river’s flow results in a cycle of sedimentation and attrition. Every now and then, when the river swells beyond its bounds, it sweeps across the landscape in a temperamental manner, taking nearly everything with it and losing form altogether, just as an artist may drastically change their design motive or vision.

Whited et. al. “Climate, Hydrologic, Disturbance, and Succession: Drivers of Floodplain Pattern.” Ecology 88.4 (2007): 940-953.

Rivers have the uncanny ability to serve both as the foundation for settlement and civilization as well as the sole detriment of a city in its state of transition and pattern of disturbance. Historically, cities were formed along rivers to take advantage of them as natural irrigation system for agricultural production. Not long after, man realized the river’s potential as a natural highway enabling merchants to trade their goods across further distances. Politically, rivers became the borders and defense mechanisms for cities as their breadth and flow kept out unwanted visitors and their delineation in the landscape helped define the edge of a place. The river’s flow was harnessed as a source of energy in mills and factories early on, and with the rise of the industrial revolution, the river was then exploited as a cheap mean to commercial gain. Factories, distribution centers, and major ports were formed along rivers, and with them came the greater need for dams and reservoirs as a way of ensuring the greatest amount of energy, profit, and security would come from the river -- which became both the highway and engine in this new age. It is this process of succession, transition, and adaptation within the river-city paradigm and the inextricably linked, unpredictable, and consequential nature of the seasons (flooding and erosion), that is an emerging issue in the realm of urban design and regional planning. The evolution of industry and transportation has inevitably resulted in deindustrialized and “shrinking” cities along many river edges. Furthermore, the perception of the river’s role in relation to people and

figure 0.1: Mississippi Meander Map by Harold Fisk, 1944.

INTRODUCTION

the city has shifted from viewing the river as a life source to instead identifying it as a commodity and “problem” requiring man’s control. This has resulted in place detachment, inevitably compounding the issue of deindustrialization and shrinking cities, as people are no longer invested or connected to the region and place of river-cities. It is urban design’s responsibility to reveal the layers of ecology, culture, and commerce, which together form a palimpsest of meaning and change over time, to respond with a long-term, adaptable plan for more resilient river-city relationships. Analyzing the succession of place in river-city settings through the lens of regionalism and ownership, along with the ecological fluctuation and shifting landscape of river systems, forms the premise of this urban design concept, focusing on the city of Cairo, Illinois, which is situated at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Historically Cairo served as a crucial industrial and transportation hinge for the river valley. Over the past century, the city has experienced deindustrialization as well as numerous flooding events, resulting in job loss, population decline, and social as well as physical decay. Recognizing the current state of decline as an opportunity to initiate succession through a series of phases becomes part one of this exploration: dismantle infrastructure. Simultaneously, processes of bioremediation will be deployed as a way to detox the city as it returns to its baseline landscape, a natural floodplain. Part two is the idea of instilling memory through an earthworks burial mound for the city.In the process ofdismantling the city, materials will be collected to form the salvage-fill for the earthworks, becoming cultural artifacts and physical reminders of place. From there, this thesis will explore the concept of rebirth as a means of returning to and reclaiming the land as shifting river landscape.

THE SUCCESSION OF PLACE Prior to urban civilization human beings pursued nomadic lifestyles, shifting locations as a way to adapt to climate and the ability to find sustenance in order to survive. Living with the land and adjusting to its seasonal patterns was a way of life. There were no cities or towns, no paved roads, and permanent dwellings were based on environmental and climactic factors. Contemporary notions of place were instead rooted in a temporal or even spiritual way of life. Rather than locating oneself to a particular place, there was a greater understanding of the broader region. This is especially true in the traditional Aboriginal culture of Australia, which is the the longest continuous cultures in the world. Australian anthropologist Peter Sutton summarized the Aboriginal world view: “the Ancestral Beings, or Dreamings, who carved forms out of the formless world and molded the shapes of the creeks and desert sand hills and rainforests also brought human sociality and culture. The land is already a narrative – an artifact of intelligence – before people represent it.” Aborigines see themselves when they see the landscape and the region. The land they inhabit inspires their every breath and movement, for them it is a source of identity. Rather than seeing a rock or river as a geographic feature, they believed their ancestors created those landforms and that by walking the same landscape of their ancestors they became deeply interwoven with one another and the land itself. Contrary to the traditional nomadic lifestyle of the Aborigine is the idea of land ownership. In cultural terms, they did indeed “own” the land, though not in the sense of physical or economic possession. Instead, their regional attachment and spiritual connection with the landscape formed their sense of ownership. For them the land was not owned by any particular person, rather it was meant to be experienced by all. All of this changed with the introduction of white settlers in the late eighteenth century when they came to build permanent cities, towns, and homesteads in the regional and spiritual landscape of the Aborigine.

Sutton, Peter. “Dreamings.” Dreamings: the Art of Aboriginal Australia. ed. Peter Sutton. New York: G. Braziller in association with Asia Society Galleries, 1998. Print.

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The displacement of Aboriginal people from their homelands, the territories they were historically, experientially, and spiritually intertwined, caused a much deeper wound than the new settlers could ever have anticipated. In an age where cities in their physical, material sense of space are fixed or permanent and modern society literally floats between them without ever becoming engaged or attached to any particular region, it is critical for urban designers to reexamine cities as adaptive, successional organisms which can overcome and adjust to the various economic, ecological, or cultural obstacles of the present day while inspiring cultural ownership and a “sense of place.” The “succession of place” is a multidimensional concept derived from ecological and sociological definitions of succession and combines cultural geography with urban design and planning philosophies of place and regionalism.

Horn, Henry S. “The Ecology of Secondary Succession.” Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 5 (1974): 26.

Park, Robert E. “Succession, an Ecological Concept.” American Sociological Review 1.2 (1936): 178.

Mukerjee, Radhakamal. “The Concepts of Distribution and Succession in Social Ecology.” Social Forces 11.1 (1932): 1-7.

DEFINING SUCCESSION Most often, succession is paired with the word ecology to describe the re-colonization of a landscape community after a disturbance event, such as a fire or flood. Biologist and Professor Henry Horn describes succession as the “development of a community through time,” and its stability is dependent on a number of variables such as production, diversity, efficiency, and biomass. Succession can also be defined as the cultural organization and distribution through shifting populations. Urban sociologist Robert E. Park writes that: Studies of succession are concerned not only with the form which change takes but even more with the circumstances and events which precede, accompany, and follow change – in short, with its natural history. The study of succession involves, it seems, not merely the life-cycle of individual types of institution and society, but eventually a study of processes by which new types of society are incubated and, eventually, by which a new social order emerges from the lap of the old. Considered to be one of the most influential figures in American Sociology, Park is most noted for coining the term “human ecology,” which is a fusion of concepts related to succession, equilibrium, and symbiosis. His interest in the processes and influential factors of change within the realm of human communities and population distribution brings a unique angle to sociological succession on a regional scale. Other similarities between the ecological derivative and cultural application of succession can be seen in Indian sociologist and philosopher Radhakamal Mukerjee’s writings. In one of his articles he discusses the shifting nature of the regional landscape, which is “like an organism, plastic, growing, moving with its interdependent parts;” this

regional succession requires man to act in harmony with nature in order to achieve and sustain balance. He goes on to state: The culture of a human community which is woven within the framework of the ecological area there is found a great complexity of inter-relations among the social, economic, and other institutions and traditions, establishing some kind of equilibrium for the whole community of culture, which progresses in finer and finer patterns of correlation and solidarity. Mukerjee recognizes that the state of balance or equilibrium is always shifting as it relies on the progression of culture which is inextricably linked to the ever-changing and evolving state of ecology. The idea of sustaining balance or achieving equilibrium is a frequently debated issue among ecologists when alluding to succession. The premise of a “balance in nature” is a Western idea that dates back to antiquity and only in recent centuries have scientists started to take a critical look at this utopian notion. Often referred to as “dynamic equilibrium” as an attempt to assign it more flexibility, it refers to a state of balance or stability within ecological communities. One critique of this concept is on its general, universal nature, or “blanket” approach to determining a state of stability. Whether discussing ecology, sociology, or urban design it is becoming increasingly pertinent that what works for one location or community will not necessarily work for another – in other words, it must be context specific, and adjusted for the variables of a particular place. Another criticism of the equilibrium concept is its lack of definition of boundary, subject, and scale. It is impossible to measure stability between a very small community with limited range, and that of a significantly larger community with a broad range. Similarly in urban design, it is crucial to be sensitive to scale and scope when conducting precedent studies for a particular study area. Converse to the state of balance or equilibrium, is that of disturbance. A disturbance event can be brought on by cultural actions, natural forces, or a combination of both. Disturbances are the initiators of succession, without them there would be no progression, growth, or variability within culture or place. Disturbances are difficult, if not impossible to predict. Mukerjee briefly discusses his projection of the consequences of disturbance as a result of man’s actions resonated through nature, saying that “the unconscious or willful disregard of regional balance may ultimately lead both man and his habitat to common doom.” While his statement may seem extreme, it makes clear the importance of regionalism and sensitivity to place for the continuation of society and culture. Ecologists Jiang and Patel explore the relationship between disturbance, community assembly, and the historical contingency

DeAngelis, D. L., and Waterhouse, J. C. “Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium Concepts in Ecological Models.” Ecological Monographs 57.1 (1987): 1-21.

Mukerjee, Radhakamal. “The Concepts of Distribution and Succession in Social Ecology.” Social Forces 11.1 (1932): 1-7.

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Jiang, Lin and Patel, Shivani N. “Community Assembly in the Presence of Disturbance: A Microcosm Experiment.” Ecology 89.7 (2008): 1931-40.

of community structure, suggesting that the frequency and extent of disturbance across time and scale hinders diversity within communities, resulting in neutral communities rather than niche-based assemblage. Although their article is strictly in ecological terms, there are many similar threads between the biological concept of community and that of a cultural community. Building upon these ecological concepts enters the notion of resilience, which was introduced to describe systems or communities in dynamic equilibrium, by defining it as the amount of disturbance the system or community can absorb without changing basic function and structure. Since there are few landscapes that have not been influenced directly by man in present day, it is important to note that a significant property of resilient ecosystem theory is its adaptive capacity: the ability of a system or community to remain relatively stable in a changing domain or landscape. One method for achieving ecological resilience is through an integrated and multidisciplinary approach to resource management, also called “adaptive management.” This involves an understanding that surprises are inevitable – that there is and always will be variability and uncertainty in ecosystems – and planning for flexibility and constant modification and adaptation through developing and testing various hypothesis or scenarios. Also called “active learning,” the basic premise of adaptive management can be applied across a range of landscape mediums and scales, from the wilderness to the city, and from the region to the block. Ecologist Lance Gunderson writes:

Gunderson, Lance H. “Ecological Resilience – In Theory and Application.” Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 31 (2000): 426.

Ibid, p.428.

Ryden, Kent C. Mapping the Invisible Landscape: Folklore, Writing, and the Sense of Place. Iowa City: Iowa University Press, 1993.

