Bridging the Gap with Tucson's Urban Fissure

Abstract

As cities continue to develop, they can experience changes and subsequent decline in particular industries and land uses. In some cases, structures are abandoned and vacant lots remain as remnants of past uses. In central Tucson, Arizona, there is a fragment of land that separates two important districts. The proposed site, Tucson’s Urban Fissure, can be viewed as a landscape that is underutilized, barren, scorched, and is in need of a new identity. To the north of the Urban Fissure, sits an avenue of shops and restaurants that are well established, and to the south a newly built, thriving, living, urban hub. This fissure provides an opportunity to help fuse these districts. This area has the potential to link two thriving urban nodes: Fourth Avenue and Downtown Tucson. Currently this, Urban Fissure has a set of historic train tracks running along its side. This cultural inspiration along with Iron Horse Park can be looked at as a set of catalysts that can help spur a new sense of identity for this site. Through the creation of an urban park on Tucson’s Urban Fissure, the author will provide the city of Tucson with a valuable addition to its urban fabric. Through special attention to spatial scale, circulation, shelter and refuge areas, and spatio- temporal landscape patterns, the design will realize a new image for the cavity that currently sits in between central Tucson Arizona’s most heavily used districts (4th Avenue and Downtown), while also activating the underutilized land. This work is intended to illustrate to the city how the sense of movement can bridge the gap in needed linkages within the urban fabric of Tucson.