Wei Xiao _ Urban Portfolio by Wei Xiao

URBAN

Wei Xiao Columbia University GSAPP | M.Arch + M.S.UP Rhode Island School of Design | B.Arch + B.F.A.

PORTFOLIO

URBAN ANALYTICS, DESIGN, INFRASTRUCTURE, PLANNING, RESILIENCE, SUSTAINABILITY, TRANSPORTATION, AND MORE

P. 01

Can We Have More Green Roofs? A GIS Analysis of Queens, NYC to Cope with Heat Island Effect

P. 07

The Legacy of Bloomberg Administration: Upzoning in New York City since 2002

P. 13

Urban Transportation in Response to COVID-19: Case of Chicago and New York City

P. 17

Those Who Live and Travel in the Dark: Examing Infrastructure Exclusion in Africa through Informal Mobility Network

P. 25

Alternate Chinatown: A Parametric Design Approach to Reimagine the Potential of Chinatown’s Urban Landscape

P. 31

Charleston 2.0: Waterfront and Transit Oriented Urban Development

P. 39

[Other Work] Office to Residential Conversions: The Carbon Story

P. 43

[Other Work] Delivering the Goods: NYC Urban Freight in the Age of E-Commerce

Can We Have More Green Roofs? A GIS Analysis of Queens, NYC to Cope with Heat Island Effect

Urban Analytics, Sustainability & Resilience. Columbia GSAPP: Fall 2021. Team project with: Fang Wan (M.S.AAD 22’). Advisor: Leah Meisterlin, Daniel Froehlich.

HEAT ISLAND IN NEW YORK CITY As indicated in the Land Surface Temperature Visualization with data measured from August 26th to September 1st, 2021, the urban surface temperatures vary widely, ranging from 15.4°C to 43.6°C, suggesting a significant pattern of urban heat island effect across the city. Among all five boroughs in New York City, Queens experienced the most drastic urban heat island effect among all boroughs in the city, with an LST ranging from 15.4°C to 41.3°C.

43.6 °C

.5 Miles 15.4 °C

Among all existing but not utilized property roofs in Queens, NYC, three

higher the score is, the more suitable the site is for the green roof

were selected for green roof sites to mediate the heat island effect across

proposal. (Note _ the reclassification for land cover type reference a scholar

the borough. The final selection was made based on a weighted decision

article: Zhao, Jiacheng, Xiang Zhao, Shunlin Liang, Tao Zhou, Xiaozheng Du,

map that evaluates the site’s four identified characteristics that contribute

Peipei Xu, and Donghai Wu. “Assessing the Thermal Contributions of Urban

to the urban heat island generation, with a score ranging from 7-49. The

Land Cover Types.” Landscape and Urban Planning 204 (2020): 103927. )

Evaluation and MCDA criteria

3x +

2x +

Land Surface Temperature (Degree)

Categorized Land Cover Type (Per Type)

2x +

1x =

Green Infrastructure Need (Kernenl Density)

Level of Urbanization (Number of Floor per Lot)

.75 Miles 7

SELECTED BUILDING ROOF FOR CONVERSION 1 Long Island City High School in City Council District 22 ranks at the top with a score of 44. The school is located in an area with the highest temperature score and land cover score due to the high concentration of materials contributing to the urban heat island effect while significantly lacking green infrastructure. The green roof addition to a school will contribute to the educational purposes of this program.

Land Surface Temperature (Degree)

Categorized Land Cover Type (Per Type)

Green Infrastructure Need (Kernenl Density)

Level of Urbanization (Number of Floor per Lot)

Land Surface Temperature (Degree)

Categorized Land Cover Type (Per Type)

Green Infrastructure Need (Kernenl Density)

Level of Urbanization (Number of Floor per Lot)

2 Q7A Sanitation Garage in City Council District 19 also ranks among the top choices with a score of 44.5. The garage is located in an area with the highest temperature score and land cover score similar to Long Island City High School. As a sanitation garage, the green roof addition will bring awareness of environmental concerns for the citizens.

The Legacy of Bloomberg Administration: Upzoning in New York City since 2002

Urban Analytics. Columbia GSAPP: Fall 2021. Team project with: Fang Wan (M.S. AAD 22’), Ya Hsuan Yang (M.S. UP 22’), Sebastian Salas (M.S.UP + M.S.RED 22’). Advisor: Boyeong Hong.