Resilience within a system is generated by destroying and renewing systems at smaller, faster scales. Ecological resilience is reestablished by the processes that contribute to system ‘memory’ of those involved in regeneration and renewal that connect that system’s present to its past and to its neighbors. Gunderson concludes by drawing a comparison between ecological and social resilience, in that they similarly require foresight, a diverse array of processes, skills, and mechanisms, and a willingness to learn and adapt to the ebb and flow of unpredictable change. It is critical to understand concepts of resilience and succession when defining and analyzing different scales of place, especially between the tangible and fixed (urban infrastructure) and the intangible (memory and culture). DEFINING PLACE Place is not permanent; it is fluid, ever-changing, and in a constant state of transition. Place is the juxtaposition of culture and ecology in both time and space. There is a distinct difference between place and space. Space is an abstract and undifferentiated “blank slate” waiting to be assigned value, whereas place is three-dimensional, sensual,

figure 1.1: place perception across territorial scales.

and specific to location and context. Sociologist E. V. Walter, author of Placeways: A Theory of the Human Environment describes place as something which is ”seen, heard, smelled, imagined, loved, hated, feared, revered, enjoyed, or avoided.” The feeling of place is registered within one’s muscles and bones as it fuses both history and location. When walking up the hill you climbed as a child, your muscle-memory kicks in, transporting you back to that time when climbing the hill felt like a small feat and left your legs aching. Man’s ability to tactically store memories contributes greatly to connecting culturally and personally to place. Yi Fu Tuan, geographer and philosopher on the place/space paradox, defines place as a “center of meaning constructed by experience … experience which conducts place at different scales.” Tuan goes on to describe how space becomes place as we ascribe value, interact, and get to know it better. As man is a territorial animal, the spatial and phenomenological memory associated with territory across different scales enforces regionalism and sense of place (figure 1.1). Kevin Lynch writes that these territories can range from: The immediate bubble of personal space, through the home ground and the home range, to the domains of the largest social groups. Sensory factors interact with transport facilities and social norms, and so parts of a region are perceived as accessible or barred, open or closed, free or controlled. As no two people share the same experiences, sense of place is therefore perceived and constructed as a series of overlapping boundaries that are constantly shifting and evolving between individuals, cultures, and geographies. Within this territorial and temporal concept of place perception is embedded a sense of ownership that is associated with pride, belonging, and/or community involvement. Unlike economic/property ownership, which is based on monetary and formal documentation, cultural

Tuan, Yi Fu. Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1977.

Lynch, Kevin. Managing the Sense of a Region. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1976.

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Leopold, Aldo. A Sand County Almanac: With Essays on Conservation. New York: Oxford University Press, 1949.

ownership is based on investment in local and regional heritage, the natural landscape, and memories and experiences of living-in-place. This sentimental form of ownership has become secondary in today’s society, where people instead are focused on land as a commodity to be bought and sold. Aldo Leopold addresses this in his introduction to The Sand County Almanac: “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see the land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect… That land yields a cultural harvest is a fact long known, but latterly often forgotten.” Ownership can take on many forms, and is continually experiencing processes of succession as it passes between generations, cultural interests, and the constantly evolving trends of contemporary society. It is directly linked to concepts of social succession – the movement and distribution of human population systems. As people move from place to place, there is an “uprooting” disturbance that occurs within individuals and cultures, making it increasingly difficult to sustain a sense of pride and ownership. SUCCESSIONAL PRAXIS IN URBAN DESIGN Spatially and geographically, cities are fixed. Once a city is built in a particular location, such as along a river edge, it is impractical and nearly impossible to transplant that city in the case of a disturbance. In the event that it should be moved, that city would no longer hold the same identity, even if the same businesses and people were to move with it. Cities are direct translations of regional place, and through their delicate and many times invisible linkages to the natural and cultural environment, they must respond accordingly to the shifting regional landscape. The urban fabric is comprised of a spatially rigid framework of roads, blocks, and built infrastructure, which acts as a landform, only changing in the event of a major disturbance (i.e. urban renewal, largescale redevelopment plans, or by introducing new transportation modes and infrastructure), in the same way that a landform will dramatically change from a landslide, earthquake, or major flooding event. Within this urban framework exists a variety of overlapping, ever-changing “territorial” boundaries ranging from the individual parcel or site, to the neighborhood block and intersection, to the urban core, and extending out into the peripheries of the region. The land uses, population distribution, cultural identity, and natural landscape ”soft infrastructure” within these shifting territories must be able to adapt temporally in order to maintain a dynamic equilibrium across time, space, and place. Dynamic equilibrium is relative, making it difficult to measure across large spans of time and/or distance. Today the world is experiencing a human population never before seen, which is having an adverse effect on natural resources, land use, and cultural distribution. Looking at historic models of urban dynamic equilibrium is no longer feasible in quantitative

terms, though it is critical to understand these historic processes of succession to promote active learning and adaptive management. Gunderson’s theory that resilience is achieved by frequent, small scale cycles of disturbance and succession, it is important to understand that change is unpredictable and inevitable. It is what happens in response to that change (how a place adapts) that determines its longevity and resilience. Often there is an instinctual infrastructural response when recovering from a disturbance: demolishing buildings or constructing levees are two examples. Instead, these processes of recovery should be planned for adaptation and flexibility with transformation and reuse of existing infrastructure in mind. In river cities today, succession is not just a natural, ecological phenomenon, but it also occurs as a result of socio-cultural and economic disturbances as well. Many cities along rivers have in the recent century put all of their coins in one bucket – that “bucket” being industrial manufacturing and shipping. This lack of economic diversity has resulted in a monoculture, making these cities more vulnerable to economic disturbance, recession, disinvestment, and collapse. This has a ripple effect on the city’s population, as people flee elsewhere in search of jobs and financial stability. Moreover, many river cities are finding themselves at a crossroads with flooding and the infrastructure to contain and maintain it. Flooding events are on the rise, and the levees, dams, dikes, and cutoffs built by the Army Corps of Engineers have not been able to keep up or adapt with the rising water levels. The result is costly infrastructural damage and an increased state of fear among residents toward the river. Raising the levees and floodwalls only compounds the issue of river detachment, as they further physically and visually separate people from the river. Succession is a natural process; it’s a sequence, a cycle, and a progression. When a disturbance occurs, whether it is temporary, small-scale, or catastrophic, it sets the process in motion again. Cities are not excluded from the process of succession, in fact, there are even more factors contributing to the cycle than in their rural or natural counterparts. In cities there is a convergence of ecology, culture, economics, human population and demographic distribution, and politics – not to mention the extension of these factors into the broader regional landscape – all of which contribute to the complexity of urban succession. The following chapter explores these factors more in depth as it discusses the various processes of disturbance throughout history in cities around the world, and what it means when cities don’t succeed, but rather disappear altogether.

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force

disturbance

response

NATURAL: flooding and seepage: frequency and vulnerability

occurs seasonally and multiple times annually; pressure on the floodwalls and levees -- problems of maintenance; sand boils and sinkholes form from seepage; inability to replace pumps; city cannot sustain itself to continue existing in this vulnerable geography.

ECONOMIC: instability and the inability to attract and retain viable businesses

idyllic visions and speculations of greatness have led to severe disappointment in Cairo's inability to compete; abandonment occurred slowly at first, often triggered by flood events or economic depressions; post 1960s white flight resulted in significant abandonment, unemployment, and economic collapse.

HUMAN: racism, apathy, and resignation within the community

racial tensions deeply rooted from the early days have resulted in a divided city; socio-economic despair, vacancy, and abandonment in this shrinking city brings resignation and loss of identity; forgotten place with forgotten dreams.

figure: 1.2: Successional Praxis in Urban Design -- as applied to Cairo Illinois.

PROCESSES OF DISTURBANCE The constant cycle of abundance and decline in cities is not just a contemporary occurrence as nearly every city in history has experienced growth or decay to some extent. While some cities have been able to adapt to such fluctuations – through necessary expansion, consolidation, or infrastructural improvements -- others have receded (at different rates) to their death. One very simple, yet critical concept to understand is that just like the shifting river landscape, cities and regions provide a framework for shifting economies and populations. When one city begins to decline and shrink, the jobs and people who work them move elsewhere, causing another city to grow. Friedrich von Borries and Walter Prigge write that "the stasis manifested in shrinkage is seized upon as an occasion to invert as if in a mirror the ideology of progress... stasis means the future will happen elsewhere. What seems right here goes wrong there: growth and shrinkage always go hand in hand in this global zero-sum game." This oversimplified description of urban succession at a regional and global scale doesn’t account for certain externalities or major disturbance events (such as natural disasters, war, epidemics), which cause significant and fatal population loss. In the case of shrinking cities, which has affected much of the Midwestern United States (such as St. Louis, Missouri; Detroit, Michigan; and Cairo, Illinois), decline is not always due to a singular force of “disturbance.” This chapter explores the complex matter of what causes cities to decline and/or die through a number of case study examples, in order to better comprehend the present situation in Cairo, Illinois. The forces which initiate disturbance can be categorized into three basic parts: Human (socio-cultural, religious, health, etc.), Economic (poverty, recession, competition), and Natural (disasters, resource depletion, and climate patterns). Within these three categories there are many contributing factors, some of which occur simultaneously, making

Borries, Friedrich von and Prigge, Walter. Without a Model: Experimental Urbanism. Shrinking Cities: Volume 2 – Interventions. Ed. Oswalt et. al. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2006. Print.

PROCESSES OF DISTURBANCE

force

human

economic

natural

process

examples

war

sack of Rome, Italy (multiple occasions)

+3.4% in last decade

nuclear/chemical

1986 Chernobyl, Ukraine nuclear power plant explosion

abandoned

health/epedemic

1660s Great Plague of London

> 8 million and growing

planned

1957 Adaminaby, Australia

abandoned

racism/elitism

-60% in 60 years

monoculture

Detroit, Michigan (automobile manufacturing city and white flight)

power/governance

Kangbashi, China

90% vacant

deindustrialization

1960s (steel industry) Youngstown, Ohio

-18.3% in last decade

volcano

1995 Montserrat, West Indies

abandoned

earthquake

mid-20th century Craco, Italy

abandoned

flood

1985 Villa Epicuen, Argentina

abandoned (1 resident)

hurricane

2004 Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, Louisiana

-29.1% in last decade

fire

1962 Centralia, Pennsylvania

climate

middle ages, Paestum, Italy

abandoned/in ruins

resource depletion

1000 AD Ephesus, modern-day Turkey

abandoned/in ruins

figure 2.1: examples of cities and disturbance events over history

present population

abandoned (10 residents)

it difficult to find a singular â&#x20AC;&#x153;cause of death.â&#x20AC;? Where certain processes result in rapid loss, such as natural disasters, others occur over a period of time, sometimes years or even decades, such as war, racial conflicts, deindustrialization, and resource depletion. How cities respond to such disturbance events tells a lot about the city and community's resilience, while on the other hand it raises critical questions about the viability of the city to begin with. Figure 2.1 gives a few examples of the various processes of disturbance and the cities or regions which have experienced them throughout history. Selecting one example from each of the three categories of human, economic, and natural forces of disturbance, the following case studies briefly describe the history and process of disturbance, as well as the level of decline for that city, and its ability, or inability, to recover. Choosing examples which directly relate to the issues at hand in Cairo, Illinois of racism and white flight, deindustrialization and lack of proper governance, as well as the recurring issue of flooding and seeage water which have in recent years become a more extreme and frequent threat, these case studies will shed light on the opportunities and constraints in planning Cairo's future.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN Decline after the 1950s The city of Detroit has become the poster child for shrinking cities today as it exhibits some of the most basic elements of urban and economic failure. It became a boom-town in the early 20th century with the automobile manufacturing industry, which exploded through the agglomeration effect of firms and households with all of the prosperity and growth occurring at that time. The city reached its peak in the 1950s, along with all of the other cities in the Rust Belt region, but began its slow decline soon after. The withdrawal of the automotive industry in 1980 had a catastrophic effect on the city, which had become a monoculture of industrial economy, lacking the diversity to fall back on during these hard times. Today Detroit exhibits severe urban decay, abandonment, vacancy, and high crime rates. It has conducted consolidation schemes at the block and neighborhood scale as a way to reduce the cost of providing goods and services, as there were so much vacancy that the benefits could never outweigh the costs. One may ask, where did all of the people go? Detroit has inverted itself, becoming a 9 to 5 commuter city with express highways and vacant lots turned into parking lots, all of which becomes heavily congested at the beginning and end of each work day. As white flight has caused a significant impact on the city image and quality of life, nearly all of the white population with the means to move participated in the mass exodus to the outer ring of suburbs, leaving the poor and unemployed African American population in the downtown area to fend for themselves.

figure 2.2 (all five): images of Detroit: the poster child for shrinking cities. These images shed light into the severe state of decline in the city. Image credit: Patrick Cooley, October 2012.

