Date of Award

5-1974

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Architecture (MArch)

Legacy Department

Architecture

First Advisor

Gayland B. Witherspoon

Second Advisor

A. E. Schwartz

Abstract

The rural section between the urban and agicultural regions of the Piedmont have many of the problems of both areas and the advantages of neither. Rural areas have long had a reputation for permitting land uses not tolerated in other vicinities. While attention has been focused on urban centers, rural regions have steadily declined for several decades. This thesis investigates the lifestyle and land use patterns of the Piedmont and the problems associated with them. For the purpose of this investigation, a section of a road in Pickens County northeast of the town of Six Mile was chosen as being typical of the rural part of the Piedmont region of the state. Each family living in this stretch of road was interviewed as part of the process of determining their lifestyles and residential needs. Such information as length of residency in an area, location of relatives, and number of acres owned by a family were found. Also, location of each family church, shopping points, and employment were plotted. The results of this investigation were compared to conclusions reached by others in similar surveys. From the interviews, it was determined that relationships to the land was important to the families interviewed. Land use from the history of settlement patterns in this country to present conditions in rural areas was analyzed. Upon investigation of current confliction uses of land in rural areas and lack of policies on rural land use, it was felt that this area of the thesis deserved the most attention. Current land uses policies across the country were researched and opinions were colicited from professionals in various fields in order to analyze the land use of the area under investigation as it applies to ther rural areas of Piedmont. The rural landscapes of the Piedmond is currently blighted by mobile homes and tar paper shacks. There has been an alarming increase in mobile homes in rural areas in recent years. Rural housing conditions are analyzed with an emphasis on mobile homes and the need the fulfill. Mobile homes are compared to conventional dwellings and are found to have high adaptive costs. Planning proposals for the area are suggested. Thus far, there has been an uncontrolled linear pattern of growth along rural roads. If the growth pattern is allowed to continue, all the land beside the roads will soon be built up and green spaces will be available only to those who boarder on them. Alternatives to the current trend, controlled linear and nucleated concepts are investigated. In the controlled linear concept, built-up areas are alternated with green spaces. In the nucleated concept houses are groups, thus facilitating economy in service. The nucleated concept contains a center of activity, or generator.

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