Publication Date

Spring 2004

Degree Type

Master's Project

Degree Name

Master of Urban Planning (MUP)

Department

Urban and Regional Planning

Abstract

For the last half of the century, it has been obvious that the most popular building type built in America is the single-family house. Effectively ingrained in many as the preferred habitat style, this building type is the main appeal in the idealized American dream of a suburban house with white picket fence. Architects, urban planners, designers. writers and even some citizens understand this dream is also the epitome of sprawl. Driven by capitalistic policies and the apathetic media that often encourage wasteful consumptions and wanton disregard for the environment, sprawl is undoubtedly a complex problem to solve. In city after city, the segregation of land use and the dependency on the automobile have led to a stressful culture shaped by the monotonous built environment. The issue with the single-family house is that its proliferation hinders the development of other building types and therefore limits choices for people to live, work and play. One strategy to counter sprawl and to introduce other building types into a community is through the idea of mixed-use development. This form of development is often promoted in New Urbanist development, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) or Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND.) This research thus focuses on the form of mixed-use or retail-residential building types. Specifically, the hypothesis for this research is: “Could a Vietnamese shophouse building type be imported and adapted in San Jose?'' The answer is very positive with physical, economical, social, cultural, and environmental advantages that will be clarified by this study.

Chapter One introduces and explores the historical context for the proposed shop- house building type. It touches briefly on the trend of city planning and design in America as it relates to mixed-use development. Why explore the shophouse concept? The history of the Vietnamese Community in San Jose provides the ties to the need for shophouses in this city. Chapter Two attempts to define the prototypical shophouse for San Jose by investigating the planning issues and design characteristics of this building type in the context of development in America. A comparative analysis of the integration of uses in mixed-use buildings will be explored. This chapter will also describe the benefits of a shophouse. Chapter Three explores urban design criteria for a shophouse development by analyzing its live-work nature in the context of American planning and development. As any form of mixed-use, there are various challenges and obstacles to overcome, which will be explored next. The chapter concludes with design guidelines for a prototypical shophouse that will provide the basis for the conceptual design development of shophouse prototypes in the following chapter. Chapter Four puts the shophouse concept to test on an actual study site. Potential infill locations for shophouse developments will be identified and design prototypes developed. Based on the prototypical shophouse design guidelines criteria, conceptual designs of a shophouse district is created and illustrated with plans and elevations. Chapter Five summarizes the shophouse feasibility. From the analysis, it will discuss principles for development and recommend potential sites for "‘green-field'' development of shophouses in San Jose. It also will provide policy recommendations, next steps for scholarly research, and suggestions for the development community.

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