Architecture Commons^™

Systematic Comparison Of Two Habitat Connectivity Modeling Approaches: Least Cost Path And Circuit Theory, Adam Rose

All Theses

Intensifying human development requires landscape-level planning to restore connectivity to fragmented and ecologically isolated habitats. The rapidly growing field of conservation planning has produced a variety of approaches to modeling habitat connectivity. The objective of this research is to inform the choice and use of appropriate software packages for connectivity conservation planning. I focused on comparing two prevalent approacheds, 1) least cost path, patch-patch modeling using CorridorDesigner software and 2) electrical circuit-theory based approaches for patch-patch and 'all points' connectivity using Circuitscape software. Additionally, I compared two dominant connectivity modeling approaches: 1) the focal species approach and 2) a generalized …

A New Clinical Model For Primary Care: A Critical Component Of Healthcare Innovation Zones, Judith Crews

All Theses

The overall aim of this research and design project is to develop a primary care setting that responds to the current changes in the healthcare system and accommodates predicted developments in the future. It takes advantage of opportunities created by the Affordable Care Act and initiatives started under the new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. One of these includes the creation of Healthcare Innovation Zones as a way to bring integrative, comprehensive health services to a wider population through the network of a teaching hospital, physicians, and other clinical entities. The proposed ambulatory care setting is a model for …

The Best Brick House In All The Country: Documenting The Structural Evolution Of Medway, Mount Holly, South Carolina, Neale Canter Nickels

All Theses

This thesis represents the assembly of physical architectural analysis, archival investigation, and the study of the work of previous historians on the subject of the main house at Medway Plantation. Medway is a property whose origins can be traced back to the seventeenth century. Since then, it has changed form many times. A great amount of research has been conducted on Medway by historians, both amateur and professional. Few, however, if any have ever been able to study Medway with the stucco removed from the exterior and walls and floors exposed on the inside.
This was the impetus for researching …

Cultivating America's Working Lands: A Study Of The Sociocultural Value Of Family Farms, Katherine Lloyd

All Theses

Our ability to produce food in a sustainable, healthy and humane manner is threatened, both in the United States and on the global scale. This difficulty is exacerbated by expected population growth, creating a need for 60% more food worldwide by 2050 to feed a population of 9.3 billion (United Nations Chronicle, 2012). How we produce food affects local economies, the cultural vitality of communities, and the health of regional ecosystems. Industrial or conventional agriculture is damaging all three of these systems, by draining local economies through corporate business practices, isolating farmers and attributing to rural population losses, while depleting …

The Urban Environment As A Barrier To Historic Preservation: A Mitigation Plan For Falmouth, Jamaica, Daniel Heinz Watts

All Theses

The principle question asked in this thesis is can widespread historic preservation occur in Falmouth, Jamaica without improvements to the town's urban environment? The question will be answered by researching the condition of Falmouth's historic district in light of its history, economic decline and current challenges. Background analysis revealed that the town has been economically stagnant for more than a century, that this weakness has incidentally allowed it to retain the largest collection of Georgian-era structures in the Caribbean, but has also led to a continuing decline in the condition of historic resources faster than preservation efforts can provide remediation. …

Beyond Drawing The Line: A Study Of The Edge Structure Of Boston's Emerald Necklace, Priyanka Vankina

All Theses

Landscapes are mosaics of patches and corridors which are formed by hills, different soils types, vegetation patchiness, natural disturbances and human activities. As humans have developed, the patches and corridors have become fragmented and edges have been created. These edges become the critical points of interaction for wildlife with their surroundings. This is especially true in urban areas where development has created harsh edge environments.
This study investigates the edge structure of Olmsted's Emerald Necklace to understand how edges can be designed to create habitat for wildlife in urban areas. The Emerald Necklace is located in Boston, MA and was …

Neighborhoood Snapshot Inventories: A Study Of The Cooper River Bridge Tax Incremnent Financing District, Rebecca Anne Quandt

All Theses

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is one of the most widely used economic development tools in the nation. In 2008, Charleston, South Carolina, designated the Cooper River Bridge neighborhood (CRBN) as its fourth TIF district. The planning process is now underway, and many large redevelopment projects have already started construction. Private investors will receive funding to develop vacant lots and revitalize dilapidated properties, and the City will benefit economically from new property taxes added to the revenue roll. City officials have anticipated the economic change this TIF district will provide, but have they properly anticipated the changes that will occur to …

