Date of Award

5-2009

Document Type

Terminal Project

Degree Name

Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP)

Department

Planning and Landscape Architecture

Advisor

Dr. Mickey Lauria

Committee Member

Dr. Terrence Farris

Abstract

The recent push for infill and central-city reinvestment along with the availability of federal grants for community development and brownfield cleanup has created a window of opportunity for stabilizing urban neighborhoods that declined due to: the shift from manufacturing to service economy, decades of population loss, and the suburbanization of jobs and higher income households (Pooley, 2007; Ahlbrandt, Jr., 1986 p.120-121). The abandoned textile mills and their associated mill villages in Greenville, SC are prime examples of distressed urban neighborhoods that may be potential beneficiaries of the smart growth movement. Smart growth refers to the concept of compact development, central-city reinvestment, and urban infill that emerged in the 1990s in response to urban sprawl issues such as: decreases in the availability and quality of land and water, neighborhood quality, social capital, as well as increases in pollution, obesity, commute times, infrastructure and personal transportation costs (Farris, 2001; Kunstler, 1993). Likewise, the presence of brownfields, “abandoned or underutilized industrial properties that are known or suspected to be contaminated,” may prove attractive since they often allow for substantial developments without the hastle of assembling small parcels for redevelopment (Russ, 2000). Consequently, this study focuses on the abandoned Poe Mill site and the Poe Mill subdivision in Greenville County, SC as the “Greenville County 2005-2009 Consolidated Plan” approaches its expiration date and planning for the 2010-2015 Consolidated Plan begins.

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