Architecture Commons^™

Restoration And Recreation A Cranberry Bog’S Return To Wetland For Water Quality And Recreation, Rebecca Requa Bagdigian-Boone

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Cranberry bogs are an iconic part of the New England scenery, specifically on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Commercial cranberry farming originated in the states starting in 1816, but the indigenous people of New England have had a much longer relationship to the plant, Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait. Cranberry farming relies more heavily on access to freshwater than other forms of agriculture; because of the use of water for irrigation, harvesting, and overwintering protection, cranberry bogs are often located in areas directly adjacent to waterways. Although necessary to support productive bogs the agricultural practices involved in cranberry growing have significant ecological impacts …

Beyond D-Space Landscape Strategies For An Expanding Wildland-Urban Interface, Bo Carpen

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Destructive wildfires have increased exponentially in number, size, and economic damages over the past four decades (Buechi et al., 2021). Since the 1990’s, the average duration of wildfire season and spatial extent of at-risk landscapes have both grown substantially, posing greater environmental risk for populations throughout the western United States (Balch et al., 2016). Within the Colorado Front Range, wildfire risk is also expanding into new terrian as threats grows in suburban grassland landscapes (Brasch, 2022). Recent wildfire mitigation plans developed by foresters, fire planners, local area planners, and landscape architects are inventoried to study emerging wildfire buffer approaches for …

Plum Island Resiliency Toolkit A Toolkit For Homeowners And The Community, Jake Harlow

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Most of the land directly on the Atlantic coast is flat and at sea level making it more vulnerable to sea-level rise impacts (EPA, 2022). Plum Island is in Essex County, Massachusetts, adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. Plum Island is divided between four municipalities that include Newburyport, Newbury, Rowley, and Ipswich a. Plum Island is a barrier island system that faces threats from sea-level rise and climate change impacts indicated in the “Newburyport Climate Resiliency Plan” and “Plum Island: Exploring the Fiscal and Economic Implications of Sea Level Rise, “report. The project focus area encompasses the northern 1/3 of Plum …

Arts And Culture In Amherst, Ma: An Economic Impact Analysis Of The Drake, Chanel Lobdell

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The Drake is a live performance and music venue in the heart of Amherst that was developed in 2022 by The Downtown Amherst Foundation. The Downtown Amherst Foundation believes that art and culture will be the economic and destination driver for Amherst and the Drake was the organization’s first project to bring more arts and culture into downtown. Now that the Drake has been opened for over a year, the foundation is interested in learning about the economic impacts that it had on Amherst.

Improving Mental Health Through Streetscape Design In Indian Cities A Typology And Proposed Intervention In The Kalkaji Neighborhood Of Delhi, Muskaan Handa

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Healing landscapes have long been an important aspect of human life. Monastic communities in the Western world-maintained infirmaries based on the use of herbs and prayers, which nearly invariably included a cloistered garden. The relevance of nature in the healing process has been significantly lessened as a result of modern improvements in technology, and this has been one regrettable result of the "cure over care" phenomenon present in many parts of the healthcare field. Traditional healing gardens are frequently located in or near indoor healthcare facilities. "Why?" is the question. Why can’t therapeutic gardens work as healing landscapes blending with …

Design And Integration Of Multimodal Urban Allotment Gardens: Considerations For Landscape Architecture And Planning In Porto, Portugal, Remington Pontes

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Public open space is a fundamental and imperative constituent of contemporary urban infrastructure. As a resolute fixture of the built landscape, public space, especially green space, represents the sites and settings of public life, ideally functioning as the primary urban forum for political action and community representation, social interaction and integration, physical recreation, civic participation, and a variety of ecosystem services including stormwater management (Carmona et al., 2003, Chen, 2017). However, despite the socio- ecological significance of public open spaces in facilitating a cohesive and environmentally sustainable public realm, over the past half-century, cities throughout the Global North have been …

Reinvigorating The Hill In Turners Falls, Ma, Patrick Burns

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

This masters project will focus on the site of the Hillcrest and Sheffield Elementary School campus in the "The Hill" neighborhood of Turners Falls, MA. This project aims to create a vision of possibility for an underutilized neighborhood amenity. This project reviews social, demographic, physical data of the neighborhood in Turners Falls as well as research on play, nature play, outdoor experiential learning, and the local ecology of Montague Wildlife Management area. To execute this goal, the study aims to achieve the following objectives:

• Revitalize an underutilized space into a neighborhood asset;
• Improve elementary school campus reinforcing a positive learning …