PROJECT STATEMENT Since the beginning of Bloomberg’s administration, together with the

these rezonings on affordability. The project centers around the question -

development of private real estate, a large portion of the city had been

What was the effect/legacy of rezoning undertaken during Bloomberg’s

rezoned in hopes of turning industrial areas into residential

administration from 2002 to 2013 on the housing stock and characteristics in

neighborhoods. Now, almost a decade after the end of Bloomberg’s

NYC?

mayoralty, the project would like to evaluate the medium-term effects of

https://output.jsbin.com/hayusa#introduction

SITE SELECTION PRINCIPLES Two modes of development are specifically crucial in understanding the

upgrade zoning change. Therefore, this project picks the neighborhood

impact of rezoning on local residents, which are: the non-residential (C/M)

outcome of those two models as case study sites.

to residential (R) zoning change and residential (R) to residential (R)

1. Zoning is a diverse and complicated tool - the long-term effects of

to further demonstrate how varied the use of zoning can be.

which cannot be fully anticipated - but has the power to fundamentally

4. Additionally, more demographic variables could also be included

change the built environment and socio-economic characteristics of

within the analysis to better understand the dynamics of displacement

the city.

and gentrification caused by rezonings. Another avenue for further

2. Due to the lag between the implementation of zoning and the

research is to use 3D data representation to better visualize and

duration of construction projects, the effects of zoning may not be fully

understand vertical development as a result of rezonings - this is

understood for a period of time after.

something that we were unable to capture.

3. Although our research was limited to the exploration of two case studies based on two types of rezoning (land-use change and residential upzoning), this can be scaled to include more case studies

Urban Transportation in Response to COVID-19: Case of Chicago and New York City

Urban Analytics, Transportation. Columbia GSAPP: Fall 2021, Spring 2022. Advisor: Boyeong Hong.

RIDESHARE SERVICE SYSTEM IN CHICAGO, BEFORE & AFTER By aggregating rideshare service requests in Chicago during April 2019 and April 2020, it is apparent that there is not only a drastic decrease in service requests amount but also a shift in their distribution patterns. In April 2019, most rideshare service requests gathered within and around the downtown areas where public transportation is well established. While in April 2020, the distribution pattern was much more disturbed across Chicago neighborhoods.

Chicago rideshare service requests distribution in April, 2019

Chicago rideshare service requests distribution in April, 2020

A further step was taken by analyzing where the rideshare service started and ended in the city. By aggregating rideshare service request amounts based on the pick-up and drop-off locations, the project identifies patterns of usage relating to geographical areas. The result indicates a transition of service pattern in Chicago: from the pre-COVID stage oriented towards tourism rideshare service requests to the during-COVID stage oriented more towards local communities.

Network visualization of rideshare service requests on April 1st, 2019

Network visualization of rideshare service requests on April 1st, 2020

ILLEGAL PARKING COMPLAINTS IN NYC The outbreak of COVID-19 in New York City, especially the following pause program, has significantly reduced illegal parking complaints across the city. One reasonable interpretation could be that fewer vehicles were on the street because the pause program confined non-essential workers to stay at home, thus fewer complaints were filed.

PROJECT INTRODUCTION Focusing on five African cities, this project seeks to challenge the

between the built environment, infrastructure, and human settlement at

conventional use of night light imagery by integrating other sources of

the scale of satellite imagery, the project aims to challenge existing

datasets to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the lives and

assumptions about the geographies of belonging and infrastructure

infrastructure behind nighttime activities. By examining the relationship

exclusion.

Map of Case Study Cities

Methodology Breakdown

The project aims to compare nighttime light satellite imagery with informal

identify global patterns and reveal untold stories of places where people

mobility network datasets, census grid counts, and building footprint

live but lack adequate infrastructure at night. Overall, the methodology of

datasets produced by governments and researchers worldwide. This

this project can be divided into four main steps: 1. Raw Data Collection; 2.

comparative analysis across different datasets will enable the project to 19

Data Processing; 3. Data Visualization; 4. Machine Learning.

SELECTED CASE STUDY RESULTS In Accra, Ghana, informal bus routes are primarily distributed along the coastline, while three emerging new towns near the NASA nighttime light image boundary exhibit a relatively low building footprint density.

Map of Accra, Ghana

Harare, Zimbabwe’s urban morphology resembles that of Addis Ababa, featuring a central radial pattern connecting surrounding satellite towns. However, the areas containing informal bus stops almost entirely overlap with regions exhibiting the lowest urban population density. Interestingly, the NASA nighttime light image in Harare is significantly smaller than the areas with the lowest population density boundary, excluding the city’s most populated areas in the southern and eastern regions.

