Architecture Commons^™

Windows Of Opportunity: Addressing Climate Uncertainty Through Adaptation Plan Implementation, Yaser Abunasser, Elisabeth Hamin, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

There is a pressing need for municipalities and regions to create urban form suited to current as well as future climates, but adaptation planning uptake has been slow. This is particularly unfortunate because patterns of urban form interact with climate change in ways that can reduce, or intensify, the impact of overall global change. Uncertainty regarding the timing and magnitude of climate change is a significant barrier to implementing adaptation planning. Focusing on implementation of adaptation and phasing of policy reduces this barrier. It removes time as a decision marker, instead arguing for an initial comprehensive plan to prevent maladaptive …

Community Commons: An Analysis Of The Gullah Communities Of South Carolina, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

Descended from slaves brought to the southeast United States between the early 17th and mid 19th centuries, the Gullah-Geechee of South Carolina and Georgia in the United States, have developed distinctive, culturally-expressive creole communities. Juxtaposed against their ancestor’s plantation slave villages, present-day settlements reveal deliberate creations of community and strong connections to place. The Gullah concept of place and community also includes an understanding of the land as commons that is at odds with the dominant culture in the United States.Under slavery the Gullah lived in rigidly geometric settlements. Although this was the only settlement pattern the slaves had experienced, …

South Hadley Falls: Report On The Public Process, Elizabeth Brabec, Mark Hamin

Elizabeth Brabec

The goals of this design and visioning process were:

• to identify a common vision for the future of South Hadley Falls;

• to identify opportunities for future growth, change and development that are appropriate to the vision; and

• to consider creative visions to identify alternative outcomes.

Spread over a period of months from September 2011 through February 2012, the process was composed of four activities:

1. an initial information gathering phase of documentary research into the history, background and demographics of the community;

2. a visit to and discussions with residents;

3. a community design charrette to discuss …

Using Locative Media In Heritage Landscapes: A Review Of Current Practice, Elizabeth Brabec, Gordon Mclennan

Elizabeth Brabec

Locative media projects are beginning to be recognized in various arts and humanities disciplines as a portal through which interpretive information can be connected to location. Projects can be accessed from two different perspectives: in front of a computer screen or on the ground with the aid of a GPS enabled smart phone. In either format, content in the form of narrative, video, images, historic documents, etc., can be connected with a specific GPS point location on a map or on a real site. However, while locative media holds the potential to create a visitor experience without negatively impacting the …

The Use Of Spatial And Mixed Methods In Analyzing Cultural Landscapes, Elizabeth Brabec, Chingwen Cheng, Kristina Molnarova

Elizabeth Brabec

The cultural landscape is a complex phenomenon resulting from both natural-geographical and social-cultural processes. Defining the normative patterns produced by each culture and/or historical period is essential to understanding the patterns and features of the anthropogenic landscape and the inherent meaning. Currently, an understanding of both historical and contemporary patterns is developed from the qualitative analysis of a single or small number of cases. Results obtained from a single or small number of cases are inherently limited in their ability to clearly identify the pattern in a complex system, particularly when a chosen case may present an anomaly rather than …

Telling The Springfield Story: Project Report, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

This project applies locative media technology (video on website and mobile devices) to spur community engagement and economic development in downtown Springfield. Video performances (narrative stories, songs, dances, etc.) by local Springfield residents relate their experiences and perceptions of the city. The video performances are accessed through locative media, which enables smart phones and other Internet devices to download content in a downtown Springfield "performance walk."

