The Elements of the Public Realm project was an urban theory project I completed in the second semester of my junior year at UMKC’s Urban Planning program. For this project, our studio split up and all took different public elements, such as street furniture, transit stops, bike infrastructure, and mine: trees. The goal of the project was to find examples within Kansas City, and use those examples to create a theory of that element. So for my project, I defined the theory of urban trees with the boards below.

I valued this project because it allowed me to advance my skills with image manipulation. As this project was on a particularly short deadline, advanced my skill with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to produce these image at high quality. This project additionally allowed me to advance my skill with Illustrator by compelling me to create sections and elevation using the program. My favorite part of the project, though, was presenting this project to explain the theory of it. For most projects I have completed, the goal is to create something presentable and consumable for the public. Alternatively, this project required us to think more like academics and less like public servants, which was a welcome change. Focusing on planning from the point of view of theorists advanced my understanding.

Through this project, I found several different uses that trees tend to follow within the public realm. These uses, as pictured below, include Placemaking, Urban Relief, Framing, Amenities, Nature in an Urban Setting, and Boundary.