Environmental Design Commons^™

Sardis - The Agonist: A Monument To The Resurrection Of A Dormant Cultural & Commercial Center, Inocencio Ruiz

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The rural American Southeast is a region of deep cultural significance that is shaped by resilience, adaptation, and an ever-evolving relationship with the land. Sardis, like many crossroad towns in Georgia, bears the imprint of shifting economies, environmental forces, and the enduring spirit of its people. This thesis combines a familiar vernacular of place that is integrated with a neo-cultural sophistication to explore how material details become the foundation for composing and proposing a neo-narrative architecture that represents a people, a region, and its rural southern heritage.

Sardis, Georgia is a complex and historically important small town... the materiality that …

Aquatic Boundaries: Reimagining BeléN, A City Carried By Water And Resilience., Kassidy R. Mcclain

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Rising water levels are not a distant threat. It is a reality that many cities already face. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the global mean sea level has risen approximately 8–9 inches since 1880. The rising sea levels affect not only coastal cities but also cities along rivers and lakes attached to the sea by causing baseline water levels along rivers to increase. The rise in baseline water levels reduces the river's ability to drain effectively, thus causing riverside areas to become more susceptible to flooding. Traditional building methods meant to keep water out of buildings often …

Balancing Act: Retrofitting Office Design To Enrich Communities, Luke A. Griffith

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

The office workplace has shifted tremendously in the last decade. The world is adapting quickly to new technology and culture changes, but office buildings seem to be stuck in the past. COVID-19 has brought the world to a stand still and moved the way to do business to our homes. This shift has taught the workforce that most work can be done as efficiently at home than in the office. This leads to existing office buildings becoming rapidly vacant due to the lack of consistent occupancy throughout the work week. Where does that leave the future of the existing office …

Subjective Evaluation Of Place Environmental Quality In Conference And Exhibition Buildings In Small- And Medium-Sized Cities: An Empirical Case Study, Yuchen Xie, Jianhe Luo, Peng Du

College of Architecture and the Built Environment Faculty Papers

The environmental quality of conference and exhibition places in small- and medium-sized cities plays a crucial role in attracting exhibitors, fostering the growth of the conference and exhibition industry and enhancing the market competitiveness of these places. However, past decision makers have often adopted planning models from large cities, neglecting the interaction between conference and exhibition places in smaller cities and local lifestyles as well as urban environments. From an “environment-behavior” per- spective, this study reveals the unique interaction mechanisms between exhibitors and the built environment within such venues. Moving beyond the limitations of traditional research that focused solely on …

Lack Of Infrastructure: Addressing Water Scarcity And Housing Needs In Sand Branch, Yannet A. Mercado

2025 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

In the outskirts of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex (DFW), unincorporated communities like Sand Branch face unstable living conditions. Sand Branch, one of the poorest communities in North Texas, has struggled with water insecurity for decades due to the lack of municipal water infrastructure. Residents often rely on donations from nonprofit organizations to meet their basic water needs. This paper explores how implementing a Rainwater Harvesting System (RWH) could enhance their independence and resilience by providing a more sustainable water source. This research examines Sullivan’s work on sustainable housing policies for low-income self-built communities and evaluates the feasibility of RWH as …

Considerations And Techniques For Producing Urban Tree Canopy Maps Using Freely Available And Accessible Methods, Hugh Reed Ellerman

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Urban forests are valued as green infrastructure for the variety of benefits they provide across ecological, social, public health, and economic domains. To understand the distribution of trees, maps are required. Many methods of mapping tree cover use expensive and data-intensive datasets such as hyperspectral and LiDAR imagery, making these methods inaccessible to municipal forest managers. Variations in the modelling approaches of existing, freely available methods are not addressed in sufficient enough detail to understand the trade-offs implicit in these variations. Further, characteristics of urban tree canopy mapping (high spatial resolution imagery, heterogeneous urban environments, the importance of the tree …

Crosswing Hall- A Biophilic Student Hub For Connection, Community, And Growth, Marianna Sanchez, Robin Puttock, M. Uddin

Symposium of Student Scholars

The Marietta campus of Kennesaw State University has long been perceived as disconnected and lacking vibrancy compared to its counterpart in Kennesaw. This project seeks to transform that narrative by creating Crosswing Hall, a dynamic student hub that fosters campus pride, interdisciplinary collaboration, and lasting connections. Grounded in biophilic design principles, Crosswing Hall utilizes natural materials and thoughtful spatial planning to reduce student stress, enhance well-being, and create a welcoming environment where students feel supported and engaged.