Visual Preferences For Wind Turbines: Location, Numbers And Respondent Characteristics, Kristina Molnarova, Petr Sklenicka, Jiri Stiborek, Kamila Svobodova, Miroslav Salek, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

There is a dichotomy in the view of wind farms among members of the public: on one hand, there is a desire for renewable energy sources, and on the other hand, there is a major concern about the visual impact of wind turbines used for power production. This concern for visual impact is a major factor in the reaction of the public to the development of new wind farms. Our study aims to objectify this influence and to establish the factors that determine how people evaluate these structures. We tested the visual quality of landscapes in which these structures are …

Pluzina: The Issues Of Documenting A Vernacular Landscape, Elizabeth Brabec, Kristina Molnarova

Elizabeth Brabec

This paper studies the remnants of medieval pluzina, a historical Central European field pattern dating to the 13th or 14th century A.D. In medieval Czech, pluzina meant the crop fields, meadows, pastures and roads belonging to one village. Today, pluzinas are visible as patterns of long, narrow fields defined by hedgerows. Due to the hedgerows making the pattern visible, pluzinas are attractive parts of farming landscapes, similar to bocage landscapes found in Northern England, Scotland or Brittany. During the last 150 years, the majority of these landscape structures have vanished, owing either to the intensification of agriculture, or abandonment to …

Identifying Cultural Attitudes And Values In Community Landscapes, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

Understanding culture and its attitudes and values towards space, place and nature is a critical aspect in determining appropriate approaches to a wide variety of planning actions. Actions such as gaining support for protected areas, designing new developments, and integrating tourism facilities in existing communities all depend on an understanding of cultural norms and values for their success. But understanding the relationship between cultural attitudes and culturally defined space can be difficult, falling prey to the observer’s own cultural norms and biases. This project uses a method based on individual interviews and expert observation of physical traces, to develop an …

Local Surface Water Policy Under Conditions Of Climate Change, Elizabeth Brabec, Elisabeth Hamin, Chingwen Cheng

Elizabeth Brabec

Climate change means two things for local stormwater managers – that storm events will become more severe, and rainfall will, in many instances, become more erratic, causing enhanced periods of drought and flood. Two approaches are needed to deal with the eventualities: mitigation and adaptation.

While urbanization increases stormwater runoff and decreases the lag time of stormwater discharge, there is also a resulting lack of infiltration and reduction in evapotranspiration (Brunke and Gonser 1997). Stormwater detention, retention and infiltration have attempted to compensate, resulting in the concentrated point location infiltration of stormwater, which replenishes groundwater and baseflow. Equally important to …

Slave Landscapes Of The Carolina Low Country: What The Documents Reveal, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

Although much has been written about slave life in the antebellum south, comparatively little is understood about the physical setting of slave communities and their day-to-day life. Due to the lack of written documentation and few sketches, paintings or other images, the documentation of the physical setting of slave life is more difficult to compile than that of the plantation owners or even indentured servants. By completing a structured analysis of existing documentary evidence for a specific region of the South, the low country of South Carolina, the myths and realities of slave life in this region can be clarified. …

Remnants Of Medieval Field Patterns In The Czech Republic: Analysis Of Driving Forces Behind Their Disappearance With Special Attention To The Role Of Hedgerows, Petr Sklenicka, Kristina Molnarova, Elizabeth Brabec, Peter Kumble, Blanka Pittnerova, Katerina Pixova, Miroslav Salek

Elizabeth Brabec

Remnants of medieval field patterns, called “pluzina” in the Czech Republic, are valuable historical landscapes, similar in character to the bocage landscapes typical for some countries in Western Europe. The original historical pattern of fields and meadows has persisted due to the stabilizing network of hedgerows. As in other countries, the development of these medieval fields in recent decades for intensive agriculture or residential purposes has led to their dramatic decline. This study evaluates the dynamics of the development of medieval pluzina hedgerows during the second half of the 20th century in the Plzen Region of the Czech Republic, using …

A Clash Of Cultures: The Landscape Of The Sea Island Gullah, Elizabeth Brabec, Sharon Richardson

Elizabeth Brabec

Home to the Gullah people, the Sea Islands in the Lowcountry of South Carolina and Georgia contain a culturally and ecologically distinct landscape. Descendents of plantation slaves brought to the United States between 1640 and 1850, the Gullah community has maintained a cultural identity that is reflected in a landscape pattern that is often at odds with dominant American culture. By analyzing the history of the development of Gullah culture, the genesis, contemporary meanings, and significance of the Gullah landscape pattern can be read. This article develops an understanding of the Gullah concepts of land ownership, place, community and proxemics, …

Land Planning And Development Mitigation For Protecting Water Quality In The Great Lakes System: An Evaluation Of U.S. Approaches, Elizabeth Brabec, Peter Kumble

Elizabeth Brabec

A review of the land use/water quality interface of the Great Lakes system, and the monitoring programs in place. The paper reviews the weakness in the system and suggests opportunities for improvement.

