Landscape Architecture Commons^™

An Evaluation Of Current Applications Of 3d Visualization Software In Landscape Architecture, Jie Yan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The design process is important to all landscape architects. It helps generate ideas to solve problems in an efficient amount of time and insure that all stages of a project are completed. Generally, a design process includes project acquisition, inventory and site analysis, conflicts identification, public involvement, draft products, and final presentation. Among these elements, public involvement has been recognized as one of the most important elements in the landscape design process. It not only helps professionals get projects done smoothly, but it also helps with long-term client retention. Traditional two-dimensional communication methods using renderings, design plans, and maps have …

Preserving Legacy: The Development Of The Design Workshop Archives And Digital Collection At Utah State University, Amanda J. Dunlap

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Though magazines, books, and slideshows have attempted to share glimpses of landscape architecture, its fixed geographic location inherently limits who can experience it. In a move to address this dilemma, Design Workshop has partnered with Utah State University's Merrill-Cazier Library Special Collections and the Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Department to capture the firm's definitive works. The creation of the Design Workshop Archives and Digital Collection conveys the firm's story, sharing it with a broad and diverse audience through the use of physical archives, a digitally accessible partner, oral histories, and online learning objects to be utilized in the classroom. …

Dramatic Play Affordances Of Natural And Manufactured Outdoor Settings For Preschool-Aged Children, Kimberly K. Cloward Drown

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Concern for child wellness has led play professionals to explore natural playscapes as a means to enhance free play and consequently child development. For preschool children, dramatic or make-believe play is particularly beneficial for enhancing cognitive, social, and emotional skill. Dramatic play in collaboration with other children (sociodramatic play) and, surpassing that, complex socio-dramatic play (group make-believe with a sustained theme that uses sophisticated symbolism) are most valuable for development.

This study compared natural and manufactured outdoor play settings to determine which provided the most opportunity for quality dramatic play. Twenty-four 3- to 5- year olds were observed during daily …

Exploring The Potential Of Resident Employed Photography As A Context Sensitive Technique In Roadway Design, Christopher S. Harrild

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the study was to explore the potential of resident employed photography as a tool in roadway design. Key elements of this tool that may contribute to context sensitivity in roadway design were identified and explored.

State and federal transportation agencies have identified principles and potential outcomes with the intent to guide processes that are sensitive to the context of a project’s surroundings. The improved design of public roadways to meet the needs of those who live and travel along them is the goal of these agencies. Resident employed photography is the use of a photograph to obtain …

The Spatial Relationship Between Crime And Public Transportation: A Geospatial Analysis Of Salt Lake City's Trax System, Joel W. Warren

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It is well-known that, when it comes to crime, some neighborhoods are safer than others. Researchers who make maps of crime have observed that some areas of cities have more crime than others. These areas of high crime are often called hot spots. Crime pattern theory explained why some neighborhoods have more crime than others by looking at criminal events as a meeting between a motivated criminal and a target. Social scientists, geographers, and city planners have shown that criminals generally choose targets from places they see every day, for example on their ride to work or the grocery store. …

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 …

Perceptions Of Naturalized Playgrounds: A Qualitative Study, Jeffrey C. Hamarstrom

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Play is an important part of childhood as it helps to develop social skills and ensure proper mental and physical development. Electronic media, stranger danger, and urbanization have reduced both the time and access children have to play in natural areas. Many people believe that this is an integral part of childhood and, therefore, concern that children are not interacting with the natural world is becoming a popular topic. Research has shown that natural environments can have various benefits such as reducing anxiety and promoting developmental skills. Play providers are now creating playgrounds that attempt to recreate natural settings, referred …

The Relationship Of Outdoor Recreation And Gardening With Depression Among Individuals With Disabilities, Justin Floyd Wilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Activities involving natural environments have positive psychological impacts on participants. Both outdoor recreation and gardening have been shown to reduce feelings of depression. However, the effects of these activities on the depression levels of individuals with disabilities have not yet been studied. In order to better understand the relationship between these activities and depression among individuals with disabilities, two separate studies were conducted.