Current student spaces on the Marietta campus prioritize capacity over adaptability, often leading to overcrowding and diminished effectiveness in fostering a sense of …

Edra 56: Bibliography, Tamara Karr

Bibliographies

EDRA 56: Designing Communities for Climate Action and Resilience

Creating Walkability With Wayfinding Techniques Through Adaptive Reuse For Historical Site, Alaa Al-Merheb, Mary Felix, Eslam M. Elsamahy, Mostafa Khalifa, Khaled El-Daghar

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Wayfinding refers to information systems that guide pedestrians through a physical location, enhancing their understanding and experience of the space. Wayfinding is especially crucial in complex urban environments, healthcare and educational campuses, and transportation systems. An effective wayfinding system ensures that such situations remain less stressful and allows individuals to feel safe and secure. Adaptive reuse, also called building reuse, is basically a process in architecture where old structures get refitted for different uses. Adaptive reuse renews old buildings, making them assets to the local community, be it low-income housing, student housing, community centers, or mixed-use creative venues. The process …

Comparative Analysis To Evaluate The Effect Of The Green Infrastructure Elements On Thermal Performance In Existing Cities: An Applied Study Of El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Basant Elsayed Abufarrag, Ahmed Rezk, Neveen Youssef Azmy, Walaa Abou El-Haggag Mehanna

Journal of Engineering Research

Urban areas face challenges linked to climate change and rapid urbanization. Factors such as greenhouse gas emissions, reduced vegetation, and increased energy demands for cooling and heating contribute to urban thermal discomfort, exacerbated by the lack of green spaces and overpopulation. These factors have led to elevated temperatures, which negatively affect the thermal comfort and well-being of urban residents. Green infrastructure elements significantly reduce urban temperatures, improve air quality, and enhance thermal comfort, while also supporting biodiversity and enhancing urban resilience. This study aims to evaluate and identify the most effective strategy of green infrastructure elements for improving thermal comfort …

Urban Agriculture Technical Advisory, Katherine Rose Ivanjack, Kylie J. Preciado

City and Regional Planning

This project serves as a senior capstone, aimed at exploring the potential of urban agriculture to address critical challenges in sustainability, food security, and community development within California cities. This project highlights practical and innovative approaches to urban farming that can be adopted or adapted to suit the unique needs of urban areas across the state.

Locally Stranded - Addressing Rural Cases Of Domestic Violence, Owen Phillips, Robin Puttock

Symposium of Student Scholars

Domestic violence is a nationwide crisis affecting millions of women each year and saw an increase in severity during the Covid-19 pandemic (2020-2022). In Georgia, 37.4% of women report experiencing physical violence by an intimate partner. The situation is especially dire in rural areas, where women experience 150% more incidents at a more intense level than their urban counterparts and must travel three times farther to access resources. Rural women are also nearly twice as likely to be turned away from services due to a lack of space, staffing, and resources. Existing shelters often fail to meet victims' needs because …

Synchronizing Work And Teaching Practices With The Spatial Dna Of Distributed Work And Learning, Manju Aishwarya Adikesavan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Phygitality, the seamless and synergistic integration of physical and digital realms, is an indispensable and irrevocable part of contemporary office-based work. Phygitality facilitates spatially and temporally distributed or multi-local working where employees work from diverse locations such as their home, office, and third places at any time of day or night. It also makes nonterritorial working at temporary workspaces accessed on a session-by-session basis possible.