PROCESSES OF DISTURBANCE

The housing crisis of 2008 left Detroit in a severe financial state as nearly half of the city's taxable parcels were tax delinquent in 2011. A large portion of this tax base was to go toward public good improvements, such as crime prevention, improved educational facilities, lighting, and the demolition of abandoned buildings. In March of 2013 the governor of Michigan declared a financial emergency, appointing an emergency manager to hopefully bring the city out of its extended depression. One of the reasons Detroit is such an interesting model for shrinking cities is due to the various grassroots initiatives which are slowly, but effectively, breathing hope and life back into the city. These bottomup, community-oriented programs, such as guerrilla and community gardening to provide fresh food to marginalized low-income households, are being tested throughout the vacant lots of Detroit as an urban laboratory. Also, initiatives which call attention to decay and abandonment by painting these buildings bright orange so that the city will no longer ignore them. Creative strategies such as these are proving to be prototypical interventions which could be applied to shrinking cities around the world, as a way to activate the community and government simultaneously, and re-empower a once hopeless community.

VILLA EPECUÉN, ARGENTINA 1920s-1985 Established as a tourist village on the shore of Lago Epecuén, located approximately 600 km from Buenos Aires in the 1920s, Villa Epecuén quickly prospered from a quiet mountain village into a successful tourist resort. The salt levels of Lago Epecuén are second only to the Dead Sea and higher than that found in any ocean, and for centuries it has been believed that the lake holds strong healing powers for curing depression, skin diseases, anaemia, and even treating diabetes, thus drawing as many as 25,000 tourists annually from all over South America and other continents. The permanent population in the town reached its peak in the 1970s at around 5,000, with around 300 businesses ranging from hotels and spas to shops and museams. Over the next decade, extended periods of heavy rain continued to fill the lake, until finally in November of 1985 the rising water broke through the earthen dam that encompassed the town, flooding much of it with four feet of water. These levels continued to rise as the lake swelled, and by the early nineties, Villa Epecuén was consumed by over 30 feet of water. Rather than draining the lake or even rebuilding the town, residents abandoned their homes and businesses, leaving many things behind to be covered by the rising water levels. Over 25 years later, in 2009 the climate reversed and the Lake receded, revealing a modern day Atlantis. What has since emerged of the city is caked in white layers of crusted salt, adding to the eerie atmosphere of this lost tourist town. Only one person has since returned to the town, 81-year old Pablo Novak, a nostalgic and stubborn former resident, who

figure 2.3 (above left): aerial image of Villa Epecuén (Google Earth, 2011). (above top to bottom): detailed view of streets, homes and businesses; staircase to nowhere amidst the saltencrusted ruins of an abandoned home; rusted clawfoot tub; flood-waters reveal a rusted vehicle. image credit: Juan Mabromata AFP Getty Images, 2011

PROCESSES OF DISTURBANCE

figure 2.4: Villa EpecuĂŠn from the air today. image credit: Juan Mabromata AFP Getty Images, 2011

spends his days rummaging through the remains while reminiscing on the village's glory days. Irony or not, the same waters that spurred the city's existence and success also led to its demise. The inability to build and maintain proper levees around the village resulted in extreme levels of inundation, which linger still to this day. Those who have visited this abandoned ghostly resort town have recorded astounding remnants of rusted vehicles and bed frames, staircases to nowhere, and cracks which reveal the bright colored buildings and vibrancy of the former city. While much of Villa EpecuĂŠn is still under water, the urban fabric -- buildings, streets, and trees -- is slowly emerging, yet there is no hope for a reemergence of population or economy.

CONCLUSION: THE LIFE CYCLE OF CITIES Cities are organisms; like humans, plants, and animals, they experience both birth, growth, life and death. Some cities, such as Rome, are destroyed over and over again by various forces only to come back stronger. In their book entitled Resilient Cities: Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change, Peter Newman et. al believe that when it comes to urban resilience, it is a tale of two cities: the city of fear and the city of hope. They write: "Fear undermines the resilience of cities. The near total collapse of many cities has been rooted in fear: health threats like the plague or yellow fever have struck cities and emptied them of those with the resources to escape, leaving only the poor behind." Other fears derived from war, racism, terrorism, and more recently the threat of resource depletion continue to affect cities, weakening them to the reality of these issues and more. Perhaps the main cause of shrinkage in cities today is rooted in fear. When this is coupled with economic strife such as recession and unemployment, and natural disasters such as flooding, society tends to run scared in the other direction, making possibilities of rebuilding the city less feasible without the population demand to support it. One of the greatest examples of a mass exodus of people from cities occurred during the early twentieth century as a result of the growing conflict between town and country. During that time, urban populations were significantly rising and quality of life in cities was thus brought into question as issues of housing, health, unemployment, and labor conditions were brought to light. On the contrary, many people perceived the countryside to be in a state of crisis as urban growth was extending unabated into the rural forests, farmlands, and natural landscapes. This opposition resulted in new theories on urban planning in search for a balance between the two. Ebenezer Howardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s garden city and Peter Kropotkinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s industrial village are two such concepts that emerges

Newman, Peter, Timothy Beatley and Heather Boyer. Resilient Cities: Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change. Washington D.C: Island Press, 2009. Print.

PROCESSES OF DISTURBANCE

during this time, and while both are very different, they share a similar preference for a smaller city size. Another, more urban perspective towards the matter, comes from French geographer Elisée Reclus, who in 1895 published his essay “The Evolution of Cities,” acknowledging that urban growth is a natural part of the life cycle of cities, but that cities will only thrive in areas that have the appropriate resources, geography, and environmental condition. When discussing the succession and temporal nature of cities, Reclus writes: Reclus, Elisée. “The Evolution of Cities.” Contemporary Review 67 (1895). pp. 246-264.

By the very fact of its development, the city, like any other organism, tends to die. Subject like the rest the conditions of time, it finds itself already old while other towns are springing up around it, impatient to live their life in their turn. By force of habit, it tries to live on; but —not to speak of the mortal accidents which may happen to cities as to me — no human group can incessantly repair its waste and renew its youth without a heavier and heavier expenditure of effort; and sometimes it gets tired. The inability for cities to adapt to the changing demands and evolving economies at a local and regional scale, per Reclus' description, is at the core of many shrinking cities of today. Deindustrialization marks the end of one era, yet many communities have not experienced the rise of the information age, which is the next successional era for urban growth. Socio-cultural issues as well as politics are inhibiting this succession to occur, as disinvestment in communities becomes a trait of such cities. Problems such as lack of funding for better education programs are compounding the state of stagnation and decline as higher education is the key to moving forward to this information age. All cities are subject to any of the disturbances listed in figure 2.1, yet some are much more susceptible to than others due to their geographic location, which is the only aspect of permanence in a city. Through the examples and case studies, it is evident that with the exception of major natural disasters, the city's ability to survive a disturbance lies in the economic and cultural investment in place. Abandoned cities are on the rise, taking the shrinking city to another level, thus raising questions about how to design and plan for shrinkage and abandonment, and what to do with the infrastructure left behind.

CAIRO, ILLINOIS: A DYING CITY The history of Cairo is not one full of success and prosperity, but instead tells of a community in over its head with a constant flow of issues, lacking the political leadership, social investment, and financial capital to overcome them. Cairo's story is one of community failure, stemming from geographical challenges brought on by developing in a floodplain, the inability to attract and retain industries and provide equitable sources of income, and racial tension as well as social apathy, all of which are arguably interconnected. Organized as a timeline for the city, this chapter tells of the constant challenges and hardships Cairo and its citizens have had to face, contributing to the present situation of a shrunken and divided city on the brink of collapse. First, it is important to mention that prior to the development of the city, there is no record or archeological evidence of a permanent Native American settlement in the land which Cairo is located today. Regionally, the Mississippi and Ohio River Valley was host to migratory, hunter-gatherer populations mostly in the form of small tribes, and their significance has been made clear through the numerous large-scale mounds (burial or ceremonial) they left behind. This will be expanded upon in Chapter 6 when discussing Part II of the proposal. It has been theorized that the swampy and persistently inundated conditions of this low-lying floodplain at the confluence of two rivers made it very undesirable for the Native Americans to settle, thus they would inhabit the area seasonally for hunting, fishing, and gathering of food. It was a place of trade between tribes and settlers as the river junction provided a gateway between North, South, East and West. Realizing the great potential for a city in this location from a geographical, commercial, as well as military perspective, the first of three attempts to build a community in Cairo was initiated in 1818 by John Comegys, a Baltimore businessman. One thing was made very clear from the beginning: building Cairo could not be a simple grassroots effort, but instead required significant capital investment.

CAIRO, ILLINOIS: A DYING CITY

Reps, John W. “Great Expectations and Hard Times: The Planning of Cairo, Illinois.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 16.4 (1957): 14-21.

Flint, Timothy. Recollections of the Last Ten Years in the Valley of the Mississippi. Boston: Cummings, Hilliard, and Co. 1826.

PLANNING CAIRO: A SPECULATIVE IDEAL Impressed with its prime geographic location at the juncture of two of America's great rivers, which linked Illinois, Missouri, and Kentucky, projected potential for successful river transshipment industries, lead speculators such as John Comegys to believe that Cairo would be America's next great city. When Comegys realized that much more capital investment was needed than he could provide, due to the site's need for protection from the problem of inundation, he commissioned plans to take abroad with the hope of gaining European interest and sponsorship. Before he could even go through with the trip, Comegy's fell ill and died -- less than a year after he began the enterprise. Regarding the proposed plan (figure 3.1) for Cairo, Architectural Historian John Reps writes: "the plan obviously owes its inspiration to that of Philadelphia. The gridiron street pattern was laid out to connect the two rivers, much as Penn and his surveyor, Holme, had done in Philadelphia in 1682. There is the same rhythm of open spaces, slightly modified to fit the site." After his death, the lands were forfeited over to the government as they were never fully paid for, thus the 1818 plan was never realized. Timothy Flint records of the state of the community during that time: A speculation was got up, to form a great city at the delta, and in fact they raised a few houses upon piles of wood. The houses were inundated, and when we were there, 'they kept the town,' as boatmen phrased it, in a vast flat boat, a hundred feet in length, in which there were families, liquor shops, drunken men and women, and all the miserable appendages to such a place. The small community that called itself Cairo sat in a state of stagnation for the next two decades, operating as a refueling point for steamboats and the occasional stopping point for trading boats -- floating general stores that served settlements along the river's edge.

figure 3.1: proposed plan 1818.

Reps, John W. “Great Expectations and Hard Times: The Planning of Cairo, Illinois.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 16.4 (1957): 14-21.

