Spaces of Refuge: Revitalization Through the Temporary Reuse of Honolulu's Interstitial Spaces

摘要

Honolulu's urban fabric is filled a vast amount of untapped potential in the form of interstitial space that is currently being underutilized. With the large scale developments that will come with the construction of Honolulu's rail transit system, the number of these spaces will grow. The spaces are often taken for granted and seen as waste: surface parking lots, open lots, construction debris, vacant city landscape and street medians. These developments will cater mainly to the middle to upper-middle class demographic. In the site selection for this project, the demographic focus are the people that have been left behind by these developments. There is a strong link between poverty, urban potential and the impact of people's well-being due to the inability for Hawai'i's people to make ends meet. The aim of this research is to find a possible method to map these spaces and finding the appropriate function based on the resources in the selected sites. The intervention designed from this research will be based on characteristics appropriate for these interstitial spaces and the chosen demographic: temporality, flexibility and constructability.;Alongside the mapping of interstitial spaces, the resources mapped include care and essentials, recreational activities, arts and entertainment, cafes, fresh produce, restaurants, nightlife, relaxation and retail. Based on these resources, the appropriate program or function was chosen to fill the need for these resources.;The mapping investigation of Honolulu's interstitial spaces and its resources reaffirmed that the current planning process does evolve as fast as the city changes. The design hopes to give citizens the voice and power to implementation policy and regulation changes regarding interstitial spaces can positively affect the socioeconomic factors and quality of life.