Environmental Design Commons^™

A Conservation Plan For Reservoir Canyon Natural Reserve, San Luis Obispo, Ca, Brian M. Provenzale

Master's Theses

My thesis project is to create a conservation plan for the Reservoir Canyon Natural Reserve (RCNR) in San Luis Obispo, California. It is a professional project for the City of San Luis Obispo with the goal of eventual adoption by the City Council. The plan was motivated by City policy, which advises creating conservation plans for open spaces, and by a particular need to address management issues in RCNR that include plant and wildlife conservation, trail access, erosion, electrical utility easements, and other legal matters. The project consists of two main components: the conservation plan and a companion paper. The …

Form-Based Codes, Design Guidelines And Placemaking: The Case Of Hayward, Ca., Cindy Ma

Master's Theses

Throughout history planning codes and standards have been used to regulate the built environment for health, power, order, and economic reasons. More recently, in the urban design and planning field, planning codes and standards have emerged to become tools in the process of “placemaking”. The concept of placemaking builds from the desire of humans to create places, not spaces, which are unique, attractive, identifiable, and memorable. It is a concept that is comprised of visual and social components, recognizing the need for both in the creation of successful places. In the field of urban design and planning, form-based codes (FBCs) …

Like Laws And Sausages: The Tale Of A Mere Portion Of The Process To Develop The South Broad Street Corridor Plan, Amy R. Lopez

Master's Theses

The processes to develop community plans share certain standard activities and stages while remaining distinctive and without pre-scripted procedures. This study documents the process that yielded the South Broad Street Corridor Plan June 2012 draft. The objective is to present the decision-making processes and their connections to the final plan document along with the plan document itself.

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 …

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 …

Transportation Energy Analysis For Single-Family Residential Construction In California, Tyler Langley

Master's Theses

Transportation Energy Analysis for Single-Family Residential Construction in California

Tyler Langley

Since the oil crisis of 1973, energy use in the United States of America has been a growing area of concern. Studies have shown that the construction industry is responsible for almost half of all annual energy consumption. With this awareness, the analysis of energy use within the related construction fields has become an emergent subject. One facet of construction energy use that has been less studied than others is that of the energy consumed in transporting building materials from manufacturing plants to construction sites. This thesis proposes a …

The Reduction Of Run-Off Water With An Eco-Friendly Walkway, Marcelo Punches

Horticulture and Crop Science

Water run-off can erode slopes and cause flooding in undesirable locations. With the use of permeable pavers we reduce water run-off issues. Normal pavers or concrete displace water to an unnatural location. This can lead to soil becoming too saturated with water and harm nearby plant life. Using different size rock layers will allow for fast infiltration and percolation of water. LED lights were also installed on this project to complement the permeable pavers.

Perceptions And Evaluation Of An Urban Environment For Pedestrian Friendliness: A Case Study, Elizabeth H. Lee

Master's Theses

Public health is an increasingly important issue addressed from both environmental and public health sectors for the future development of urban environments. From a planning perspective, one possible solution is to increase walkability throughout the cities. Many assessment methods are being developed and administered to evaluate the quality of existing urban environments to promote walkable cities/communities. The results from using these methods provide policymakers and stakeholders with valuable information regarding the existing physical conditions of the environment. Although several US cities started to develop and refocus plans toward pedestrian-oriented policies approaches, results from this particular study determined that the quality …

A Comparative Study Of Three Growing Media And Four Plant Groups Under Extensive Green Roof Conditions In San Luis Obispo, Ca, Todd Alan Nelson

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT A Comparative Study of Three Growing Media and Four Plant Groups Under Extensive Green Roof Conditions in San Luis Obispo, California Todd A. Nelson Green roof growing media and plant species are critical factors when deciding on the best materials for a project. Growing media must be chosen in accordance with load bearing capacities of structures and water requirements of the plant material. Plant species must be able to thrive in the climate of the green roof and withstand a green roof’s harsh environment. The objectives of this research were: (1) to determine which of three extensive green roof …

Backyard Landscaping Design And Irrigation, Diana Eckert, Lauren Eckert

Horticulture and Crop Science

This project will involve designing and installing a drought friendly landscape in Los Angeles County, specifically in the San Fernando Valley where water restrictions are among the harshest. Along with being a landscape that needs little water, the design also needs to be safe for small children and pets. The backyard that will be designed has a large pool and a small rock garden area with a few succulent plants and some dying groundcover chaotically tossed in. The aim of this project is to design and install a landscape that is easily maintained, safe, and visually appealing while still following …

Water Conservation For The County Of San Luis Obispo, Dimitri Theodore Antoniou

Master's Theses

This study is an academic research project completed to satisfy the California Polytechnic Master Thesis Requirement for the Master Degree of City and Regional Planning in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design.

