[Re]Imagining Paradise

[Re]imagining paradise Zoey Fox | Spring 2019 | Studio Stacey White

Table of contents Chapter 1: Introduction a) Introduction b) Executive Summary c)Design Summary and Project Phases Chapter 2: Community Overview a) History b) Culture and Community Assets c) Economic d) Prior and Anticipatory Demographics e) Ecosystem Understanding Chapter 3: Resiliency and Disaster Recovery a) The Camp Fire b) Defining and Implementing Recovery c) Wildland Urban Interface d) Resiliency e) Learning from Others Chapter 4: Vision and Goals a) Outreach and Common Themes b) How Might We...Brainstorming and Outcomes c) Community Vision and Goals d) Creating a Replicable Model Chapter 5: Constructing a Downtown a) General Plan Update b) The West Village Chapter 6: The Built Environment a) Designing Resiliently b) Project Connections c) The Project Chapter 7: The Future a) Where Do We Go From Here? b) Strategic Investments c) Incentivizing Rebuilding Right d) Next Steps Bibliography Appendices a) Noteworthy Precedent Research b) Design Iterations c) ARCH 307 Lab/Project Submissions d) ARCH 342 Lab/Project Submissions

Acknowledgements This section should include a special acknowledgment of those unsung heroes of your work that contributed directly and indirectly to the outcomes of the studio. This could include some that you’ve never met that have quietly advocating for your success, those in some other area of your life that have been a sounding board, our cousins in Kent’s studio, or others that you are think are appropriate to acknowledge.

In addition to this general statement, this should include the specific names of each contributing member (reviewer) of your project, including but not limited to the following: Studio Sponsors WRNS Studios Cal Poly Student Affairs BNIM Architects mode associates Chico State University Kijeong Jeon Rouben Mohiuddin Debra Larsen Seema Sehrawat Rachel Simmons Melody Stapleton State of California Seth Doulton, Treasurers’ Office Fiona Ma, State Treasurer Eric Shaw, Office of Emergency Services Danna Stapleton, Lieutenant Governor’s Office Cal Poly David Askay Mark Cabrinha Mario Esola Amir Hajrasouliha Keith Humphrey Bob Linscheid Kent MacDonald Margot Macdonald Bill Siembieda Sandy Stannard Jesse Vestermark Russell White

Paradise Residents Abby Armer Charles Brooks Melissa Boutelle Lowell Forward Melissa Schuster Tama Czarnecki Olivia Taylor Other Lief Mckay Melanie Mills Byron Mouton Brian Tanner Auburn Rural Studio John Willbanks Phyllis Wong Waggonner and Ball

Chapter ONE

Intro Legend has it that the town of Paradise, California, gets its name from a mill crew delivering a load of lumber on an unusually warm summer’s day.

Exhausted, they came into the shade of the lush pine forests and sat on the blanket of soft needles underneath them. Satiated by the environment, one of the men exclaimed, “Boys, this is paradise!”

For anyone who has traveled Skyway Road, it is easy to see why the name stuck. The majestic natural beauty of the canyon and the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains instill a humbling sense of awe in all who visit the area. Upon the mountain and away from the noise of the city, visitors to Paradise, and residents alike, are very fond of the small town. The tall pine trees around the houses provided privacy and a close connection to nature; the various public events throughout the year created a strong relationship amongst the community. Because of this strong community bond, the town recovered quickly after the 2008 Humboldt Fire and Camp Fire. The Paradise community has proven to be indisputably resilient.

When Paradise residents were awakened by panicked knocking on their doors on November 8th, 2018, they had no idea that they were facing the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the history of California. Wildfires were an ever-present reality in the area. Because of this, some residents decided to stay behind to protect their homes and businesses. However, the black smoke soon covered the sky and ashes engulfed the entire town.

By the time people realized that they had to evacuate, the smoke had blocked all the sunlight, and it seemed like dusk rather than dawn. Stumbling and struggling to see and breathe, Paradise residents tried to flee out of town as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, some of them ended up on disconnected roads, or stuck in stand-still traffic, and escaped on foot. The fire scorched approximately 153,000 acres of land, killed 86 people, and took 17 days before it was doused by heavy rainfall and extinguished.

Lots of conversations about loss arose after the fire, and the lessons gained from this tragedy should not be forgotten. Historically, humans have tended not to change their lifestyles or technologies until something catastrophic happened. For example, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the subsequent fire changed the city’s understanding of housing. The dense wooden structures were a tinderbox waiting for a match that, once ignited, would burn down a quarter of the city. This horrifying natural disaster sparked discussion of improving earthquake engineering design, urban planning, and fireproofing for buildings. Similarly, there is so much that we can learn from the Camp Fire, and there is so much we can do to prevent the next wildfire in Paradise and other communities like it.

After losing over 90% of its structures, Paradise has a second chance to be planned and built with contemporary knowledge and technology. The streets can be repaved to have sidewalks and bike lanes, commercial buildings can be closer to each other, and a wildland-urban interface zone can be created to provide defensible space and create a more physically resilient condition.

Paradise also has a chance to be proactive and solve other issues, including creating a town that is energy, water, and waste regenerative. This is an opportunity for Paradise to become the first Zero Net Energy town in California, paving the way for what is possible by evolving into an ideal mountain town. The heartbreaking tragedy of the past not only shaped Paradise’s history, but also becomes a chance to reimagine the town to be more resilient socially, economically, and physically.

Executive Summary Twenty-six thousand people were displaced due to the Camp Fire. One thousand families are still searching for housing six months after the fire. In order for the town’s residents to return home, Paradise needs to be rebuilt in a timely manner. A group of third-year architecture students from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo intended to bring inspiration to Paradise residents by designing sustainable, fire-resistant, community-oriented buildings. Based on research and feedback from multiple rounds of community meetings, a new town concept plan with individual building designs has been tailored to revitalize Paradise and to act as a catalyst for further investment. Through mentoring and peerreview of designs from professional firms, the projects can be developed more fully to bring Paradise residents hope that there will be a home to which they can return.

Design process and project phases From January through June, the workflow for the (re)imagining Paradise project in was designed around human-centered design thinking. The process, created by the founders of the firm Ideo, is a method of solving complex problems. It is an iterative design process grounded in first building understanding, then giving all parties involved a chance to explore divergent ideas and thoughts before finally focusing on converging solutions to address specific community needs.

The 23-week long process was organized as follows with key presentations noted by date: Researching and Building Understanding (and Empathy) - 4 weeks (2 weeks prior to the course) January 17, 2019 Urban / Concept Planning (Defining Issues) - 2 Weeks Catalytic Project Conceptual Design (Creating Solutions/Prototyping/Testing) - 3 Weeks February 22,2019 Merged Catalytic Project Conceptual Design (Creating Solutions/Prototyping/Testing) - 3 weeks Supplementary Research and Tours of Cities (Revising Empathy/Issues) - 3 weeks Catalytic Project Schematic Design (Creating Solutions/Prototyping/Testing) - 2 weeks April 19, 2019 Catalytic Project and Concept Plan Design Development) - 8 weeks June 3, 2019

Chapter TWO

history The rich history of Paradise dates back to 1848 when gold was first discovered along the American River. This attracted many of the town’s early settlers. The largest gold nugget, weighing 54 pounds, was found in Magalia, an adjacent town to the north. This inspired the Gold Nugget Days Festival, which is celebrated annually in April.

Due to the Gold Rush, Paradise’s population grew and infrastructure was built reactively to support the settling families settling. Lumber mills, a post office, a school, and a church were built by 1880.

Another round of settlers then came to Paradise and established agriculture, which became a big part of the town’s identity. Infrastructure like the Magalia Reservoir and the Paradise Irrigation District were created to support irrigation needs. In 1889, the town celebrated the Paradise Harvest Festival in honor of this agricultural heritage, which evolved into the Johnny Appleseed Days twoday festival that Paradise still celebrates today.

In just over a decade, from 1950 to the mid-1960s, the population of Paradise quadrupled to 20,000 people, and residents decided to incorporate as a town, and the town remained reactive to its rampant growth. Instead of a clear plan for development, the town had low density, sprawl, limited infrastructure, and discontinuous streets. These problems would contribute to the devastation of the wildfires to come.

In 2008, the Humboldt Fire evacuated 9,500 Paradise residents and destroyed 66 homes. Ten years later, in November of 2018, the Camp Fire devastated the town, killing 85 people and destroying 14,000 homes and 5,000 other buildings. After the second of these two tragic events, planners questioned whether it was safe to rebuild the town as it once was. It had been determined that the town lacked central planning and adequate infrastructure; Paradise was therefore not fire resilient.

Post Camp Fire, Paradise has an opportunity to redesign and address these problems to create a town that is resilient physically, socially, and economically.

Dates of Significance: Pre-1800: Land is inhabited by the Maidu Tribes.

1849: Gold is first discovered in the American River and attracts the first settlers; they search along Feather River and finally settle in Butte County 1860-1879: First town infrastructure is built including a school, post office, and a church 1880: Logging and livestock become main economic sectors; population reaches 301.

1904: Railway system is established; settlers from the Eastern United States travel to California and develop agriculture in Butte County.

1916: Farming flourishes due to the construction of Magalia Reservoir and the establishment of Paradise Irrigation District.

1937: The first Paradise fair is held.

1955: “Paradise” is given its name. Population of Paradise reaches approximately 5,000 1966: Population reaches 20,000 1979: Paradise is incorporated as an official town covering approximately 18 square miles 2000: Population reaches 26,400 2008: The Humboldt Fire stretches over 22,800 acres between Chico and Paradise; 9500 residents are evacuated from their homes and 66 homes are destroyed 2018: Camp Fire, the deadliest California wildfire to date, strikes Paradise and Chico area. 10,000 structures burned down

Culture and community assets The culture of Paradise revolves around its history, community, and outdoor environment. The many assets of Paradise create its culture. Their greatest assets are its festivals and events, Recreation Center, Performing Arts Center, the many outdoor activities available to residents, and most importantly their strong community ties. All of these make Paradise a beloved home to its residents.

The town’s major festivals are the Gold Nugget Days, Johnny Appleseed Days, and the Chocolate Festival. Gold Nugget Days celebrate the beginnings of Paradise as a gold mining town where nearby in Magalia the largest gold nugget was found. The first two days of the festival feature a parade, a Miss Gold Nugget Pageant, a children’s costume contest, a donkey derby, and a crafts fair among many other fun activities. Johnny Appleseed Days celebrate its history of agriculture. It is a two-day festival during which there is local entertainment, vendors, artisans, and most importantly apple pies. The residents of Paradise bake a thousand apple pies for this event. The Chocolate Fest is a fun day to celebrate all things chocolate. Among the events during this day are the “fun run” called the Chocolate Chase, a bike ride called Tour ‘de Chocolate, the Chocolate Cuisine Challenge, and the royal coronation of the Chocolate Fest Queen and King. These three festivals bring the community together to celebrate their town, history, and people, and community celebrations is one of the town’s strongest assets. The other most important asset the town has is its natural environment.

