the village of Saint Bernard [Re]present the Neighborhood
Principles of Planning Design Graphic Communications II (PLAN1012-001) Nicole Rogge Riley Trenker Nick Provenza
Table of contents Contents:
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................................................................................1 Neighborhood Impresseions.......................................................................................................................................................................................2 Neighborhood Image....................................................................................................................................................................................................3 Sensory Maps...............................................................................................................................................................................................................4 History...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................6 Neighborhood Data......................................................................................................................................................................................................8 Urban Design Analysis I............................................................................................................................................................................................10 Urban design Analysis II...........................................................................................................................................................................................11 Issues and Oppertunities..........................................................................................................................................................................................17 Oviewview of Reccomendations...............................................................................................................................................................................18 Site Plans....................................................................................................................................................................................................................22 Closing Thoughts.......................................................................................................................................................................................................25
Introduction St. Bernard, a village apart from Cincinnati. A village full of rich history and beautiful people. A village once a power house city, but no more. This book will take you on a ride through impressions of St. Bernards, to its history to the discovery of one village’s story, the perilous balance between stagnation and stability.
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Neighborhood impressions This is a wordle map of St. Bernard. We used words in the form of St. Bernard to describe different areas and characteristics.
St. Bernard Postcards These are postcards we made that depict a church, factory, and restaurant that contribute to St. Bernard’s namer and importance. This postcard is St. Clement Church which is one of the main churches in the village that contributes a lot to the community.
First Impressions: This is a map of our first impressions of St. Bernard. Listed are major roads, minor roads, landmarks, and three sections of community, residential, and industrial. 2
This is Chili Time, a local sit-down restaurant that many local residents come to eat with their families. It is supposedly very popular to the community.
This is the soap factory in St. Bernard that played a huge role in the industry of the village.
Neighborhood Image Industrial:
A very large portion of St. Bernard is industrialized. P&G Soap is one of the main reasons St. Bernard came to be an industrial powerhouse. Now, St. Bernard continues to hold many different industries.
St. Bernard has a population of around 4,600 residents. The residential side is in the southern half of the village and starts just below I-75. Most of the residents and St. Bernard are generational and have lived here forever. They can say they are proud “St. Bernardians.�
These are three individual impresion maps from the group. Each map shows each member’s impressions of St. Bernard from a site visit. There are differences and similarities, but they are all mainly the same.
St. Bernard also has community spots that residents are apart of. The community district is also in the bottom half of St. Bernard. In the community district, it is where many of the landmarks of the village are that are important to the community.
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sensory maps Greenspace Along Vine Streer
This series of three maps represent Vine Street each in it’s different way.
Emotions along Vine Street
The first shows green space, telling of area which has more green space and less green space.
The map shows the various emotions one goes through when walking or driving along Vine. The third map is a viewshed map of all the locationbs you can see the P&G smoke stack from.
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The Stability of St. Bernard vs. the Stagnation and Decline of Industry. Ebbing Tides of Employment
Work flow of St. Bernard in 2002 vs. 2015
The first piece of data that was analyzed was who was coming into St. Bernard to work and who was leaving to work. As one can see from the chart, in 2002, many people were coming into St. Bernard, showing that this village used to be an industrial powerhouse. However, by 2015, the number of people coming into the village limits to work dropped by 67%, where as the locals leaving for work dropped by 5%, a massive difference between the two populations.
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onthemap.ces.census.gov
factfinder.census.gov and city-data.com
This graphic shows the History of residential construction in vacancies in the St. Bernard residential side of St. Bernard and the majority of the areas The have an extremely low next two metrics vacancy rate. that were examined was the amount of housing built in St. Bernard over the years and housing vacancy. The houses built statistic shows the reason for why the amount of jobs locals held did not increase, that reason being that there is only about 2,000 homes avalible, meaning that the amount of jobs can’t progress past that number. Next, housing vacancy shows that there is not really much vacancy in St. Bernard, supporting the idea that this village has a stable and consistant community.
Still Housing Pool
Years homes were bulit
The Fall of Industry and the Rise of Residential
Stablity of Residential Diversity Age
Consistency of age and race
Race
Change of income: non-local workers vs. local residents
Fading Employment
Change in top 7 occupations in St. Bernard This infographic tells one of how the jobs in St. Bernard is changing, from management, which was needed for the Ivorydale soap factory, to more recreational jobs, like accomodation & food. It is also important to note that the job pool in this village is shrinking. Taking those two points, a picture is formed saying that what is declining in St. Bernard is the industrial side and not the community side. onthemap.ces.census.gov
This data set shows change of income from 2002 to 2015 in two populations, non-local workers and local workers. From this data, one can see that the income for the non-local population has dropped significantly, whereas the incomes for loca workers has increased. This lends further support to the idea that the industrial side of St. Bernard is in an extreme state of decline, while the community of this village remains firm.