In the 1830s a second effort to develop the city was led by a corporation that called itself the Cairo City and Canal Company, who speculated that not only the strategic river location could bring a prosperous future, but that there was opportunity to connect to a transportation scheme which was quickly changing the American landscape: the railroad. In order to purchase the land incorporated in 1818 as the City of Cairo, the Cairo City and Canal Company had to borrow half a million dollars. This covered the land rights as well as necessary and urgent improvements, most importantly addressing the need for flood control through securing levees. Eager to begin development and start receiving rental income, the company dismissed other flood-mitigating solutions, such as filling in low places, which would have been a much more costly and timeconsuming effort. In 1838 they commissioned a plan (figure 3.2) for

the city, designed by Strickland and Taylor, which was a blend between the Philadelphia plan and the more fashionable areas of London's West End. The shaded area was intended to be built first, while the dashed areas of the plan were meant to be expanded into as the city grew. In 1939, a prospectus of the company appeared, making grand promises to protect the community from flooding and build businesses. At first their scheme seemed to be running smoothly, until without warning financial disasters and bankruptcy led to failure and collapse. Primarily due to poor management by the company president, Darius Holbrook, who spent large amounts of money to draw investments and insure success. Herman R. Lantz notes that Holbrook spent $1,250,000 in six years on levee construction alone, and that during that time there was always more money going out than coming in. Investors were weary of placing such large amounts of money in the city, which was a gamble as the flood problem had yet been solved, and without their support the completion of any substantial part of the railroad could not occur. The other major reason for this second failed attempt in building Cairo came from the company's intention to keep ownership of all the properties, with no immediate intention to sell, which in short meant that the Cairo City and Canal Company retained control over the entire community, a monopolizing effect. Lantz writes that "this structure of power and control stifled institutions that involved citizens politically or economically; and it alienated the people from the endeavor. Without citizen support the enterprise was vulnerable when the economic base collapsed." Cairo suffered greatly in the years to follow, falling into a severe state of decline. Within a year the population dropped from around 2,000 to less than 100, and the 1845 census showed that the community held 113 inhabitants in twenty-four families. These desperate times brought on resentment and lawlessness as people occupied abandoned buildings and homes without regard to law or ownership. The battle between their frontier mindset of individualism and that of the legalistic society made up of those who had the capital to improve and invest in Cairo was one that would take decades to resolve. This wild image of the community soon became known throughout the region, as newspapers and artists illustrated Cairo as a dismal, disease ridden place soon to be swallowed by floodwaters. The most famous of these accounts is written by Charles Dickens in his American Notes, when he passed through the town in 1842, describing it as "a hotbed of disease, an ugly sepulcher, a grave uncheered by any promise; a place without a single quality in earth or air or water to commend it; such is the dismal Cairo!" These two consecutive failed attempts to build a city were just the preview to the challenges that lay ahead.

Lantz, Herman R. A Community in Search of Itself: A Case History of Cairo, Illinois. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1972. Print.

Ibid. 11

figure 3.2: proposed plan 1838.

CAIRO, ILLINOIS: A DYING CITY

figure 3.3: Cairo, Illinois 1857.

The third attempt to initiate a community started in 1846, with the sale of all property to the Cairo Property Trust, which was comprised of stockholders and creditors from the Cairo City and Canal Company as well as new investors from the New England States. Investment-focused from the onset of their endeavor, the Cairo Property Trust was not very sympathetic toward the needs and welfare of the community. In a state of transition and recovery, the formative years were especially difficult, especially when trying to sort through property rights and ownership, which had become irrelevant in the years prior. During this time, Cairo lacked any form of real leadership or regulation, as there was no city government or town marshal. The Trust, similar to its predecessor, gave first priority to the construction of the railroad, realizing that without it the community would unlikely succeed. Lantz states the irony in such speculation, "that a community that had counted heavily on a railroad for its future would have to face up to its error in judgment, and experience the confusion and frustration of having history pass it by." After the completion of the Illinois Central, the railroad company's agent paid a

visit to Cairo, which was yet again suffering as the population had fallen from 2000 to 242 in a decade, thus insisting that the trustees pay more attention to the community and its citizens. The third and final plan for the community was designed by Captain Henry C. Long in 1856, commissioned by the Cairo Property Trust and Darius Holbrook. Regarding his design for the city plan (figures 3.3 and 3.4), Long states that "from a careful study of the nature of the city site, and a comparison of most approved plans, this is considered the best arrangement that can be offered in point of economy or room, convenience for business purposes, perfect ventilation and drainage." Consumed with visions of greatness based solely on the city's prime geographical position, the process of building Cairo was riddled with failure, oversight, and poor management. Years later, in 1904, when Cairo was seeing a glimmer of success, General Clark E. Carr announced: Chicago will be a great city, but Cairo will be the great city. Look at her position, on the great Father of the Waters, at its confluence with the Ohio! It will be the largest city on this continent; and the time is sure to come when Cairo will be the largest city in the world. Clearly based on conjecture and wild hope, Carr's vision of the great city of Cairo never once revealed itself, even in its more successful times (the 1920s), the city was host to a population of 20,000, whereas Chicago was booming with a population well over two million. In this study of Cairo, a city persistently doomed with failure, the core issues can be divided into three parts: (1) inability to control and maintain flooding and seepage, (2) economic instability and the inability to attract and retain businesses, and (3) racism, apathy, and resignation among the community. Standing alone, these issues have been exhibited and overcome by nearly every city in the world, but when combined they form the perfect storm for community failure.

figure 3.4: proposed plan 1856.

Carr, Gen. Clark E. The Illini: a Story of the Prairies. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co. 1904.

CAIRO, ILLINOIS: A DYING CITY

FLOODING AND SEEPAGE: FREQUENCY + VULNERABILITY An obvious challenge from the very fact of developing a city in a floodplain, but not just any floodplain -- the tiny spit of land where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers converge, formed from the sedimentation and deposition process of these two great rivers, Cairo has constantly been faced with the threat of inundation. In his historical account of the city, local writer John M. Landson notes: Lansden, John M. A History of the City of Cairo, Illinois. Chicago: R.R. Donnellet & Sons Company, 1910. Print.

Ever since the government survey of our township in 1807, it has been known that while the Ohio River shore remains fairly stable and unchangeable, the Mississippi, on the contrary, devours its banks and changes its current from place to place unless restrained in and by some of the various means adopted to stay its ravages. The unpredictable nature of the rivers left the struggling Illinois community unprepared at best prior to the construction of the levee system, thus the city was often under water. Aside from the costs and inconvenience of flooding during Cairo's formative years, the stagnant, swampy conditions led to serious diseases and health problems. This not only drove away what little population was there, it also contributed to the negative image of the city, detracting any potential businesses from investing in Cairo.

figure 3.5: Cairo, Illinois, June 1861 Bird's Eye View. Engraving. Artist unknown. Buckingham, James S. The Eastern and Western States of America. London: Fisher, Son & Company, 1842. Print.

Even after the levees were built, river water continued to be a problem within the city in the form of seepage, which was and still is the most difficult to deal with. Coming in from both the Ohio and Mississippi, seep water forces its way in to the low-lying areas of the city by the very nature of building a city on hydric soils and a high water table. Upon construction of the levees and floodwall, the seepage problem was compounded as it created both a "bowl" effect in the community (figure 3.5), making drainage out much more difficult and expensive, and with the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers being forced and constrained by the infrastructure, significant water pressure brought in even more seep water during periods of high water. Many people believed that the best solution for the seepage problem resided in filling-in the low-lying places of the city. One such person who argued this was J.S. Buckingham, an English traveler, who in 1841 reported: So injudiciously conducted were the first operations on the spot, that the infant settlement had already been completely submerged; and but a few weeks since, all its inhabitants were obliged to abandon it, to avoid being drowned! ...That the site is an eligible one, as far as mere position is concerned, there cannot be a doubt...; but then it wants elevation to secure it from overflow...

The counter to this argument was always centered around practicality and costs, not to mention the complicated procedure of getting individual land owners to agree to razing their building for this project. Citizens felt that both the lack of present demand for such a costly city improvement project, coupled with their belief that the city was safer from overflow than ever before, and that the time to conduct such a filling scheme was not worth it since they would not get to benefit from it in their lifetime -- made the project impractical at that time (1880s). Their response to this community improvement proposal illustrates the sense of apathy and hopelessness the citizens had toward Cairo. This, along with their short-ranged interests is one of the main contributing factors to the city's failure, as discussed later in this chapter. In spite of the belief that the city was safeguarded from floods after the levees were built, the infrastructure proved to be poorly constructed and under-scaled, giving the community a false sense of security. Subject to erosion, the earthen levees broke on multiple occasions, inundating areas of the city, particularly the "drainage district" where the industrial buildings were located. Such was the case in the back-to-back flood events of 1912 and 1913. One of the Cairo newspapers reported: "Cairo is today an island. The city is surrounded on every side by water and transportation is cut off on every railroad entering the city. The entire drainage district is now under ten to twenty feet of water," (figure 3.6). The costs from this flood alone were upwards of $250,000, not including the loss and damage to the factories. Five railroads were put out of business and those that remained were forced to spend large sums of money to repair and rebuild the lines. Whether or not the levees broke, water continued to find its way into the low areas of the city, and as a result businesses relocated and investments were few and far between. During this decline, in 1916 the Cairo Evening Citizen reported:

figure 3.6: Cairo, Illinois, flood, showing buildings near the flood waters, 1913.

Cairo Evening Citizen. February 17 and 19, 1916.

If Cairo had been filled up before any lots were sold, there would now be a city of a million people, and St. Louis would be only a small city. Because the founders of Cairo promoted a city instead of building one, Cairo today is a city of less than twenty thousand people. It is time to correct this seventy-year mistake, and to fill to a height of sixty feet. In all of the attempted programs and initiatives to fill in the low-lying areas of Cairo, it is interesting that none of them outline a process of filling over phases -- which would have been more incremental and cost-feasible. The four main flood-mitigating infrastructure elements in Cairo consist of (1) earthen levees at an average height of 333.0 feet (river gage 62.0), where the lowest point in the city sits at around 304.0 feet above sea

figure 3.7: Piling sandbags against the floodwall during the height of the flood, 1937.

CAIRO, ILLINOIS: A DYING CITY

level; (2) a concrete floodwall (figures 3.7 and 3.8) which spans the entire Ohio River-side of the city with an elevation of 335 feet (river gage 64.0); the Cairo (Flood) Gate (figure 4.9), never been used, but designed to allow the city to become an island in the event of extreme flooding to the north; and (4) Seepage pumps located throughout the city, which have to be replaced on average every 15-20 years. Practically fortified by this infrastructure, one would think that Cairo would have solved this issue by now. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and with two 500year floods occurring within less than 20 years, the city is finding itself in a position where it can no longer pay to maintain and replace these critical infrastructural elements. figure 3.8: Cairo Floodwall looking into the city. Photograph by author, March 2013.

figure 3.9: The Cairo Gate. Photograph by author, March 2013.

Marder, Jenny. "Levee Blast Floods Missouri Town, Spares Others Along Mississippi River." PBS Newshour. PBS, May 3, 2011. Web. April 27, 2013.

figure 3.10: Aerial of aftermath of the 2011 flood at Cairo, showing the city as an island. Image retrieved from Google Earth.