Paradise is recognized for its dynamic surroundings, with vistas of pine and oak forests, rivers, and mountains. Being there is like living and breathing nature. During the summer months, there are swimming spots and rivers right outside of town. There are many hikes and trails like the Paradise Flume Trail to the east of town and the Paradise Memorial Trailway, which is located right along the middle of town. In the winter months when it snows, a short drive southwest allows residents to ski and snowboard. In town, they have parks like Billie Park, which has beautiful landscaping, a gazebo, and a lake that makes it a great place to go for the day. It is also a great venue for events like weddings and birthdays. There is Terry Ashe Park, as well, where the Paradise Recreation Center is located. The Recreation Center is utilized for birthdays and events, and during the winter the skating rink opens. The natural landscape and available outdoor activities make being active in sports and outdoors a great part of the lives of the people of Paradise.

All of these assets, the festivals, nature and outdoor activities, and civic centers, create the culture and lifestyle of Paradise. These are the reasons people settled in Paradise and they are the reasons people choose to retire there. It is what makes its people feel proud and passionate about their town.

Cost of Living

Population by Education

The cost of living indices are based on a US average of 100. An amount below 100 means

Data from U.S. Census Bureau, updated in May, 2017

Paradise is cheaper than the US average. A cost of living index above 100 means Paradise, California is more expensive. updated in September, 2018

Others 7.7%

Grade school 2.7%

Data from U.S. Census Bureau, updated in May, 2017

293

300

Educational services 7.6%

U.S. average

Some high school 5.8%

California

250

Degree master 2.4%

Population by Occupation

Others 20.5%

Paradise

Manufacturing 3.5%

200 Administrative, support, waste management services 3.6%

169 150 111 High school grad only 32%

Degree 2 years 16.2%

98

107

100

107102

93

96

101104

Retail trade 13.5%

Professional,scientific, technical services 4.2%

Public administration 5.5%

50

0 Some college 9.9%

147

136

100 Degree 4 years 23.3%

Construction 7.9%

Accommodation, food services 6.9%

Overall

Grocery

Health

Housing

Utilities Transportation

Misc.

Health care and social assistance 26.8%

Economic Similar to many rural towns scattered across the United States, Paradise had a very localized economy. As a town with a majorly aging population, Paradise employs 10,024 people out of a total population of 26,396 people. Based on an index in which the U.S. average cost of living is 100 (an index > 100 means it is more expensive compared to the U.S. average), California is 169, and Paradise is 111. Housing is the biggest factor in the cost of living in Paradise. The median property value is $205,500, which is higher than the U.S. ($193,500), but lower than California ($442,400).

As a comparatively affordable town in the State of California, it is no surprise that some former Chico residents would want to retire to the town. In fact, the top three industries of healthcare and social assistance (25.8%; 2,589 people), retail trade (13.2%; 1,319 people), and educational services (8.4%; 844 people) complement its aging population. The healthcare and social assistance category consists of registered nurses; nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides; and personal care aides.

This category is the fifth highest paying industry in Paradise; employees earn a median annual income of $32,483. The retail trade category consists of retail salespersons, first-line supervisors of retail sales workers, and cashiers. The educational services category consists of elementary and middle school teachers, post-secondary teachers, and teacher assistants. This category is the fourth highest paying industry in Paradise; employees earn a median annual income of $33,496.

Additionally, as a rural town, Paradise has a high number of residents working in the industry categories of agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting (251 people), healthcare and social assistance (2,589 people), and utilities (123 people), which, according to the census, is high comparatively for a town its size. The highest paying industries in Paradise by annual median earnings are utilities ($67,667), real estate, rentals and leasing ($52,130), and finance and insurance ($50,679). The lowest paying industries are arts, entertainment, and recreation ($9.453); accommodation and food services ($11.538); and administrative, support, and waste management services ($20,424).

Occupationally, the most common jobs of Paradise residents are administrative (11.4%; 1,145 people), management (10.3%; 1,033 people), and sales (9.6%; 960 people). From there, Paradise has an unusually high number of residents working in the occupation categories of health technicians (450 people); personal care and service (728 people); and farming, fishing, and forestry (101 people).

The highest paying jobs by annual median earnings are life, physical, and social science employees ($79,955), firefighting supervisors ($71,625), and legal employees ($63,247). The lowest paying jobs are in food and serving ($13,072), arts and recreation ($14,561), and personal care and service ($15,405).

Unfortunately, due to its isolated location with limited localized economic opportunity, Paradise did have a stagnant economy before the Camp Fire. Its unemployment rate of the time was 4.6%, whereas the national rate is 3.9%. University students were not returning to Paradise after graduation, which led to the increasingly aging workforce. Additionally, many residents did not work in Paradise and would instead commute every day to Chico in order to compete in the job market.

Prior and anticipatory Demographics Before the Camp Fire, Paradise was home to a population of 26,400 people, from which 98.9% are US citizens. As of 2017, 2.39% of Paradise, CA residents were born outside of the country. The ethnic composition of the population of Paradise, California, is composed of 23,300 White alone residents (88.3%), 1,640 Hispanic or Latino residents (6.21%), 834 Two or More Races residents (3.15%), 308 American Indian and Alaska Native alone residents (1.17%), 269 Asian alone residents (1.02%), 53 Black or African American alone residents (0.2%), 0 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone residents (0%), and 0 Some Other Race alone residents (0%). Given its demographics, the most common foreign languages spoken in Paradise are Spanish or Spanish Creole (703 speakers), German (167 speakers), and Chinese (88 speakers).

Due to the disproportionally large young and old populations in Paradise, the median age of all people in Paradise was 49.2. Native-born citizens, with a median age of 49, were generally younger than foreign-born citizens, with a median age of 58. Paradise was majorly a town with young families and retired couples. Consequently, the town was home to a large population of veterans with over 1,039 Vietnam, 299 Korean, and 217 Gulf War veterans.

Looking forward, the demographics of the town will change dramatically as people begin to repopulate the area. In fact, according to a survey from Urban Design Associates, only 51% of residents plan on returning to Paradise. Furthermore, only 36% say that they intend to have their children return to school in Paradise. Through conversation with displaced Paradise residents, many have expressed that retired residents have decided that it is not worth the wait to rebuild in Paradise and have instead moved elsewhere. Many generational families likely will return to Paradise since their families have resided there for centuries. As for the influx of people wanting to re-populate Paradise, the overall economic, workforce, and educational development of the town will determine the demographics of the “new� Paradise.

ocial , CA

Looking forwards how might we...

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re-zone to create vibrant urban centers that encourage social interaction? develop housing and communities that serve people of varying backgrounds while attracting new people? locate and create social spaces important to Paradise? design infrastructure for an agricultural community? respond to an existing culture through new development and innovation?

Statistical Breakdown of Paradise

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Po Age Breakdown

United States California Butte County, CA Paradise, CA Chico, CA Metro Area

Job Breakdown

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2016 Median Property Value

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Paradise vs. U.S. Income

Racial Breakdown

The Culture of Paradise Cultural Endeavors

Social Centers

Green Spaces

Ecosystem Understanding Paradise is a town in Butte County, California, located at 35.7596º N, 121.6219º W. Paradise is located to the east of Chico and north of Sacramento in the Sierra Nevada foothills in a lush green environment among pine and oak forests. It is located on a ridge in the foothills that has elevations ranging from 2,000 to 2,800 feet above sea level. The land in Paradise is rugged, resembling a plateau surrounded by canyons that becomes increasingly hilly. Its topography ranges from being extremely walkable to non-buildable with slopes ranging between 0% up to greater than 20%.

Paradise has only a few main roads due to its unique topography. Soils in Paradise are well drained and of a reddish brown loam. Paradiso, originally formed from volcanic rock, is the most common soil found in the town.

Pre Camp Fire land use types in Paradise ranged from commercial zoning to residential, industrial, public service, and agricultural. Uses were separated horizontally, with the primary commercial zones being along Skyway and Clark.

Paradise is a grassland chaparral and mixed conifer habitat biome. This type of biome, along with the climate of Paradise, allows for the town to be covered in a heavy green canopy, creating a wooded sense of place. There are many natural assets in and around Paradise, such as the water features within Butte County surrounding Paradise—Feather River and Butte Creek, that contribute to the rich diversity in vegetation and wildlife.

There are also many protected areas within the county such as Plumas National Forest, Butte Sink National Wildlife Refuge, and Lassen National Forest, which contribute to the beauty and preservation of the natural assets surrounding the town.

Native vegetation in Paradise includes tall foothill ponderosa pines, California black or blue oaks, western redbud, lupine, flannelbush, buckeye, California buckwheat, common whiteleaf manzanita, California fuschia, deergrass, and coyote brush. Most of these native plants require welldrained soils, are drought tolerant, and are able to withstand the hot, dry summers of Paradise.

The type of wildlife found in Paradise can range from snakes (king snakes, rattlesnakes, gopher snakes, garter snakes, and striped racer snakes), opossums, bats, squirrels, fox, racoons, mountain lions, western bluebirds, yellow warblers, bobcats, coyotes, and bears.

Paradise has a heating dominated Mediterranean climate that consists of hot summers and wet, cool winters. The predominant wind direction comes from the northeast along the ridge and under some conditions is strong. Average summer temperatures for June, July, and August are in the 90º’s F range with June having an average high and low of 84º/60 º, July with 92º/66º, and August with an average high and low of 90º/64º.

Fall temperatures average around 70º F. September has an average high and low of 85º/61º F, while October has an average of 74º/53º F, and November has 60º/44º F average high and low temperatures. Average winter temperatures reach as low as 36º F. December has an average high and low temperature of 53º/39º F, while January has averages of 54º/39º F, and February has averages of 57º/41º F. The temperature averages 68º F in the spring. The average high and low in March is 61º/43º F, while April averages 66º/47º F, and May averages 76º/53º F. The town experiences snowfall in the winter as well. Paradise averages approximately three inches of snowfall per year and nearly inches of rain on average per year, which is greater than the average rainfall for California at 22 inches annually.

Due to the nature of this climate, good passive design strategies to utilize in Paradise are natural ventilation and cooling, direct solar heat gain, solar shading on the south, and minimizing north glazing. Other strategies to consider are utilizing thermal mass, implementing the use of solar pv panels on rooftops for energy production, planting native vegetation that is low water maintenance and fire resistant, and using green roofs for rainwater collection.