The first study seeks to better understand the relationship between outdoor recreation participation and depression among Montana residents with disabilities using publicly available Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. It hypothesizes that depression would be negatively …

New Urbanism: Its Interpretation And Implementation, Sherri Marie French

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

New Urbanism is a popular development movement that combines old and new development strategies in an attempt to build unique and lasting communities of value. However, as this movement employs practices that are not currently considered typical, developing in this manner can be difficult. This research seeks to identify the common difficulties that arise during the development of New Urbanist communities as well as possible solutions for overcoming those difficulties.

Researching the barriers to implementing principles of New Urbanism is important as this movement may offer solutions to some of the challenges arising from current development practices such as:

• Sprawl …

Enhanced Cross Country Running Course Design: A Study Of Historic And Recent Courses, Other Landscape-Based Sports, Athlete Psychology, And Course Elements, Audrey B. Lancaster

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Literature suggests that the original and "pure" elements of cross country course design have faded through time; in order to wholly enhance course design the original elements must be preserved and united with desired modern course elements. "Pure" sport is defined by an athlete's struggle and persistence that occur amidst tough competition, rugged course elements, and physical pain. In addition to identifying the desired elements through literature review, case studies, and self-experience of cross country course design, it was necessary to confirm the desired elements through interviewing eight key informants. The key informants were renowned and accomplished NCAA cross country …

The Solitary Place Shall Be Glad For Them: Understanding And Treating Mormon Pioneer Gardens As Cultural Landscapes, Emily Anne Brooksby Wheeler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The gardens of early Mormon pioneers are a unique cultural resource in the western United States, but little guidance has been provided for understanding or providing landscape treatments for Mormon landscapes. Mormon pioneers came to Utah and the Great Basin to escape religious persecution and build their own holy kingdom. In relative geographical isolation, they built towns that have a distinctive character delineating a Mormon cultural region in the West. Self-sufficiency was an important feature of these towns and of the religious culture of early Mormons, both because of their geographical isolation and their desire to be independent of the …

The Impact Of Different Play Environments On The Social Interactions Of Toddlers With Disabilities, Rebecca Buckley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Play is a crucial part of any child’s social behavior and development. It helps children develop self-determination, self-control, and identity. These skills are primarily learned through interactions with other children. Play is particularly imperative for children with disabilities approaching the age of three, an age that studies have shown to be pivotal for their social and emotional growth.

Children with disabilities often have difficulty with social interactions. Play serves as a platform for these interactions, and provides a way for children with disabilities to learn social standards and values. Children with disabilities who do not participate in play can suffer …

The State Of Integrated Open Space Planning: Toward Landscape Integrity?, Lindsay Ex

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Open space planning has been present within the United States for over a century. Traditionally, open space planning efforts tend to focus more exclusively on either socially-based (e.g., recreational, scenic, or park planning) or ecologically-based (e.g., preserves, habitat networks or more general conservation planning) planning efforts. This separation of ecological and social frameworks in open space planning is reinforced by a persistent cultural model, where community and conservation are seen as opposing forces instead of partners.

While recent open space planning efforts have begun to integrate social and ecological frameworks into one plan, the majority of our knowledge on integrated …

Distributed Renewable Energy Generation And Landscape Architecture: A Critical Review, Osmer Devon Beck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Governments and utility organizations around the world have mandated and provided incentives for new distributed renewable energy generation (DREG) capacity, and market projections indicate strong growth in distributed renewable energy generation installations in the coming years. New distributed renewable energy generation utilities, by definition, will be primarily located in built environments near consumers; these utilities are often planned and designed by landscape architects, yet no evidence-based, distributed renewable energy generation research is explicitly done by landscape architects or recognizes the role landscape architects play in planning and designing these spaces. The research and analysis provided by this study indicates that …

The Impact Of The Physical Environment On The Social Integration Of Individuals With Disabilities In Community, Keith M. Christensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Social integration in community is especially important for individuals with disabilities well-being. Although individuals with disabilities reside within the community's physical environment, they are often marginalized in the social environment. This may be the result of individuals with disabilities residing in physical environments that negatively affect opportunities for integration in the social environment. However, there has been little investigation to understand the impact of the physical environment on the social integration of individuals with disabilities in community.

