Landscape Architecture Commons^™

Promoting Community Identity Through Repurposing Vacant Land: City Park Design In Downtown Arlington, Dasom Phoebe Mun

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

As urbanization progressed rapidly in the mid-nineteenth century, people moved to cities for many reasons, and as a consequence, the volume of green spaces in the cities was reduced. Lands have been developed or redeveloped as urbanization developed. In this process, leftover spaces and vacant lands have been created. Urban vacant lands could be a problem for many cities. They might have aesthetic issues such as disordered or cluttered appearances, safety issues due to lack of maintenance, economic issues for it being wasted and so on (Kim et al., 2023). However, vacant lands in urban areas have become suitable assets …

Landscape Interventions For Pedestrian Safety Around Urban Parks: Learning From City Of Dallas, Texas, Ann Mariya Thuruthy

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Urban parks and their immediate surroundings provide access to nature in urbanized areas. However, they can also be crime hotspots if not properly kept or monitored or provide a safe environment for positive activities (Jones & Robinson, 2008). The local community respects a safe and secure neighborhood urban park as proximity to green spaces (McCormack et al., 2010), which enhances living quality (Iqbal & Ceccato, 2015). Nevertheless, a neighborhood urban park and its context have a negative impact on the quality of life if they cater to criminal activity. Crime rates have increased in urban public parks and buffer zones …

Reexamining The Functions Of Urban Bridges With Nature And People In Mind: A Vision For North Main Street Bridge Fort Worth, Texas, Amanda Hinton

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

How can nature be incorporated into infrastructure bridges to promote connections in urban landscapes? The Paddock Viaduct, known today as the North Main Street Bridge in Fort Worth, Texas was formally opened on July 3, 1914. Designed by Brenneke and Fay to improve transportation to the North Fort Worth district, the bridge was the first reinforced concrete arch bridge in the nation to use self-supporting reinforcing steel and ball and socket joints (Paddock Viaduct - Main - Historic Fort Worth, 2017). Fort Worth in the mid-1900s, like many growing cities, was experiencing the repercussions of heavy flooding issues that come …

Cultivating Charismatic Landscapes: Designing For Preservation And Resilience Of Texas’S Natural Swimming Holes, Jessie Hitchcock

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

The swimming hole landscape provides a unique, immersive interface between humans and the natural world within a riparian corridor. Distinct characteristics of local watersheds and regional ecological systems result in an expression of the natural environment specific to each Texas swimming hole. These environmental components, along with human culture and settlement patterns, are all interrelated, underscoring the importance of health and harmony within and between each one. Overuse, urban expansion, watershed management, and climatic factors have negatively impacted the environmental quality and user experience of these landscapes. The purpose of this study is to better understand the cultural and environmental …

Addressing Obsolescence In Fort Worth Public Pools: Enhancing Forest Park Public City Pool, Juan A. Fuentes

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

The city of Fort Worth, Texas has strived to ensure high-quality recreational water activities, which resulted in the closure or demolitions of several demolished aquatic parks in 2009. With many parks exceeding their lifespan, depicting functional and physical obsoleteness, and presenting health and safety risk to swimmers; the city, following the audit report, demolished famous aquatic parks, such as: Sycamore Pool, Hillside Park Lake, Como Park, Sylvania Park, Marine Creek Park, and Kellis Park, etc. In July 2008, Counsilman-Hunsaker conducted a city-wide Aquatic Master Plan to determine the future of the city's aquatic parks (Counsilman-Hunsaker, Inc.,2012). Implementation strategies included replacing …

Designing Transit-Oriented District Station Areas For Pedestrian Activity: Learning From Dallas, Tx, Oren Mandelbaum

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) and Transit-Oriented Districts (TODt) are planning and development strategies that look to leverage close access to public transit to create places or districts that are dense, walkable and diverse (NCTCOG, 2021; Stojanovski. 2019; Ozdil et.al., 2012). While TOD and TODt are becoming more prevalent within Dallas, TX, and around the United States, (DART, 2019), there is limited literature as to how landscape architecture and urban design can be utilized to reach the goals set out by TOD, and especially TODt (Ozdil et.al., 2012). In addition, while station areas have the potential to act as the hubs of …