The graph on the left shows the percentage of various age populations in St. Bernard between 2002 and 2015. From this data, one can see that the age of the community is not really changing. Couple that graph with the two charts on the right, which shows the consistency of race diversity in the village, a picture of how the community in St. Bernard is stable and for the most part, unchanging factfinder.census.gov
onthemap.ces.census.gov
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Figure Ground
Linkages
The Industrial side has larger bulidings and more space inbetween buldings
St. Bernard is a walkable neighborhood in the south side.
Legend
N 0
400 800
1,600 Feet
Other Industrial Commercial Residential Civic and Insutions Open Spaces Railroads and highways
Land Use We noticed that half the land is industrialized, north of the highway. The land south of the highway is heavly residential.
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St. Bernard isn’t very walkable on the industrialized side.
Urban Design Analysis II Industrial Residential
This typology is mainly what put St. Bernard on the map. The industrial typology is mainly made up of large industrial buildings on large plots of land.
In this typology is where most of the St. Bernard residents live. It mainly consists of single, middle class family homes which vary in architecture.
Civic
Commercial
The civic typology is the heart and The commercial typology in St. center of St. Bernard. It is where Bernard is mainly located along the community gathers to get about Vine Street and is where the retail their daily lives. shops, restaurants, and multi-family housing is most.
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Industrial 1:200
1:20
Elevations of factory bulidings:
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Industrial
1:20
While St. Bernard is largely known for the Ivorydale P&G soap plant, it does not mean that it is the only large industrial building in St. Bernard. In fact, close to fifty percent of the village, make up an industrial typology. This typology consists of large industrial buildings on large plots of land. While the area may not be walkable, the roads are wide and easily accessible to truck and cars making movement of large shipments easy. While St. Bernard may no longer be an industrial powerhouse, this area is definitely its backbone, it also doesn’t hurt that it smells like soap.
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Residential As St. Bernard started to focus on industry, its population grew with its power, and with a growing population, you need homes. The leads to St. Bernard’s other half, its residential typology. Made largely up of single, middleclass family houses with various architecture, it has a very peaceful feel.
Throughout this residential area lies an interconnected grid of safe sidewalks and narrow roads. Couple that with the near police station and schools on two sides of the area, making this one safe and picturesque place to live. If industry is the back bone of St. Bernard, then the residents is its blood.
Elevations of residential properties:
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1:200
1:20
Civic At the heart and center of St. Bernard lies its civic typology, complete with a town hall, library, banks, strip plaza, and more. This is where the people of St. Bernard come for their everyday needs and it is where the community gathers making it truly a place of use. The public buildings and pavement is kept clean, while the gardens are neat and trimmed. It is the heart of St. Bernard, complete with St. Bernard statues.
1:200
Elevations of civic bulidings:
1:20
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Commercial Also in this typology is the local church as well as a few multi-family homes, which help line the wide, pedestrian sidewalks. All this energy which flows throughout this typology makes it the nervous system of St. Bernard.
A village would not be complete with its own main street and St. Bernard delivers with its commercial typology. Found on Vine Street, the main street of St. Bernard, is local business, such as Wigland for all your bald needs, to local restaurants such as Chili Time, the local hot spot.
1:200
1:20
1:20
Elevations of commercial bulidings:
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Issues and Opportunities: the village of St. bernard
St. Bernard was once a power house of industry to behold, but has long since fallen to the side in many people’s eyes. However, it hasn’t in our eyes. What we see in St. Bernard is a village that will make past, present, and future generations proud, all it needs is a little push in the right direction.
Areas of Focus:
1. Vine Street
Our plan with Vine street is to completly bring back that main street feel, boosting pedstrian accesabiltiy and increasing publc transportation.
2. Greenspace 3. Residential/ 4. Transportation 5. Empty Lots While St. Bernard Commercial One other Finally, we plan to may have some green space, we plan to add more while also utilizing what is already there to it’s full potential. This will add happiness and health to this community.
Another focus we have in St. Bernard is to increase the residential housing (letting St. Bernard’s poppulation grow) and to increase the local business. We would love to get city status back.
improvement we will make is on the current transportation framework. We plan on fixing streets and sidewalks, adding bike trials, and increasing public transportation and walkability, promoting interconectedness throughout the village.
use the empty lots in St. Bernard to reach these goals and more. By using up the extra space, we are going to make these changes smooth and easy
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S.W.O.T. Analysis of St. Bernard Strength Weakness
St. Bernard’s major strength is in it’s residential half’s stability. This is what really keeps St. Bernard afloat. Other Strengths: -Own police & fire department -Safe -Good transportation framework -Access to Vine Street
St. Bernard’s major weakness is in it’s industrial half’s stagnation. Once an industrial powerhouse, it has slowy decayed to just an echo of its former self.