The purpose of this investigation was to (a) examine the current body of evidence concerning the impact of a community's physical environment on …

Planning For Closure Of The Logan City/Cache County Landfill And Surrounding Landscape, Kristofor Lee Kvarfordt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Planning for closure requires in depth analysis into many operational, environmental, and social factors. Ideally, the planning process should resolve as many of the technical, social, and aesthetic requirements as possible by systematically addressing the various elements that influence the final design. This research identified the significant issues related to planning for the end use of the current Logan landfill after it reaches capacity in 18-20 years and the associated lagoons and wetlands. The current closure plan calls for simply recontouring the landfill to stabilize the slopes, then revegetating. The location of the site has serious implications for environmental impact …

Conservation Design Guidelines For Botanic Gardens, C. Craig Houston

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Botanic gardens worldwide are asked to be centers of conservation. However, little is written about conservation-specific planning and design forms botanic gardens should use to fulfill this assignment. After looking at the history of botanic gardens, with a focus on the purpose/design relationship, examining design guidelines suggested in and inferred from the literature, and presenting habitat conservation principles and sustainable construction guidelines from other areas of practice, the author developed conservation design guidelines for botanic gardens focused on conservation. The guidelines address the following five categories: (1) Mission Statement and Site Character, (2) Presentation of Native Habitats, (3) Presentation of …

Development Of A Survey Measuring Visitor Satisfaction And Service Quality Of Cultural And Natural Sites In Belize, Dustin S. Wiberg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The literature suggests that a correlation exists between visitor satisfaction and a visitor's choice to re-experience a product. The higher one's satisfaction level, the more likely he/she is to experience the product again and/or provide positive word-of-mouth advertising to friends and family. The Tian-Cole and Crompton model was chosen because of its acknowledgment and explanation of the differences between Visitor Satisfaction (VS) and Service Quality (SQ) and how their relationship influences satisfaction and contributes to Future Destination Selection.

In addition to identifying a theoretical framework that explains why visitors return, it was necessary to identify a survey methodology to be …

Design Guidelines For The Historic Downtown Of The City Of St. George, Utah, Bronson Ron Tatton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This document proposes historic preservation guidelines for the downtown area of the City of St. George, Utah. It grew from a summer internship with the city where I took inventory of the streetscape in the Historic Downtown and prepared recommendations in the form of a PowerPoint Presentation that was given to the city council. This paper summarizes the summer internship and introduces a more appropriate approach based on reflection of the internship. The new approach involves a thorough inventory of the historic character, in-depth research of the historic elements that contribute to the historic character, development of design guidelines and …

Inventorying Landscape Assets In Rural Utah Communities: A Sociocultural Approach, Jennifer F. Hale

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A community's physical environment embodies distinct natural and built elements, which hold meanings and values that are formed through daily social interactions within that environment. Such elements, however, are not often recognized until they are dramatically changed or lost. As amenity-rich rural areas of the Intermountain West steadily attract new residents, consciously identifying these elements prior to rapid growth is critical to their preservation.

Research suggests that strong social capital has the potential to encourage the identification of a place's visual assets prior to such change. A documentary research approach was used to understand why citizens do not actively participate …

Fundamentals Of Mountain Resort Base Village Design: A Critical Review Of Existing Resort Developments With Recommendations For Future Development Practices, Bryan P. Harding

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The North American ski industry has grown over the past century from a small, family-owned and -operated industry, to a multi-billion dollar industry dominated by corporate management organizations. The rise of corporate resort ownership has led to the trend of the construction base village developments at ski resorts around the country to attract guests, and therefore revenue, to their resorts. Though many base villages have been very successful in attracting skiers, examples of poor landscape architectural design practices abound in the industry. This study examines several design elements considered to be the "fundamental elements of designed space," applies these elements …

Understanding Utah's Native Plant Market: Coordinating Public And Private Interest, Virginia Harding Hooper

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Changes in Lone Peak Conservation Nursery customer profiles cause state nursery leaders to question what their products are being used for and how trends in native plant use are changing the market for Utah native plants. The Utah native plant market is changing as interest in native plants is expanding to meet new conservation objectives, oftentimes in urban settings. This newer demand for native plants appears to be motivated by current changes in urban conservation behavior, continued population growth in the arid West, scarcity of water resources, the increasing appreciation for indigenous plant aesthetics, and concern for bio-diversity. A survey …

How The Winter Olympics Enrich Community Legacies For Recreational Open Space: A Case Study Of Selected European And American Olympic Sites, Jennifer A. Brown

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Olympics have been a catalyst through the last century for community alteration including both the renovation of existing areas and building of new sites. This study focuses on the post-Olympic use of active and passive recreational open space infrastructure developed by Winter Olympic host cities.