Enhancing The Entry Experience At Phap Quang Temple, Grand Prairie, Tx, Violet Lam

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

This design thesis explores the design principles of traditional Chinese Buddhist temple gardens and their significance in creating successful entry sequences. The study focuses on Vietnamese Buddhist temples in a suburban context in North Texas and investigates the role of design elements such as architecture, water features, planting design, and rocks in creating a spiritually enriching and culturally significant environment. The research method includes a literature review, comparison analysis, site inventory, user survey, interview with a member of the board of advisors, design testing, and design proposal. The proposed design aims to enhance the accessibility, wayfinding, and sense of place …

Designing For Best Use Of The Downtown I-345 Corridor In Dallas, Tx: Stakeholder Perspectives, Matthew Thornton

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

What is a city? It’s more than a location where many people live and work. It is a conglomeration of shared experience over generations. One generation informs the next, which informs how each subsequent generation adds to the development of their shared home. This is what gives each city its own unique form, character, and identity. But what happens if a city repeatedly outgrows itself, disconnects its communities, and demolishes the physical memory of its own cultural history? Dallas, Texas is one such city confronting these issues and is perceived as one without significant place memory or culture (if not …

Designing Cemeteries For Personal Expressions In The San Francisco Bay Area, Jodwin Surio

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Our country’s largest cities have become more racially and ethnically diverse than they were in 2010 (US News, 2020). Differences are present and yet, our cemeteries, originally catering to a predominantly Caucasian market (Sloane, 1991), remain Eurocentric in design (Jones, 2011). The purpose of this master’s design thesis is to determine the design principles and elements necessary for a cemetery that is transformed by the personal expressions exhibited by visitors after the day of burial. The study focuses specifically on cemeteries in the San Francisco Bay Area. The findings were used to develop a new kind of cemetery typology that …

The Santaquin Greenway System: Preserving The Future Of Santaquin Trails And Open Space, Ian Kola

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Santaquin residents value their open spaces, trails and gathering spaces. Greenways are a space-efficient form of open space that can ensure a community has access to these amenities.

This greenway master plan is a cumulative result of work compiled and completed by students from Utah State University’s Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning department, Santaquin residents, and city government. Extensive community engagement occurred through USU’s senior capstone and Charrette projects, and this master plan coincides with the planning conclusions made in these projects.

This plan represents a conceptual layout and design of a greenway system in Santaquin, UT. These plans are …

Designing Neighborhood-Scale Green Infrastructure (Gi) To Improve The Health And Well-Being Of Industry-Adjacent Communities Through Air Pollution Mitigation In Joppa, Texas, Lauren Wardwell

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Ambient outdoor air pollution kills roughly 4.2 million people every year worldwide and is linked as a contributing factor to diseases such as asthma, cancer, infertility, and neurological disorders. In the United States, minority communities are more likely to live near sources of air pollution, such as highways and industrial sites, and therefore face higher risks of developing the associated health difficulties. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), people of color (POC) are exposed to disproportionately higher levels of ambient fine particulate matter (PM) air pollution, regardless of income levels or region. While the EPA monitors and enforces outdoor …

The Role Of Temporary Installations Towards Permanency In The Built Environment, Paul D. Spittle

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Heralding a new wave against “business-as-usual” planning, design and development practice that had in part brought about the Global Crash of 2008 (Marcinkoski, 2016), the rise in rapid and temporary design typologies, like Park(ing) Day or Better Block (CNU Next Gen, 2010), suggested a new direction that recognized that if you wanted to make a positive change in the built environment, it was easier to act first and apologize afterwards (Lydon et al, 2012). Taking the responsibility of living in the city into their own hands, a new guard of designers looked to the unfinished skeletons of civic construction to …

Cemeteries, Construction, And Complicity Tyler’S Universe Cemetery As A Black Burial Site Under Distress, Anjelyque Easley

