Isolated Urban Places & Spaces: A Rails-With-Trails Solution (Fargo, ND)

Abstract

This thesis focuses on exploring the question: how can a pedestrian trail along an active railway corridor unite several isolated areas of a city? The typology for exploring this project is an urban railway system that runs through the heart of downtown Fargo, North Dakota, and surrounding neighborhoods. Planning and designing within an existing built environment to better suit the well-being of the pedestrian may prove problematic, because urban growth has revolved around the automobile for nearly a century. Utilizing spaces along railway corridors may provide direct connections to destinations, making for a more cohesive urban fabric. An urban pedestrian corridor can promote economic development, increase property values, encourage physical fitness and more transit use instead of personal auto use, serve as an environmental and recreational resource, promote social interactions, and help give an area a stronger sense of identity.