Architecture Commons^™

Pedestrian Corridors In Downtown Dallas, Texas And Their Implications On The Movement Of Downtown Residents, Lori Molitor Lively

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

The City of Dallas has embarked upon an aggressive economic redevelopment effort in the downtown area. Economic goals of this redevelopment effort are closely tied to and dependent upon a critical mass of downtown residents. The target number of residents is 10,000 by 2015 (Strategic Engagement: Dallas' Economic Development Plan. City of Dallas, Office of Economic Development, 2005.) However, the urban form of downtown Dallas is a vehicle-oriented network of streets. Although downtown residency numbers have climbed from only 896 (excluding institutionalized persons) to 2,277 in the decade between 1990 and 2000 (Census.gov) and was estimated by the metropolitan planning …

Shared Land Use Impacts Between Military Installations And Contiguous Communities (Post-Brac): Fact And Opinion Differences In Planning And Public Policy, Rumanda Kay Young

Planning Dissertations - Archive

How a policy or planning tool (e.g. BRAC) contributes to real and perceived conclusions from policy implementation is the main focus of this research. This research examines differences between real and perceived encroachment issues and concerns through study of military installations and their contiguous communities using post-BRAC opinion data compared to conclusions drawn from pre-BRAC and post-BRAC empirical data. A study of six (6) supporting research topics from current literature leads to a hypothesis that there are no differences between the same variables using empirical data (reality) and opinions (perception) with respect to variable descriptors of encroachment in the post-BRAC …

Selecting The Best Thermal Building Insulation Using A Multi-Attribute Decision Model, Theodore J. Sotoropolis

Theses and Dissertations

Thermal building insulation has traditionally been viewed as a means to reduce thermal conductivity through the building envelope. Builders typically choose the least expensive material which meets the specifications in order to remain competitive. Other factors regarding long term health and environmental consequences are typically dismissed. However, a recent shift toward sustainability requires that architects and engineers take a more responsible approach to building design. This research takes a holistic approach to selecting thermal building insulation through the use of a multi-attribute decision model. Several types of insulating products from a variety of manufacturers were investigated in order to determine …

Mining Association Rules Between Credits In The Leadership In Energy And Environmental Design For New Construction (Leed-Nc) Green Building Assessment System, Benjamin J. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Building Assessment System is a performance-based tool for determining the environmental impact of a facility from the whole-building perspective. Taking this vision into account, the individual credits that comprise LEED are designed to reward design teams for employing sustainable design strategies that reduce the total environmental impact across several sustainability issues. This study analyzed projects that have been certified in LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC) versions 2.0 and 2.1. Data on the credits achieved by the projects were mined using the Apriori algorithm which produced 641 association rules. These results were then …

Optimal Adoption Of Green Roofs: Hydrology And Public Finance Applications, Luke D. Stumme

Theses and Dissertations

New growth within established communities puts undue pressure on existing infrastructure which in turn, drives tax rate increases for all residents to cover. However, there are sustainable methods that municipalities can turn to that diminishes the local impacts of new growth on the community. Based on the absorptive nature of green roofs, the delayed release of stored rainfall volume diminishes the instances of combined sewer outflows as well as reduces the need for increased infrastructure to convey and treat stormwater discharge. A municipality can introduce planned percentages of green roof coverage which will diminish infrastructure improvement costs over time and …

Sustainable Design Policy And Leadership In Energy And Environmental Design Certification, David M. Nyikos

Theses and Dissertations

The 2007 Air Force Sustainable Development and Design Policy mandates the use of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED ) criteria for military construction projects. Additionally, the policy authorizes adding two percent of the original building budget to the total building budget in order to fund the resulting sustainable design costs. To determine if the specific sustainable design goals of this policy had statistical support in the population of LEED certified buildings, the author gathered construction, cost, and utility data on a sample of 160 LEED certified buildings. Simple correlation and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the resulting …

Portable Housing For Mexican Migrant Workers, Janet Corzo

Theses

A capable migrant labor force is critical in sustaining the United States' agriculture industry. Yet, migrant farm workers are among the most economically disadvantaged people in the United States (NCFH). The housing available to migrant workers in the United States is typically substandard and subject to other factors, such as local availability, social stigmas and legal status. While housing is usually provided by a grower (on-the-farm) or acquired by the migrant worker himself (off-the-farm), there seem to exist no examples of portable housing that a worker can transport from job to job. This study seeks to explore the viability of …