This dissertation examines how phygital, multi-local, and nonterritorial working reshape individual and group work behaviors, organizational spatial practices, work-centric settings, non-work-centric settings, neighborhoods, cities, and regions. The Spatial DNA of Distributed Work encapsulates a conceptual …

Small-Scale Green Infrastructure In Urban Networks - Trinity Presbyterian Church As A Pilot Project, Selvana Getsy -

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Rapid urbanization and increasing impervious cover in cities like those within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex have intensified flooding, heat, erosion, and declining ecological quality. Although large-scale green infrastructure (GI) interventions are widely recognized as solutions to these issues, small-scale institutional landscapes remain a neglected yet powerful component of urban GI networks. This study functions as a pilot/demonstration project to evaluate the potential of small-scale GI interventions at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Plano, Texas. The goals are to reduce stormwater runoff, provide ecological and microclimatic improvements, increase community engagement, biodiversity enhancement, and environmental awareness in public institutional settings.

The study utilizes a …

Transforming A Public Flexible Space Into An Artistic Place For Leisure – An Artistic Intervention For Downtown Arlington., Sowmya Kanaka

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Open flexible spaces are often underutilized, undefined, or lacking identity, hold immense potential to become vibrant artistic places that support leisure, culture, and community life. transforming such flexible spaces into Community-led arts places serve as adaptable environments that can shift to meet evolving cultural and recreational needs. By integrating artistic intervention through public art, interactive installations, and creative spatial programming, formerly Underutilized open space becomes an anchor of activity drawing residents and visitors and influencing adjacent areas to align with its renewed identity. Arts-driven public spaces attract consistent foot traffic and recurring events, stimulating social and economic exchange. When artistic …

Assessing Biodiversity For User Experience In Public Parks: Learning From Downtown Dallas, Texas, Amanda A. Esparza

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Biodiversity loss is a pressing global issue, with far-reaching ecological, social, and cultural consequences (United Nations Environment Programme, 2011). The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recognizes the biodiversity crisis as equal in urgency to the climate crisis and emphasizes the importance of incorporating biodiversity conservation into design practices (Green, 2024). However, regional experiences of the relationship between biodiversity in designed urban landscapes and user experience remain unexplored. The purpose of this research is to gain a general understanding of the level of biodiversity present in downtown Dallas, Texas, public parks and to assess park users’ perceptions and interactions with …

Breathing A New Life Into Industrialized Cities: Adapting Warehouses In The Inland Empire, Mazzy Rosenast

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis explores adaptive reuse as a design strategy to repurpose aging warehouse infrastructure in the Inland Empire, specifically Rancho Cucamonga, in order to reclaim and reintegrate the urban fabric around community needs, rather than defaulting to demolition and erasure. As urban spaces become increasingly saturated, resources dwindle, and environmental concerns escalate, the need to creatively build and repurpose our urban fabric becomes a critical conversation among architects, urban planners, and designers. The Inland Empire (IE) - comprising Riverside and San Bernardino Counties - has been overtaken by the logistics industry, transforming its landscape into a patchwork of freeways, cargo …

Bridging The Green Divide: Sustainable Community Development And Climate Resilience In Altadena, Ca, Katie Brosnan

Pitzer Senior Theses

Sustainable Community Development (SCD) is widely debated as a climate mitigation strategy, with recognized benefits such as reducing carbon footprints, enhancing public health, and fostering economic resilience. However, a major critique is its limited accessibility to marginalized communities. In particular, the resilience embedded in rebuilding plans does not necessarily translate to real access for those whose insurance coverage may not be sufficient to afford conventional design services or reconstruction costs. This thesis argues that while SCD is an effective tool for climate mitigation, its success depends on equitable access—not just in principle, but in the material capacity to participate in …

Humans Among Giants: Urban Vitality And Implications Of Vertical Development In Hong Kong, Laura Jaramillo