In May 2011, the seasonal flood reached record levels, as both the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers had received one to two feet of precipitation. With the water levels rising unprecedented, they would have breached the floodwall and levee system, completely inundating the city, if extreme measures hadn't been taken (figures 3.10 and 3.11). These measures consisted of blowing the Bird's Point levee, located just across the river from Cairo in Missouri, as part of a floodway plan designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1930s. There was great controversy over this decision, which came down to either flooding the city of Cairo, population 2,800 or flooding over 130,000 acres of Missouri farmland, including 100 homes (figure 3.12). The 130,000 acres was established as part of the Bird's Point-New Madrid Floodway Plan in 1928 after the federal government purchased flood easements on the land, owning the right to blow the levee in order to protect urbanized areas including Cairo and other cities downstream. The Missouri farmers and other residents within the region did not believe Cairo was worth saving at the expense of their land being ruined. Even the Missouri House Speaker, Steve Tilley, felt that it would be better to flood Cairo in this either-or scenario, saying "Have you been to Cairo? Okay then, trust me." The conversations which arose out of this grave situation illustrate the regional sentiments toward Cairo, a place many people felt should be wiped off the map. Congress gave the Corps the authority to take action to mitigate the rising flood levels, as it was not just about protecting Cairo, but protecting the entire levee system in the river valley. Blowing Bird's Point Levee did indeed relieve pressure on the Cairo floodwall and levee system, lowering the flood level about two feet. "It's sacrificing a few to save a lot," said Larry Larson, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers. The 2011 flood marks the highest levels in history, since the river valley was colonized (figure 3.13). Even after taking the desperate measures to save Cairo at the expense of the thousands of acres of farmland, the city was not completely untouched by the high water, which caused

38th Street

34th Street

28th Street

24th Street

20th Street

14th Street

8th Street

2nd Street

figure 3.11: section studies of Cairo of what would have been inundated if not for the levee system.

CAIRO, ILLINOIS: A DYING CITY

HYDROLOGY + FLOODING river 2011 flood - inundated land FEMA high-risk area - seepage levee and floodwall figure 3.12: hydrology and flooding map, highlighting inundated land from the 2011 flood.

1980

1970

1960

1950

1940

1930

1920

1910

1900

HP 56.5 +

CAIRO, ILLINOIS: A DYING CITY

64.0 Cairo Floodwall 61.7 Record Flood (2011)

53.0 Major Flood Stage 50.0 The first gate is closed at Cairo 47.0 Moderate Flood Stage

40.0 Flood Stage: Minor Flooding occurs affecting agricultural bottomland and low lying areas 2010

2000

1990

32.0 Action Stage: Cairo begins pumping operations

figure 3.13 (top): Flood Frequency graph. Diagram by author. figure 3.14 (bottom left): residential dwelling sitting in a pond of seep-water. Photograph by author. March 2013. figure 3.15 (bottom right): seepage causes large sinkholes such as this one, located in the middle of Commercial Avenue. The hole has been there long enough for plants to grow up in it. Photograph by author. March 2013.

significant seepage under the levee (figure 3.14), causing multiple sand boils to form in the industrial areas as well as several sinkholes (figure 3.15) along Commercial Avenue, forcing closure of the street. Total damages to structures in Alexander County, Illinois amounted to over $2,000,000, but the most costs would came from the need to replace seepage pumps and repair levees -- two critical forms of infrastructure. The Mississippi River Levee System in Alexander County, Illinois consists of 21.5 miles of levees and floodwalls which are owned and operated by four local sponsors: Cairo Drainage District, City of Cairo, Mounds City, and City of Mounds. Following the flood, the Army Corps evaluated the levee system and found necessary maintenance and construction amounting to $12,000,000, which fell into the area sponsored by the Cairo Drainage District and the City of Cairo alone. Two years later the city has yet to replace all of the pumps, making the Cairo even more vulnerable in the event of another major flood. An entire block of Commercial Avenue still is blocked off, as the sinkholes have not been addressed. The simple fact is that Cairo can no longer sustain itself, and since the very beginning the city has consistently had difficulties finding the resources to protect itself from flooding and seepage. Unless the state or federal government steps in to financially aid the city it will continue to be unprotected from flooding and seepage. Additionally, as seen in the flood gage graph (figure 3.13), flood events are becoming more frequent and severe, leading one to question the future of Cairo, a city surrounded by water on three sides. THE ECONOMIC INSTABILITY OF A SHRUNKEN CITY Cairo's economic history can be broken into four main eras, all of which have experienced failure at some point. The first era consisted of river trade and transshipment, which existed before the railroad was built in the city in 1856. During this time business traffic was undependable, as it would be extensive during particular seasons but sparse in other times where there was ice, low water, or epidemics in the city. Also, unless passengers needed to get off at Cairo, the boats would often bypass the city altogether. When properties began to be sold in 1853, the city began to grow, but this growth was slow and unremarkable when compared to other cities at that time, leaving many businessmen dissatisfied with the lack of opportunity in the city. Lantz points out that one significant obstacle to Cairo's growth was the lack of leadership and unresolved community problems, particularly between the Illinois Central Railroad (which was just beginning to build lines), the Cairo Property Trust, and the city. Each group was fighting for power, yet they continued to point fingers to avoid responsibilities such as securing levees and investing in basic community improvements. With everyone anticipating the speculated growth and prosperity the railroad industry would bring to Cairo, they had resigned to the idea that Cairo could

Lantz, Herman R. A Community in Search of Itself: A Case History of Cairo, Illinois. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1972. Print.

CAIRO, ILLINOIS: A DYING CITY

operate solely as a river-trade center. The second economic era began in 1856, upon the construction of the railroad, which, when coupled with the river economy, led to a growth spurt for Cairo. With population on the rise, the new businesses and industries included a flour mill, whiskey distillery, multiple slaughterhouses, eight hotels (though none of them were very grand), a railroad depot, foundry and machine shop, three newspaper and printing shops, and several markets and grocery stores. As tensions were rising between the North and South, newspaper articles show that the citizens of Cairo were expressing sympathy and union with the South, as they felt abandoned and frustrated by the Northern areas of Illinois. These sentiments give light to a general attitude that was forming in Cairo, driven by fear of free blacks in a struggling local economy, a sense of rejection from the more successful cities to the North (such as Chicago and St. Louis), and a need for community identity, which they thought could be born by an alliance with the South. This era exhibited an emergence of a middle class in the community, though meager at best, as most of the residents were still barely scraping by. The years to come, during the Civil War, would bring more economic hardships to the city of Cairo, as it became host to a critical military outpost -- Fort Defiance.

figure 3.16: Civil War Harper's Weekly, June 1861.

Ibid. 27.

During the war. several thousand troops were ordered to Cairo by the Governor of Illinois (figure 3.16), simultaneously shutting down the port and shipping industry the city desperately depended on. Additionally, martial law was put in place to stop gambling, drinking, and prostitution as it was distracting for the soldiers, shutting down yet another critical economy for this small river town. When the river was once again open in June 1862, the community underwent a "war boom," and the economy began to rise once more. Post-war years brought an increase in population, for both whites and blacks, which made up one quarter of the population during that time, though they remained largely segregated economically and socially. The city hoped that at the end of the war a permanent military post would be established, given the city's prime location for defense. Lantz criticizes the continued speculation that the community had regarding idealistic notions of success, stating: "these people were so imbued with the significance of their position on the river that it was easy to convince themselves of inevitable success." After the withdrawal of troops following the war, the city picked up where it left off on its efforts to revive the economy via the railroad industry. Additional railroads were built over time, and at its height, Cairo had five different railroad companies operating within, making it a critical regional hinge between land and river trade. It was around this time that an upper class emerged in the city, as wealthy investors saw opportunity at last in the Cairo economy. With the arrival of wealthy individuals in the 1880s, a shift occurred in the power structure of the community.

As Lantz points out, these powerful men acted upon their individual interests, rather than with unity toward larger economic enterprises, which eventually ended up leading the community into yet another state of decline. On the positive end, these powerful group of the wealthy elite contributed greatly to the community by creating Cairo's first true cultural and intellectual class of people. The public library which opened in 1864 (figure 3.17) was significantly expanded upon; education and the arts were greatly supported, and one sign of Cairo's growing cultural scene was the formation of the Cairo Philharmonic Society. While the wealthy local businessmen poured their interests into the arts, culture, and education scene, they completely ignored much more critical matters which were affecting the city as a whole. Moreover, once a state of wealth was achieved, these men and their families moved elsewhere, leaving Cairo in a state of abandonment. By 1900, Cairo had experienced every form of economic depression seen in America. Both the river and rail industries were proving to be unsuccessful despite multiple efforts to revive them, and problems such as seepage and levee failure continues to be unresolved. The overall lack of certainty and stability in the economy is apparent in the proportion of renters to owners, as many businessmen preferred to rent because they viewed their time in Cairo as only temporary. The third era of economy overlapped the others, and is representative of a struggling river town, willing and desperate to make money any way possible. This is the economy of "liquor and vice," as Lantz puts it, composed of gambling, prostitution, and heavy drinking among other forms of not-so-legal activities. This form of revenue was the most accepted among the general population of Cairo, and supported the city when the other economic efforts failed, thus it literally and figuratively helped the city get through hard times. The negative side of this economy was a higher crime rate, which was often difficult to mitigate given the lack of law enforcement in the community. The economy of liquor and vice was put under attack multiple times, as some citizens saw it as an obstacle to growth based on the idea that a community based on conventional moral standards is a prerequisite to a healthy economy. The fact of the matter is that without this economy, Cairo would have ceased to exist during its periods of economic depression. Moreover, the money made from liquor and saloon taxes were greater than the tax revenue from corporations, roads, and fines combined. In spite of the community's dependence on this mode of economy, efforts to reform continued throughout the 20th century. Lantz questions the link between Cairo's economic and social struggles, and whether there may be some parallels with the community's reliance on this form of economy. He asks: "Can the experience of failure in a context of success lead a community to search for success in ways not approved by the larger society?"

Lantz, Herman R. A Community in Search of Itself: A Case History of Cairo, Illinois. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1972. Print.

figure 3.17: Cairo Public Library, Photograph taken March 2013.

Cairo Evening Citizen. February 17 and 19, 1916.

Lantz, Herman R. A Community in Search of Itself: A Case History of Cairo, Illinois. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1972. Print.

Ibid. 85.