The Making And Meaning Of Gay Space : The Case Of The Castro In San Francisco, Scott Richard Lesher

Theses

Architecture is more than the history, design and construction of buildings; it is also the creation, defining, redefining, and use of space. An understanding of these non-brick-and-mortar aspects includes how the use and meaning of that space changes over time. Gay space, specifically gay male space, is studied as both material space and social space. Material space is the 'brick and mortar' space designed for this purpose or created out of existing space, such as a room, building or neighborhood. Social spaces are the areas where human interaction occurs, such as block parties and festivals; it is more about the …

Public Private Partnerships In International Development: The Challenge Of Engaging Civil Society In Development Ownership, Alexandra De Vito

Planning Theses - Archive

Over the last sixty years, the field of international development has come full circle, returning to priorities that value people over GDP. Principles for successful development, such as institution building, managed competition to reduce corruption, human organization, the design of solutions to fit problems, and social, political and economic stability, have also emerged throughout the international development literature. This thesis proposes the use of public private partnerships as a means of implementing principles for successful development in international development practice.

Scenarios For Sustainable Conservation Planning And Development In Texas, John David Clear

Planning Theses - Archive

This thesis reviews sustainable conservation development patterns of land use for potential adoption by Texas cities and counties. It will include a summary literature and professional reports' review, market analyses, and interviews for both existing conservation subdivisions as well as sustainable developments. This information will be balanced with a typical market analysis of future conservation and sustainable development within selected Texas cities and counties, with the intent of properly designating a future land use plan and subsequent zoning maps that can withstand challenges by developers with regard to economic feasibility. Various stakeholders of the development process will be interviewed to …

Vernacular Assets: Planning For Local Culture And Environment, Rachel E. Roberts

Planning Theses - Archive

This paper examines how fast-growing cities in Texas with populations over 100,000 plan for local cultural and environmental resources. In the face of globalization, cities in the United States attempt to craft unique identities for themselves in order to attract tourists, residents, and footloose capital, but plans are often borrowed from work in other cities or are forms of Disneyfication and lead to increasing homogenization among cities. This paper argues that planning based on vernacular assets can better shape local identity, with vernacular assets defined as local cultural and environmental resources that are rooted in place. Plans and related documents …

Deliberative Democratic Practices In Tourism Planning: Towards A Model Of Participatory Community Tourism Planning, Oksana Grybovych

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast the current practices of citizen involvement in community tourism planning with the framework of deliberative democracy. The goal of this study was to expand the literature on tourism planning which currently lacks a working framework for participatory community tourism planning. Drawing from political philosophy, democratic theory, and planning literature, this study utilized the framework of deliberative democracy and planning as communicative action, in order to contribute to the development of a model of participatory community tourism planning.

The current practices of citizen involvement in community tourism planning were examined in …

Hedonic Housing Prices In Ciudad Juarez, Karen P. Fierro

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Studies of the valuation of housing attributes abound. Empirical studies of this nature for Latin America and Mexico are less common. This study utilizes data for 175 new houses in Ciudad Juarez to estimate a hedonic pricing model. All units in the sample were completed and sold between November 2006 and April 2007. For each house, a total of fourteen characteristics, both structural and locational, are employed as explanatory variables. Empirical results indicate that the structural characteristics play a bigger role than the neighborhood amenities. Surprisingly, neighborhood parks are found to lower housing values

Subversia: The SubUrban Subversive, Emily Cox

All Theses

The palimpsest is, by definition, 'writing material (as a parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased.' It provides a conceptual field for the layering of text, or meaning, over time. This text may be built up by successive authors and can be altered by additions and erasures. Traces of these amendments remain, providing a history of revision of the original text. Additions that comment on and interpret the primary text are called marginalia.
Landscape operates as a palimpsest, with written, rewritten, erased, and revised layers of history. While typically considered ahistoric, the suburban …

The Process Of Redesigning An Existing Structure Within An Environment, Rachelle Martin

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Planning For Growth In Cities And Metropolitan Regions: An Empirical Study Of Impact Fees And Choice, Chi-Hyoung Park