Bournewood Hospital: Designing A Healing Landscape, Winfield Henry

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Currently in the United States there are 51.5 million Americans suffering from mental illness (Mental Illness, 2021). With trends having been on the rise over the past decade, particularly for depression and anxiety, and showing a significant jump during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial that behavioral health hospitals utilize all available treatment methods (Daly et. al., 2021, & Goodwin et. al., 2020). While the outdoor environment has played a role in mental and physical healthcare since the 11th Century, it has been largely lost until the late 1900s. Through research and evidence-based design, a holistic approach to healthcare is …

Creating A Resilient Design For The Hinsdale Island Greenway: Linking Research And Practice, Christopher Ramage

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The Hinsdale Island Greenway proposes a community driven vision for the reuse of Hinsdale Island, the Anna Hunt Marsh Bridge, and the Charles Dana Bridge as a resilient public landscape that balances recreation and conservation goals. Within the project context, three research questions are investigated. 1) How does resiliency theory inform the design of riverine landscapes? 2) How can designed experiments be applied within public landscapes? 3) How can a transect framework be applied to organize design interventions at a site scale? A literature review, interviews with experts, case studies, and lessons learned during the course of this project are …

Massachusetts Complete Streets Program: An Exploratory Spatial And Social Equity Analysis, Toriellen Swistak

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The effects of transportation planning on equity are often overlooked or not prioritized, sometimes resulting in an inequitable distribution of infrastructure investment with disparities in access. This paper examines the characteristics and distribution of approved Complete Streets projects across Massachusetts using social and spatial methods to analyze trends across socioeconomic demographic data. The methods applied include buffering techniques in GIS software to analyze population data within a half-mile radius of approved projects from 2016-2019. The half-mile measure of proximity is used as a proxy for access, in which descriptive statistics and regression models examine in detail.

The Just Green City: A Vision Of The South Holyoke Neighborhood, Michael Gagnon

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Landscape Architects need to take their place as formative roles in the planning and design of our cities in the era of climate change. Not only do we have to be a part of the collaborative efforts, but we also have to bring it to the communities who need it most to create long-lasting impacts. Climate change is an equity issue and without tackling our social problems, we cannot tackle climate change. Our role is to not reinforce the status quo but to change it. The Just Green City takes place in Holyoke Massachusetts. This legacy city was once the …

Correctional Landscape Studies: Improving The Restorative Potential, Allyson Fairweather

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The United States is the world’s leader in incarceration with 2.2 million people currently in the nation’s prisons and jails. On average, one-third of former offenders will return to prison for re-offence within three years of their release (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2018). This cycle is known as recidivism, and demonstrates a major reflection of the criminal justice system’s failure to provide rehabilitation that meets the needs of the incarcerated population. However, horticultural therapy in prison may offer a sliver of hope. Also referred to as Green Prison Programs (GPPs), studies indicate that participants in these programs gain valuable job …

An Ethnobotany Of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Meredith Savage

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The historical and continuing cultural significance of the Black Hills to Native Peoples is well documented, as is the relatively recent mineralogical significance of the area to non-indigenous Americans. Human habitation of the area may go back thirteen thousand years and many tribal groups are known to have occupied, used, or otherwise laid claim to portions of this region. Full recognition by non-native Americans of the long-standing and very different cultural significance the Black Hills held historically and continues to hold for Native Peoples is still a work in progress. It is the author’s hope that this ethnobotany of Mount …

Sunset Park, Brooklyn: Reclaiming An Urban Industrial Area And Creating Community, Yincheng Zhang

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Like many metropolises around the world, urban renewal in New York dominates the process

of urban development due to the scarcity of urban land resources and the ever-expanding population of New York. In the history of New York’s urban expansion, with the continuous expansion of the city’s outer edge and industrial relocation, industrial land originally on the edge of the city is gradually surrounded by residential areas.

The large area of vacant land and building also limits the further development of the region.

How to reuse the existing infrastructure and brownfield with the highly degraded environment is

particularly important for …

Uncovering The Potential Of Peabody's Hidden North River: A Greenway For Social And Ecological Connectivity, Mitch Johnson

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Project Goal Demonstrating the opportunity to strengthen both urban and ecological qualities, this project has the goal to transform an old industrial corridor in downtown Peabody into a green corridor integrating stormwater management, habit restoration, recreational, and catalyst for urban development.

The site’s location at the downstream end of existing creeks combined with its proximity to the Salem Sound makes this an extremely sensitive area to flooding events. This design proposal transforms this risk into an opportunity by restoring this former industrial site to its former function as a floodplain within the existing North River Watershed. In a phased process, …

The Cultural Landscape Of As-Salt, Jordan: Keys To World Heritage Nomination, Dania Khlaifat

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

As-Salt, a city in Jordan, has undergone heritage enhancement projects since the 1990s and is currently undergoing a heritage regeneration project in its downtown core, in preparation for potential World Heritage designation. Consequently, the State Party representing As-Salt submitted a report in 2015 to UNESCO for World Heritage Nomination.

