Browsing by Subject "Houston, Texas"
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Item The architect as collector: Karl Kamrath’s collection of Frank Lloyd Wright(2009-08) Pierce Meyer, Kathryn Alisa; Cleary, Richard Louis; Long, ChristopherHouston modern architect, Karl Kamrath (1911-1988), collected books, periodicals, and archival material that document the career and legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright. Kamrath identified himself as a collector of Wright and a devotee to the principles set forth by the master architect. In this thesis, I present Kamrath’s collection by organizing the materials by subject, considering how Kamrath marked books and journals, and drawing connections between his collecting interests and his architectural work. Kamrath collected and consumed information on Wright and organic architecture and then presented his own articulations of the principles in built form. His interest in organic architecture was evident in his projects that blended into the landscape and satisfied the individual needs of each client. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the story on Karl Kamrath, adding the details of the collection he donated to The University of Texas at Austin.Item Cities in Transition: The Case of Houston(Bureau of Business Research, The University of Texas at Austin, 1999-02) Klineberg, Stephen L.The end of the 20th century finds major U.S. cities in the midst of significant change, precipitated by important economic and demographic trends. first, the foundations of the U.S. economy have definitively shifted away from the blue collar “resource economy” of the Industrial Age into the more problematic “knowledge economy” of the Information Age. Second, a fundamental change has occurred in the ethnic composition of the U.S. population, from a European amalgam into a “universal nation.” This article explores the way the citizens of Houston are experiencing and responding to these remarkable changes.Item Condensed chemical mechanisms and their impact on radical sources and sinks in Houston(2009-08) Heo, Gookyoung; Allen, David T.; McDonald-Buller, ElenaFree radicals play a critical role in the formation of tropospheric air pollution, but current condensed chemical mechanisms used in gridded photochemical models under-predict total radical concentrations. This dissertation evaluates three hypotheses regarding radical sources and sinks using environmental chamber data and ambient data from southeast Texas. The first hypothesis, that aromatics chemistry is under-represented as a radical source in condensed chemical mechanisms, was evaluated mainly by using environmental chamber simulations and in part by using ambient simulations. Results indicate that improved characterization of aromatics chemistry in condensed chemical mechanisms will lead to more rapid and extensive free radical formation. The second hypothesis, that alkene reactions are under-represented as a radical source in condensed chemical mechanisms, was also evaluated using chamber data and TexAQS-2000 data. Results indicate that the methods used in mechanism condensation lead to lower estimates of free radical production than detailed, compound specific models. The third hypothesis, chlorine emissions and chemistry as a radical source, was also evaluated in a series of sensitivity analyses with various levels of molecular chlorine emissions. Results imply that incorporating chlorine chemistry in condensed chemical mechanisms is expected to lead to more accurate modeling of OH, HO₂ and O₃, particularly for the southeast Texas region where relatively large chlorine emissions occur from various anthropogenic sources of molecular chlorine. The relative magnitudes of these radical sources (aromatics, alkenes, and molecular chlorine) in southeast Texas were also compared using box modeling with TexAQS-2000 data. Results indicate that the relative importance of these three types of radical sources depends on the strengths of their corresponding emissions.Item Family Mobility in Houston, Texas, 1922-1938(University of Texas at Austin, 1942-06-22) Rosenquist, Carl M.; Browder, Walter GordonItem Fate of the Houston skyline : stategies adopted for rehabilitating mid-century modern high-rises(2014) Srinivasan, Urmila; Holleran, MichaelA recent report by Terrapin Bright Green “Mid-century (Un) Modern” discusses the desperate condition of mid-century modern high-rises in Manhattan. The article argues that it would be beneficial both economically and environmentally to demolish these buildings and build new ones with an assumed increase in FAR. To re-build, repair or re-skin are the questions Mid-century Modern High-rises (MMH) face today. This study focuses on Houston, Texas, which is very different from New York City both climatically and from a planning stand point. It is dreaded for its hot and humid climate and notorious for its consistent refusal to adopt any zoning. These high-rises in Houston represent the economic success of the city immediately after WWII. These buildings were constructed as the city transformed from the Bayou City to the Space city. In this study I have mapped the status of these high-rises and the strategies that were used to renovate them. The questions I further wish to address are how preservation or energy efficiency are addressed while renovating these buildings. Even preservationists might agree