Taking advantage of the strong northeast wind would require a design that incorporates opposite inlet and outlet air openings into the building designs. Inlet openings should be oriented perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction and outlet openings should be oriented opposite the inlet openings to provide for natural cross ventilation. Elongating the building forms along the east and west directions will minimize solar heat gain and allow for cooling.

Utilizing a green roof in building design would provide for both roof insulation and lower air temperatures and also would provide for water retention.

Implementing a green roof into building design requires anywhere between 2.5 inches to 39 inches in thickness for the proper structure and roofing material implementation depending on the intensity of the roof garden.

Designing for daylighting requires considerations in building form, shading, and glazing area. Buildings with a narrow floor plate and elongated east and west can maximize glazing to light interior spaces while minimizing solar heat gain on the north and south faces. Incorporating high ceilings and windows will also optimize interior lighting. To design for solar shading on the south face, exterior horizontal louvers and horizontal overhangs can be used. Shading should be size as ⅓ the size of the glazing on that face in order for it to work effectively.

Good landscaping strategies to implement into this mountainside community are preserving native species, landscaping with fire resilient species, preserving natural drainage patterns on site, protecting and preserving healthy soils, and locating and managing vegetation to mitigate potential fire hazards and prevent unnecessary grading or stripping of vegetation. Planting trees on the east and west faces of buildings cools the ground

around the buildings as well as air temperatures and provides for shading. With landscaping a site, it is important to consider effective defensible space, which requires proper management of vegetation around buildings. Areas within 30 feet of buildings must be planted with vegetation that cannot easily ignite and should be routinely maintained. Canopies of mature trees should not be within 10 feet of a building to avoid the risk of ignition. Choosing to landscape with plants that are low growing and have a high moisture content such as herbaceous non woody plants and succulents within 3 feet of a building will help to mitigate the risk of fire spreading due to vegetation.

Ecosystem Understanding

Slope Studies

20%+ 10%-20% 5%-10% 2%-5% 0%-2%

Chapter THREE

The camp fire All cities grapple with responding to threats. In California, natural threats include tsunamis, earthquakes, flooding or fires and in some cases a mix of all these. Towns in locations in High Fire Hazard Zones are primarily contending with the threat of wildland sourced fires. These fires can be caused by natural sources such as lightning, human-caused or infrastructure-based. The more accessible the natural setting, the more likely that humans play a role, intentional or not, in enhancing these natural threats.

In Paradise, there were two fires in 2008 that necessitated evacuation, caused damage to property (buildings and vehicles), and played a role in influencing the natural surroundings that created the deadly conditions of the 2018 fire. Post 2008, PG&E provided maintenance along the ridge where they removed mature trees surrounding the above ground utility lines Once these mature trees had been removed, the underbrush was able to grow exponentially, and PG&E did not continue with their maintenance regimen.

The Camp Fire of Butte County, California, began on November 8, 2018, and was not fully contained until the 25th of November. During that time, the fire swept through the town of Paradise and the surrounding wilderness. The fire led to 85 civilian fatalities and 12 people injured. By the time of containment,153,300 acres and nearly 19,000 structures had burned, depleting the town of most of its resources, including fresh water. The fire created $16.5 billion in damage, over $4 billion of which was not insured. The Camp Fire was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s history and the deadliest fire in the United States since the Cloquet Fire of 1918.

Further investigations since this time determined that under-maintained electrical transmission lines ignited fires in two locations (Pulga and Concow/Rim Roads) to create the deadly fire. These initial starts combined with “ideal� fire conditions to create the extraordinarily fast moving and hot burning fire. Winds were blowing down the ridge at 40 - 50 mph, relative humidity was extraordinarily low (11%), and the ignition points were met with poorly maintained underbrush that acted as perfect fuel for the fire. Interestingly enough, the underbrush was thriving due to maintenance practices caused by the 2008 fires, which also were found to be caused by PG&E.

“Prayers of survival, prayers of a quick death. I know it sounds morbid, but it’s awful.” - Linda Timme, when asked about her missing aunt, Evelyn Cline, whose Paradise home was destroyed “So devastating I don’t really have the words to describe it. It looks like a war zone, and it is.” California Gov. Jerry Brown Barry Long recently tried to squash those questions immediately as he kicked off a crowded town hall meeting at Paradise Alliance Church.

“One of the first questions we get is, ‘Are they really going to rebuild Paradise?’ “ Long said. “And we say that’s not a question. [The Town] Council made an immediate decision [that] we’re going to rebuild Paradise.”

Defining and implementing recovery Recovery in the wake of disaster is a multifaceted challenge reliant on the ability of community members and aid organizations to cooperate toward shared goals. Many entities can be involved in both short- and long-term recovery, including residents/community members themselves, volunteer and civic organizations, faith-based organizations, schools, businesses, academic institutions, and governmental agencies.

After the Camp Fire, the first steps toward recovery were taken by community members themselves, who set up an encampment in the parking lot of a Walmart in Chico, California. Later, FEMA began passing out motel room vouchers and the Red Cross and local church congregations established ten shelters. Finding access to shelter and food, along with medical care for the injured, should always be the first response after a disaster, as meeting these basic needs is the catalyst that helps those impacted regain their sense of safety and may allow them to process the trauma they have faced.

The effects of disasters like the Camp Fire on mental health range based on personal experience.

Residents of Paradise experienced a myriad of traumas including sustaining serious injuries; enduring near-death experiences; losing loved ones; witnessing devastation among friends, family, neighbors, and the greater community; and experiencing the irreparable loss of possessions and property.

In their article on the psychological impact of natural disasters in adults, Anka A. Vujanovic and Matthew W. Gallagher state that “individuals directly impacted by natural disasters may be feel a strong sense of grief, panic, loss, fear, and sadness.” In Paradise, professionals came in to help with the psychological effects of the tremendous loss, but notably community members uplifted and supported one another in their recovery. “Maintaining a connection to others in the aftermath of disaster can be healing for individuals and the community. Avoiding isolation and increasing social support is an important factor in building resilience” (Vujanovic and Gallagher).

As these basic needs of physical and psychological health were addressed, the community also began to focus on long-term recovery with the Paradise Long-Term Recovery Working Group. While Paradise is a community destroyed by disaster, it is also a community with a desire to rebuild. FEMA notes the need to plan for long-term recovery, or “ the need to re-establish a healthy, functioning community that will sustain itself over time.” It outlines 13 important steps to long-term recovery:

Assessing the Need This assessment focuses on establishing the “long-term impact of damages sustained by a community,” looking specifically at the housing, infrastructure, environment, and economy sectors. In Paradise, the immediate needs that were identified included site clean-up, infrastructure improvement, and funding sources for the rebuild. Meeting these needs is seen as the precursor to rebuilding a new, more resilient Paradise. At the site level, was quick to identify the physical damage caused by the fire, making this information readily available to residents and those attempting to help: Cal Fire ArcGIS. Selecting a Leader and Outlining a Long Term Community Recovery Program FEMA states that leadership is a critical step in recovery, noting “a good leader will serve as a beacon for community and government involvement and will convey the importance of the recovery process to local, state, and federal officials.” To help with the long-term recovery, a number of supporting organizations listed joined with the Town of Paradise and Urban Design Associates (UDA) to create a Long Term Recovery Plan.

Securing Outside Support Because of the nature of disaster, recovery facilitated solely through one organization is impossible. Creating partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies, as well as private and non-governmental organizations, can make the recovery process more effective. The Town of Paradise found partnerships with several public and private agencies across the spectrum of needs it identified. These include organizations that focus on economic development, schools and youth, utilities, arts and culture, academia, and housing. Because support from these agencies must be coordinated, frequent meetings at a range of scales have been held, and the input from all groups has been noted in order to best create a plan that meets the desires of the town. A fund has been formed, titled Butte Strong, which focuses on addressing long-term recovery needs. Further work is yet to be done to engage support beyond this source, including funds from PG&E, the State of California, the federal government, and other sources. UDA hosted several outreach meetings to engage the community, and their desires for the future of Paradise after the devastation of the Camp Fire have been heard.

Establishing a Public Information Campaign The long-term success of a recovery program is largely determined by the extent of community involvement. A public information campaign helps get community members involved and focused on long-term planning for the community. This can be a challenge when the long-term circumstances of community members may be unclear. Residents are scattered across the country, but with an anticipated 51% of residents planning to return to the town to rebuild, sharing information to involve the community is critical and allows the community to take back ownership of their town. The Town of Paradise has since hired an agency, Blue Flamingo, to help with communication.

Reaching a Consensus Paradise is currently at this stage, where stakeholders are making decisions that will allow the long-term recovery program to move forward. While stakeholders may be diverse, and there may be tensions between different groups, these groups can be continuously re-oriented toward common goals that better the community and town as a whole.

Paradise has many steps ahead, and the recovery process likely will not end for many years. The Paradise community has strong leaders and community members that are dedicated to rebuilding, and their progress thus far in establishing a plan illustrates their willingness and excitement moving forward toward a more resilient town. Marcy Douglas, city administrator of Northwood, North Dakota, a community of 1,000 that was leveled by a category 4 tornado, believes that the recovery mindset was vital to the rebuilding of her city, explaining, “If you respond to a disaster with recovery in mind, recovery will happen” (Douglas as quoted by Becker, 7).

Wildland Urban Interface In California, the number of housing units in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) has gone up from 3.3 million units in 1990 to 4.4 million in 2010 (Cal Fire). WUIs are communities surrounded by natural areas at risk of wildland fires. Roughly 50% of Butte County, California, and the entire town of Paradise are characterized by Cal Fire as being located in a very high fire hazard severity zone. However, the purpose of the WUI standard is meant to inform communities on materials for buildings that can preserve life. The State Fire Marshal states that protecting a building from a wildfire requires two things: 1) removing flammable materials from around the building, with fuel modification to 100 feet (or the property line), and 2) constructing the building of fire-resistive materials.

Removing flammable materials from around the building, with fuel modification to 100 feet (or the property line) Zone 1(0’-30’) Tree branches Shrubs Dead plants grass and weeds Prune/remove plants and shrubs near windows Overhanging vegetation from roof/chimney Under deck vegetation Zone 2 (30’-100’) Horizontal space between shrub and trees Lawns trimmed to 4” Remove fallen branches Remove all branches below 6’ above ground from tree Fire resistant accessory structures and fencing Construct the building of fire resistive materials.