The report was entitled “Arab Eclecticism - Foundation and evolution of an Architectural School in the city of As-Salt (1860-1925)”. It focused mainly on the architectural image of the city. Unfortunately, the report was unsuccessful in proving the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of As-Salt, a value used by UNESCO to determine …

The Industrial Park: A Landscape-Based Vision For The Turners Falls Canal District, Josiah Simpson

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

This design study examines the history and economic context that defines Turners Falls as a de-industrialized mill town. It reviews the social, economic, locational, physical, and historical obstacles the town has faced redeveloping the mill buildings within its Canal District and proposes a landscape-based approach for addressing redevelopment. Landscape redevelopment is offered as an alternative to traditional redevelopment of buildings for non-affluent mill towns, like Turners Falls, because the costs associated with landscape upgrades are much lower and can provide multifunctional and multi-purpose spaces for many types of people. Additionally, it is a pathway for inviting community involvement that allows …

The Art Of Healing The Landscape: Creating A Sense Of Place With Phytotechnology, Tia Novak

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

This project builds on previous work completed as part of a masters project by Matt Hisle under the guidance of Frank Sleegers in Hadley, Massachusetts at an abandoned Getty gas station. The previous project sought to integrate phytotechnology into a “comprehensive experience that provided connectivity and educational purposes” and used Phyto by Kate Kennen and Niall Kirkwood as a framework for applying six phytotechnology typologies (referred to as phytotypologies) in the design (Sleegers & Hisle, 2017).

This project also explores the site’s historical, social, and ecological sense of place and the application of phytotechnology as garden art to create a …

Parcel By Parcel In The Three Bays Watershed: Framing Ecological Residential Design For Water Quality, Doug Serrill

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The Three Bays Watershed, located in the Towns of Barnstable, Sandwich, and Mashpee, is facing a crisis of water quality degradation. Excess nitrogen has been identified as the largest contributor to water quality degradation throughout Cape Cod including the Three Bays (Cape Cod Commission, 2015.) Residential waste water systems and non-point sources of pollution including stormwater runoff, and excess fertilization, are identified as the three primary sources contributing 77%, 13% an 10%, respectively, of the excess nitrogen flowing through groundwater and into the bays. Like other watersheds throughout the Cape, Three Bays is largely a residential watershed with 92% of …

Just Big Enough: Imagining The Future Of "Small Home" Residential Design With A Master Plan At The Nexus Of Affordability And Sustainability, Maggie Kraus

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Communities everywhere are experiencing significant and unpredictable shifts in the social and physical infrastructure of their landscapes. In the midst of a cultural, political, and ecological moment which has no precedent, it seems as though many of our contemporary crises have one thing in common: they will either be alleviated or drastically exacerbated by the alliance of professions working to improve the built environment. Now more than ever, the world is in need of designers, planners, and policy-makers who are willing to use this moment of great change as momentum to imagine a new era of community development, one which …

Restoring Landscape Experience: Research & New Design For The Battlefield Landscape Of Minute Man National Historic Park, Kathleen O'Connor

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

This project looked critically at the landscape design of three specific battle locations located in Minute Man National Historical Park: Meriam’s Corner (West Entrance), Paul Revere Capture Site, and Parker’s Revenge (East Main Entrance). The landscape re-designs address three specific goals: 1. Make the landscape central to the visitor experience. 2. Enhance the interpretation of the 1775 landscape of specific sites too often overlooked or passed by. 3. Transform the overall experience of the park through limited interventions at specific sites. The landscape at Minute Man National Historical Park is at present not conveying its historic significance or landscape character …

Using Phytotechnology To Redesign Abandoned Gas Stations, Matt Hisle

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Hazardous pollutants that exist in contaminated soils represent a threat to human, animal, and environmental health if left unmanaged. Phytoremediation in the U.S. was generally named and formally established in the 1980s and applied as an alternative method using plants to cleanse contaminated soils on site in a more economically and environmentally friendly way than removing contaminated soils off site. High expectations and mixed performances with failures outnumbering successes led to a crash of phytoremediation with a decline in environmental research funding by the early 2000s. “Phyto”, a book by landscape architects Kennen and Kirkwood (2015) recently reintroduces the subject …

Therapeutic Garden Design In Hospice Settings: A Case Study Employing The Lake Superior Hospice Garden In Marquette, Mi, Rose Melody Tapia

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Gardens have been used as places for meditation, relaxation, and restoration through the ages. From the earliest times, gardens were used as sanctuaries and restorative places, providing psychological, spiritual, emotional, and physical health care delivery in Western, Eastern, and Asian societies. In the late twentieth century Roger Ulrich’s (1984) scientific investigations showed the tie between nature’s positive effects on human health and the ability of patients to recover from surgery faster. This and other scientific research gave rise to the creation of therapeutic gardens in healthcare facilities. Today, therapeutic gardens are designed to meet medical goals through activities known to …