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis explores the complex relationship between vertical urbanism and street life, using Hong Kong as a case study to investigate how human-scale urbanism persists and adapts amidst the dominance of skyscrapers. While vertical structures symbolize modernity, economic growth, and global influence, they often overshadow the vibrancy and social connectivity that characterize ground-level spaces. This research draws on the theoretical frameworks of Jane Jacobs, David Harvey, and David Sibley to examine the interplay between vertical urbanism and street life, focusing on how spatial design impacts community engagement and cultural vibrancy. By analyzing the coexistence of modern skyscrapers and traditional street-level …

A Digital Paradigm For Shaping Smart Sustainable New Cities In Egypt, Hayam M. Omayer, Eman H. Ayad

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Shaping the future of cities is a crucial responsibility that depends on today’s developers and designers. In light of the ongoing technological advancements across all fields, cities are obliged to harness this accelerated continuous progress to rescue from global challenges facing communities. Rapid urbanization, population growth, fragile infrastructure, and many other threatening environmental issues have prompted many governments across the world to expedite the digital transformation of cities to achieve sustainable urban progression. In Egypt, planning for smart cities is still taking its first step. Various significant economic, environmental, and social challenges are confronted. This research explores the pivotal role …

Multi-Objective Optimization Of The Layout Of Tall Building Sites In Dense Urban Configurations For Improved Sustainability Outcomes, Grant Mosey, Brian Deal

Architecture Faculty Research

Multi-objective evolutionary algorithms have long been used by architects to find objective solutions to complex building problems involving trade-offs implicit in sustainable building design. At a larger scale, urban designers have created a variety of tools to improve sustainability in urban-and-larger scale design. However, to date, fewer studies have focused on improving sustainability outcomes at the “in between” scale of the neighborhood and urban site. Existing scholarship on optimization at this scale has tended to take a narrow view of sustainability. We seek to expand the implementation of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms to this sometimes overlooked scale while taking a broad …

Collaborative Leadership In Disaster Mitigation Development In Australia, Chidimma A. Abuka

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

Background: In light of escalating environmental risks due to climate change, rigorous research in natural disaster mitigation is gaining significance. The United Nations’ (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address disaster mitigation broadly, calling attention to both natural and human-induced crises. Australia has the fourth highest score globally in Freeman & Hancock’s (2017) Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience-Building (DRRR) Index. This research explores the aspects of collaborative leadership and sustainable development pathways to understand what is working in Australian communities and to address multifaceted challenges surrounding the further improvement of community resilience in Australia.

Existing Literature: Many studies emphasize the …

Leveraging Geo-Ai To Evaluate Conservation Land Conditions In Nebraska, Usa, Fnu Jahangeer

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Wetlands are among the most vital natural resources, offering extensive ecosystem services that benefit human societies. However, human activities and disturbances have led to widespread wetland degradation and loss worldwide. Key factors contributing to this degradation include pollution, exploitation of biological resources, modifications to natural systems, and agricultural and aquacultural practices. This study examines wetland conservation efforts in Nebraska, focusing on three main areas: (1) AI-Driven Applications in Google Earth Engine for Surface Water Monitoring, Assessment, and Management; (2) Assessing Wetland Hydrological Performance under Three Conservation Programs in Nebraska through AI-Driven Google Earth Engine Analysis; and (3) Identifying Potential Wetland …

An Analysis Of Policies, Practices, And Barriers To Create A Multi-Dimensional Approach To Renewable Energy Transition For Us Communities, Hanan Wehbi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The transition from fossil fuel-derived energy resources to clean, renewable, affordable, and reliable energy necessitates a comprehensive approach. This approach must incorporate an interdisciplinary contribution to ensure the sustainability, efficiency, and resilience of the energy system. In the United States, many communities and local governments are developing ambitious plans, regulations, and targets to support the renewable energy transition and enhance energy efficiency. This research builds on the principles of sustainable development planning and transition theory to develop a framework that assists communities in planning their renewable energy (RE) transition and integrate these plans in their long- and short-term development approaches. …