Roof coverings, Fire resistive wall and ceiling-floor assemblies, Non combustible or fire resistant decking Fire doors, Tempered glass Non combustible wall finish materials and cladding Fire dampers, enclosed under floor areas Shield gutters, fire and non-fire related hardware, electrical appliances and devices For reconstruction there is an opportunity to leverage existing on-site resources and improve fire resistivity in the newly built structures. Materials listed such as solid wood and cross laminated timber are now recognized nationally (and by code) as sustainable methods deemed to have a very appropriate performance in a fire (up to 90 minutes). Unlike steel, solid wood and CLT remains structurally stable in a fire up to 400 degrees due to creating a charred layer.

Resiliency Resiliency is defined as the ability of a place, and all aspects that makes that place unique, to recover after a disaster. This broad idea of resiliency is broken down into three major categories: social, economic, and physical. In order for design to fully support its user population, it should seek to provide resilience in all three of these categories. The intersection of different types of resiliency compounds the ability of the environment to prevent and recover from disaster.

Social Resiliency A socially resilient place has a strong sense of community that is developed through community events, classes, and architecture that fosters congregation. Paradise was able to maintain this type of community through several different churches as well as popular community events. Such a community is able to come back together in the aftermath of a disaster in order to organize and create a recovery plan.

Economic Resiliency Creating a place with economic resiliency ensures that it can recover after economic downturns and also have a financial base to aid in natural disaster recovery. Planning for and inviting diversity of business and industry enhances resiliency and also helps create income for a town or city. Prior to the Camp Fire, the Town of Paradise was in fiscal decline, which has created hurdles for rebuilding efforts. Moving forward, Paradise is working to design a more vibrant town that provides for its residents’ most basic needs and creates diverse livelihood and employment opportunities for the residents to enjoy. Building this type of economy will provide residents with head-of-household jobs that provide financial security for families and individuals alike.

Physical Resiliency Of special importance to the Town of Paradise and other communities that reside in the Wildland Urban Interface is physical resiliency. This form of resiliency focuses on designing a built environment that is defensible against disaster. In Paradise, this involves designing buildings composed of fire resistive or non-combustible materials. Other considerations include the local availability and embodied energy of materials. Paradise must also redesign its communications, water, and energy infrastructure to sustain its anticipated future population. To build a strong foundation for new residents and future generations, these new or renovated water and energy infrastructures should be regenerative.

learning from others Learning from Others (New Orleans, Newbern, Atlanta) New Orleans. The Ninth Ward, which was funded by the Make It Right Foundation, is an example of architecture that failed to properly address the community it was serving. These houses failed to account for the environment of New Orleans, they didn’t fit into the surrounding neighborhood, and they weren’t built in a way to help prevent major damage to them if another hurricane were to hit. However, Musicians’ Village exemplifies a successful Post-Katrina development. This neighborhood stuck to the traditional style of architecture found in the area and kept the prices of these homes at an affordable rate so families could move in and have property with which they could accrue wealth. While visiting Waggoner and Ball, they presented some of their projects in New Orleans and how these projects address the very prominent issue of flooding. Their projects also had a large focus on contributing to the beautification of the neighborhoods in which they were situated while still conforming to culture of the areas.

These communities exemplify the importance of understanding the community itself, the needs of it and the people who inhabit it. Without this understanding, the design of the project starts to become less about the residents, which results in a weaker project that seems out of place in the surrounding context. This understanding is fundamental to the design process, and when it is analyzed meaningfully, it results in a project that is both valued by the community and used by the community. It’s also important to take into consideration the risk that comes with building in a certain area and appropriately adapting the building to mitigate or prevent damage.

Urban Build, which is a program run through Tulane University, allows students to fully design and build houses in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. These houses are then sold at market rate for the neighborhood in which they are built. The purpose of these projects is to help increase the value of the surrounding neighborhood and to attract people into moving into them to help culturally revitalize the community.

Programs like this show the importance of not only designing a project that fits into the surrounding community, but one that also actively contributes to the community culturally. It has to improve the community as a whole and help make it a desirable place in which to live.

Newburn, Alabama. The town of Newbern and the Rural Studio also provided some insight on how to properly design projects that feel like part of the communities they’re serving while remaining architecturally stimulating. All these projects achieved a balance between modernity and modesty, giving them a unique feeling of innovation and comfort. A lot of these projects used similar building materials found in other existing projects in the community but combined them with a more modern and contemporary take on architecture. The importance of finding a balance between this drive as an architect to create a visually and experientially stunning project and a project that appropriately addresses the needs and feeling of the surrounding town is tough. However, finding that middle ground is essential to a successful project.

Atlanta. In Atlanta, BNIM had a design charrette session that provided a lot of valuable information. While they echoed some of the lessons stated above, they also stressed the importance of having a project respond to its immediate surroundings either by using a building to frame certain views or move and highlight important features of the site. They also focused a lot on how the facade of a building can really impact how people at the street level experience it, because this is the only way people will experience the project. While it may look good from a bird’s-eye view, if the project feels massive or domineering, it won’t feel welcoming.

The whole trip was an extremely helpful experience being able to collaborate briefly with professional architects and pick apart successful and unsuccessful projects. These projects and people had a lot of valuable lessons that are essential to being able to design a project that appropriately responds to and addresses the people and community it is meant to serve.

Chapter FOUR

outreCH AND COMMON THEMES Before establishing a set of goals and objectives for the (re)imagining Paradise project, it was necessary to extend beyond tertiary resources to real and interpersonal interactions. The first three weeks of studio were primarily concerned with research of the Town of Paradise and Butte County.

The data was then compiled into a series of assessments that were displayed during the different outreach sessions with Chico and former Paradise residents. These reports included resiliency palettes, precedent studies, asset maps, and informational posters regarding Paradise’s demographics, climate, history, etc. The outreach was divided into multiple sessions that allowed diverse interaction with audiences ranging from Chico State students and faculty, Paradise residents, and disaster recovery organizations. These sessions served more as forms of interactive listening meetings to gain feedback and develop a personal understanding of Paradise before proceeding with a recovery plan. In order to achieve this, different activities took place within the meetings such as interactive boards where attendees were able to mark assessment reports, a “how might we” station where people could brainstorm and write on sticky notes, and one-on-one interviews where Paradise residents shared their personal experiences as “Day in the Life” descriptions.

There were many recurring topics discussed during these listening meetings. Faculty of Chico State, for example, addressed that Paradise was a “bedroom” community, a town many went to for retirement. Among the different audiences with whom students met during these sessions, many agreed that Paradise needed better fire safety and evacuation routes through both an improved network of roads and increased communication among residents. However, many also expressed Paradise’s strengths such as proximity to nature, its small town culture, the spirit of the people within the community, and its access to healthcare. Finally, there was discussion about the future of Paradise where opportunities for an improved wastewater system, more businesses, a walkable downtown, a safer street network, and more were imagined.

HOW MIGHT WE....

BRAINSTORM AND OUTCOMES In the initial phase of re-imagining Paradise, gathering information and opinions beyond online resources took priority. The second week of studio - the week prior to the first trip to Paradise concerned itself primarily with empathetic listening and preparing to better listen to the needs of Paradise residents without the hindrance of personal biases. In small groups, students shared research from the prior week about the town. During the in-class activity, a variety of researched information turned into educated assumptions about both the current state of the town and possible future needs of future residents, which then became a set of concise insight statements that took a more specific stance on the themes discussed. Without providing direct solutions, these insight statements acted as building blocks to propel the class’s initial design efforts forward.

For the next few class sessions, the studio walls were engulfed in multi-colored sticky notes and desks were covered in unused post-its with remnants of past iterative ideas. General themes gathered during the first activity session written on large post-its—such as transportation, sense of community, lifestyle, and city planning—were lined up along the top of each wall with enough room below to hold a plethora of sticky notes with ideas as to how to tend to these themes. During the final step of this activity, the insight statements and proposed ideas were rephrased as “How Might We” questions.

In reframing ideas and challenges into questions, a more direct and creative way of seeking innovative solutions by breaking down problems into themes, focused issues, and commonalities ensued.

Because this project tackles a large issue, gaining insight through interpersonal activities with displaced residents of Paradise proved to be a crucial step in the class’s overall approach to reimagining a more resilient urban forest. The third week of the double quarter welcomed the first class trip to Paradise and Chico where we were able to speak with college faculty, practicing engineers, and displaced adult and child former residents. The “How Might We” activity followed the class to Butte County in the form of a station where students engaged in dialogue with individuals who are passionate about the future of their town. Although the previous few weeks were dedicated to indepth research about Paradise and its residents pre-and-post fire, speaking directly with people who experienced the fire and are still dealing with the loss proved to contribute to and further develop the objective assessments that were initially brought along on the trip.

The iterative processes that came with the in-class activity instilled confidence in the research and insights developed through both that research and the class discussions that concerned themselves with sustainability, flexibility of spaces, an urban core, and walkability amongst a multitude of other topics. While different groups in class focused their attention on varying topics, common themes found in each group’s brainstorming sessions made it evident that certain topics such as architectural resiliency, designing with understanding, re-urbanization, and walkability were main areas of concern that should be tactfully addressed through project designs. In the case of pedestrian movement through the town, research shed light on the effects Paradise’s rural sprawl had on its residents. This prior research instilled unwavering confidence in the statement, “Make Paradise more walkable through articulating more pedestrian-friendly roads.” However, with a lack of realization regarding how pedestrians could experience walking through the town with the sprawl on its existing topography, learning about the experiential quality of being a pedestrian in Paradise during conversations with former adult and high school residents shed light on how to re-approach this design question.

The initial research phase posed the question: “How might we make Paradise more walkable?” With the knowledge generated through community outreach sessions conducted in Chico and Paradise, it became evident that walkability and the implementation of arbitrary pedestrian walkways are not exactly synonymous. Instead, walkability was articulated as an issue that could be addressed and mediated through re-evaluating, re-organizing, and re-establishing a denser mixed-use downtown.

Comments from adults and high school students alike articulated that distance between points of interest in the town made walking to and from work or school to a cafe difficult due to the distance and slopes between the locations exceeding the range of pedestrian comfortability.

While posing these “how might we” questions did not yield direct design solutions, they greatly contributed to the development of designs and ideas. These insightful conversations shared between the class and the community of Paradise allowed students to step back from the objectivity of online research and facilitate their design conversations by integrating both objective assessments and gained personal insight to further develop projects with the wellbeing of Paradise and its residents in mind.

community vision and goals Through in-class efforts, community outreach sessions, and learning from industry professionals helping rebuild Paradise, articulating the generated goals and visions of the community became a medium to further overall class design efforts. Fueled by personal and online research, the class as a whole developed a series of goals to augment the basic assumptions of the project: To design a town that: Is economically, socially and physically resilient.

Attracts new residents to Paradise Attracts students to return to the area after attending College in other areas Allows citizens to age in place.