CAIRO, ILLINOIS: A DYING CITY

The fourth economic base occurred with the attempt to develop Cairo as a service center for the surrounding region. The problem with this was that the city lacked the facilities to support such businesses, making it difficult, if not impossible to compete with other nearby cities. The other challenge was simply getting people to shop locally. Also, larger corporations built branches throughout the river valley, taking advantage of cheaper labor in small river towns as well as the lower transaction costs for transporting goods, but never investing anything into the betterment of the community. As a result of racial outburst and tension, which came to a boiling point in the 1960s, as civil rights was at the forefront of politics across the nation, the city of Cairo became a social and economic war zone. During this time, the largest boycott occurred in Cairo (lasting over 300 days), and citizens can recall a state of chaos that came from firebombs being thrown between both blacks and whites, forcing marshall law to be enacted. A group of white supremacists. similar to the Ku Klux Klan, who called themselves the "white hats" and made up the wealthy class of businessmen in the city, completely abandoned Cairo when it became officially desegregated -- white flight in its finest. These were dangerous times in the city, for both parties, as racial tensions were deeply rooted in Cairo's origins, when African Americans flocked to Cairo during and after the Civil War as it was a "free state" and place of refuge and opportunity for black slaves. A classic example of how divided the city had become in the 1960s: the public swimming pool ("public" for whites only) (figure 3.18) was finally opened to blacks as part of desegregating the community, yet instead of sharing the pool, the white owners decided to completely fill it in with concrete. They would rather not have a pool at all than have to share it with blacks.

figure 3.18: Cairo "Public" Swimming Pool

When a significant amount of the white population fled the city, taking their businesses with them, the community went into perhaps its most severe state of decline, receiving its final blow of economic and social failure (figure 3.19). Now, half a century later, the city is barely getting by, exhibiting the longest period of depression in its history. Dealing with severe abandonment, as well as poverty and unemployment, Cairo's citizens show little hope for the future of their city. PLACELESSNESS: RACISM, APATHY, AND RESIGNATION Throughout Cairo's history, the community has suffered from economic decline, lack of identity, and cultural divide, as well as constant set-backs from flooding and seepage, which continue to afflict this city between two rivers. Filled with visions of greatness, speculating businessmen and struggling pioneers came to the city with the hope of achieving prosperity. This American Dream-based idealism became a recurring problem for the city, as it triggered severe disappointment when people

VACANCY AND ABANDONMENT vacant and abandoned lots industrial and manufacturing commercial municipal and civic

figure 3.19: Analysis of a shrunken economy showing vacancy and abandonment

CAIRO, ILLINOIS: A DYING CITY

realized that Cairo was growing at a snail's pace, and couldn't overcome problems that came from its "ideal" location. Those with the means to relocate abandoned the city, and those who stayed abandoned their hope and resigned to failure. Additional feelings of abandonment came from the community's general attitude toward the state of Illinois, and the towns and cities which were experiencing unabated growth, as Cairoites felt they had been forgotten, brushed aside, and belittled by the state government and large corporations of investors. Lantz explains where such sentiments could be derived: Lantz, Herman R. A Community in Search of Itself: A Case History of Cairo, Illinois. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1972. Print.

In an economically depressed community... there is the view that particular persons of power, acting with others of wealth, obstruct progress of a community because they fear competition, because they wish to maintain control, and because they reject outsiders by refusing, for example, to support loans for new industry. This sentiment, alongside issues related to speculations of greatness, the absence of political parties, and the negative connotations that coincide with the economy of liquor and vice, have resulted in a community which is alienated. This occurs on multiple levels, first the overall alienation of the city of Cairo from the river valley region and state of Illinois; second as a division of class and racial structure (whites alienating the blacks from opportunities and involvement); and finally on an individual level which is especially evident in newcomers to the community. As previously mentioned, one of the most detrimental causes for economic decline in Cairo occurred as a result of the racial divisions in the community. Since the city was identified as being part of the "free states" during the Civil War, it has always had a significant African American population (figure 3.20). Racism in Cairo has come in various forms, through group organization such as the "white hats," violent crimes and outbreaks between whites and blacks, physical segregation through whites-only neighborhoods and prohibiting blacks from shopping on Commercial Avenue, and finally (perhaps most economically and socially devastating), white-flight out of the city altogether. This triggered the most long-lasting depression for the community as well continued abandonment and a slowly shrinking population. Resigned to failure, Cairo today hosts just 2,800 inhabitants, a population just above what it was in 1860. One can spend the day there and see less than a dozen faces, and every block in town has at least one vacant lot or abandoned building -- boarded up with plywood and marked for future demolition. What used to be Cairo's vibrant and bustling Commercial Avenue, there sit empty storefronts, broken glass,

racial distribution 60 to 80% 40 to 60% 20 to 40%

vacant lots figure 3.20: Analysis of racial distribution today with vacant lot overlay

CAIRO, ILLINOIS: A DYING CITY

31.9% - cairo 26.1% - alexander county 10.7% - illinois 14.3% - united states poverty rate (2010)

poverty rate â&#x2030;Ľ 45% 30 to 45% 20 to 30% 10 to 20%

vacant lots

figure 3.21: Analysis of poverty rate with vacant lot overlay

11.6% - cairo 8.9% - illinois 7.9% - united states unemployment rate (2012) * Cairo has the highest unemployment in the state of Illinois and 60% of the children living there live under the poverty level, ranking it the 16th highest in the nation.

unemployment 28% and greater 20 to 28% less than 20%

vacant lots figure 3.22: Analysis of unemployment with vacant lot overlay

CAIRO, ILLINOIS: A DYING CITY

figure 3.23: Population graph of Cairo, Illinois.

and the fragmented remains of the buildings that used to exist. It is difficult to imagine such a place exists in America, one of the greatest global economies. Walking through Cairo today will tell a tragic story of a community continuously overcome with social, economic, and environmental constraints. Much of its infrastructure, such as roads, street lights, and parks are in a state of decay, as the city and county lack the resources to maintain them. Sinkholes over ten feet deep that occurred during the 2011 flood have yet to be filled in, creating a major safety hazard for the citizens. Those residents who remain for the most part are those who lack the necessary means to escape as the city has the highest unemployment rate in the state of Illinois and its poverty level ranks16th highest in the nation (figures 3.21 and 3.22). Following population trends, it is projected that the city will have just a few hundred residents a century from now. Cairo is not a shrinking city, it is a city that has already shrunken (figure 3.23).

infrastructural damage and maintenance issues from flooding + seepage: 1. vacant lot with signage about pump replacement. 2. sinkhole as a result of seepage on Commercial Ave. 3. covering a sinkhole with road work signage 4. 10 ft. deep sinkhole in front of a residence on Commercial Ave. 5. stuffing a pothole/sinkhole with construction cone

economic instability and the inability to attract and retain businesses: 1. abandoned hospital, closed in 1987 due to high debt/few patients 2. abandoned gas station and covenience store on HWY 51 3. abandoned industrial warehouse -- largest building footprint 4. derelict downtown 8th street, marked for demolition 5. vandalism and vacancy in a local storefront on 8th street.

residential abandonment in a shrunken city: The images to the left illustrate the depressed state of the housing stock in Cairo, which is experiencing decay, lack of maintenance, fire, vandalism, vacancy, and abandonment.

a forgotten place: These five images show the current living conditions in Cairo, which is a modern day ghost town.

figure 3.24: Existing conditions in Cairo, Illinois. March, 2013.

CAIRO, ILLINOIS: A DYING CITY

PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO Shrinkage ends with dying. Dying cities are the radical form of shrinkage. A mummifying approach to urban development, with partially renovated facades in front of empty and dilapidated buildings, is not a solution. Phasing out entire cities calls for a different plan: a "social plan" for abandoning the city, for giving up property, for remembering the lost legacy. Friedrich von Borries & Walter Prigge, in Shrinking Cities, 2005 Contrary to the notion of growth, which has been the common theme in the realm of urban design and planning, it is equally as critical to respond to the cry of the shrinking city -- which can happen in a number of ways, ranging from consolidation of infrastructure to phasing out entire cities, as mentioned in the quote by von Borries and Prigge. Planning an orderly retreat becomes a responsible solution, even a "social" solution, as it calls for action to be taken as a sort of hospice situation for the dying city. In response to Cairoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s declining population and over-supply of housing stock and urban infrastructure, which has for the most part been left in a state of abandonment or disrepair becomes part one of this thesis, which looks to dismantle infrastructure over a series of phases relative to factors and variables such as maintenance, health, safety, and welfare. Existing conditions proved that the quality of life in Cairo is more than lacking as one-third of the population sit below the poverty line and the city hosts the highest unemployment rate in the state of Illinois. Local editorials write that the three greatest things holding Cairo back (from being a successful community) are sentiments of resignation, hopelessness, and apathy. Analyzing the costs versus benefits for keeping and maintaining cities such as Cairo make it clear that local and state governments are less inclined to continue to pour money into a declining and unstable economy which is not contributing to the larger regional whole.

PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO

figure 4.1: Existing conditions on 8th Street, showing empty storefronts, vandalism, and abandonment. Image taken March 2013.

Oswalt, Phillip. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Demolition City.â&#x20AC;? Shrinking Cities: Volume 2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Interventions. Ed. Oswalt et. al. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2006. Print.

figure 4.2: Remnant of tile foundation and entrance to a demolished building on 8th Street, taken March 2013.

Perhaps one of the most critical lessons to be learned is how to accept community and urban failure, thus the challenge to urban designers is to come up with a creative and contextually sensitive solution for shrinking cities. In the second volume of Shrinking Cities, entitled "interventions," Peter Oswalt et. al. separate the book into four possible solutions to shrinkage: deconstructing, reevaluating, reorganizing, and reimagining. The concepts behind these solutions fall into two simple processes: adaptation or death. Adaptation can occur through a number of ways: adaptive reuse, art installations, temporary urbanism, and so on. In the case of this project, adaptation happens in the form of material salvage and reuse as well as becoming part of the earthworks burial mound (discussed in part two). Death becomes significant for this project, as part of the planned dismantling of the built environment over time. Oswalt asks: "Demolition is a means of adjusting shrinking cities to a drop in local demand. Demolition today has gained a hitherto unknown quality: it is an end in itself. The question of dying cities follows as a consequence: what does it mean when cities completely disappear?" This is one of the most difficult aspects of planned deconstruction, it represents the closing chapter in the city's history -- and the acceptance of death as its fate. Thus with the planned retreat and phasing out of the city of Cairo, an aspect which can really only be suggested as a way to preserve and instill memory through ruins and remnants is proposed. This is already taking place as part of the natural shrinkage of the city, apparent in the subtle details of foundation remnants of the buildings which used to exist on 8th Street and Commercial Avenue (figure 4.2).

figure 4.3: diagram of dismantle + remediate process of a planned retreat.

PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO

figure 4.4: dismantle + remediate process change over time on 8th Street.

DISMANTLE + REMEDIATE: A PHASING PLAN FOR CAIRO Cairo is already undergoing a significant amount of deconstruction, and even more buildings have been marked for future demolition. While there are some areas with more extreme vacancy and abandonment in the city, such as 8th Street and Commercial Avenue and neighborhoods in both the north portion/east of HWY 51 as well as neighborhoods in the south portion/west of HWY 51 -- there are blocks in and around St. Mary's Park that for the most part seem to be untouched by the declining situation. Acknowledging the reality of a shrinking city requires insight into the processes and triggers of shrinkage -- particularly those based on economy, geographic location, and the health, safety, and welfare of the community, thus projecting that these "untouched areas" will over time experience decline, just as the rest of the city has. Cairo is a city experiencing something equivalent to organ failure, lacking the necessary resources to keep it alive. Part one of this thesis is the simultaneous process of dismantling infrastructure and remediating, or healing, the land (figure 4.3). This phasing process is not defined by intervals of time, but rather through the various triggers which would initiate the planned retreat. While these triggers are mere suggestions or projections of what might occur, they are based on historic patterns of disturbance, discussed in chapter 3, as well as an understanding of the present situation related to the maintenance of basic public goods and infrastructure, key to the city's survival. Remediation must occur to take the process of shrinking the city to another level, of shrinking it's footprint and impact on the river ecosystem with which it is so intricately connected. With the ultimate goal of returning the land to the river by dismantling the floodwall along the Ohio River and allowing the earthen levees naturally erode over time, practicing "responsible urbanism" is in order (figure 4.4).