Very little small businesses
The Industrial half of St. Bernard is slowly declining
I-75 causes a divide between industrial and residential
Other Weaknesses: -No public transport -Not enough small business
Opportunity Threat
St. Bernard’s opportunity lies in two places, Vine Street and an area along the mill creek. Improve upon these two locations and the ball will roll. Other Opportunities: -Open land/ empty lots -Strong main street -Pocket parks
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St. Bernard’s is threatened by the divid caused by I-75, a seperation that is stiffling the upper half of the village. Another threat is St. Bernard’s underutilization of green space. Other Threats: -Separate from Cincy -Little lighting -Lots of pot holes
The open lots on Vine St. provide room for growth
A majority of the greenspace are graveyards which can’t be utlized to their full potential
Overview of reccomendations B
3
2
C
1 2 3
A B C
5-year plan
The first recomendation is to renovate vine street to make it more pedestrian friendly and to help transportation. This will be the driving force behind the changes in St. Bernard. Also, focus energy on turning the strip mall into a more eco -friendly retail area, increasing commercial in St. Bernard.
10-year plan
Last, utilize the green space betweeen I-75 & the Mill Creek, making a park for all.
Once the five year plan is complete, move on to the more industrial heavy areas. At this stage we will focus on fixing sidewalks, roads, & making bike lanes to further connect St. Bernard. Next, once the park is complete, extend the bike trail further up & down the Mill Creek, expanding green space through St. Bernard. Finally, fix and improve the section of Vine & I-75, increasing connection to the industrial side of St. Bernard
20-year plan
In the final stage of the St. Bernard recomendation plan, the industrial side will get a new make over. Now connected by the bike trail and Vine Street, we plan to change the large factories into pedstrain malls & mutli-family housing.
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Also, this is when we will finally clean up St. Bernard’s graveyards & registerer them as green spaces, making them utilized to their full potential.
A
Finally, we plan to make two new connections over I-75, furthering the connection between the industrial & residential side.
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Site #1: Park Plan MILL CREEK
A less polluted Mill Creek would not only make this park healthier, but also more pedestrian friendly, boosting the popularity of this park.
MILL CREEK Trail Head The plan for where the park connects to the rest of St. Bernard is to have a two story building, set back from the residents complete with a St. Bernard museum, small resturaunt, public bathrooms, and a second story park overlook.
MILL CREEK Edge
One problem that thia park will fix is the channelization of the Mill Creek. When this park goes in, the concrete will be dug up and turned into a natural floodable greenspace as demonstradted by the Yanweizhou Park above.
http://www.designindaba.com/articles/ creative-work/yan-weizhou-park-harnessing-nature-benefit-itself
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MILL CREEk stream
Another goal that this park has is to widen the existing creeks to make them nicer to walk along and to increase water circulation
MILL CREEK Trails This park’s main goal is to provide the residents of St. Bernard and neighboring neighborhoods access to miles of bike paths, acres of green space, and trees for children to romp and play in. With a big enough push, this park will start a bike trail going up and down the Mill Creek
1:400
MILL CREEK Trails Underpass
As seen on the map, I-75 splits this park almost in half. So what was decided on is that we will dig under the highway allowing for a nice shaded park area, like the one seen on the right. This picture is taken from a Toronto park design back in 2015. https://www.dezeen.com/2015/11/18/under-gardiner-park-waterfront-toronto-landsdcape-urbanism-public-work-ken-greenberg/
Site #2: Strip Mall to community hotspot The three buildings were orgianally one large strip mall. This had a large parking lot in front that is often empty and unutilzed.
Plan of Action:
3 2
1
1 Commercial Retail 2 Resturant/Retail 3 Mix Use
The community garden includes greenhouses, an area for a potential farmers market, and large graden beds
The playground will keep children entertained while their parents are shopping
A large portion of my site will include an open greenspace for the people of the community to use as they please. In the center their will be an interactive water fountain where children can play in the summer months
A large portion of my site will include an open greenspace for the people of the community to use as they please. In the center their will be an interactive water fountain where children can play in the summer months 21
Site #3: Vine Street Vine Street is the main street of St. Bernard. However, there are several unused areas on the street that could be utilized to make Vine Street a solid local attraction. This area on Vine Street has an unused lot of land which would be ideal for new development that would bring business. Vine Street also lacks parking space, so with new development there will be a need to increase parking, preferably on the street. There are so many opportunities on Vine Street and they don’t have to be complex. It can be as simple as bike lanes, bus stops, and trees.
St. Bernard has a lot of opportunities on Vine Street and specifically this unused spot. Vine Street is the main street of St. Bernard and lacks retail/development so adding new development will attract more people and make Vine Street active.
With more buildings there will be more parking needed. Extending the parking lot into some of the old green space will provide more parking as well as additional parking spots.
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St. Bernard could use bus stop shelters for people waiting for their ride. It is also necessary to add an area for the bus to stop. Also, bike lanes would be ideal for the main street in St. bernard. Since the residential side is a short distance away from Vine there is no need for vehicular transportation, residents will be able to bike around to their destination.
closing thoughts This book shows that St. Bernard walks a narrow balance, one where industry stagnates while residents live lives of stability, and St. Bernard walks it well. However, it is not enough and St. Bernard will soon have grow into its full bright potential, a potential easily shown by our various site plan’s. St. Bernard, the village apart from Cincinnati. The village full of rich history and beautiful people. The village that once was a power house city, and will be again
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