The area I will be redesigning is Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma. Moore is a city in central Oklahoma. It is a suburb of Oklahoma City and is located just south of downtown. The town was incorporated in 1893 and was a railroad city named after Al Moore, a railroad employee.
Population: 60,451
Land Area: 22.2 square miles
Mayor: Glenn Lewis
City Manager: Brooks Mitchell
When it comes to tornadoes, Moore has had unfortunate luck. Since records began in 1893, there have been 24 confirmed tornadoes within the 22.2 sq mile city. In fact, the strongest tornado ever recorded went through Moore in 1999. Moore has suffered three violent tornadoes in its time killing many and causing great damage.
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| Erin Maxwell. May 3,1999 Tornado. (1999) Wikimedia |
May 8, 2003: In the afternoon of May 8, 2003, a weak tornado touched down west of Newcastle and moved northeast across the city of Moore. The tornado was rated an EF-4, which is the second highest on the scale. Despite this strong tornado, no fatalities were reported, though dozens were injured. This was the third most damaging tornado ever in Moore. The tornado caused extensive damage to homes and Tinker Air Force Base, where heavy damage was done.
May 20, 2013: During the school day on May 20, 2013, a tornado touched down northwest of Newcastle and tracked through a very heavily populated part of Moore. The tornado was 1.5 miles wide and traveled for 17 miles. Wind speeds of over 210 mph were recorded. In the path of the tornado were 2 elementary schools, Briarwood and Plaza Towers. The tornado hit both schools directly, and at Plaza Towers, a wall in a hallway where 3rd graders were sheltering collapsed killing seven children. In total, the tornado killed 24 and injured 377. It destroyed 1,150 homes, and the cost of damage was around $2 billion.
When the tornado was headed toward both elementary schools, it was nearing the end of the day. The schools both decided it would be safer to keep children until the storm passed, not knowing they would take a direct hit. When the students sheltered, many were in unsafe areas, which shows in the number of injuries and fatalities in both schools. If the schools had had a tornado shelter, the injuries could have been few to none.
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| This is the school after it was hit |
The current school only takes up about half of the lot it sits on. The rest of the space is not being used. Houses surround the school which have all been rebuilt since the storm. This open space could be used for community shelters or other community spaces in a mainly residential area. The school itself is more modern but does not include a storm shelter. This could be dangerous and put the school in a similar situation if another tornado hits like in 2013. The parking lot is small and does not have many exits. This presents an issue in evacuation. When the tornado was heading towards the school, the school decided to keep kids inside the school to prevent there from being further deaths in the parking lot as parents raced to pick up their kids. More driveways would provide better escape routes.
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| CM “Analysis” (2019) |
Here is an analysis of the existing Plaza Towers Elementary. The school was rebuilt after the tornado. In the rebuild, the design included a memorial in the front of the school which has seven benches, each representing a child who died in the tornado. The benches have the child’s name on them and are engraved with their favorite things and activities.
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| CM "Redesign" (2019) |
This is my redesign of the Plaza Towers Elementary. The first things I made sure to include were tornado shelters. I included one inside that is a reinforced safe room that can also be used as a classroom. I also included a large shelter outside that can be used for the school and the community. This will increase the sense of safety for parents who send their children to school, as well as for the surrounding homes. I included another safety feature for the school: extra driveways for more convenience every day and more escape routes in a tornado. I noticed how the area around the school is almost all residential. I included a community center on the empty space behind the school. The community center and school could share resources and bring the community together. There will be childcare, gathering rooms, and extra classrooms. I also put some sustainable and energy efficient improvements in the area. I included solar panels on the ground because there are no mature trees in the area because of the tornado. The solar panels can provide energy to the school. I also included a community garden for kids to learn about biology and have a hands-on learning experience. The food grown in the garden can also be used in the school lunchroom. My redesign of the school and surrounding area makes the area a safer and more sustainable place for the community.
Here is a 3D rendering of my design.