Planning Dissertations - Archive

This research examines what city factors relate to the likelihood of adopting impact fees by local governments within metropolitan regions using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. More and more cities are adopting different types of impact fees for financing public facilities and infrastructure to accommodate their cities' growth without full understanding of issues, public and private criticisms of impact fees, and the empirical information needed. This dissertation investigates a random sample of 278 cities out of 827 cities populations over 25,000 located within 97 MSAs to understand what variables within their settings relate to impact fee adoptions using five …

A Comparative Study Of Performance Measurement In Korean Local Governments Using Data Envelopment Analysis And Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Dong Jin Lim

Planning Dissertations - Archive

This study examines efficiency as a key component of performance, applies new performance measurement techniques to the measurement of local government performance, and verifies theoretical debates on economic, financial, political, and environmental factors related to performance in local government. Improving performance and promoting efficiencies in local government are important issues in both academic and practical public administration. Despite the remarkable development of performance measurement in local government since the 1990s, empirical evidence is still limited on the extent of the utility and practicability of performance measurement in local government.

Results of this research are developed from a study of Korean …

Do Green Buildings Influence People's Lifestyle Decisions And Support For Environmental Policy?, Amanda L. Popken

Planning Theses - Archive

This thesis explores the possibility that experience with green buildings influences peoples' behavior in ways that help bridge the gap between, on one hand, public concern for the natural environment and on the other hand, willingness to adopt sustainable lifestyles and support pro-environmental policies. The study utilizes research on factors that influence behavior to construct a theoretical model in which these factors might be influenced by a person's experience in a green building. The study explores two specific possibilities of behavioral change: people may change their consumption habits to reflect a more sustainable lifestyle; people may change their political behavior …

Growth/Decline Of Employment Subcenter In Polycentric Regions: The Case Of The Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area, Maher Sayel Al-Shammari

Planning Dissertations - Archive

This research is concerned with explaining the variation in growth rates among employment subcenters. The purpose of the study is to find answers to the question: What factors/variables contribute to the growth or decline of employment subcenters? More specifically, the study aims to 1) identify and describe employment subcenters in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, and 2) explain the variation in their growth rate over a specified period of time through testing a set of variables extracted from related literature. A multiple regression analysis technique is employed to complete the empirical analysis. The DFW metropolitan area was chosen as a …

Persistence Of Memory: Scent Gardens For Therapeutic Life Review In Communities For The Elderly, Wendy Joan Meyer

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

This paper links the study of olfaction and autobiographical memory with the practices of reminiscence therapy and landscape architecture, with the goal of bringing this life-enhancing therapy into the garden. Smells have proven to be powerful stimulators of early, emotional childhood memories due to the structure and evolution of the human brain. Research shows improved self-esteem, less depression and better social integration in older adults who are able to call up autobiographical memories in the process of reminiscence therapy. Therefore, landscape architects designing gardens for the elderly in long-term care could include aromatic plants and construction materials, chosen either to …

Leaving A Legacy: The Career Of Gene Newman, Michael Kashuba

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Landscape architect Gene Newman's career began upon his graduation from Texas A&M University in nineteen-sixty-two. Over the past forty-five years, he has been a partner at both Myrick-Newman-Dahlberg (MND), and Newman-Jackson-Bieberstein (NJB). His roles within the firms have relied heavily on his extensive construction knowledge and his attention to detail. He recently retired from his position as the president of NJB, but remains in charge of specifications, construction administration management, and production quality control. The goal of this research is to understand his role in the field of landscape architecture and the legacy he will leave behind. The methods to …

Roadside Naturalization And Texas Highway 190: A Comparison Between Best Practices And Plant Selection, John Mark Scott

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

There is much dialog concerning the use of native plants in the roadside environment. From the Highway Beautification of Lady Bird Johnson in the 1960's to the environmental issues of today, designers are focused on ways to incorporate native plant material in the roadside. Through qualitative analysis, this thesis explores best practices for the use of native plant material in the roadside as compared with a unique roadside design in North Texas. In 2003, The North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) began design for the Texas Highway 190 Tollway. A new direction for roadside enhancement using native and adapted plant material …

Persistence Of Memory: Scent Gardens For Therapeutic Life Review In Communities For The Elderly, Wendy Joan Meyer

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

This paper links the study of olfaction and autobiographical memory with the practices of reminiscence therapy and landscape architecture, with the goal of bringing this life-enhancing therapy into the garden. Smells have proven to be powerful stimulators of early, emotional childhood memories due to the structure and evolution of the human brain. Research shows improved self-esteem, less depression and better social integration in older adults who are able to call up autobiographical memories in the process of reminiscence therapy. Therefore, landscape architects designing gardens for the elderly in long-term care could include aromatic plants and construction materials, chosen either to …

