Renewing civic infrastructure (public open space, streetscapes, housing, transportation, community facilities built for “communal, public and civic life ”) can provide a framework for community inspired design that respects civic memory while supporting cultural/ historical identity and promoting private/ public economic development. The new center will incorporate several abandoned and underutilized buildings for new housing, commercial/ retail, community services, and cultural education uses. By assisting recent citizen-driven planning efforts in the Melrose neighborhood, this thesis project will provide a test framework for a new Civic Center on 6.5 acres of currently underutilized or abandoned property and streets. University of Washington College of Architecture and Urban Planning Abstract BROTHER, CAN YOUS PARADIGM?:Architecture, Infrastructure, and Community Bronx, NYC by Saul Manuel Golden, 1997 Chairperson of the Supervisory Committee: Prof Michael Pyatok Department of Architecture A once thriving network of neighborhoods in New York City, the “South Bronx” became an icon for urban decay and despair during the 1960’s – 1980’s.

The life and death of cities