Innovative Waste Water Strategies In The Landscape: The Application Of Green Infrastructure Principles In Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Kellie Fenton

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Context Wastewater management is an issue that every community faces. Whether a small-scale septic tank or a large-scale centralized wastewater treatment plant, these systems are often insufficient in accomplishing their singular purpose: cleaning water. This results in the contamination of hydrological systems. In its focus on the intersection of the natural and built environment, the practice of landscape architecture may include the design of wastewater management systems. This project demonstrates how landscape architecture principles applied to waste water management systems provides both ecological and human benefits. Goals The goal of this project is to find ways that waste water systems …

Happy, Healthy, Active And Engaged:Incorporating Public Art, Planting Design, And Physical Fitness Along The Norwottuck Rail Trail., Rebekah L. Decourcey

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Applying these concepts to a person’s lifestyle can significantly improve the quality of that person’s life. Regular physical activity of the body and engagement of the mind have been irrefutably proven to decrease health problems and increase happiness. The goal of this project is to apply design suggestions for a 2.2 mile section of the Norwottuck Rail Trail including proposed amenities, improvements, and public art that support this wellness concept. The project site is in Hadley, Massachusetts. The Norwottuck Rail Trail (rail trail from here forward) has undergone significant improvements over the time span of 2013-2015. Improvements included repaving and …

Creating A Successful Wayfinding System: Lessons Learned From Springfield, Massachusetts, Yanhua Lu

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The masters project presents findings from recent work the author completed related to wayfinding, and wayfinding systems. This work began as part of a graduate urban design studio, followed by work as a research assistant at the UMass Design Center in Springfield, on a new “demonstration” wayfinding system installed in Springfield, Massachusetts. The wayfinding project was done in association with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and the Springfield Office of Planning and Community Development, was implemented with the main goals of improving public health by encouraging more people to walk.

Wayfinding systems are increasingly seen as an important part of …

Umass Amherst Campus Green Infrastructure Planning, Meilan Chen, Zhuoya Deng, Joseph Larico, Bin Liu

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Conventional stormwater management methods are a major problem in urban areas that can result in erosion, sedimentation, flooding and in the contamination of natural waterbodies that can be harmful for wildlife and costly for humans. This project will focus on the integration of green infrastructure and UMass campus planning with the goal of solving stormwater management issues on campus. We propose a series of green infrastructure interventions that will increase infiltration and time of concentration, reduce peak flows of runoff, and filter sediment. These interventions will allow for the removal of catch basins and pipes, reduce pavement, and add vegetation. …

A New Vision For An Old Institution: Addressing The Challenges For Urban And Peri-Urban Agriculture At The Waltham Experiment Station, Kevin C. Hartzell

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Urban and peri-urban agriculture has a new place in (sub)urban landscapes because of the suite of ecosystem services it can provide including, but not limited to; increased local food production, waste recycling, stormwater infiltration, and reconnecting urban dwellers to their food source. The University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Waltham Experiment Station, located in Waltham, Massachusetts, is poised for redevelopment as a model for multi-use urban agriculture production, research, and education as well as a living laboratory to monitor and document the ecosystem services provided to the surrounding community. This project will focus on educational and research categories within the theme of …

Resilience At Umass Amherst: A Sustainable Sites Initiative Inspired Master's Project, Nelle Ward

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

A new movement to plan and design monitorable green stormwater infrastructure is beginning to emerge. Faced with the imminent effects of climate change, "sustainability" is becoming a more important part of municipal long-term planning and design strategies. Accumulating evidence demonstrating the myriad of environmental and aesthetic of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) has given rise to programs that offer sustainability guidelines such as the sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) guidelines. SITES encourages resilient landscapes that are designed to: maximize ecosystem service benefits, be monitored for benefits or lack thereof, provide educational opportunities, and improve human health and well-being. In using these wholistic …

Creating The West Gate Entrance: Erosion And Water Quality Solutions For The University Of Massachusetts – Amherst Campus, Nathan A. Frazee

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The impacts of development have degraded the Tan Brook to the point that water pollution and flooding issues are affecting residents and the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus as well as the adjacent Mill River Watershed. Water quality measurements indicate high levels of conductivity possibly due to winter salting. This proposed design solution includes a vegetated swale that integrates sand filters and bioretention basins. These applications within the design could reduce erosion issues and improve water quality while providing students, faculty, and staff a location for educational purposes, recreation, and respite. By embracing innovative and aesthetic solutions, the West Gate …