{"172831":{"#nid":"172831","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Many Layers of a City","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMoving through the city, one interacts with the city on varying scales and activity levels. While one may work in\u0026nbsp;the center of a dense\u0026nbsp;business district,\u0026nbsp;she or he\u0026nbsp;enters new, smaller city centers when they stop\u0026nbsp;for groceries or a pint of beer on the way home.\u0026nbsp;In a 2011\u0026nbsp;thesis\u0026nbsp;out of\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech titled\u0026nbsp;\u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/1853\/43594\u0022\u003ECenters all the way down: a study of centrality in the modern city\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d Patrick Sewell (MCRP \u002711)\u0026nbsp;argues that by exploring the concept of a city center more comprehensively, planners are better able to understand all the forces that shape a city.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo examine the hierarchy of city centers distributed throughout Atlanta, Sewell utilized Georgia Tech\u2019s SMARTRAQ dataset to map the distribution of commercial activity. He then used kernel density estimation and several other quantitative and qualitative analyses to objectively compare Atlanta\u2019s hierarchy of centers with commonly held notions of centrality throughout time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESewell\u2019s research shows \u201cthat beneath Atlanta\u2019s urban fabric, there exists complex logic generating a hierarchial structure of centers at multiple scales.\u201d This supports the theory that centrality develops by a dual process: through the minimization of distance in the global network and the through the intensification of street patterns in the local road network. Like all urban places, Atlanta\u2019s hierarchy of city centers forms complex layers of meaning, the very complexity necessary for good, urban life.\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPatrick Sewell is a 2011 graduate of Georgia Tech\u2019s School of City and Regional Planning and currently works as a \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cem\u003ECredit Risk Analyst at Regions Financial Corporation. Professors John Peponis, Michael Dobbins, and Perry Yang served on Sewell\u2019s thesis advisory committee. \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"\u0022Centers all the way down: a study of centrality in the modern city\u0022"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETrying to understand how cities are shaped can often seem an overwhelming task. A recent Georgia Tech thesis tackles this\u0026nbsp;problem, finding that\u0026nbsp;Atlanta can be mapped through a hierarchical structure of city centers.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27714","created_gmt":"2012-11-26 04:06:20","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:14","author":"Kyle James","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-11-26T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-11-26T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"172821":{"id":"172821","type":"image","title":"Metric Reach in Decatur","body":null,"created":"1449178999","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:43:19","changed":"1475894814","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:54","alt":"Metric Reach in Decatur","file":{"fid":"195772","name":"sewell_map2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sewell_map2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sewell_map2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":51573,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/sewell_map2_0.jpg?itok=__-_2jGN"}}},"media_ids":["172821"],"groups":[{"id":"1224","name":"School of City \u0026 Regional Planning"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"51331","name":"centrality"},{"id":"51321","name":"city center"},{"id":"48951","name":"featured student research"},{"id":"51221","name":"patrick sewell"},{"id":"5603","name":"thesis"},{"id":"10703","name":"urban form"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}