hazardous waste air emissions toxic releases water dischargers brownfields A DEINDUSTRIALIZED LANDSCAPE Similar to many cities in the American Midwest, Cairo has experienced a significant amount of deindustrialization. Much of this land has been sitting abandoned for many decades now, leaching invisible toxins into the soil and ultimately contaminating the river system and alluvial valley. While the Environmental Protection Agency has identified a number of sites within the city that are emitting hazardous waste and toxins into the air and waterways (figure 4.5), there are many large areas of land, such as the abandoned rail yards along the western perimeter of the city which have not been taken into account. Additionally, much of the abandoned houses contain large amounts of lead and asbestos, making it just as critical to remediate these sites as well.

figure 4.5: Contaminated land (source EPA, 2013)

PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO

Bunge Corp Smith S Phillips 66 Burkhart Foam Inc. Shawnee Terminal Railroad Co. Cairo Stp Bunge North America Bunge Corp Reg Inc. Cairo Cleaners Southern Medical Center Econo Clean Inc. Bunge Corp Il Bell EcoLab Inc. Cairo Public Utility Cairo Newspapers Inc. Lowe Oil Company Mayflower Contract Services Cairo National Guard

Ilex decidua Swamp Holly

Maclura Pomifera Osage Orange

Meliolotus officinalis Yellow Sweet Clover

Panicum virgatum Switch Grass

Populus deltoides Cottonwood

Rosa palustrus Swamp Rose

Salix exigua Sandbar Willow

Salix nigra Black Willow

Thlaspi arvense Field Pennycress

Viola striata Cream Violet

REMEDIATE: INTEGRATING A NETWORKED INFRASTRUCTURE Using processes of phytoremediation (plants) (figure 4.6) and mycoremediation (fungi) for on-site soil remediation avoids having to remove soil in an already low-lying landscape. While these techniques take a significant amount of time, they are the least invasive and most effective in "detoxing" contaminated land. Native plants (figure 4.7) such as Cottonwood trees, Black Willows, and Swamp Holly will also regenerate local habitat while absorbing toxins, contributing to the longterm goal of returning the land to its baseline: a natural floodplain.

figure 4.6: Phytoremediation plant selection (a sample), all of which are native to the region.

PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO

Plant Processes Organic Contaminants Plant Processes Cadmium Plant Processes PCBs Plant Processes Hydrocarbons Plant Processes Metals

process as biofuel or compost

transport to upper plant parts

figure 4.7: Phytoremediation process of detoxing the soil at various depths.

1-3â&#x20AC;&#x2122; heavy metals 2-10â&#x20AC;&#x2122; chemical/oil contaminants

reuse or depositing root absorption of toxins

DISMANTLE PROCESS: 1) SURVEY + EVALUATE EXISTING CONDITIONS: • identify buildings which currently sit vacant or abandoned, those which are contaminated with asbestos, lead, or other toxins, and estimate material type, quantity, and potential for reuse. • document every part of the city thoroughly as a record. • specifically note historically significant buildings, such as the Riverlore Mansion and the Cairo Public Library -- which could potentially be relocated/saved from demolition. 2) OWNER V.S. RENTER OCCUPIED: • determine the patterns of ownership to made plans and projections of where and when the city will shrink further, through planned deconstruction. 3) IDENTIFY + CLOSE-OFF ABANDONED BUILDINGS: • many abandoned buildings sit open, subject to the elements and acts of vandalism -- therefore it is critical to close off these buildings until they can be dismantled so to ensure the safety of the citizens, while also protecting materials which could be salvaged. 4) NATURAL SHRINKAGE + INCENTIVIZED SHRINKAGE: • the city will continued to shrink naturally, though this alone is a slower, more painful death, so it is proposed that shrinkage become incentivized by the state or federal government through relocation and reimbursement, matching real-estate at market value, or even through employment programs which benefit the region as a whole. 5) PROPERLY DISPOSE OF CONTAMINATED MATERIALS: • materials such as lead and asbestos have been found in concentrated amounts in many of the older homes in the city, thus it is critical to safely and properly dispose of these materials prior to intense dismantling in order to keep them from leaching into the river ecosystem.

VA C A N T

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS HANDLE WITH CARE

figure 4.8: step-by-step breakdown of the dismantle process

PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO

6) CONTAMINATED MATERIALS TAKEN TO NEAREST LANDFILL: • until better methods for disposal for these materials is discovered, contaminated and non-reusable/non-recyclable materials will go to the nearest landfill (estimating that approximately 20% of all materials fall into this category). 7) DISMANTLE BUILT STRUCTURES: • occurring through a phasing process (discussed in the next few pages), buildings will be dismantled to begin the physical retreat of urban space. • systematically, when possible, roadway infrastructure (with the exception of Highway 51) will be perforated or completely removed to minimize amount of impervious surfaces. • infrastructure and utilities such as lighting, electric lines, and underground pumps will be removed in later phases. 8) MATERIAL STORAGE + TRANSPORTATION VIA BARGE OR RAIL: • taking advantage of the connection to river and rail transport will help mitigate transportation costs for materials (whether they are going to a landfill, another city for reuse, or to a storage facility. 9) RECYCLE + REPURPOSE MATERIALS: • materials such as doors, windows, appliances, etc. will be repurposed and reused for architectural salvage and bricolage (estimating that approximately 30-40% of all materials fall into this category). • all other materials (those which cannot be reused and are not contaminated) will be utilized as part of the salvage-fill for the earthworks burial mound for the city (which will be discussed in the following chapter).

figure 4.9: Phase 0 Plan and Section Study.

PHASE 0: EXISTING CONDITIONS • survey and evaluate sites • identify vacant and abandoned lots • assess materials to be salvaged, those that will go to the nearest landfill, and those that will contribute to the earthworks memorial • start phytoremediation plant nursery in St. Mary’s Park

PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO

38th Street

34th Street

28th Street

20th Street

24th Street

14th Street

8th Street

2nd Street

figure 4.10: Phase 1 Plan and Section Study.

PHASE 1: DISMANTLE VACANT + ABANDONED LOTS • begin building earthworks burial mound • deploy phytoremediation plantings throughout recently dismantled sites • provide incentives and opportunity for next phase of dismantling (planned shrinkage)

PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO

38th Street

34th Street

28th Street

20th Street

24th Street

14th Street

8th Street

2nd Street

figure 4.11: Phase 2 Plan and Section Study.

PHASE 2: PUMPS FAIL + CORPORATIONS RELOCATE • due to seepage pump failure and lack of maintenance, low-lying areas are dismantled. • also, larger corporations relocate as they have locational arbitrage • continue building earthworks. • deploy phytoremediation plantings throughout recently dismantled sites. • provide incentives and opportunity for next phase of dismantling (planned shrinkage).

PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO

38th Street

34th Street

28th Street

20th Street

24th Street

14th Street

8th Street

2nd Street

figure 4.12: Phase 3 Plan and Section Study.

PHASE 3: PUBLIC UTILITIES FAIL + COUNTY SEAT RELOCATED • public utilities such as roads, street lights, and electrical lines fail due to lack of maintenance • county seat relocated due to significant decrease in population and inability to maintain jobs • continue building earthworks • deploy phytoremediation plantings throughout recently dismantled sites • provide incentives and opportunity for next phase of dismantling

PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO

38th Street

34th Street

28th Street

20th Street

24th Street

14th Street

8th Street

2nd Street

figure 4.13: Phase 4 Plan and Section Study.

PHASE 4: FLOODWALL DISMANTLED • remove 80 percent of the floodwall along the Ohio River as a way to re-soften the river edge while letting the river back into the city • finish building earthworks • deploy phytoremediation plantings throughout recently dismantled sites

PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO

38th Street

34th Street

28th Street

20th Street

24th Street

14th Street

8th Street

2nd Street

figure 4.14: Phase 5 Plan and Section Study.

PHASE 5: RETURN TO RESILIENCE • wetlands and native habitat return, successively taking over the remnants of the city • highway 51 and bridges remain accessible, except during flood events • potential for the place of Cairo to be declared a National Landmark for cultural landscape preservation and research • temporary and seasonal uses such as fishing, hunting, and wildlife observation

PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO

38th Street

34th Street

28th Street

20th Street

24th Street

14th Street

8th Street

2nd Street

figure 4.15: Before (left) shows existing conditions of vacancy and devaluation on "Millionaire's Row." After (right) shows phytoremediation post-demolition.

PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO

figure 4.16: Before (left) shows existing conditions of fire and abandonment in Freedmen's District. After (right) shows the ruins and remnants amidst a floodplain forest.

PART I: DISMANTLING CAIRO

PART II: MEMORIALIZING PLACE If it be praisworthy in their descendants to erect monuments in honor of the illustrious dead, and to perpetuate in history the lives and acts of those who gave shape to the past and encouragement to the future, surely it will not be deemed inappropriate to gather up the fragmentary memories of towns once vital and influential within our borders, but now covered with the mantle of decay, without succession, and wholly silent amid the voices of the present. Charles C. Jones, Jr., The Dead Towns of Georgia, 1878. Long before the colonization of America, native cultures were building mounds for ceremonies, memorials for the dead, and symbols of their culture. Concentrated primarily in the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys, it is also believed that these mounds served as a multifunctional network of infrastructure, as a refuge place from periodic inundation. Additionally, the mounds served as artifacts of familial succession, as the layers reflected generations of the family or tribe. Part two of this thesis is derived from this regional cultural landscape: to build a burial mound for the city of Cairo. Built from a portion of the salvaged materials from dismantling the buildings, the mounds would be layered up in succession which corresponds to the phasing process, becoming a palimpsest and time capsule of Cairoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history. For ease of construction and ability to withstand natural forces, wire gabions will be used. Also by giving everyone gabions, as a way to promote involvement and bring closure to the community, the people of Cairo can add their own artifacts as a physical reminder of the community and place. Over time these mounds will continue to be transformed and shaped by the river, but will be the highest ground during a flood: a place of refuge and contemplation. figure 5.1: Memorial Mound and "time capsule" for Cairo, successional burial of a dying city.

PART II: MEMORIALIZING PLACE

BURIAL MOUNDS FOR THE DEAD: FAMILIAL SUCCESSION They built these things so we would remember who we are. Don’t lose track of who you are! When I go to the mounds, I feel a great welling up of pride and love for my people. I love my ancestors. I love their bones. That’s the way I was brought up. I have great reverence for them. And every one of those mounds, I know their hands lovingly gathered the dirt, and put it there. And I can feel their hands patting me, when I go there. So that’s why I think it was left as a trail for native people to follow. Go there and connect with your ancestors, so you can walk a good path. Barbara Crandell, a woman of Cherokee heritage, 2002

figure 5.2: generational burial mound: familial succession

Since as early as 500 BC, Native American cultures (particularly the Adena, Hopewell, and Mississippian people) were constructing large earthwork mounds for ceremonies, gathering places, cultural and cosmological symbols, but their most important purpose was to honor their dead. Built by one basket-full of soil at a time, sometimes carried over long distances, these mounds took significant amounts of time and energy, and often were constructed by multiple generations within the tribe. Starting with the burial of single bodies, relatives would then cover the mound with enough soil to create a rounded form. With the later passing of generations, kinsmen would continue to bury their dead at this sacred site, and over time the mound became an impressive height.

Flaherty, Thomas H. ed. Mound Builders & Cliff Dwellers: Lost Civilizations. New York: Time-Life Books. 1992. Print.