Map of Harare, Zimbabwe

Map of Nairobi, Kenya

In Nairobi, Kenya, the urban cluster extent exceeds its planned

system connects numerous surrounding villages and new towns, it does

administrative area, blurring the concept of downtown and suburbs when

not overlap with the NASA nighttime light image boundary in the city’s

considering areas with a population density of 300 people per square

western part, suggesting an imbalanced development between Nairobi’s

kilometer. The NASA nighttime light image and urban extent almost

eastern and western regions.

coincide within the Nairobi administrative area. Although the informal bus

Alternate Chinatown A Parametric Design Approach to Reimagine the Potential of Chinatown’s Urban Landscape

Urban Analytics, Urban Design & Planning. Columbia GSAPP: Spring 2023. Team project with: Kelly He (M.Arch 24’). Advisor: Snoweria Zhang.

AREA OF INVESTIGATION

OBSERVATION

HYPOTHESIS

The abundance of tenement housing and the unequal distribution of light

Through streetscape reconfiguration concerning street width/setback/

and view access for buildings in Chinatown core areas have highlighted the

amenity network, density variation concerning land use, and building

potential for rethinking the urban landscape while maintaining the unique

typology variation,a more optimal Chinatown development can be achieved

street/cultural life of Chinatown.

increasing both living qualities and street/cultural life for residents. For the purpose of this study, zoning regulations for the area has been

QUESTION

modified to: 1) Commercial (C6-1) with FAR: 1.0-6.0, upper residential

With the considerations of streetscape design, amenity network design,

portion allowed; 2) Residential (C7-2) with FAR: 0.87-3.44, recalculate OPS

and building typology design in compliance with zoning regulation, how can

requirement at site level.

we reimagine future Chinatown’s urban landscape?

VARIABLES & ITERATIONS 7 key variables are established in the parametric design model, resulting in 80 design iterations. The project considered not only the street types and scapes but also the distribution of density, commercial use lots, building typologies, etc.

Inputs

# of options

Description of the options

*Street Type Option

Primary, Secondary, Tertiary

Streetscape Configuration

4 options was generated with 3 street type options

Density Attraction

Towards center, Towards periphery, Linear, Dispersed

Percentage of parcels with commercial use

30%, 50%, 60%, 80%, 90% of parcel ground floor

*Building Typology

Regular residential, Residential courtyard, Podium type 1, Podium type 2

* FAR

0.87-3.44 residential, 1.0-6.0 commercial (mixed-use)

* Parcel Width

60 - 125 ft

Design Space Size

Iteration 33 is the cloestest to existing Chinatown streetscape with overall great performances and urban design in relation to neighborhood context.

Average daylight hours for open space increases 0.1 hours Average % of days with daylight for open space increases 1%

Average daylight hours for buildings increases 50% by 2.9 hours Average % of days with daylight for buildings increases 20%

% of open view above threshold increases 22.7 %

Average number of parks within 3 mins walking for commercial stores increases 175% by 1.47 % of commercial stores with 3 or more parks connection increases 23.9%

Charleston 2.0: Rethinking Waterfront Sustainable Urban Development

Architecture Design, Urban Design & Planning, Sustainability & Resilience, Transportation. Columbia GSAPP: Winter 2022, Idependent Project. Team project with: Zijia Liu (M.S. UP 23’), Kevin To (M.S. RED 23’), Konsta Pikkujämsä (M.S. RED 23’), Elias Pikkujämsä (M.S. RED 23’).

PROJECT STATEMENT Charleston 2.0 – a water-bound mixed-use development – is designed through preserving the importance of the area’s local maritime history, addressing the demand for activating the waterfront within the modern landscape, and pioneering the future of industrial development through partnership with an innovative aerospace campus.

SITE BOUNDARY GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT COMMERCIAL REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICT LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT HEAVY INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT PLANNED DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT

Design bird’s-eye view

0.25 MILES

Existing zoning regulation

PARK CIRCLE

CITY NEIGHBORHOODS

RIVER FRONT PARK

SITE BOUNDARY

REMOUNT ROAD BUS SERVICE

104

MONTAGUE AVE BUS SERVICE JAMESTOWN DEVELOPMENT

ACTIVE RAILWAY SERVICE BIKABLE MULTI-USE PATH

0.125 MILES N

Existing site transportation

Arterial street

Regular traffic street

Pedestrain Street

CONNECTIVITY By re-orienting the street-grid for multimodal transit across all sides of the

Noisette Creek and create of a walkable & bike-accessible connection to

project, the project reconnects the physically separated waterfront parcel

the site. Through the realignment of the site’s street-grid, this project

to the 2.5M SF of new development near Navy Yard and Park Circle

promotes healthier mobility by allowing for multi-modal transit from the

neighborhood. To improve horizontal penetration to the site, this project

west side to the waterfront and connecting all three portions of the site to

will partner with the city to extend the abandonedrail tracks across 33

the surrounding neighborhoods.