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Black culture has shaped the American landscape in unique but often unrecognized ways. Black burial sites and cemeteries honor ancestors and are a site of reverence (LaRoche & Blakey, 1997). However, they are routinely neglected, reflecting America’s history of segregation. Black burial grounds, places of connection to history and family, are often “repurposed” and forgotten as the changing of property ownership occurs. In many cases, through hostile zoning and real estate practices, Black burial grounds have been desecrated (Levinson, 2019). Urban infrastructures like major transitways have cut through Black cemeteries, effectively “burying” the existence of the Black landscape and those …

Empowering Artists Who Have Experienced Homelessness In The City Of Dallas, Texas Through Temporary Public Art In Urban Spaces, Angeles Marina Margarida-De Guzman

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Homelessness is a critical social crisis impacting the United States in the 21st century. According to The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, in 2019 there were eight states that displayed a significant increase in the homeless population since 2010, with California and New York states having the most homeless. Even though homeless populations reportedly decreased in 2019 in the U.S. since 2010, most states continue to have large numbers of homeless populations, making this a persisting crisis in 2021 (United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, n.d.). In 2019 Texas was among the top seven states with the largest homeless …

Improving The Livability And Therapeutic Properties Of Hospital Campuses In North Texas By Integrating Artful Rain Design And Heat Island Mitigation, Reza Mabadi

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Despite these efforts and signs of progress, such design and planning efforts have failed to thoroughly integrate restorative design principles and sustainable strategies into the landscape architecture of healthcare facilities. The case studies presented in this research illustrate this phenomenon. Currently, sustainable approaches to evidence-based research on health and well-being necessitate a reexamination and reinvention of design methods and recommendations for hospital landscapes to improve their therapeutic properties. The main goal of this research is to investigate strategies to improve the livability and therapeutic values of the constructed landscape of Clements University Hospital through an evidence-based approach and to examine …

Treatments Of Contaminants From Hydraulic Fracturing: A Study Of The Attitudes Of Professionals Towards The Use Of Phytoremediation Methods In Tarrant County, Melissa Rubi Lemuz

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Hydraulic fracturing poses challenges to the environmental stability of the areas surrounding a hydraulic fracturing site due to exposure to the byproducts of the hydraulic fracturing process. (Rahm, 2011; Perry, Sutton, Guo, Yan, & Yang, 2018; Gómez-Sagasti et al., 2012; Richardson et al., 2015). The use of hydraulic fracturing has increased in the United States, notably in North Texas. As the population of the DFW metroplex increases, oil and natural gas companies have begun to construct hydraulic fracturing sites within neighborhoods in the urban setting (Rahm, 2011). As the number of wells created in the urban setting continues to increase, …

Classifying Desire Paths Utilizing A Campus Master Plan Study: A Method For Recognizing Urban Design Flaws, Michael Shuey

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Desire paths are the informal pathways created from the erosional effect of repeated foot traffic. These footpaths come in many shapes and sizes and can occur in spaces where there are no formal pathways for pedestrians. However, in many developed urban and natural areas, desire paths may appear within a landscape that has been intentionally designed. In some perspectives, desire paths can represent user dissatisfaction with the pedestrian landscape, as well as a failure of the urban design process. Recent literature on this topic considers the environmental, economic, and social impacts caused by desire path occurrences. However, desire paths are …

Cultural Landscapes, Historic Preservation, And Cattle Ranches: A New Protocol For Documenting And Preserving Historic Working Cattle Ranches In Texas. Featuring A Case Study At The Dudley Brothers Ranch In Comanche, Texas Using Tx-Clevr (Texas Cultural Landscape Evaluation For Ranches), Bonnie Blocker