Noiseless, Automatic Service: The History Of Domestic Servant Call Bell Systems In Charleston, South Carolina, 1740-1900, Wendy Danielle Madill

All Theses

Shortly before Europe's industrial revolution, tradesmen discovered an ingenious way to rig bells in houses to mechanize communication between homeowners and their servants. Mechanical bell systems, now known as house bells or servant call bells, were prevalent in Britain and America from the late 1700s to the early twentieth century. These technological ancestors of today's telephone were operated by the simple pull of a knob or a tug of a tassel mounted on an interior wall. Bell-pulls increased privacy for both servants and their employers by separating both parties by the length of a bell wire, but they also increased …

The United Order Of Tents And 73 Cannon Street: A Study Of Identity And Place, Mary Margaret Schley

All Theses

One hundred years ago, a group of African-American women assembled in Charleston, South Carolina under the name of the United Order of Tents of J.R. Giddings and Jollifee Union. The only organization of its kind, the United Order of Tents is a secret society comprised and operated solely by African-American women. The Order traces its roots back to the operations of the Underground Railroad in Norfolk, Virginia. The founder of the organization, Annetta M. Lane, assisted slaves during their escape from the South through their journey on the Railroad. After emancipation, Annetta Lane and United Order of Tents co-founder, Harriett …

Transforming Urban Brownfields: Creating Natural Communities Through Successful Stormwater Management And Bioremediation Strategy, Yang Song

All Theses

Brownfields are a crucial issue for the 21century's urban development. To successfully restore brownfields and transform them into comfortable and enjoyable environments, we have to study how to mitigate contamination issues related to soil and stormwater. Three bodies of knowledge are studied in the literature: natural community restoration, urban brownfield restoration, storm-water management. Then, these areas are researched through case studies focusing on topography design, plant adaptation, and treatment wetland. The findings are in the form of descriptive design guidelines addressing six factors: spatial experience, stormwater collecting, natural succession, plant and species diversity, habitat creation, treatment, and cleaning. The recommendations …

Adaptive Use Potential Of Kitchen And Carriage Houses Toward Smart Growth Goals In Charleston, South Carolina, Elizabeth A. Shaw

All Theses

Growth and historic preservation are typically framed as being mutually exclusive. Since growth is inevitable, it behooves cities and towns to focus on growth that collaborates with preservation. This can successfully be achieved by creating plans that use existing infrastructure, promote mixed-use neighborhoods, and encourage sustainable building efforts. In Charleston, the main dwelling of an individual lot was often accompanied by separate outbuildings such as carriage houses, kitchen houses, privies, and laundry buildings. Many of these out buildings remain, and provide an opportunity to create sustainable smart growth and sensitive density.
This thesis analyzes the way property owners in two …

Designing For Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Optimized Liveworkplaylearn Environments, Lisa Marchi

All Theses

Facilities for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) have the potential to enhance the quality of life through the built environment and the comprehensive services they provide. In the United States, there are few facilities that exist, many of which focus on disabilities, thus rendering the facility an accommodator rather than an enabler. According to Sherry Ahrentzen, PhD, and Kim Steele:
'Architects and housing providers have little familiarity in how design can best accommodate and ameliorate the challenges and conditions faced by adults with autism...' (Ahrentzen 2009)
This project aims to create a series of design guidelines that are informed …

All-Nighter 2013, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

All Student Newspapers

All-Nighter was a digital student publication that began in 2011 as all-nighter.com. The Spring 2013 issue is the only known print issue. It contains writing previously published online as well as new content. Highlights include photographs from Senior Open Studios; articles on the Quad mosaics, community gathering spaces, the timing of Thanksgiving break, Saturday night dinner parties in Ewing House, dining employees around campus, how Mike Fink saved Carr House, and the trouble with summer subletting; as well as comics by Maddy Trower, Jackie Ferrentino, and Casey Roonan.