CM “3D Model” (2019)
To calculate the area of the design we can use length x width. The length is 703.72 ft and the width is 812.08 ft. To find the area, we multiply the length and width. 703.72 x 812.08 = 571,476.938 ft^2
I am going to calculate the volume of the tornado shelter outside the school. The shape of the shelter is a triangular prism. To calculate the volume of a triangular prism, we can use 1/2 x B x H x L. The dimensions of the shelter are 100’ x 30’ x 10.’ to calculate the volume, we use 1/2 x 30 x 10 x 100 = 15,000 ft^3.
I am also going to calculate the volume of the community center. The building is a rectangular prism with a triangular prism on top. To find the volume of a rectangular prism, we can use L x W x H. The dimensions of the rectangular prism is 120’ x 75’ x 14’ = 126,000 ft^3 and to find the volume of a triangular prism we use 1/2 x B x H x L The dimensions are 120’ x 75’ x 10’ so we use 1/2 x 75 x 14 x 120 = 63,000 ft^3. To find the total volume of the building, we add both volumes together. 126,000 + 63,000 = 189,000 ft^3.
My redesign of Plaza Towers Elementary actually goes towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN. Goal 11 is “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.” My redesign specifically addresses targets 11.2 11.6 and 11.7.
Target 11.2: “By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons.” My addition of more driveways and access to the school will help relieve congestion and can be an escape route in an emergency. This makes the roads safer for everyone in the neighborhood.
Target 11.6: “By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.” My design includes renewable energy sources like solar panels. The garden waste can also utilize compost, which will help the school manage its waste. This will reduce the usage of energy by the school, making the town of Moore a more sustainable place.
Target 11.7: “By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.” I added a community center as well as a garden to the empty space. This creates a place for the community to come together in a public space. The garden also provides a green space for kids to get hands-on learning experience.
Peter Calthorpe listed 7 principles for building better cities in the future. My re-design addresses three of these.
#5. Connect. Increase density of road networks, limit block size. The design I came up with provides multiple routes out of the parking lot out on the street. The streets themselves are very quiet residential streets. This may seem insignificant, but it will reduce congestion, and be safer in tornado evacuation.
#2. Mix. Create mixed use and mixed-income neighborhoods. While Moore may not be a very mixed-income neighborhood, my design implements mixed land use. School, public spaces, and energy sources are all located on the same plot of land. This will reduce how much sprawl Moore will have to do in the future.
#7. Focus. Focus density. My design focuses on the community space in that area of Moore. People in close proximity can have a community space nearby, instead of traveling to other neighborhoods, or into downtown Moore.
The re-design of Plaza Towers brings up the painful memories from that afternoon in 2013. There are no ordinances in Moore that state that a school has to have a shelter. The schools that were destroyed in 1999 were rebuilt without shelters. Kelly Nichols, a parent of Ethan Nichols (9) decided to leave her son at school when she heard the tornado was coming. Kelly herself had attended grade school at Plaza and was the head of the school board. She had seen in person the school practice taking shelter in the school. Kelly told USA Today: "I figured the kids will be safe in school," she said. "I didn't think (the tornado) could do that to a school." Nichols soon realized that seven of Ethan’s classmates had died in the storm. The teacher, Jennifer Doan, was being hailed a hero for using her body to shield the kids from debris. Doan, who was pregnant, and two boys were trapped under a car that had been blown in by the tornado. Doan suffered multiple injuries but she and the baby were ok. It was reported that most of the children died from asphyxiation under the cinder block wall. Some died of blunt force trauma.
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| President Obama hugs Amy Simpson the principle of Plaza Towers Elementary. |
My design was inspired by the state of Kansas. The state of Kansas installed 30 tornado shelters along a 236 mile stretch of highway on the Kansas Turnpike. Each shelter can hold about 15 people and there are larger shelters located under some toll booths. The Kansas Turnpike is no stranger to tornadoes. A famous video depicts a news crew sheltering under an overpass as a tornado hits. One woman was sucked out and died. In Edmond OK, the schools in the area act as shelters for the people who do not have shelter. The elementary school and the high school sheltered hundreds of people during a storm in 2008 where the town was barely missed by an EF-5 tornado. However, there are some drawbacks to public shelters. Overcrowding can be a danger. The external shelter in my design is 300 square feet. There are 500 people in the building. I estimate the shelter can fit 150-200 people. This is if one person takes up 2 square feet or a little less. It could potentially fit 300 people if needed. It is more dangerous to drive to a shelter in the midst of a tornado than to shelter in your home. Authorities call it “sheltering in place.” If the shelter has no more capacity and the tornado hits, there could be many fatalities around the shelter. Your chances of survival are exponentially better in a shelter but getting there could be dangerous. The idea of community shelter is still a very good one. They can save lives. The purpose of urban planning is to keep people safe and happy. This redesign can help the city of Moore recover from a devastating tornado that killed some of their citizens.