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

The Texas cattle ranch is a vernacular landscape of historic significance, threatened by population-driven land use change and unsustainable exurban development (Kjelland, 2007). A vast majority of Texas cattle ranches have not been recognized by any official designation program (THC, 2020), and have no formal recognition as cultural landscapes (Ramirez, 2018). This research explores the cultural landscape of cattle ranching in Texas, a specific landscape typology with very little documented study, in order to promote identification, preservation, and maintenance of these valuable landscapes within the field of landscape architecture. As the standard pathway to designation and documentation of cultural landscapes, …

Evaluating Dallas County Landfills For Public Amenity: Repurposing The City Of Grand Prairie Landfill Through Landscape Architecture, Elena E. Naccari

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

The state of Texas produced more than 36 million tons of waste in 2019. Currently, there are 198 active landfills of varying size and capacity in the entire state. Overall landfill capacity within the state is decreasing over time, while the size of landfills on average is increasing, creating quite the contradiction and clear picture of the average consumer’s increase in waste production (Municipal Solid Waste, 2019). The state of Texas is on an unfortunate path to meet landfill capacity in 53 years (Municipal Solid Waste, 2019). Of the almost 800 landfill sites (active and inactive) in the state of …

Cultivating A Sense Of Place Through Experiential Landscapes: The Redesign Of Downtown Prosper, Texas, Nicole Palmer Simonini

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Many rural Texas towns are being enveloped by urban sprawl. Former small, rural towns with tightly-knit communities and storied historic places are being replaced by mass residential and retail developments. These enveloped communities are often besieged by an uninviting appearance of monotony; their unique identities are often lost in the expansion. Their rich, shared community experiences are diminished (Andres & Plater-Zyberk, 1992). This master’s design thesis explores the concept of sense of place through the lens of experiential landscapes. This study seeks to identify design attributes that contribute to the creation of experiential landscapes (Thwaites & Simkins, 2007) in Texas. …

Transforming A Typical Flea Market Into A More Vital Third Place Through Expressions Of Cultural Diversity, Nusrat Jahan Nipu

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

"Flea markets are significant in North America because of their cultural, socio-economic, functional values, and the opportunities they provide for social interaction and public gathering" (Riveira, A.N., 2013). They can be transformed from typical commercial marketplaces into vital third places by expressing various cultural themes through design. In 1989, "third place" was termed by Ray Oldenburg, an urban sociologist who espoused that one’s home is the first place, workspace or office is the second place, and the area where people meet informally to enjoy the company of others is the third place (Oldenburg, R., 2008). The use of cultural themes …

Uniting Families And Celebrating A Third Nation: Bridging The Wall, A True Binational Park For The Borderland Of Juarez – El Paso, Luis Rojo

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), an estimated 11.3 million undocumented immigrants reside in United States (U.S.) of which 53 percent are Mexican (Gelatt & Zong, 2018). Many of these immigrants have not been able to see their families in Mexico for numerous years. Due to the lack of documentation, it is difficult to determine the exact number of separated families. By considering remittance inflow to Mexico, that is, money sent from individuals in the U.S. to individuals in Mexico, the researcher can gain an understanding of how many Mexican families exist in a state of separation (Orozco, 2015). …

Guidelines For Designing Nodal Landmarks That Foster Enhanced Pedestrian Wayfinding, Imageability, And Sense Of Place In The Central Business District, Of Dallas, Texas, Michael A. Webb

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

City nodes are designed and used to help improve a city’s wayfinding, imageability, and sense of place. If these nodes lack evidence-based image creation and navigation facilitation design parameters, the result is often disorientation within the urban environment. This research through design thesis suggests that the Central Business District of Dallas, Texas is an ideal location for proposed design improvements. Backed by a review of literature, survey responses, behavioral observations, and research-through design, a problematic node was chosen for a detailed design proposal to improve the wayfinding, imageability, and sense of place within the West End Historic District of Dallas, …

A Study Of Public Parks, Equity, And The Creation Of Single Member Council Districts In Dallas, Texas, Annabeth Webb