Public Goods For A Few: The Role Of Crime Prevention And Security Districts In New Orleans, Ryan Galvin Wise

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study adds to the limited literature on residentially-focused special taxing districts by addressing three questions on crime prevention and security districts in New Orleans. 1) Do the districts share common characteristics? 2) Do they act as a tool to retain residents? 3) Do they represent what A.O. Hirschman would characterize as “exit,” “voice” or neither, and, as such, how do they effect the city’s potential for service improvement?

The findings show that the districts tend to be wealthier and whiter, and to have higher homeownership rates and home values than the city at large. However, exceptionalities in three of …

Financing Public Solar Projects: California Public Jurisdictions' Experiences In Acquiring And Financing Solar Photovoltaic Installations, Dana M.C. Hoffman

Master's Theses

More efficient technologies, state laws as well as environmental, social, and political pressures have all contributed to placing solar acquisition on the agenda for California’s public entities over the last half decade. But a key question for these frequently cash-strapped jurisdictions is how to utilize public dollars and lands, and how to leverage incentives to obtain solar PVs. As an alternative to outright purchase, a promising financing option made available to jurisdictions in recent years is ownership by a third party, usually the solar company, including various forms of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA’s) and leasing. Due in part to state …

An Examination Of Walkability In The Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, Courtney Coughenour

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction: The benefits to regular physical activity are well established. Walkability is one element of the built environment that has been correlated with increased levels of physical activity. The auto-centric design of Las Vegas Metropolitan area (LVMA) is unique in ways that may influence walkability. The purpose of this study was to determine which urban design characteristics are associated with walking and physical activity in moderate income neighborhoods in LVMA. Methods: The standard walkability measure developed by Frank et al. (2010) was used to calculate the walkability index of seven neighborhoods. Residents of the two most walkable and two least …

Evidence Of Agrarian Urbanism: Land Use Preferences Of Residents Living On Small Acreage Farms Or Large Lots With Animal Rights In Cache Valley, Utah, Laurie B. Hurst

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Until the last half century, land development patterns in the Intermountain West were designed after the Mormon settlement pattern. With its gridiron streets and in-town farmsteads, this pattern gave families the opportunity to grow crops and raise a few animals on their one acre or less in town, with the added advantage of having a social life. In many places over the last century, cities have grown, small farms have dwindled, and large farms have been pushed to the fringe. However, in the Intermountain West the agrarian tradition continues with a number of families who grow gardens and raise animals …

An Evaluation Of Current Stormwater Best Management Practice Relationships Between Design And Efficiency: A Series Of Local And National Case Studies, Amanda Ann Goodwin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Water quality continues to be threatened by human development activities such as stormwater runoff from urbanization. This study addresses the question of how stormwater Best Management Practice (BMP) system design choices affect pollutant removal efficiency, through the examination of 12 case study sites (across five states) that use three common BMP system design types (detention, retention, and wetland channel). Water quality information was obtained from the International Stormwater Database and site composite grab samples. Development conditions were inventoried by orthophotos and assessed using Geographic Information System (GIS) and AutoCAD data.

This study relates Total Suspended Solid (TSS) load removal efficiency …

Measuring Sprawl Across The Urban Rural Continuum Using An Amalgamated Sprawl Index, Barry Kew, Brian D. Lee

Landscape Architecture Faculty Publications

Urban sprawl is rapidly transforming the landscape of Kentucky’s prime farmland from a dominant agricultural land use pattern to a patchwork of dispersed and loosely defined parcels. This state, located in the east central portion of the U.S., is not unlike many states considered rural, nor is it unlike many rural regions found throughout the world where urban sprawl is concentrated in metropolitan areas that are often encroaching into these rural areas. Authors have argued for and against urbanization patterns generally understood to be sprawl on the basis of social, economic, and biophysical opportunities and constraints. Finding consensus in the …

Vulnerability Of Progressive Collapse In Reinforced Concrete Flat-Plate Buildings, Jinrong Liu

College of Engineering: Graduate Celebration Programs

• Progressive collapse is the spread of initial local failure, causing partial or
  even total collapse of a building.
• Flat plate structure is widely used for office and residential buildings.
• There is a large inventory of older flat plate building without continuous slab bottom reinforcement through columns.
• Limited knowledge exists regarding the risk of disproportionate collapse in
  older flat-plates under sudden column removal during abnormal events.
• Reliable mechanical model is needed for structural evaluation.