Leaving A Legacy: The Career Of Gene Newman, Michael Kashuba

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Landscape architect Gene Newman's career began upon his graduation from Texas A&M University in nineteen-sixty-two. Over the past forty-five years, he has been a partner at both Myrick-Newman-Dahlberg (MND), and Newman-Jackson-Bieberstein (NJB). His roles within the firms have relied heavily on his extensive construction knowledge and his attention to detail. He recently retired from his position as the president of NJB, but remains in charge of specifications, construction administration management, and production quality control. The goal of this research is to understand his role in the field of landscape architecture and the legacy he will leave behind. The methods to …

A Life In Context: Finding Form In Lewis T. May, Natalie A. Stackable

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

This thesis examines the life and career of Lewis T. May (1946 -), FASLA. During his three decades of practice, Mr. May has made exceptional contributions in landscape architecture as a practitioner, author, and academic, both domestically and abroad. He is the recipient of over 100 awards for his projects. A qualitative methodology is used to understand his contributions in a historical and personal context. His ability to communicate effectively, both graphically and verbally, is one reason for his success. Consequently, this thesis creates a framework for understanding his process in the field of landscape architecture. Open-ended interviews and participant …

Finding Common Ground: Community Garden As Connector Between Culture, Nature, And The Individual, Valerie Dawn Warner

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

In the vacant spaces between buildings, in the corners of school yards, in open fields - wherever community gardens are deliberately placed - the space between culture and nature grows smaller. Closing this gap can come about on the common ground created in a collaborative spirit: the community changes the space, and then the space ultimately changes the community. This is the connective power of the humble community garden. This study finds that in urban environments, a community garden can be the link between individuals and their community, and between people and nature, imparting health of body and mind, feelings …

A Life In Context: Finding Form In Lewis T. May, Natalie A. Stackable

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

This thesis examines the life and career of Lewis T. May (1946 -), FASLA. During his three decades of practice, Mr. May has made exceptional contributions in landscape architecture as a practitioner, author, and academic, both domestically and abroad. He is the recipient of over 100 awards for his projects. A qualitative methodology is used to understand his contributions in a historical and personal context. His ability to communicate effectively, both graphically and verbally, is one reason for his success. Consequently, this thesis creates a framework for understanding his process in the field of landscape architecture. Open-ended interviews and participant …

Career Influences For Women In Landscape Architecture, Catherine Louise Acuna

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

This research explores the insights of successful women who are pioneering the practice of landscape architecture in today's practice. Their perspectives regarding the impediments and advantages of women in current practice are examined within the public, private and academic practices of landscape architecture. Also examined are methods that are being used to overcome limitations, as well as advantages utilized in each area of practice. Finally, critical counsel and perspectives of the future of the profession are directed toward future generations of women in landscape architecture who aspire to follow in their path.

The Connection Between Landscape Architecture And Water Quality: A Survey Of Landscape Architects In Texas, Andrea Lora Davis

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

For local jurisdictions and consumers, water quality has become importantas development pressures and expanding population has increased the strain on existing water supplies. Aging infrastructure, limited financial resources, and environmental regulations are forcing many users to seek alternatives to traditional water treatment and storm conveyance systems. Landscape architects can utilize many environmentally sound methods and technology to protect water quality. The opportunity is there to incorporate measures such as buffers, low-impact development, open space design, rain gardens, basins, and native plantings in the design process. A survey of practicing landscape architects in Texas demonstrated the trends of alternative measures applications …

Prospect-Refuge Theory Revisited: A Search For Safety In Dynamic Public Spaces With A Reference To Design, Priti Ramanujam

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Prospect-refuge theory (Appleton 1975) is based on habitat theory (Darwin 1958) which states that the ability to see (prospect) but not be seen (refuge) is basic to many biological needs. According to Appleton, the ability to see without being seen increases perceived safety which increases the esthetic pleasure experienced in the environment. Wekerle and Egan (1991) state that the perception of safety is necessary for feelings of enjoyment and comfort in urban open space. Appleton's hypothesized factors--prospect and refuge--are known to affect people's perception of how safe an environment appears to be. This thesis studies perception of safety in dynamic …