The Restorative Design Scale (Rds) An Assessment Guide: Measuring The Potential For Mental Restoration In Urban Green Spaces, Corinne Bahr

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Mental health is a growing national priority, and green space has been proven to benefit mental health. There is a massive amount of recent research studying the influence of green space characteristics on mental health improvement and restoration. However, professional landscape architects, designers, and planners involved in creating physical spaces have not been able to assess and therefore prioritize mental health in their designs due to the sheer quantity of information that has not yet been synthesized and applied efficiently. The Restorative Design Scale (RDS) Assessment condenses this material into a scientifically inspired resource for professionals to easily understand and …

The Thermoplastic Honeycomb As An Eco-Friendly Material For Shelters, Neveen Youssef Azmy, Wesam Aeh Mehanna, Aya Fouad Kahla

Journal of Engineering Research

Nature-inspired design offers distinct environmental characteristics and makes them valuable in the development of structural designs within the construction industry, owing to their inherent natural and aesthetic qualities. Hexagonal structures exhibit remarkable mechanical, structural, and environmental attributes. Consequently, this research focuses on investigating honeycomb configurations composed of thermoplastic materials that engage thermally with the surrounding environment, as well as exploring their applications in temporary structures. The research aims to contribute to a temporary design model for shelter to protect the environment well and improve energy consumption by using a thermoplastic honeycomb to sustainable environment. A specialized model was developed to …

Reimagining Gettysburg: Enhancing Walkability And Bikeability In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Gabriella Germano, Elif Ozturan, Jeanne-Marie Thomas

Student Publications

The overall goal of this study was to assess 28 selected locations in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, score them for walkability and bikeability, and suggest changes to low-ranking locations to improve the infrastructure of the town. We selected these points by focusing on areas of target for residents (grocery shopping, routes to work, schools, etc.), and to ensure we covered a major portion of the town for proper representation. We scored each of our sites using our instrument, which was broken down into two main categories: walkability and bikeability. We also conducted on-site interviews with passersby to collect first-hand accounts about these …

Supporting Social Equity Through Informal Spaces On An Urban Campus, Eve B. Klein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation focuses on applying research to design in the setting of higher education. Specifically, it explores the informal spaces outside the classroom at a predominantly Black college in an urban setting. The existing structural challenges facing college students are many, including issues related to financial resources, mental health/wellness, family responsibilities, psychosocial identity formation, and structural racism. These challenges were compounded by the events of the spring of 2020, when a heightened awareness of anti-Black racism, combined with the hardships of COVID-19, brought college campuses to a close and masses of people to the streets to protest the unjust killings …

A Framework To Unveil Design Decisions In Ecological Urbanism, Addison C. Martin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Ecological urbanism offers a framework for landscape architecture to address the challenges posed by dynamic infrastructure projects in the face of changing climates and human impacts. As Nature-based Solutions (NbS) become more prevalent, the role of aesthetics in these solutions becomes increasingly important. However, there has been a lack of systematic approaches to assess the design aesthetics of landscape architecture in practice. This study aims to fill this gap by providing a rapid assessment framework tailored for landscape architecture practitioners. Drawing from the concepts of regenerative design and ecological urbanism, the framework comprises three sections: Ecological Function (EFx), Anthropocentric Function …

Wasted Space: Using Parking Lots & Vacant Land To Improve Neighborhood Completeness, Ryan Martyn

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

This study conducts a spatial analysis of Portland, Oregon, focusing on leveraging underutilized areas like parking lots and vacant land—termed "wasted space"—to improve the city's completeness. Central to this investigation is the concept of a "complete neighborhood," characterized by access to daily necessities within convenient active transportation trip. This comprehensive idea encompasses walkability, equitable access to services, and sustainability.

This paper aims to redefine the concept of a complete neighborhood with precision and delve into its implications. The research looks at five regional, town, and neighborhood centers as defined by the city of Portland. These centers act as pivotal hubs …