A Park for All: Redesigning an Urban Park as a Dignified Campground for an Unhoused Community

Abstract

In many major cities around the world, a humanitarian plight has become increasingly acute in recent years. In American cities especially, it is common to see unhoused individuals living in public spaces without access to safety, privacy, or stability. While homelessness is a complex issue shaped by deep economic and social factors, one thing is clear: urban environments rarely offer humane or long-term solutions. Too often, city governments and designers implement strategies aimed at hiding or displacing the unhoused from public view, rather than addressing their basic needs. This thesis, A Park for All, is a design project that imagines a public park as a shared humane landscape for both unhoused individuals and city residents. It does not aim to solve homelessness, but rather to highlight the needs of those impacted and propose possible responses through urban design. For the investigation, Virginia Avenue Northwest in Washington, D.C. was chosen. Despite being located in a wealthy downtown area surrounded by federal buildings, this site is home to numerous unhoused encampments. These underutilized areas carry unrealized potential to become places that actively support the city's unhoused population. Instead of removing existing encampments, this project proposes converting the northern section of San Jose Martin Park into a dignified campground equipped with essential amenities. The remainder of the park is designed to encourage social interaction and serve all users with shaded seating, movable furniture, the sound of water, and areas for rest and recreation.