The County of San Luis Obispo Planning and Building Department is the client for this professional project. The project was requested by the County of San Luis Obispo to assist in its water conservation efforts and to help achieve a 20 percent per capita reduction of water use by the year 2020.

The project consists of two documents: A Handbook of Water Conservation Technologies and Practices (Handbook) …

Greywater As A Method Of Water Conservation In Arroyo Grande, Danielle Castle

Master's Theses

The purpose of this professional project is to address the practical implications of decentralized greywater usage in the City of Arroyo Grande. This professional project consists of two products: a brief greywater guide for the City and a background report. The greywater guide is intended for city planners to use for general information about greywater systems. The guide addresses Arroyo Grande’s potable water shortage; what greywater is; advantages and concerns about greywater use; plants that are tolerant and intolerant of greywater irrigation; appropriate detergents to use with a greywater system; and a summary of California greywater law. The background report …

Laurel Community Farmstand, Terje Johansen

Horticulture and Crop Science

The project was for us to come up with a temporary farmstand that would be set up to sell fruits and vegetables but mainly to draw people to the area to bring awareness that there were plans to build a development at that location. Our group, Dana Curtice, Robert Vasilieff and Terje Johansen met with the developers three times. New ideas and information were presented in the first two meetings. The third meeting was to present our final design.

Moving Towards Self-Reliance: Living Conditions Of Refugee Camps In Lebanon And Opportunities For Development, Dana Masad

Master's Theses

Refugee camps in Lebanon are harsh, continuously and rapidly deteriorating environments. In addition to poverty, numerous wars and the restrictions of civil rights, refugee camps that were not designed as a long-term settlement were made to accommodate their residents in addition to their descendents for a period that has lasted over 59 years. Since the establishment of the camps in 1948 the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have fallen victim to multiple wars and as a result most camps have witnessed major destruction of homes and infrastructure, and a few were entirely destroyed. Today, the planning and development of the camps …

Application Of Pv Panels In Large Multi-Story Buildings, Sara Kayal

Master's Theses

Application of PV Panels in Large Multi-Story Buildings Feasibility Study Sara Kayal

The awareness of global warming along with an ever increasing demand for a new source of energy has brought a strong interest in harnessing natural resources such as solar energy. This thesis evaluates the viability of applying photovoltaic (PV) panels in high-rise commercial buildings of around 20 stories. Specifically, the thesis is intended to provide a pre-planning tool during the early design stage for architects and designers who are considering the deployment of PV panels in new multi-story construction.

The first three chapters cover a comprehensive literature review …

Substituting Residential Rainwater Harvesting And Greywater Reuse For Public Water Supply: Tools For Evaluating The Public Cost, Jennifer L. Ferguson

Master's Theses

The intent of this project is to provide tools for public administrators to implement and evaluate the cost of an alternative on-site residential water supply using rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse in their jurisdiction. These tools are then applied to the city of San Luis Obispo (SLO), California as a case study to demonstrate how rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse could be implemented to supply all residential potable and non-potable water needs, completely replacing the current centralized publicly-managed water system. Further, energy and direct fiscal costs of the alternative system are compared with the current system. A cost analysis is …

Bamboo: An Alternative Building Material For Urban Ethiopia, Bewketu Z. Kassa

Master's Theses

This project explores the potential of bamboo as an alternative building material for low cost housing units suitable for urban Ethiopia. The rational for the application of bamboo comes from its abundance throughout the country, and its proven physical properties that equate it to other building material like timber, steel and concrete. The proposed bamboo based design solution concentrates on simplification of construction methods, prefabrication of structural components and vertical densification of housing units, addressing the lack of skilled labor, cost of construction time and urban land respectively. An understanding of the design solution was established by constructing a full-scale …