Environmental Design Commons^™

Residential Water Conservation: A Cross Comparative Analysis, Jeffrey M. Cook

Master's Theses

This thesis will explore different water conservation strategies and systems in the residential home, using the city of Irvine as a basis. The thesis will compare the financial implications between the different systems and as a return on investment. The analysis will also account for ecological and social implications on the occupants, in particular their standard of living and lifestyle changes. The thesis will explore the ability to conserve water in new residential construction and will provide a sustainable and conscientious schematic water design for the particular area of concern.

This thesis will act as a preliminary case study for …

Open Space Planning; Utilizing Green Infrastructure To Preserve Community, Cynthia V. Reynolds

Master's Theses

Current sprawl development patterns typical of contemporary development in the United States are unsustainable. The uniform development guidelines prevent context sensitive community design, degrading our communities and consuming large amounts of natural and cultural resources. Significant progress has been made in reorganizing community planning towards sustainable development practices. However, these alternatives still work under the misconception that there is a disconnect between planning open space networks and planning development. Through a comprehensive land use planning approach, this project explores combining concepts of landscape ecology, green infrastructure planning and conservation subdivision patterns to design an integrative open space/community network.

Assessment And Improvement Of Fire Resiliency For Structures Located In The Wildland-Urban Interface, Allen L. Meskimen

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research was first to study the Wildland-Urban Interface and Wildland-Urban Intermix (WUI) fire problem, and then to design, develop and implement improved fire assessment and fire protection features for structures in the these interface fire-prone areas. The findings included that several areas of the world are prone to devastating fires that claim lives and destroy property, and their fire problems continue to exacerbate. None of these compare to the property loss experienced in Southern California due to its vast development in fire prone areas. It is because of the continuing huge property loss and frequency of …