that all buildings are not equal and a new look would benefit some. The real challenge lies in resolving the grey areas, where one is not talking about a Seagram or a Lever House, but a well designed environmentally sensitive building.Item Give that building C.P.R.! : bringing life back into flooded mid-century modern residences(2023-05) Quigley, Cara Elizabeth; Holleran, MichaelRepeated adverse weather events have changed the way we must approach historic preservation practices for the future. The Mid-Century Modern housing stock of Houston, TX is among the nation’s largest and has been continuously threatened by severe flooding in recent years. Between 2015-2017, approximately 30 percent of the Mid-Century Modern homes in the Meyerland neighborhood of Houston flooded multiple times, resulting in a rapid increase of teardowns and significant loss of original fabric. Out-of-date floodplain maps, inadequate government assistance, and the inevitability of future disasters leave homeowners faced with challenges regarding the treatment of their historic-age properties (50 years or older). Flood resilience and adaptation strategies such as elevating a slab-on-grade home above the base flood elevation or extensive material adaptation of historic interiors must be carefully approached to avoid a negative impact on the distinct character of the modern building typology. The research in this thesis examines resilience-based preservation approaches that are supported by three case study properties in Houston. Each of the highlighted historic-age residences has incorporated various measures of flood resilience that are consciously focused on keeping with the Mid-Century Modern aesthetic. In an effort to retain the integrity of materials, design, and workmanship of flood-vulnerable Mid-Century Modern residences, finding common ground between preservation and flood resiliency is the epitome of this discussion to properly adapt and protect the at-risk edifices in preparation for sustaining the existence of the postwar building stock in future flood eventsItem Impact of variable emissions on ozone formation in the Houston area(2009-12) Pavlovic, Radovan Thomas, 1971-; Allen, David T.; McDonald-Buller, ElenaGround level ozone is one of the most ubiquitous air pollutants in urban areas, and is generated by photochemical reactions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The effectiveness of emission reduction strategies for ozone precursors is typically evaluated using gridded, photochemical air quality models. One of the underlying assumptions in these models is that industrial emissions are nearly constant, since many industrial facilities operate continuously at a constant rate of output. However, recent studies performed in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area indicate that some industrial emission sources exhibit high temporal emission variability that can lead to very rapid ozone formation, especially when emissions are composed of highly reactive volatile organic compounds. This work evaluates the impact of variable emissions from industrial sources on ground-level ozone formation in Houston area, utilizing a unique hourly emission inventory, known as the 2006 Special Inventory, created as a part of the second Texas Air Quality Study. Comparison of the hourly emissions inventory data with ambient measurements indicated that the impact of the variability of industrial source emissions on ozone can be significant. Photochemical modeling predictions showed that the variability in industrial emissions can lead to differences in local ozone concentrations of as much as 27 ppb at individual ozone monitor locations. The hourly emissions inventory revealed that industrial source emissions are highly variable in nature with diverse temporal patterns and stochastic behavior. Petrochemical and chemical manufacturing flares, which represent the majority of emissions in the 2006 Special Inventory, were grouped into categories based on industrial process, chemical composition of the flared gas, and the temporal patterns of their emissions. Stochastic models were developed for each categorization of flare emissions with the goal of simulating the characterized temporal emission variability. The stochastic models provide representative temporal profiles for flares in the petrochemical manufacturing and chemical manufacturing sectors, and as such serve as more comprehensive input for photochemical air quality modeling.Item Light rail impacts on property values : analyzing Houston's METRORail(2011-05) Campbell, Elizabeth Cochrane; Zhang, Ming, 1963 Apr. 22-; Kahn, Terry D.Light rail transit (LRT) systems are tools to help reduce traffic congestion and air pollution, promote high-density development and more affordable housing, and curtail urban sprawl in metropolitan cities throughout the United States. The impact of transit system services on property values has been studied from various perspectives using many statistical approaches. There are two general categories of effects that proximity to a light rail system can have on the value of residential properties: accessibility benefits (experienced in close proximity to the LRT stations) might increase property values, while nuisance qualities (experienced in both proximity to the LRT line and stations) could have a negative effect on residential property values. Due to the opposing nature