RESILIENCE Proactive resiliency solutions include creation of a canal to alleviate storm and rainwater overflow, preservation of the wetland permiter’s soft edges, raising the foundation of Phase 1 by 6’0” to meet the topographic water table, and creation of 1M SF of public green space which will collectively act as a “sponge park” for the site. Preventative resiliency strategies include geothermal heating and cooling systems to create sustainable utility efficiency for the mixed-income community, as well as installating green roofs and solar panels for renewable energy production.

Proposed resiliency strategies

Existing flooding analysis

SITE BOUNDARY PUBLIC-OWNED LAND

ELEVATION OF LAND AND STREET

PRIVATE-OWNED LAND

WETLAND RESTORATION / CANAL

Coastal flood with velocity hazard (wave action)

BIOSWALE ALONG STREET

HIGH-RISK WITH 1% ANNUAL CHANCE OF FLOODING 0.125 MILES N

GREEN ROOF / SOLAR PANEL

0.125 MILES N

9 8 6 7

20 21

19 13

4 2

200ft

400ft

PHASE I 1

MARITIME CENTER

APARTMENT I (RENTAL)

APARTMENT II (RENTAL)

APARTMENT III (RENTAL)

APARTMENT IV (CONDO)

PHASE II 6

APARTMENT V (RENTAL & STUDENT HOUSIING)

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

HIGH SCHOOL

9 10 INNOVATION HUB III (OFFICE) 11

INNOVATION HUB I (INDUSTRIAL & OFFICE)

INNOVATION HUB II (INDUSTRIAL & OFFICE)

PHASE III (CONCEPTUAL) 13

HOSPITALITY

14 15 16 17 APARTMENT 18

PARKING STRUCTURE

19 20 21 LIFE SCIENCE CENTER

Community event location

Community event timeline

Innovation Hub

Community activation event

Maritime center

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP The project will partner with local organizations to provide year-round

connection to maritime culture, addressing affordable housing demands

events for the community and the broader city residents by acknowledging

and placemaking activation, and establishing long-term plans to bring in

the past, addressing the present, and planning for the future. Different

innovative forces.

organizations play distinctive roles in revitalizing and reinforcing the

[Other Work] Office to Residential Conversion: The Carbon Story

Urban Planning, Urban Analytics, Sustainability & Resilience.

INTRODUCTION Expanding conversion activity is an urgent topic both in New York City and

expanded the range of buildings eligible for office to residential

across the world, given high office vacancy rates and a worsening housing

conversions? Using quantifiable data and analysis, the report calculates

crisis. However, discussions on the topic in policy and real estate spheres

carbon savings through a typological framework, dividing buildings by

have so far overlooked the sustainability impacts of converting and reusing

decade, floor plate depth, and window type – all factors that impact the

these existing office buildings. This research set out to answer a simple

operational and embodied carbon savings associated with conversion.

question: how much carbon could be saved by 2050 if New York City

https://www.arup.com/perspectives/publications/research/section/office-to-residential-conversions-the-carbon-story

[Other Work] Delivering the Goods: NYC Urban Freight in the Age of E-Commerce

INTRODUCTION Within the New York City freight and logistic system context, this project

the project explored site and system scale design interventions, ranging

considers the interface between movement and place a distinct and vital

from physical design elements to technology-assisted management that

opportunity for design and policy intervention. To better facilitate goods

can serve to mitigate the adverse impacts of freight movement that New

and waste movement within the final fifty feet of the last-mile delivery trip,

Yorkers often experience nowadays.

https://www.aiany.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AIANY-Delivering-the-Goods-NYC-Urban-Freight-Nov-2022.pdf

METHODOLOGY The project begins by identifying common issues that the New York City freight and logistic system generated from the perspective of city residents. Then, propose strategic utilization of the curb spaces along the street as ways to manage the different types of flows that serve city life requirements through both physical and digital/systematical interventions.

Current context at the last-mile interface

Design tool kit diagram

Flexible strategy diagram

Example of design intervention in a medium- to high-density neighborhood with a two-way street with bike lanes