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

This research explores the civic governance and political structure of the city council election systems in Dallas, Texas after the Voting Rights Act in order to discover the change in minority representation and its impact on the equity and distribution of public parks within the city of Dallas. This thesis explores this particular political mechanism for equity creation in the City of Dallas during two time periods: at the drastic change to 14 single-member districts in 1991, and the changes made beyond the 1994 Dallas Plan. Within the Dallas planning history, there is little literature on equity and history of …

Insertion Of ‘Green Webs’ – A Holistic Approach To Urban Tree Planting In Dallas County, Texas, Niveditha Dasa Gangadhar

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

The urban space poses many challenges for the growth and survival of trees. The urban fabric is often knitted with concrete, stone, copper, and iron, in the form of sidewalks, parking lots, buildings, wires, and pipes, which displace elements of the natural environment. This has given rise to urban heat islands, polluted air, ineffective water management, and other social problems (Nowak et al., 2010). Currently, efforts are being made worldwide to bring back the natural environment through green infrastructure strategies. Ecological inserts in the urban fabric called ‘Green Webs’ can provide environmental, economic, and social and ecological benefits. ‘Green Webs’ …

Public Art Master Planning For Small Towns: A Study In Pilot Point, Texas, Monty Mcmahen

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

This design thesis explores the development of a public art master plan as a tool for small towns to address issues and opportunities in their communities. This exploration was undertaken through the study and design of a proposed public art master plan for the small town of Pilot Point, Texas. A public art master plan can empower communities to embrace art as a unique and vital resource to help shape and reflect the community’s cultural identity while leveraging the arts for economic development and other benefits that enhance quality of life (Markusen & Gadwa, 2010). While public art master plans …

Memorial Earth Park © An Environmentally Sustainable Public Space: Synthesizing Burial Mounds, Family Trees And Human Body Composting In North Texas, Gregory A. Craig

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Over the next 30 years, the population growth in North Texas will place increasing demands on our urban infrastructure and natural resources, while reducing our available public land and open space. Impacts from expanded urban development will decrease our tree canopy coverage, reduce air & water quality and increase impervious surfaces, urban heat island effects and storm water flooding. Environmental sustainability is critical to combat the negative impacts of future growth in North Texas. The memorial landscape is a landscape of tremendous cultural significance in America (Wasserman, 1998) , but the two most traditional means of disposing of human remains …

Rideshare Issues And Implications For Curb Management, Brandon Leonard Utterback

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

As autonomous vehicles continue to prove themselves on our roads today, a look at the considerations of implementation will be necessary. The potential for rethinking our infrastructure requirements, as a result of this new technology, could be a significant benefit to everyday life in terms of safety, congestion, and travel behavior. We must also consider the potential impact on the environment, which is often overlooked. If automobile infrastructure such as roads and parking lots are reduced in urban areas, how will this rediscovered urban space be used? How will planners, designers, and policymakers adapt our infrastructure needs when less pressure …

Responding To The Emotional Needs Of Resettled Refugees In The Context Of Community Gardens, Mai Ann T

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Refugee populations suffer from the effects of post traumatic stress disorder (Shannon, et al., 2014), and members struggle with feelings of helplessness, displacement and marginalization. Research indicates that healing landscapes can address the needs of those suffering from trauma and mental disorders, particularly war veterans and children. This research applies to the emotional needs of refugees settling in new countries (Murray, et al., 2010). For the displaced, creating meaning in their new environment is an essential part of the adjustment process (Brabec, 2018). This thesis draws upon documented research about how landscape experiences can mitigate the effects of trauma in …

Responding To The Emotional Needs Of Resettled Refugees In The Context Of Community Gardens, Ann T. Mai

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Refugee populations suffer from the effects of post traumatic stress disorder (Shannon, et al., 2014), and members struggle with feelings of helplessness, displacement and marginalization. Research indicates that healing landscapes can address the needs of those suffering from trauma and mental disorders, particularly war veterans and children. This research applies to the emotional needs of refugees settling in new countries (Murray, et al., 2010). For the displaced, creating meaning in their new environment is an essential part of the adjustment process (Brabec, 2018). This thesis draws upon documented research about how landscape experiences can mitigate the effects of trauma in …