Architecture Commons^™

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 …

Children's Playscapes: Risk, Safety, And Creativity, Ngoc Doan

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

This project focuses on urban playgrounds in the Boston metropolitan area in Massachusetts. Since 1995, renovations implemented through the Boston Schoolyards Initiative (BSI) have transformed school playgrounds into more vibrant environments for children. Nonetheless, these playgrounds may provide further opportunities for innovative designs that help promote creativity.

In the twenty-first century, children seem to be more interested in exploring the world of digital technology rather than spending time outdoors. However, the outdoor environment provides a great medium for children to explore and learn along with other children, which cannot be experienced via technology. One of the challenges that prevents children …