This study examines four Winter Olympics. The observation of a variety of Olympic venues has provided an opportunity to compare the differences in planning due to historical, cultural, and social variables. The comparison of these Olympic sites contributes to understanding of the probability of success or failure of post game expectations for recreational open …

Perceptions And Use: A Survey Of Visitors In The Lakes Management Area, Kamas Ranger District, Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Utah, Ronald E. Vance

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

New planning and management paradigms for the USDA Forest Service suggest that future Forest Plans incorporate the best available science and the public's values into Forest Plan revisions. Revised plans should focus on the ecological capabilities of the land and how to sustain them. The means to manage the land for these outcomes should be developed with considerable and ongoing public involvement. One outcome of this public involvement can be the development of a "desired future condition" for the area being managed and the needed regulations to maintain and monitor the desired conditions.

In order to provide preliminary information on …

Site Suitability Analysis For An Intermountain Solid Waste Facility: A Study For Cache County, Utah, Joseph B. Campo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The goal of this project was to analyze Cache County for potential sanitary landfill sites covering the period 2020 to 2120. The county population and per capita solid waste were estimated. The minimum landfill size was then calculated.

A geographic information system (GIS) was used for data storage and vii analysis. Relevant data were gathered. Areas which would not support a landfill were eliminated. Remaining sites were rated as having slight, moderate, or severe restrictions for use as an area method sanitary landfill based on the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Sanitary Facility Report, and the NRCS Soil Interpretations Rating …

Guidelines For Roadside Revegetation To Create Wildlife Habitat In Northern Utah, Lars D. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many species of wildlife use roadside vegetation as habitat. The ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) utilizes roadsides for all types of cover. Because pheasants are nonmigratory and generally live their entire lives within a 1- to 2-mile radius, pheasants are excellent indicator species to predict both quantity and quality of roadside wildlife habitat. Pheasants were introduced to Utah in the late 1800's. Populations climbed until pheasant habitat occupied 2-4 percent of the total land area in Utah. Populations began to decrease in the 1950's. Since 1962, pheasant populations in Cache County, Utah have dropped 2.71 percent annually. Experts believe …

The Legal Environment For Landscape Architecture In Utah, Jeffrey J. Scarborough

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper explores and delineates the legal environment for the practice of landscape architecture in Utah. The national, state, and local (city and county), codes that apply to landscape architecture and the related professions of architecture, engineering, and land surveying are documented, as is pertinent case law. Figures allow comparisons to be made between the various government levels to demonstrate contradictions and congruencies, as well as the clarity of the ordinances. Major findings include significant differences among the city and county regulations of landscape architecture and the related professions, and weaknesses in the state law for landscape architecture. Major recommendations …

Future Water Demand In Cache Valley, Utah, Chris C. Saunders

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present investigation examined the current water demand characteristics and the future water demand of Cache Valley, Utah for the time period of 1990-2010. The demand attributable to agriculture and seven nonagricultural economics sectors was determined and forecasts were performed based on those demand values.

Linear regression, extrapolation, and alternative futures forecasting methods were applied and the various results compared against each other. Three different scenarios were calculated for residential demand to represent different sources and composition of demand information. It was determined that consideration of water demand data excluding Logan City provided the best statistical description of water demand. …

The Wild And Scenic Rivers Act: Perspectives On Private Land Issues, Gary R. Weiner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is the nation's principal tool for accomplishing river conservation. Congress intended for the Act to apply to rivers regardless of ownership of adjacent lands, but efforts to implement the Act on rivers bordered by private property have met with limited success. This paper presents the underlying issues related to private land applications, explores the range of ideas and opinions existing among river conservation experts, agency river planners and others regarding how to work with these issues, identifies areas of general concurrence and least agreement, and makes recommendations for future private land applications of the …