of these coexisting effects, results from many empirical studies have been contradictory or inconclusive. This report reviews the spectrum of results found by the growing body of literature focusing on the capitalization effects of rail stations on property values. The economic effect of one particular LRT system, the 7.5 mile long METRORail line located in Houston, Texas, on the value of properties within close proximity to rail stations has not been thoroughly examined, as it only opened for service in 2004. This study utilizes property data acquired from the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD), Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques, and Hedonic Price Models to analyze the impact of the LRT system in the city of Houston, Texas, on the value of residential properties that lie within close proximity to the line’s rail stations.Item Merchandising the postwar model house at the Parade of Homes(2009-08) Dodd, Samuel Tommy; Cleary, Richard Louis; Long, ChristopherThe Parade of Homes began in 1948 as a novel form of sales merchandising and publicity. The model house, on display at the Parade of Homes, was a powerful advertising tool employed by postwar merchant-builders to sell modern design to a new market of informed consumers and second-time homeowners. Using House & Home as a primary source, I contextualize the postwar housing industry and the merchandising efforts of builders. Then, through an examination of the 1955 Parade of Homes in Houston, Texas, I analyze the early Parade of Homes events and the language of domestic modernism that they showcased.Item Miqdaad Bhuriwala Interview(2021-01-26) Institute for Diversity & Civic LifeThis interview is with Miqdaad Bhuriwala, a current master’s student in urban planning and a member of the Dawoodi Bhora Muslim community. Miqdaad immigrated to America right after 9/11 and speaks to the experience of uprooting his life, losing parts of his cultural heritage, like language, and learning how to fit in as a Pakistani-American. Miqdaad also discusses how living through a global pandemic has allowed him the chance to work on his mental health and focus on his goal of making the world a better place for both humans and our environment.Item Power moves : Houston, Texas and the politics of mobility, 1950-1985(2014-05) Shelton, Kyle Krumdieck; Green, Laurie B. (Laurie Beth); Jones, Jacqueline; Bsumek, Erika M.; Hoelscher, Steven D.; Melosi, Martin V.This dissertation argues that between 1950 and 1985 a diverse collection of residents from the Houston, Texas metropolitan area used debates about the planning, construction, and meaning of transportation structures—primarily highways and mass transit systems—as opportunities to claim political power and to influence the future of their neighborhoods and city. As they contested these systems, Houstonians articulated competing notions of the politics of mobility. In addition to concrete political decisions about transportation, this term also encompasses the daily transportation decisions of Houstonians and the meanings those residents ascribed to the infrastructure that carried them across the city. The politics of mobility uniquely illuminates the intersection of politics, culture, and urban development in Houston. Who wielded the power to make choices about Houston’s transportation networks and how the balance of that power changed over time are central questions of this dissertation. Until the late 1950s and early 1960s, a collection of nearly all white and male elected officials, professional planners, and private developers held immense power over the city’s decision-making process, but never completely controlled it. The actions of citizens outside that group forced leaders to acknowledge, if rarely embrace, the perspectives that citizens held about transportation and the politics of mobility. By the mid-1970s, aided by changes in federal oversight and citizen participation regulations, as well as by their own assertions of political power, an increasingly diverse set of Houstonians—African American, ethnic Mexican, and white, urban and suburban, rich and poor—possessed more influence over the city’s transportation choices. By engaging in these debates, Houstonians challenged the city’s racial, economic, and decision-making status quo. The choices made in Houston’s struggle over the placement of highways and the creation of a public transit authority sheds light onto the foundations of Houston’s unique built environment and offers a model for understanding similar forces at work in other auto-centric southern and western, “Sunbelt” cities, such as Los Angeles and Atlanta. Further, these conflicts illuminate why older cities in the Northeast and Midwest and younger ones in the West and the South developed such divergent urbanization patterns and transportation practices.Item Texas in the Information Age(Bureau of Business Research, The University of Texas at Austin, 1997-12) Strover, Sharon; Nicholas, KyleThe Texas Telecommunications Policy Institute on the Texas Poll surveyed a random sample of 1,000 Texans on a quarterly basis in order to understand how people in the state are currently using telecommunications and computers and to explore their attitudes toward deregulation and electronic privacy issues. Survey results suggested that a great deal more work must be done to guarantee privacy in the electronic environment.