Is resource regenerative (water, energy, wastewater) Along with generating insight from personal interactions with the Paradise community members, students were able to reference the corresponding work of Urban Design Associates (UDA) - the architectural firm is leading the redesigning efforts for the town. In UDA’s “Community Recovery Plan” (April 19, 2019), the authors of the published document discuss their agenda - elaborating on what they heard through their own community outreach activities and how that translates into their long-term community recovery plan. Despite not working directly with UDA, being able to both speak with and listen to Paradise residents for design insight allowed both the class goals and those of the firm to have some levels of synonimity. In their document, UDA noted the population of attendees of community outreach meetings held in the county. As stated in their long-term community recovery plan, from over 1000 people who attended these community meetings, 78% them were Paradise residents. With such high percentage of the population in attendance having a direct association with the town, it became evident that engaging with and listening to the community would be crucial in understanding how to best design for a new resilient Paradise that would respect traditions while anticipating change to allow for a thriving future community.

In this same report, UDA identified that when asked, 51% of Paradise residents they surveyed said they would return to the town after it’s rebuilt while 34% were adamant about not returning - leaving 15% still undecided at the time. This portion of their report sheds light on a primary concern that fueled a lot of the goals established in class. Although a lot of time in class was spent learning about the cultural assets that made Paradise a town treasured by its community, acknowledging the significant percentage of people that would not return to Paradise informs te need to assess why and find design solutions to make Paradise more attractive to future residents. During the first community outreach session at Chico State University, hearing from the school faculty and local engineers informed the class that Paradise is considered a “bedroom community” - a community which serves as a place to sleep as oppose to providing a thriving job economy which individuals have to seek elsewhere. In treating this as a priority, the group projects in this studio collaborate in that they are located in the proposed downtown. With the implementation of a diversity of building typologies and programs within this mixed-use urban center, there is then a simultaneous proposal for a multitude of retail and varying employment opportunities that contribute to an economically thriving community.

In terms of promoting physical resiliency, UDA proposes to make Paradise Greener by investing in sustainable design. While that is the premise of this studio’s concern regarding physical quality of the buildings, these group projects address the challenges Paradise faces from their lack of regenerative resources. Among the 9 projects designed in class, there are proposals for a diversity of rainwater catchment systems with beneficial uses for recycled water, anaerobic digester to turn waste into energy, and opportunities for people to learn about and experience through both education and use of fire-resilient building materials.

creating a replicable model As evident in the California Climate Adaptation Strategy from 2009, climate change will continue to affect Northern California with lower precipitation levels and a dryer future, resulting in a greater risk for wildfires. By 2050, average temperatures will rise an additional 1.8-5.4 °F with inland areas, like Paradise, warmer than coastal regions. Climate change will be affecting the future of California for years to come, and with $2.5 trillion in real estate assets at risk due to extreme weather conditions (including wildfires), the consequences are dire. Last November, Paradise was the victim of these extreme weather conditions and it’s only a matter of time until another town, like Colfax, Nevada City, or Kings Beach, are next. These towns are small, like Paradise, and possess similar rugged terrains, with tall trees and thick brush, in addition to little defensible space or green buffers between the towns and nature. These characteristics, combined with windy weather, could create a deadly combination for wildfires to strike.

In order to prevent or reduce current risks for wildfires in Northern California, a replicable model should be created. A replicable model is a model that can be re-created or produced again based on positive or successful results, and Paradise could set the standard with how towns in California respond to wildfires. These standards should include a detailed short-term and long-term recovery plan as well as procedures for how local and state partnerships can aid in the rebuilding process.

To be successful, this model should focus on recovery planning and affordable housing, physical, economic and social resiliency, as well as an integration of architecture within the local community context.

In terms of recovery planning and affordable housing, many lessons were learned while examining the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. On the one hand, housing projects like the Ninth Ward failed by not addressing residents’ needs as well as creating a close community. On the other hand, projects like Musicians’ Village focused on shared community spaces, units constructed specifically for the acoustical needs of musicians, as well amenities for practice spaces. These affordable houses also were close in proximity, which created a density that influenced a tighter sense of community for nearby residents. Relating back to Paradise, although not all residents will be able to afford rebuilding or returning to the town after the fire, affordable housing projects focused on the specific needs of residents will encourage people to move to Paradise and, in turn, create a sense of community.

In addition, physical, economic, and social resiliency are key in creating a replicable model for towns like Paradise to overcome tragedies such as wildfires. In terms of physical resiliency, new construction projects should use fire resilient materials, such as fiber cement or terracotta, and city officials should identify structures that are currently at risk. When Paradise burned, the fire spread more rapidly from roof to roof than it did from vegetation or trees, demonstrating why fire resilient materials were needed. With social resiliency, a community of residents who trust each other and can provide support in times of crisis are more likely to recover. By finding ways to integrate current and new residents that have dealt with similar tragedies, community relationships will strengthen and result in increased trust.

Lastly, creating a replicable model for towns recovering from wildfires involves contextual integration of site, place, and community identity. Observing the Rural Studio in Hale County, Alabama, it was evident that the students considered themselves residents of the town and the reason their projects integrated so well with the natural surroundings, from materiality to space use, was because the structures were designed for the specific needs of clients and incorporated local and recycled materials. The Rural Studio gave a modern spin to southern architecture while respecting the local aesthetic, which enabled the countless structures they built over the years to seamlessly fit within the town and rural fabric of Hale County.

The Camp Fire makes clear that a replicable model, composed of recovery planning and affordable housing, resiliency, and contextual site integration, is needed for towns like Paradise to thrive after a similar tragedy. This replicable model should be rooted in preserving a community’s identity while using modern technology and innovation to encourage sustainable practices that will better a given town or city. By creating a model like this, towns at risk may be able to prevent or diminish damages from wildfires and stay protected for years to come.

Chapter FIVE

General Plan update The New Proposed Paradise Plan aims to create a more easily navigable, fire responsive, and selfsustaining future for Paradise. The density of the town has been spread out radially from the central downtown villages (East Village and West Village), which are generally zoned as commercial mixed use. Immediately adjacent to these villages are residential zones of medium density and then lower density the farther they sit from the downtown villages. The two main N-S roads are Skyway Rd Clarke Rd, and Pentz Rd, which have been maintained as the main town entrances and exits. The main existing E-W roads, Wagstaff Rd and Billie Rd, have been maintained as the major E-W roads with the addition of Elliot Rd which has been extended to meet and continue past Pentz Rd. The new town includes infrastructure placement that will promote a self-sustaining town. This means including facilities that make use of Paradise’s natural resources to create more locally sourced water, energy, and building materials. A CLT (cross laminated timber) plant is included in the plan as well as a utility zone near the West Village which houses a water treatment facility for rainwater recycling, and an anaerobic digester for energy production.

Specific proposed projects are located in the West Village, East Village, Skyway Rd, and neighborhood centers near the West Village. Within these projects exist a total of 4 cultural centers, over 408,000 square feet of added community space, nearly 400 housing units, over 450,000 square feet of commercial space and a projected 750+ jobs created.

Community Land-use The new town plan is organized into the following zones: Residential (of varying density), Commercial, Institutional, and Green Space. Much of the plan is labeled as medium density housing to accommodate the 15,000 dwelling units needed to house an expected population of approximately 30,000. Two commercial downtown villages (West Village and East Village) have been proposed to sit along Pearson Rd, a secondary road running between Skyway and Clarke, two of the major thru N-S roads. These Villages would consist mostly of mixed-use zoning and become the retail hubs for the town, providing places for shopping and entertainment as well as living and working.

This zoning also responds to the topography and location of dry brush. While the entirety of Paradise sits on a generally consistent 3% slope, the town is bordered with steeper, undevelopable topography. The steeper topography has been zoned as green space, with low density housing as the next closest zone, to allow for ease of evacuation.

Infrastructure (Roads, Water and Wastewater, Rainwater, Solid waste, Energy) Paradise, CA before Camp Fire was essentially comprised of two main roads and a series of winding cul de sacs that navigated through the private residences. The new plan categorizes all roads as main, secondary and bike roads. To improve navigability, all cul de sacs have been reoriented into secondary roads (red) that run perpendicular to main roads (blue). These roads are organized to support multi-modal transportation including bus, bike and vehicular travel. Bike lanes run parallel to all main roads as well as some secondary roads running E-W near the proposed downtown villages.

Three different types of roads are proposed for the new downtown: Main Street (located on Almond St), vehicular-accessible streets, and pedestrian-only streets. Main street and vehicular-accessible streets will include a bike lane each way as well as a vehicular lane each way. Main street will include the same, with the addition of a center left-turn lane. Many of the blocks in the existing downtown area are currently split by E-W running mid-block alleys accessible to vehicles. The current downtown plan employs one of these on each of the nine blocks and has reclaimed them as pedestrian-only mid-block alleys to further promote the walkability of the downtown.

The proposed downtown was modeled to be self-sustaining and renewable in its energy and water consumption and production. Two blocks below the Southwestern corner of the West Village lies the proposed Utility Zone, which houses a proposed water treatment facility and anaerobic digester.

The water treatment facility will take advantage of the abundance of rainfall in Paradise to collect rainwater and convert it to usable water for the entire town to use. The anaerobic digester will be used to create energy by processing waste that is delivered to the facility by truck, hence the close proximity to the town center.

Transit The new plan proposes to expand the bus transit in Paradise with more routes and increased service.

Aside from the expansion of existing routes, a new downtown-specific route will be added and will include multiple stops on Skyway adjacent to the West border of the West Village. No stops are planned to exist within either of the villages, including the transit center. This is intended to maximize the accessibility of the downtown to Paradise residents without congesting the inside of the downtown.

Trails The Paradise Memorial Trail is the main existing trailhead that follows a historical railroad. In 2018, the Paradise Memorial trail was renamed to Yellowstone Kelly Heritage Trail to honor Luther Sage “Yellowstone” Kelly, a historic American hero that settled permanently in Paradise after the Philippine– American War. This trail becomes an important aspect to the Downtown Plan as it promotes walkability and bikeability for the residents. With the trail, two proposed projects, Paradise Recreation Center and the Commons (Center for Safety and Well-Being), utilizes the trail as an important aspect to their design and program. In these projects, the Yellowstone Kelly Heritage Trail becomes an integration to the Recreation Center’s green roof, while the Commons activates the trail with their programs.

Parks and Greenways Many people are attracted to visit and move to Paradise due the close proximity of accessible nature . Within the Downtown plan, the existing Paradise Community Park becomes an important as the Memorial Trail runs through the park and allow community events and gatherings.

Walkability From the Downtown plan, each block consists of one horizontal alley that becomes a pedestrianonly lane through the dense multi-use zoning. Within each pedestrian-only street, the zoning allows community and commercial mix-use buildings to be in each block and allow pedestrians to walk in a safer commute.

