A Living Room for Milton
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Date
2020-09-17
Authors
Hu, Rui
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Waterloo
Abstract
Milton, Ontario is one of many smaller Canadian cities that has absorbed the sudden growth brought on by a combination of the lack of affordable housing prices and access to major employment lands in larger urban centres. In the process of this growth, the city has begun to run out of space for sprawl due to its unique geography, and is now looking to densify its downtown core. However, what is left in the middle of the city has long been neglected, empty of character or identity. The few built projects in the newly delineated city centre demonstrate a future indistinguishable from the present, where more profit driven and introspective developments will stake their claim.
Within this context, this thesis looks to community building as a way to restitch the fractured landscapes of Milton, and to reclaim the identity of a new city centre for its citizens. The thesis begins with a photoessay that I have captured and curated over the span of 2019. It is a study of the state of communities in Milton, and a critique of their degradation. This critique is then addressed by four principles derived from a series of successful projects and contextual conditions. Finally, the thesis proposes two major interventions for Milton’s urban centre. First is the creation of a public park and rail-side mobility lane that link the public spaces of Milton. And second, a reimagined high school for the arts and public theatre as a community hub. In its entirety, the designs aspire to create a dignified public space of community, learning, and culture through accessibility, transparency, and collaboration.
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Keywords
milton, ontario, urban growth, urban renewal, urban identity, building community, suburban, cultural art, photo essay, densification, high school for the arts, art school, performing arts