Land Planning And Development Mitigation For Protecting Water Quality In The Great Lakes System: An Evaluation Of Us Approaches, Elizabeth Brabec, Peter Kumble

Elizabeth Brabec

Since 1978, studies by the International Joint Commission (the bi-national commission mandated to protect the Great Lakes) have shown increasing water quality stress due to urban non-point source pollution. The key question for the IJC today, as an international commission with no direct enforcement power, is how the IJC can be effective in getting the parties and their jurisdictions to improve management of non-point source pollution issues when the land use trigger is primarily a local government issue. To begin to answer this question, the primary objective of this current study is to assemble the latest data and analysis on …

Regional Land Pattern Assessment: Development Of A Resource Efficiency Measurement Method, Elizabeth Brabec, Geoffrey Mcd Lewis

Elizabeth Brabec

Debate on the sustainability of human settlements has recently been focused primarily on the urban portion of the land use pattern. However, urban areas rely on suburban, rural, and other less densely settled lands for their existence. In order to quantify the impacts of various land patterns on their supporting resources, these exurban lands must be included in any sustainability assessment. This need for a regional view has resulted in a measurement method that enables comparisons of relative sustainability between various regional land use patterns. Existing methods employed to assess urban sustainability are reviewed and compared with the regional characteristic …

Landscape Change: The Influence Of External Cultural Forces, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

In the cultural ‘melting pot’ of a world economy, traditional, culturally-defined landscapes are being modified under a myriad of international influences. In this context, it is often difficult to identify the landscape and design forms that are key to maintaining local identity and a sense of place. Identifying these forms is critical in the planning process, as local planners and decision-makers attempt to integrate new, globally-influenced development patterns in local communities and at the same time create spaces and places that will not destroy local values and associations. The landscapes, their vectors, and the changes they engendered, will be used …

Defining The Pattern Of The Sustainable Urban Region - Development Of Regional Measurement Methods, Elizabeth Brabec, Geoffrey Mcd. Lewis

Elizabeth Brabec

To date, the debate on the sustainability of human settlements has focused on the urban portion of the land use pattern. Since urban areas rely on suburban, rural, and other less densely settled areas for their existence, these areas must be included in any sustainability assessment. This need for a regional view has resulted in a typology of regional form, which allows comparisons of relative sustainability between various regional land use patterns. Based on resource efficiency, this regional analysis includes measurements related to water, agricultural land, habitat, energy use, and transportation and identifies primary indicators for each category. Existing methods …

Impervious Surfaces And Water Quality: A Review Of Current Literature And Its Implications For Watershed Planning, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

Impervious surfaces have for many years been recognized as an indicator of the intensity of the urban environment and, with the advent of urban sprawl, they have become a key issue in habitat health. Although a considerable amount of research has been done to define impervious thresholds for water quality degradation, there are a number of flaws in the assumptions and methodologies used. Given refinement of the methodology, accurate and usable parameters for preventative watershed planning can be developed, which include impervious surface thresholds and a balance between pervious and impervious surfaces within a watershed.

Agricultural Land Fragmentation: The Spatial Effects Of Three Land Protection Strategies In The Eastern United States, Elizabeth Brabec, Chip Smith

Elizabeth Brabec

Fragmentation of agricultural land by urban sprawl affects both the agricultural production capacity of the land and its rural scenic quality. In order to assess the resulting fragmentation of the three most common types of agricultural land conservation tools in the United States, this study analyzes the spatial form of three land protection strategies: a purchase of development rights (PDR) program, a clustering program and a transfer of development rights program. By assessing a series of measures of success such as total acreage protected, size of parcels, contiguity and farming status, the study compares the effectiveness of programs that have …

Defining The Pattern Of The Sustainable Urban Region, Elizabeth Brabec, Geoffrey Mcd. Lewis

Elizabeth Brabec

No abstract provided.