PART II: MEMORIALIZING PLACE

figure 5.3: Cairo's burial mound: urban succession

BURIAL MOUNDS FOR A DYING CITY: URBAN SUCCESSION Experts on the social significance of shrinking urgently recommend the establishing of parting-rituals. A retreat with 'decorum and dignity' is what is needed. The death of a city needs to be given a setting, just as people receive their final blessing..." Tina Veihelmann, in Shrinking Cities, 2005 Historically, mounds or tells have been formed through the deconstruction and abandonment of cities primarily in the Middle East. Prior to the industrial revolution, if a city's infrastructure was demolished, (whether by natural or cultural disturbances), it was nearly impossible to remove demolition rubble from the site, thus they built directly on top of the ruins. Archaeological processes have revealed numerous layers of a city's history, created by many generations of people living and rebuilding on the same geographical site. These successional layers provide great insight into the cultural and urban history of a place, and the type of disturbance which led to demolition. This concept of layering rubble and letting it built up over time -- which is even evident even in modern cities (such as New York and Chicago), coupled with the Native American burial mounds of layering familial succession, becomes the premise to the idea of building a burial mound for Cairo. Constructing a 'mass grave" for Cairo through a largescale earthworks operation not only encapsulates the physical, material aspects of Cairo's history, but also provides the opportunity to bring dignity to dismantling: a purposeful labor.

DESIGN PARAMETERS Fort Defiance Roundhouses and Rail Lines Mississippi River Meander Belt traces U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Levees

PART II: MEMORIALIZING PLACE

figure 5.4 (left): earthworks burial mound design parameters. figure 5.5 (above): conceptual gesture-sketches of the mounds.

DESIGN PARAMETERS: CAIRO'S SUCCESSIONAL STORY The design for the earthworks memorial is based off of the layers of Cairo’s history which have contributed to both its success and demise, both cultural, economic, and natural forces. These parameters include: Fort Defiance, the Civil War fortification located at what was then the confluence of the two rivers and represents the historic strategic significance for defense of the site; the railroad infrastructure, which is the central reason for Cairo’s existence and represent more prosperous times for the city. Many of the rail lines are still intact, yet have been abandoned for decades, while other aspects such as the roundhouses are just visible in the traces of their foundations. Other layers include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers levees and floodwall system which encompasses the city, allowing it to exist in a frequently inundated landscape, though at a very high cost; and the Mississippi Meander Belt traces (taken from geographer Harold Fisk’s map) which show the dynamic movement of the river system. The design works in harmony with these layers of history while also responding to the existing tree canopy and topography. reducing fill by building on top of current high points and preserving as much vegetation as possible.

CUT AND FILL OPERATIONS Fill Cut

2b 3b 2a 1a

5a 5b

7a 8a

5a 6a

7b 8b

MATERIAL CALCULATIONS

CONTAMINATED (CY) SALVAGE-REUSE (CY) SALVAGE-FILL (CY) TOTAL (CY)

PHASE 1

20,000

30,000

50,000

100,000

(35,000 gabions)

PHASE 2

93,500

140,125

233,625

467,250

(175,000 gabions)

PHASE 3

93,600

140,350

233,950

467,900

(175,200 gabions)

PHASE 4

21,000

32,000

53,000

106,000

(39,500 gabions)

FLOODWALL

---

28,715

(10,750 gabions)

TOTAL

228,100

342,475

599,290

1,168,865

(435,450 gabions)

PART II: MEMORIALIZING PLACE

alternative ways to stack wire gabions: top - 20 percent back slope bottom - level at grade

7a 7b 8b 8a

figure 5.6: cut and fill operations, plan, section cuts, calculations, and wire gabion stacking diagram.

existing

most sacred mound 16 to 18 feet in height

figure 5.7: memorial mound plan evolution from existing to fully inundated with section-elevation below.

PART II: MEMORIALIZING PLACE

memorial mound fully built

memorial mound flooded

build mound against floodwall remnants

fort defiance interpretive overlook + contemplation point

PART II: MEMORIALIZING PLACE

phase 1 phase 2

phase 3 phase 4 figure 5.9: earthworks mounds layering over time

RIVERS AND REGIONALISM: A PLACE OF CONFLUENCE The mounds, while serving as a memorial for the city, will also provide a better understanding of the river valley as a regional system, allowing those who visit to take in the wide panorama of the low-lying floodplain landscape at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Another confluence emerges from this sense of regionalism and the physical element of the mound as both history, culture, and natural systems come together in one place. Meant to be explored and interpreted, the series of mounds will be visible as one approaches Cairo via bridge from either Kentucky or Missouri, creating a procession into the former city. The highest points along the earthworks mound cluster are located at the areas identified as culturally and historically significant (i.e. Fort Defiance and the three identified roundhouses, two of which have foundations that are still visible. Triangulating these points allows for sequential visibility and a surprise/reveal exploration experience as one would be able to see the mounds in the distance. Built up to a height of around 16 to 18 feet maximum (above the record flood elevation), the mounds would be places of refuge for people and wildlife during periods of inundation.

figure 5.8: earthworks as a way of reintegrating history, culture, and natural systems to connect with the river and region.

PART III: RETURN TO RESILIENCE The failure to perceive the city as part of nature has led to the disregard of natural processes in the design of cities. It has produced dangerous and costly consequences by increasing pollution, flooding, energy demands, depletion of resources, and the costs of construction and maintenance… In fact nature is a continuum; city and wilderness are at its poles. Natural processes do not cease to operate at city limits. The city is part of nature, however altered.

Spirn, Anne Whiston. “The Role of Natural Processes in the Design of Cities.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 451.1 (1980): 98-105.

The Mississippi meander belt has reigned over the alluvial landscape since the river valley was formed, leaving remnants and traces of its course across the region. When the Army Corps constructed a continuous band of levees and floodwalls to allow for development to occur around the river, it constricted the river’s ability to freely move about the floodplain, resulting in more intense and frequent inundation. What was believed to be a prime geographic location for building a city, at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, has instead proved to be both physically vulnerable and economically unsustainable. Keeping Cairo safe from the threat of flooding has been costly and inefficient, and with the problem becoming more frequent, the future of this small Illinois town rests on the necessary infrastructural maintenance to the floodwall, levees, and seepage pumps. Cairo has faced not just one, but many disturbances over its history, as it has experienced economic and community failure as well as the continuous issues of flooding and seepage. Returning the land to the river becomes part three of this thesis, as it realizes that there are some landscapes which should never developed, and the most resilient future for the city lies in the planned retreat and dismantling of infrastructure, soil remediation through natural processes, and ultimately allowing the river to meander again. Through the fragmented remnants and series of earthworks, Cairo will leave its own traces on the landscape, telling a story of a community that was saved from collapse.

figure 6.1: masterplan of "returning to resilience"

PART III: RETURN TO RESILIENCE

figure 6.2: floodplain forest showing mound and wetlands in background

PART III: RETURN TO RESILIENCE

figure 6.3: a place of refuge during inundation

PART III: RETURN TO RESILIENCE

CONCLUSION + REFLECTION Rarely in the field of urban design does a project propose planned shrinkage and the complete dismantling of a city, and when such interventions exist, they often have a new construction plan for redevelopment, such as Haussmann's plan for Paris. Designing for growth and revitalization is the typical ingredient for urban design, and that is exactly where this thesis began... with the goal of saving the city of Cairo. Captivated by the historic imagery and the idyllic visions of Cairo as a great city situated between two rivers, the initial stage of this thesis rang of nostalgia and desperately needed a reality-check as it looked to consolidate the city and revive it through adaptive programming and improving the regional river ecology as a way to "plan for resilience." This approach was not only stereotypical of urban design's response to declining cities, but it was comfortable territory with a checklist of prescribed solutions. Heeding the criticism for this all-too-simple approach and nostalgic vision, more rigorous analysis was conducted to gain insight into the deeply-rooted issues afflicting Cairo. Weeks later, and with timidity, part one of this thesis emerged: to dismantle the city through phases and remediate the land. Entering into completely unknown territory as a designer, the process of dismantling and planning an orderly retreat was quite literally backwards from the typical additive and adaptive planning projects. The question of what happens when cities disappear became a motivation and inspiration for part two, which combines a historic cultural landscape and urban precedents to build a burial mound for the city, built from the very rubble from demolition. This memorial encapsulates the layers of the city, serving as a time capsule for Cairo, and a place for refuge and contemplation of what it means when cities fail. Part three required a new concept of "resilience," by accepting and acknowledging that building a city in a floodplain is unsustainable and short-sighted. Letting the river meander again as a means of returning to resilience (the baseline landscape) begins a new succession of place.

figure 7.1: initial concept to revive the city of Cairo (vignette of 8th street) as a way to "plan for resilience."

figure 7.2: Mississippi meanders showing the wild, shifting nature of the river system.

CONCLUSION

CAIRO AND CLARICE -- INVISIBLE CITIES Clarice, the glorious city, has a tormented history. Several times it decayed, then burgeoned again always keeping the first Clarice as an unparalleled model of every splendor, compared to which the city's present state can only cause more sighs at every fading of the stars. In its centuries of decadence, emptied by plagues, its height reduced by collapsing beams and cornices and by shifts of the terrain, rusted and stopped up through neglect or the lack of maintenance men, the city slowly became populated again as the survivors emerged from the basements and lairs, in hordes., swarming like rats, driven by their fury to rummage and gnaw, and yet also to collect and patch, like nesting birds. They grabbed everything that could be taken from where it was and put it in another place to serve a different use: brocade curtains ended up as sheets; in marble funerary urns they planted basil; wrought-iron gates torn from the harem windows were used for roasting cat-meat on fires of inlaid wood. Put together with odd bits of the useless Clarice, a survivors' Clarice was taking shape, all huts and hovels, festering sewers, rabbit cages. And yet, almost nothing was lost of Clarice's former splendor; it was all there, merely arranged in a different order, no less appropriate to their inhabitants' need than it had been before. The days of poverty were followed by more joyous times: a sumptuous butterfly-Clarice emerged from the beggared chrysalis-Clarice. The new abundance made the city overflow with new materials, buildings, objects; new people flocked form outside; nothing, no one had any connection with the former Clarice, or Clarices. And the more the new city settled triumphantly into the place and name of the first Clarice, the more it realized it was moving away from it, destroying it no less rapidly than the rats and the mold. Despite its pride in its new wealth, the city, at least, felt itself incongruous, alien, a usurper.

CONCLUSION

And then the shards of the original splendor that had been saved by adapting them to more obscure needs, were again shifted. They were now preserved under glass bells, locked in display cases, set on velvet cushions, and not because they might still be used for anything, but because people wanted to reconstruct through them a city of which no one knew anything now. More decadences, more burgeonings have followed one another in Clarice. Populations and customs have changes several times; the name, the site, and the objects hardest to break remain. Each new Clarice, compact as a living body with its smells and its breath, shows off, like a gem, what remains of the ancient Clarices, fragmentary and dead. There is no knowing when the Corinthian capitals stood on the top of their columns: only one of them is remembered, since for many years, in a chicken run, it supported a basket where the hens laid their eggs, and from there it was moved to the Museum of the Capitals, in line with other specimens of the collection. The order of the eras' succession have been lost; that a first Clarice existed is a widespread belief, but there are no proofs to support it. The capitals could have been in the chicken runs before they were in the temples, the marble urns could have been planted with basil before they were filled with dead bones. Only this is known for sure: a given number of objects is shifted within a given space, at times submerged by a quantity of new objects, at times worn out and not replaced; the rule is to shuffle them each time, then try to assemble them. Perhaps Clarice has always been only a confusion of chipped gimcracks, ill assorted, obsolete.

Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities, 1978

figure 7.3: final board

CONCLUSION

figure 7.4: final thesis exhibit with accordion structure beneath showing phasing plans and sections.

CONCLUSION

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