General Plan update 2 The New Proposed Paradise Plan aims to create a more navigable, fire-responsive, and self-sustaining future for Paradise. The density of the town has been spread out radially from the central downtown villages (East Village and West Village), which are generally zoned as commercial mixed use.

Immediately adjacent to these villages are residential zones of medium density with lower density the farther they sit from the downtown villages. The two main N-S roads are Skyway Road, Clarke Road, and Pentz Road, which have been maintained as the main town entrances and exits. The main existing E-W roads, Wagstaff Road and Billie Road, have been maintained as the major E-W roads with the addition of Elliot Road, which has been extended to meet and continue past Pentz Road.

The new town includes infrastructure placement that will promote a self-sustaining town. This means including facilities that make use of Paradise’s natural resources to create more locally sourced water, energy, and building materials. A CLT (cross laminated timber) plant is included in the plan as well as a utility zone near the West Village, which will house a water treatment facility for rainwater recycling and an anaerobic digester for energy production.

Specific proposed projects are located in the West Village and East Village as well as on Skyway Road and within neighborhood centers near the West Village. A total of four cultural centers, over 408,000 square feet of added community space, nearly 400 housing units, over 450,000 square feet of commercial space, and a projected 750+ new jobs exist within these proposed projects.

Community Land Use The new town plan is organized into the following zones: Residential (of varying density), Commercial, Institutional, and Green Space. Much of the plan is labeled as medium-density housing to accommodate the 15,000 dwelling units needed to house an expected population of approximately 30,000. Two commercial downtown villages (West Village and East Village) have been proposed to sit along Pearson Road, a secondary road running between Skyway and Clarke, two of the major thru N-S roads. These Villages would consist mostly of mixed-use zoning and become the retail hubs for the town, providing places for shopping and enjoying entertainment as well as living and working.

This zoning also responds to the topography and location of dry brush. While the entirety of Paradise sits on a generally consistent 3% slope, the town is bordered with steeper, undevelopable topography. The steeper topography has been zoned as green space, with low-density housing as the next closest zone to allow for ease of evacuation.

Infrastructure (Roads, Water and Wastewater, Rainwater, Solid waste, and Energy) Paradise, California, before the Camp Fire essentially was comprised of two main roads and a series of winding cul-de-sacs that navigated through private residences. The new plan categorizes all roads as main, secondary, and bike roads. To improve navigability, all cul-de-sacs have been reoriented into secondary roads (red) that run perpendicular to main roads (blue). These roads are organized to support multi-modal transportation including bus, bike, and vehicular travel. Bike lanes run parallel to all main roads as well as some secondary roads running E-W near the proposed downtown villages.

Three different types of roads are proposed for the new downtown: the main Street (located on Almond Street), vehicular-accessible streets, and pedestrian-only streets. The main street and vehicular-accessible streets will include a bike lane each way as well as a vehicular lane each way.

Main street also will include a center left-turn lane. Many of the blocks in the existing downtown area are currently split by E-W running mid-block alleys accessible to vehicles. The current downtown plan employs one of these on each of the nine blocks and has reclaimed them as pedestrian-only midblock alleys to further promote the walkability of the downtown.

The proposed downtown was modeled to be self-sustaining and renewable in its energy and water consumption and production. Two blocks below the southwestern corner of the West Village lies the proposed Utility Zone, which will house a proposed water treatment facility and anaerobic digester.

The water treatment facility will take advantage of the abundance of rainfall in Paradise to collect rainwater and convert it to usable water for the entire town to use. The anaerobic digester will be used to create energy by processing waste that is delivered to the facility by truck, hence the close proximity to the town center.

Transit The new plan proposes to expand bus transit in Paradise with more routes and increased service.

Aside from the expansion of existing routes, a new downtown-specific route will be added and will include multiple stops on Skyway Road adjacent to the west border of the West Village. No stops are planned to exist within either of the villages, including the transit center. This is intended to maximize the accessibility of the downtown to Paradise residents without congesting the interior of the downtown.

Trails The Paradise Memorial Trail is the main existing trailhead that follows a historical railroad. In 2018, the Paradise Memorial trail was renamed to Yellowstone Kelly Heritage Trail to honor Luther Sage “Yellowstone” Kelly, a historic American hero that settled permanently in Paradise after the Philippine–American War. This trail is an important component of the Downtown Plan as it promotes walkability and bike-ability for residents. Two proposed projects, the Paradise Recreation Center and the Commons (Center for Safety and Well-Being), utilize the trail as integral to their design and programming. In these projects, the Yellowstone Kelly Heritage Trail becomes an integration of the Recreation Center’s green roof while the Commons activates the trail with their programs.

Parks and Greenways Many people have been attracted to, visited, and moved to Paradise due to the close proximity of accessible nature . Within the Downtown plan, the existing Paradise Community Park becomes important as the Memorial Trail runs through the park and allows for an increase in community events and gatherings.

Walkability From the Downtown plan, each block consists of one horizontal alley that becomes a pedestrianonly lane through the dense multi-use zoning. Within each pedestrian-only street, the zoning allows community and commercial mix-use buildings to exist on each block and allow pedestrians to experience a safer commute on foot.

the west village 1 Layout One of the main goals with the West Village was to create a layout that would encourage walkability and allow the people of Paradise to get to places in an effective manner by grouping the commercial mixed use by the downtown area and community parcels around it. The West Village is ultimately designed to bring a new main street (Almond Street) to Paradise. This new main street will include retail space, commercial offices, and housing, all of which is intended to increase walkability and vibrancy.

The West Village begins from Skyway Road to Black Olive Drive, and from First Street to Pearson Road.

The lots above First Street are envisioned to become a medical campus. Community buildings and commercial mixed-use buildings will weave through the entire West Village, with the existing Paradise Park as a green buffer to the residential area. [insert downtown concept plan here] The West Village is expected to transition into a pedestrian-friendly, walkable area with concentrated parking structures in several locations and with other structures of two to three stories built to the sidewalk. The downtown area will be a concentrated combination of community based and mixeduse buildings.

The Streetscape and Its Connections During the design of the West Village, heavy consideration has been placed on promoting a walkable environment with an emphasis on public transportation. One particular goal of the downtown plan is the reduction of the automobile dependence. As such, in the design of all streets, bike lanes and bus lanes have been included, with widened sidewalks to encourage pedestrians to get around town without automotive use.

Since previously there were only two main roads, Skyway Road and Clark Road, the West Village will now be designed to allow for both vertical navigation with Almond Street, Black Olive Drive, and Foster Road and horizontal navigation with Birch Street, Pearson Road, Cedar Street, and Fir Street.

Since these streets are situated within the part of town that will contain the densest human traffic, pedestrian walkways have also been designed across the West Village between the roads that run horizontally to promote walking around the town. Skyway Road also will be widened to increase safety, public transit, and safe bicycle circulation along this important thoroughfare. Overall, the newly built neighborhood of the West Village is designed to foster social, economic, and physical resiliency for the next generation of Paradise.

Architectural Character and Massing Within the West Village, most commercial mixed use spaces will vary between two to three stories while parcels with community associated buildings will be around three stories tall. The materials used within the town will most likely be glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) to create a town that fits the personality of Paradise with a material that isn’t too flashy in color, style, or price. GFRC offers a wide variety of colors, so if certain businesses want to erect a building in line with their specific style they will be able to do so while simultaneously allowing for one important factor: GFRC will encourage physical resilience since it is fire resistant.

Built to Thrive (Responding to climatic conditions, economic conditions, and resiliency) Because Paradise is a smaller town, a denser, suburban-type downtown might benefit its development and encourage economic growth as well as community growth. In short, the aim is creating a downtown that allows for the town’s residents and visitors to gather and support its businesses.

In order to fulfill the requirement of architecture 2030, most of the community buildings in this plan will implement daylighting and natural ventilation strategies to minimize energy use throughout the buildings. With high precipitation levels throughout the concept plan of Paradise, an anaerobic digester is envisioned to be in the outskirt area of downtown as an energy supplier.

To revive and learn from the Camp Fire, it is necessary for the town of Paradise to build resilience socially, economically, and physically.

According to the downtown zoning concept plan, most buildings are mixed use with an emphasis on providing gathering spaces for Paradise community members and therefore the concept plan is expected to increase job opportunities as well as the town’s capability to generate enough revenue to thrive economically. The town of Paradise is anticipated to attract various demographic groups with its economic and social potential. The medical village will be placed in the northern portion of the downtown area with the intention to boost the emergency services of the town. The process of redesigning Paradise is to face the scar brought by nature, to figure out the fatal flaw that caused such disaster, and to prevent the catastrophe from happening again.

Social, economic, and physical resiliency were the three foci of this project in hopes that the future community of Paradise will thrive. It was imperative to understand the economic pace of the town prior to the fire, create new opportunities for businesses to be successful, and increase residents’ involvement with the overall economic status of the town. While acknowledging and preserving nature and prior vegetation was a goal while we moved forward in the redesign process, being mindful of specific species that are fire resistant was the other path on which we are focused in order to promote physical resiliency. In regards to social resiliency, it is understandable that the Camp Fire caused a lot of trauma, which has made it difficult for some residents to feel safe and comfortable returning. The hope is that the redesigning process will give former Paradise residents the opportunity to work alongside the design process, to be involved and to create a town that could heal some of their scars and encourage their return to Paradise.  

Chapter SIX

the project Early Iderations

Amphitheater- 4900 sqft Gallery- 3990 sqft Theater- 1500 sqft Storage- 1600 sqft Large Exhibition- 7980 sqft Staff Offices- 3310 sqft Cafe- 4190 sqft Small Open Lounge - 7000sqft Children’s Space - 4895 sqft Large Open Lounge- 7000 sqft

Dreamed of Paradise Spaces Needed Library Spaces Large Open Lounge Small Open Lounge Group Study Individual Study Bars Individual Reading Pods

No.

