Evaluating cross cultural courtyard housing for social well being in Manhattan, New York

Abstract

My inspiration towards working on housing living community emerged from the environment where I grew up in Bangladesh. I lived in a neighborhood where people avoided community places and lived alone. Housing affects both the material and immaterial aspects of urban life, hence it's vital in deciding quality of life. After moving to the U.S., I noticed a lack of community gatherings in housing where I live. Community housing provides an opportunity for some to live a happier life along with other people by sharing common spaces in dwelling and community spaces. Although problems may never be completely avoided, as contrast to the isolated environment of a more conventional neighborhood. Co-living establishes a sense of community through communal kitchens, living areas, and backyards, yet each resident lives in a fully equipped apartment. Community spaces in housing's effects on physical and mental health, as well as quality of life and wellbeing, have been examined in certain papers. (Carrere, J., 2020) However, these articles have not properly analyzed the relation of community gathering spaces and the domestic spaces and also the residents’ behavior towards those spaces. The focus of my thesis is to encourage communal living through the exploration of courtyard housing. My preliminary research included precedent analysis and literature review on the community living and housing design projects to establish a baseline of best practices to alleviate social isolation and loneliness. From the precedent analysis the idea of housing community areas design and the housing units’ development will be introduced. My paper will use courtyard patterns to illustrate the relationship between community spaces and residents of co-housing not only horizontally and but also vertically to reduce the mental health issue of people living there. So, my argument is not only the common shared spaces (kitchen, dining, communal hall) can bring people together but also different scaled multi-level courtyards can make the neighborhood lively and happy. I will explore these topics through housing districts in Manhattan, New York, developed during the modernist era. A thorough investigation of the urban grid, open spaces, roadways, and the connectivity of the housing area with the communal spaces will be done at the site, which was selected from the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). These investigations would be useful in identifying the housing shortage in Manhattan's East Harlem neighborhood. As a result, these analyses will continue to constitute a rich part of the design intervention of this project.