In the process of redesigning the school grounds, I encountered a lot of dilemmas. I was conflicted on how much shelter space to put without costing too much. I also wanted to make as much use of the existing school as I could. The only thing I added in the school was the storm shelter. Everything else was added on the exterior. I decided on adding an exterior shelter as well. I wanted the school grounds to be more sustainable, so I added solar panels and a garden. These are not connected to tornado safety, but they make the space greener. In conclusion, I think I made Plaza Towers Elementary a safer and greener place for everyone.
Works Cited:
Air Force Medical Service. “Enhanced Fujita Scale With Wind Speed Estimates.” (2019)
Allen, Silas. “Public Tornado Shelters Can Do More Harm than Good, Oklahoma Experts Say.” Government Technology.com. e.Rebuplic. Feburary 25, 2015. Web. 3, Jun 2019.
Andrea Booher. “Plaza Towers Elementary” (2013)
Breslin, Sean. “Kansas Turnpike Tornado Shelters Offer Another Option For Severe Weather Safety.” The Weather Channel, 28 Apr. 2016. Web. 1, Jun 2019.
Jervis, Rick. “Tornado-battered Okla. school buries first victim.” USA Today.com. May 23, 2013. Web. 3, Jun 2019.
Ks0stm. “May 20, 2013 Moore, Oklahoma Tornado.” (2013)
“May 3, 1999 Oklahoma/Kansas Tornado Outbreak.” NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory. Web. May 31, 2019
Pete Souza. President Barack Obama Hugs Amy Simpson. (2013)
Preston, Jennifer. “Remembering Young Victims of the Oklahoma Tornado.” New York Times.com. May 22, 2013. Web. 3, Jun 2019.
“Sustainable Development Goal 11.” Sustainable Development.org. United Nations. Web. 3, Jun 2019.
TED. “7 principles for building better cities | Peter Calthorpe.” Youtube.com. Lesson by Peter Calthorpe. August 31, 2017. Web.
US Department of Commerce, and Noaa. “Moore, Oklahoma Tornadoes (1890-Present).” Moore, Oklahoma Tornadoes (1890-Present), NOAA's National Weather Service, 22 Nov. 2016. Web. May 31, 2019.
US Department of Commerce, and Noaa. “The Great Plains Tornado Outbreak of May 3-4, 1999.” The Great Plains Tornado Outbreak of May 3-4, 1999, NOAA's National Weather Service, Web. 3 May 31, 2019.
“2013 Moore Tornado.” 2013 Moore Tornado Facts and Information. TornadoFacts.net. Web. 1, Jun 2019.
In conclusion, this was a very interesting class. I learned a lot about what it takes to plan and build a city. It really opened my eyes as to why things are the way they are in a city. Most people take cities for granted. They don't question why an intersection is a certain way or why a building was built. I think it was an interesting way to think about cities. This project was challenging. It felt pretty daunting at first, redesigning a whole area. Once I got my ideas flowing, it ended up going smoothly. I am really proud of my 3D model and all the research I did. I really liked connecting my interest in tornadoes to a class. I have enjoyed my Junior year, and I feel that I have matured in my projects over time.
In conclusion, this was a very interesting class. I learned a lot about what it takes to plan and build a city. It really opened my eyes as to why things are the way they are in a city. Most people take cities for granted. They don't question why an intersection is a certain way or why a building was built. I think it was an interesting way to think about cities. This project was challenging. It felt pretty daunting at first, redesigning a whole area. Once I got my ideas flowing, it ended up going smoothly. I am really proud of my 3D model and all the research I did. I really liked connecting my interest in tornadoes to a class. I have enjoyed my Junior year, and I feel that I have matured in my projects over time.
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