Seats

SF Per Seat ASF per

Total ASF 18170

1 2 8 4 7

200 100 7 20 2

35 35 30 25 35

7000 3500 210 500 70

7000 7000 1680 2000 490

12 1 1 1 1 1 1 10

1 60 2

25 35 120

20 20 15 34

40 30 30

25 2100 240 400 800 600 450 0.5

300 2100 240 400 800 600 450 5

Public Spaces Café Café Support and Kitchen Print and Copy Small Exhibition Hall / Gallery Large Exhibition Hall Community Gallery Theater

1 1 1 1 1 1 1

133

30

5 133 266 40 100

30 30 30 25 15

3990 200 150 3990 7980 1000 1500

3990 200 150 3990 7980 1000 1500

Staff Spaces Individual Offices Shared Offices Storage Service Desk

2 4 4 1

1 2 0

180 150 0

180 300 400 150

360 1200 1600 150

0.5

12,500

Childrens Space Individual Reading Pods Open Space of Reading and Play Staff Office Staff Storage Performance Corner Table Seating Classroom Book Shelving

Collection Open Shelving

25000

Supporting Spaces

Out Door Spaces Library Exterior Seating Amphitheater

ASF GSF

2 1

66 325

35 15

45035 75058.33

1000 4900

2000 4900

the project Floor Plans

Project Purpose To foster interaction with the planned Butte county college expansion and the residents through a space which has a library space, arts gallery and community gathering spaces.

Project Program Half of the project is a traditional library with reading nook, tables, chairs, stacks, a classroom, study space, etc. The other half is a dedicated gallery space for local artsits to displace their art. Attached to the gallery space is a children’s library with reading nooks and reading spaces for children. In the center of the courtyard is an amphitheater and access to the underground theathers and the storage room is accessable through the backwall of the amphitheater.

Performance Goals and Accomplishments This project utilizes PV panels placed on the roof of the building. There are breaks in the facade to allow wind to penetrate into the building and naturally ventilate the spaces, which is aided by the high ceilings on the second floor. The sloping roofs allow for the building to capture and store rainwater for use on site and there are also green walls facing the inside of the courtyard, which improve air quality and mitigate heat transfer.

Formal Influence This building is designed to be of the place, and for its people. Being that Paradise is a small mountain town, there is a very strong connection to the trees. On our selected site all of the preexisting buildings burned to the ground but amazingly, the trees survived. These trees exemplified a form of physical resilliency and as a result our form was developed around these trees in an attempt to showcase them and preserve them. Our cladding material choice of Terracotta was selected for multiple reasons. The color of the panels mirror the color of the dirt found in Paradise, attempting to have this building be an extension of the site it sits on. When driving through Paradise, fields of chimneys stretched across the landscape, surrounded by piles of rubble that once made up houses. These chimneys were all that remained, they too were a symbol of resiliency, and are represented on this building with the use of terracotta.

Second Floor

DN

DN

DN

DN

DN DN

DN

Ground Floor Section 1

DN

DN

UP

Section 2

UP

UP

Underground Floor

UP

UP

UP

UP

0’ 2’ 5’

10’

25’

Structural plans

71 28' - 2 17/32"

73 30' - 11 31/32"

UP

UP

10' - 4"

24' - 8"

74

75 78

25' - 2 3/4"

23' - 8 1/32"

72

76 24' - 1 1/4"

70

77

48 28' - 6 3/4"

14

15

49

28' - 6 3/4"

59

30' - 0"

30' - 0"

52

57

30' - 1 31/32"

29' - 9 13/32"

19 30' - 0"

18’-0”

35’-0”

12’-5”

1

28’-8”

23’-11”

54’-7”

28' - 9 29/32"

11

32

42’-6”

DN

28' - 9 29/32"

DN

DN DN 69’-4”

12’-4”

DN

28' - 8 1/4"

59’-7”

30' - 0"

46

39 28' - 8 1/4"

22’-0”

46’-5”

16’-11”

30’-0”

29' - 10 1/2"

3

8

30’-0”

9

30' - 0"

68

67

66

Shear Wall EW Scale 1" = 20'-0" Total: 255.5’ Shear Wall NS Total: 245.5’

14

15

28' - 6 3/4"

49

59

30' - 0"

30' - 0"

28’- 6 3/4”

52 30' - 1 31/32"

57 29' - 9 13/32"

25’-6”

EW 11’

-9” NS

1

48’ 2”

71’ -1”

35’-0”

48’ 2”

35’- 4”

1'1'--561/16" 15/16"

19 30' - 0"

28' - 9 29/32"

48 28' - 6 3/4"

32 28' - 9 29/32"

11

DN

30’-0”

3

56’ -1”

16’-1”

28' - 8 1/4"

46

39 28' - 2 1/16"

B - Ground Level 1" = 20'-0"

16’-5”

1

22’-8”

59’-4”

28' - 10 1/2"

30' - 0"

68

30' - 0"

67

65

9

66

Shear Wall EW Total: 242.1’

Shear Wall NS Total: 262’

Scale 1" = 20'-0"

Integrated Section

Mullion Detail Detail showing the intricacy’s of a mullion connection in a curtain wall

Terrocotta Wall Assembly

Heavy Timber Framming

Detail showcasing the connection of the terrocotta, the insulation and the structure

A glulam heavy timber system will be used as the structure for both the floors to provide a natural, warming feel.

Section 1

Air Ducts

Due to the natural of the program, large ducts are required for significant amounts of ventilation.

Fan / Mechanical Room Space for hydronic and heat pump echanical systems

Hyd Syst

The l repre spac rise, of ho inter its hy

dronic tem

light blue color esents cooler ces as well as the and movement ot air within the rior spaces due to ydronic system

Photovoltaic Panels

Solar panels are positioned on the roof to gain sun exposer throughout most of the day.

Heavy Timber Roof Assembly

Natural Ventilation

A glulam heavy timber system will be used as the framing to allow to larger spans to emphasize community and allow the material to give a comforting feel.

Openings in the envelope allow for the building to use natural forces to assist cooling the building and air circualtion

0’ 2’

5’

10’

25’

Concrete Wall Assembly Detail showcasing the connection of the Concrete, the insulation and the structure

Prevailing Winds

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Bla

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A Library for performances

A Library for Paradise’s retieree’s

A space to study

A Library for the community art

A Library for Paradises Traditions

A Library that celebrates Paradise’s natural beauty

A Library for the future generation

A Library tor children to play and learn

A Library for Paradise

Elevations

West Elevation

East Elevation

North Elevation

UP

UP

South Elevation 0’ 2’ 5’

10’

25’

Water Collection

Sun Path

Circulation

Summer Sun 75 Degrees

Winter Sun 25 Degrees N

E

S

Elevators W

Movement of water due to roof slope

Exterior walkways Stairs

Water catchment basement

Movement from entrances

Building Analysis EUI Analysis

Illuminance Study

3 pm

12 pm

9 am

Summer

Fall

Winter

Diagrams Who are spaces for?

Community Lounging

College Students

The Community

Retieree’s

Children

Compiled Program

The story of the Paradise Library: When talking to the people of Paradise, we began to understand just how important nature is to this mountain town. The buildings on our site were cleared by the fire, but the resilient trees remained.

In honor of these trees, our initial form was designed around the tree’s that remain.

We then sloped our roofs to create a natural water collection system, and echo the steep slopes that Paradise sits upon.

Our last touch was our material choice. Terracotta was chosen to represent resiliency. After the fire swept through neighborhoods, the only thing that remained of many houses were the chimneys. We honor the buildings that have fallen and the people of Paradise, who can not be torn down by the Camp Fire.

[Our Design Solution]: The design of this project is intended to bring together people of all ages as well as be an esthetically beautiful structure that encourages circulation at many different times of the day for many different occasions.

Chapter SEVEN

Where do we go from here?

If it’s not Paradise, it’s New Orleans. If it’s not New Orleans, it’s the Gulf of Texas. If it’s not the Gulf of Texas, it’s anywhere else in the world. There is no way to mitigate the amount of damage and destruction the people of Paradise have been through, but there are countless examples when humans have tried to fight against nature, but nature always wins. Through research, experimentation, and trips to Paradise and similarly affected cities, this studio has attempted to understand how to work with, instead of against nature, in order to build socially, physically, and economically resilient cities that can withstand natural disasters. In order to do this, it’s inherent that future projects be strategic in how they are built, where they are built, and what they are built with. Moving forward, the hope is that this project can serve as a map for the future design of towns.

Paradise will receive research about similarly affected cities, custom weather data, downloads of town plans, street sections, building plans, building sections, elevations, physical models, revit models, and comprehensive projects that can serve the town as a whole. The hope is that the town can utilize this work to begin to rebuild in a constructive way.

Because this is a systemic issue, the work can be utilized in many other contexts. If it’s not Paradise, it’s New Orleans. There will be other fires and there will be other disasters. The projects and work and be transferred into other settings and will give those who have been affected a sense of hope in dark times.

Implementation Begins Vacant Property Given the varied sources of funding for the rebuilding, there is a likelihood that there were will be undeveloped parcels in previously complete neighborhoods. Care should be taken to ensure that density goals are achieved and not undermined as a part of the development process. As rebuilding occurs, there will likely be vacant properties interspersed amongst the others. A plan should be developed, through consultation with property owners to maintain these properties over the course of their evolution. Some strategies to be considered to manage this potential issue: - Focus on the Core: Where possible, redevelopment efforts should be focused on the proposed downtown core and built concentrically outward. While individual property owners may want to rebuild on their existing property or may even desire to locate further from downtown, a general fund should be established to fiscally incentivize concentrated near the town core and gradually moved outward. Kickstart funds for this fund could include CALReUSE and Proposition 1 (amongst others). Concentrated growth will help create a complete appearance in downtown and then build out from there. By focusing on the center and working outward, Paradise can rebound more quickly and be served more affordably by utilities and services.

- Park Space and Community Gardens: As an interim use, once remediated, vacant lots should be considered as part of the larger open space network of the community. The Town may consider identifying strategic parcels as neighborhood serving pocket parks or community gardens. Thoughtful maintenance of these properties will turn potential “missing teeth” into assets.

- Land Bank: It may be necessary for Paradise to land-bank vacant properties. By acquiring strategic properties, the Town may be better able to control development and take on appropriate maintenance. In this way, the community can better control the rate and type of development in different parts of the town, expedite development of certain types in certain areas of the town, and partner with academic institutions or other non profits on development.

Focusing on Long Term Economic Viability Social, economic, and physical resiliency is key to the re-imagination of Paradise. Following a way to spur social resiliency, it is also important create economic resiliency. As part of the proposed future plan for Paradise, a medical campus is included. The hope is that it will provide countless job opportunities, basic access to healthcare, and education opportunities. The medical campus would create a flourishing and strong economy in Paradise, California. Lebanon, Oregon developed a similar community, based around health care. Following Lebanon’s example, Paradise can incorporate economic resiliency to strengthen the town as a whole.

Strategic Investments Prior to the fire, the town of Paradise lacked a developed wastewater treatment system and complete road network. In order to properly rebuild Paradise with a viable, walkable downtown, the implementation of well built infrastructure must come first.