Meridian Hill Park: The Making Of An American Neoclassical Landscape, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

The neoclassical design was the dominant design movement in landscape architecture at the turn of the last century, dictating the form and design of public parks for most of the first half of the twentieth century. Meridian Hill Park, located just north of the White ouse in Washington, DC, is considered the most ambitious neoclassical park ever conceived in the United States. The paper provides an overview of the design development of the park, illustrating how classical design precedents were used to create a contemporary neo-classical park.

Middleburg Plantation: A Cultural And Historical Investigation Into The Formal Gardens, Elizabeth Brabec, Mike Appel, Katie Davidson, Sarah Faiks, Bonnie Ion, Jarrett Kest, Geoff Lewis, Mimi Mather, Dave Pollock, Clea Rome

Elizabeth Brabec

This report details the remaining remnanats of the formal garden at Middleburg Plantation, one of the oldest intact plantation sites in the lowcountry of South Carolina. In private hands, the plantation house grounds are well preserved. The report presents both the historical documents and references as well as the existing conditions and makes recommendations for stabilization of the historic landscape remnants.This report was the result of a field studies class held at the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, in Landscape Architecture. Led by Professor Brabec, the class travelled to the site for the week of …

Can We Protect Agricultural Land And The Scenic Rural Landscape? The Spatial Effects Of Three Land Protection Strategies In The Eastern United States, Elizabeth Brabec, Chip Smith

Elizabeth Brabec

In order to assess the efficacy of the three most common types of agricultural land conservation in the United States, this study analyzes the spatial and visual quality of a purchase of development rights program and two regulatory programs — cluster and the transfer of development rights. The study compares the effectiveness of programs that have been in place for periods of 6 to 18 years, surveying three different communities in the urban fringe: 1. the transfer of development rights program in Montgomery County, Maryland, in effect since 1981, 2. Riverhead, New York’s farmland development rights acquisition program, administered by …

Fragmentation, Impervious Surfaces And Water Quality: Quantifying The Effects Of Density And Spatial Arrangement, Elizabeth Brabec, Paul Richards, Stacey Schulte

Elizabeth Brabec

Impervious surfaces have for many years been recognized as an indicator of the intensity of the urban environment and, with the advent of urban sprawl, they have become a key issue in habitat health. In addition to the direct impacts to water quality, impervious surfaces fragment open space and habitat and are therefore a primary land use indicator of both water quality and ecological degradation. This paper develops an understanding of the land use planning implications of the interaction of impervious surfaces, water quality and the spatial form those surfaces take in a watershed. In order to clarify these relationships, …

Brief On The Bicycle-Pedestrian Pathway Dedication By The Rails-To-Trails Conservancy, The League Of American Bicyclists, The Bicycle Federation Of Oregon, National Wildlife Federation, And The American Society Of Landscape Architects As Amici Curiae In Support Of Respondent. Florence Dolan V. City Of Tigard, In The Supreme Court Of The United States, Andrea Ferster, Elizabeth A. Brabec, Glenn P. Sugamelli, Daniel L. Rabinowitz

Elizabeth Brabec

No abstract provided.

Linking The Past To The Future: A Landscape Conservation Strategy For Waterford, Virginia, Elizabeth Brabec, Mary Ann Nabor, Harry L. Dodson

Elizabeth Brabec

The report presents a planning strategy for protecting Waterford, an historic community located in Loudoun County, Virginia. The Waterford Historic District, including the village and surrounding farmland, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970. In 1986, the National Park Service determined that Waterford was threatened by proposed new construction on an historic farm almost directly in the center of the Landmark. The report identifies alternative development strategies that would protect the historic integrity of the village landscape. These strategies were intended to be used in negotiations with local landowners, as negotiated but voluntary land conservation strategies.