In order to rebuild a town after such a devastating event, a sense of community needs to be re-established. The tight knit community in Paradise has is inspiring and essential to it’s identity and success as a town. Members of Paradise engage in festivals together and celebrate the history of the town, regardless of background or differing personal perspectives. Working with Rohn Grotenhuis and Gretchen Holy from BNIM, they suggested that the first building type to invest in would be of the civic nature, like a school. A school allows a place for community meetings, it will incentivize people to return to Paradise, and can be easily converted to serve whatever programmatic need must be met. This necessary investment will spur social resiliency first and foremost.

After these two crucial investments, similar projects should then begin to be built around a centralized downtown. The downtown will include mixeduse housing, retail, public serving, and commercial mixed use project, to create a diverse urban center. It will have a strictly pedestrian path to encourage walking as the primary mode of travel instead of vehicles, and will be easy to navigate. Through strategic investment, the centralized downtown will support a flourishing community.

Incentivizing Rebuilding Right A challenge of this project has been the inherent need and want from Paradise residents who, “just want to go home.” In a project of this nature it is of the utmost importance to attempt to understand the pain they’re going through. Architects are meant to serve the community, and to do this, empathy is key. So while the temptation to return and rebuild quickly in Paradise is understandable, this project wishes to display how re-building right will lead to long term success for the town.

Since 1999, there have been 13 large wildfires within the footprint of the Camp Fire’s footprint. A long history of wildfires necessitates the need for design that acknowledges that natural environment, not one that ignores it only to suffer the consequences later. Specifically, there is a need for better infrastructure to be put in place, before any rebuilding can happen. Also choosing to build out of sustainable materials, that don’t fight with the fire (like cross-laminated timber), will create physically resilient buildings.

In addition, prior to the fire, Paradise did not have a centralized downtown or walkability. The fire provides a unique opportunity to improve the lives of those who live there, and encourage a new generation to be involved in that community.

NEXT STEP While this studio’s primary focus was on the architectural and urban planning needs of Paradise, other steps must be taken before new buildings or a centralized downtown can be developed.

As mentioned above, investment in infrastructure is critical to the future success of Paradise. A new wastewater system, road network, and energy production will create a stable foundation upon which the town can rebuild. Providing water catchment systems for future builds provides an alternative water source to back up the main water supply and creates more sustainable and self-sufficient projects. Backing this framework will ensure that Paradise can grow as a self-sustaining town that is resilient in the face of disaster and tragedy.

Following this, and as Paradise looks to rebuild, a series of surveys must first be initiated. This surveying can be done by students from Cal Poly, Chico State, Sacramento State, etc. Not only will students learn from hands-on experience, but also the survey will be of no cost to Paradise residents. Paired with surveying, brownfield sites should be identified in order to receive state investment from the Cal Reuse funds. These funds will help to push forward the re-building of the town and the construction of civic projects.

Investment in key building typologies, like the high school and medical campus, and a centralized downtown, will serve as catalysts for change and will spur regrowth in the town of Paradise. For the medical campus specifically, bringing together key organizations like Butte Community College, Western University of Health Sciences, and Adventist Health Care will help start the conversation about establishing such a campus.

Alongside this, the development of sustainable and affordable housing will allow former residents to return home and will attract others to relocate to Paradise. To help with rebuilding and designing, a staffed local office that provides free/low-cost design services (likely by students) can be set up. It should follow the successful examples of URBANBuild at Tulane University and Rural Studio from Auburn University. The design office could also offer free on-site building workshops for DIY builders.

More research into, and the execution of, a fire-resilient building palette that provides material suggestions for future builds in Paradise is likewise a potential next step. Easy access to this resource will encourage conscious and resilient re-building.

With time and well thought out planning, new construction and urban planning that is focused on creating social, economic, and physical resiliency will help to re-imagine a thriving Town of Paradise.

And as Paradise rebuilds, it should serve as a model and learning opportunity for others on successful disaster recovery and what steps can be taken now to create more resilient towns of the future.

Bibliography and footnotes Chapter 1: Introduction Introduction: McDonald, L. H. (2000). This Paradise we call home. Paradise, CA: Gold Nugget Museum.

California, S. O. (n.d.). California Statewide Fire Map. Retrieved from http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_details_info?incident_id=2277 Rural Studio and the Architecture of Decency, Dean and Hursley, Introduction (1-13) http://www.ontheridge.com/paradise.html http://www.usacitiesonline.com/cacountyparadise.htm#history https://www.townofparadise.com/index.php/visitors/about-paradise Chapter 2: Community Overview History http://www.ontheridge.com/paradise.html http://www.usacitiesonline.com/cacountyparadise.htm#history https://www.townofparadise.com/index.php/visitors/about-paradise Culture and Community Assets https://www.paradiseprpd.com/index.html https://www.townofparadise.com/index.php/9-uncategorised/93-gold-nugget-days http://www.paradisechamber.com/johnny-appleseed-days http://www.seecalifornia.com/festivals/paradise-johnny-appleseed-days.html http://chocolatefest.us/ Economics U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics **Census data is tagged to residential address, not a work address, some residents may live in Paradise and work somewhere else “Paradise, CA.” Data USA, 2019, datausa.io/profile/geo/paradise-ca/.

Prior and Anticipatory Demographics “Paradise, CA.” Data USA, 2019, datausa.io/profile/geo/paradise-ca/.

UDA. “Paradise, California.” Paradise, California, 2019, makeitparadise.org/.

U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics **Census data is tagged to residential address, not a work address, some residents may live in Paradise and work somewhere else Ecosystem Understanding Climate Consultant “Paradiso Series.” USDA, October 2006. Web. 16 May 2019. https://soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/P/PARADISO.html.

“About Paradise.” Town Of Paradise. Web. 16 May 2019. https://www.townofparadise.com/index.php/visitors/about-paradise.

“Climate Paradise - California.” U.S. Climate Data. Web. 16 May 2019. https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/paradise/california/united-states/ usca0836 “Butte Valley Wildlife Area.” California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 31 October 2018. Web. May 16. 2019. https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Lands/ Places-to-Visit/Butte-Valley-WA. California Native Plant Society. Web. 16 May 2019. loc-39.7596,-121.6219(Paradise, California).

“Mountainside Settlements.” Architecture 2030 Palette. Web. 17 May 2019. http://2030palette.org/mountainside-settlements/ “Choosing the Right Plants for Northern Nevada’s High Fire Hazard Areas.” Living With Fire. Web. 17 May 2019. https://www.unce.unr.edu/ publications/files/nr/2017/sp1701.pdf “Building.” Architecture 2030 Palette. Web. 17 May 2019. http://2030palette.org/building/ Chapter 3: Resiliency and Disaster Recovery The Camp Fire Alexander, Alexander, Kurtis. “Six Months after the Camp Fire, a Devastated Community Looks to Rebuild.” The San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 May 2019, projects.sfchronicle.com/2019/rebuilding-paradise/.

California, State of. “California Statewide Fire Map.” Camp Fire General Information, cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_details_info?incident_ id=2277.

Jr., Cleve R. Wootson. “The Deadliest, Most Destructive Wildfire in California’s History Has Finally Been Contained.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 26 Nov. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/25/camp-fire-deadliest-wildfire-californias-history-has-beencontained/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5ad8627dc61d.

Wiley, Michelle. “6 Months After Paradise Burned, Trauma Endures For Kids And Adults.” NPR, NPR, 11 May 2019, www.npr. org/2019/05/11/721834022/6-months-after-paradise-burned-trauma-endures-for-kids-and-adults.

Kurtis. “Six Months after the Camp Fire, a Devastated Community Looks to Rebuild.” The San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 May 2019, projects.sfchronicle.com/2019/rebuilding-paradise/.

California, State of. “California Statewide Fire Map.” Camp Fire General Information, cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_details_info?incident_ id=2277.

Jr., Cleve R. Wootson. “The Deadliest, Most Destructive Wildfire in California’s History Has Finally Been Contained.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 26 Nov. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/25/camp-fire-deadliest-wildfire-californias-history-has-beencontained/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5ad8627dc61d.

Wiley, Michelle. “6 Months After Paradise Burned, Trauma Endures For Kids And Adults.” NPR, NPR, 11 May 2019, www.npr. org/2019/05/11/721834022/6-months-after-paradise-burned-trauma-endures-for-kids-and-adults.

Defining and Implementing Recovery Becker, Christine. “Disaster Recovery: A Local Government ResponsibilityChristine.” ICMA, ICMA, Mar. 2009, icma.org/sites/default/files/4718_.pdf.

“Community Recovery Plan.” Make It Paradise, UDA, 18 Apr. 2019, issuu.com/makeitparadise/docs/2350pres190418_final_rev_. https://calfire-forestry.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=5306cc8cf38c4252830a38d467d33728&extent=13547810.5486%2C4824920.1673%2C-13518764.4778%2C4841526.1117%2C102100 “Long-Term Community Recovery Planning Process: A Self Help Guide.” Fema.gov, FEMA, Dec. 2005, www.fema.gov/media-librarydata/20130726-1538-20490-8825/selfhelp.pdf.

Vujanovic, Anka A, and Matthew W Gallagher. “Psychological Impact of Natural Disasters in Adults.” Psychological Impact of Natural Disasters in Adults - University of Houston, University of Houston College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, 12 Sept. 2017, www.uh.edu/class/news/archive/2017/ august-september/natural-disasters-impact-adults/.

Wildland Urban Interface http://www.fire.ca.gov/fire_prevention/fire_prevention_wildland_codes https://makeitparadise.org/brochure Defensible Space: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/pds/fire_resistant.html Fire Resistive HomesL http://www.energy-design-tools.aud.ucla.edu/FIRES.html Chapter 4: Vision and Goals Design Thinking: https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_brown_urges_designers_to_think_big?language=en Chapter 5: Paradise (re) Imagined Happy City, Montgomery, The Mayor and the City as Happiness Project (1-43) Retrofitting Suburbia, Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs, Dunham-Jones, Williamson, Chapter 4 (59-94) Suburban Remix, Creating the Next Generation of Urban Places, Beske and Dixon, Chapter 2 (33-81) The Image of the City, Lynch, Chapter 4 (91-117) The Rise of the Creative Class, Florida, (280-303) The Walkable City, Speck, The Ten Steps of Walkability (65-72) Chapter 6: The Built Environment Chapter 7: The Future California Recycle and Underutilized Sites (CALReUSE Program): https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cpcfa/calreuse.as California Wildfires Statewide Recovery Recourses: http://wildfirerecovery.org/ California Action Plan for Disaster Recovery: http://www.hcd.ca.gov/community-development/disaster-recovery-programs/cdbg-dr/docs/HCDCDBG-DR-AP-01Nov18-Full-English.pdf Paradise Recovery Plan: https://makeitparadise.org/ Town of Paradise, Butte County Recovers: http://wildfirerecovery.org/