Landscape Architecture Commons^™

Roadside Greenbelt Effects On Thermal Comfort Of Pedestrian Corridors At A Busy Traffic Road, Nur Intan Simangunsong, Reza Fauzi, Dibyanti Danniswari, Rini Fitri

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

The increasing number of motorized vehicles in Jakarta is causing environmental damage and can harm human health. In recent years, the Jakarta local government has the vision to focus on improving the human mobility network, including the pedestrian networks. As a heavily trafficked road, Jalan Kyai Tapa, West Jakarta, is used by many people. However, it may feel uncomfortable to walk there due to heat and sun exposure, which is compounded by extensive pavement coverage. The thermal condition of the pedestrian corridor is essential to create a comfortable walking experience. The objective of this study was to analyze the thermal …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

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

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

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 …

A Social-Ecological Systems Inquiry For Understanding Environmental Change In Los Angeles Outer-Ring Suburbs, Farnaz Kamyab

All Dissertations

Within the framework of the city's green infrastructure, urban and suburban green coverage play a pivotal role in delivering substantial benefits to health, economy, and the environment. However, the permanence of these green coverage is threatened by dynamic changes in neighborhood socio-economic, spatial, and ecological elements and their loss or degradation presents a problematic issue. Social-Ecological System Theory (SES) offers a comprehensive framework for understanding the potential correlations between socio-economic trends and the degradation of green coverage. This research is based on a case study of the highly diverse megacity, Los Angeles (LA), which encompasses a wide array of built-environments, …

Design Guidelines For Homeless Shelter And Resource Center Site Plans, Samuel Johnson

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Homelessness is one of the most pressing humanitarian issues facing the country today. Lack of affordable housing, among many other complicating factors, have led to many cities scrambling to find both short-, middle-, and long-term solutions to the issue. The Covid-19 pandemic added a disruption in services, critical record-keeping, and data-gathering, which has further confounded experts looking for an effective path forward. As it stands, there is a significant gap in academic research addressing best practices for shelter site design, particularly as it relates to landscape. The role of landscape and greenspace within and around a shelter is not well …

Influence Of Access To Public Parks On Mortality Among Older Adults In The United States, Jiaying Dong

All Dissertations

Research shows the health benefits of green spaces are universal, but there's a noticeable disparity in their distribution in the U.S., especially between urban and rural areas. Marginalized groups, particularly those of lower economic status or racial minorities, often have limited access to these spaces. This inequity could be more impactful on the elderly, who are more vulnerable to health issues. However, specific health benefits of green spaces for seniors are not well defined. This study examines the correlation between park access, mortality in those over 65, and income disparities across all U.S. counties.

The study employed a quantitative approach …

An Overview Of Sustainability Content In Higher Education: Applications For University Landscape Architecture Programs, Hye Yeon Park

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Higher education institutions worldwide have recognized the importance of integrating sustainability into their programs, with over 600 universities offering courses focused on sustainable development. This trend has led to the emergence of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This multidimensional approach aims to empower individuals to create a sustainable future by integrating environmental, social, and economic systems. In particular, ESD has been implemented in various aspects of higher education, such as course content, teaching methodologies, curriculum design, and faculty roles.

Design and planning education are critical components of shaping future decision-makers who will positively and negatively impact society and the environment. …

Stakeholder Perceptions Of Community Garden Features, Samantha Trajcevski

Content presented at the Roesch Social Sciences Symposium

The presentation discusses the study currently being conducted on stakeholder perceptions and attitudes towards greenspaces. This is completed through the identification of different uses and features to maximize use of the space and stakeholder engagement in the community garden. To better understand stakeholder opinions, we utilized a creative qualitative research method combining photovoice and interviews/focus groups. We conducted eight in-depth semi-structured interviews and four focus groups. Multiple interviewees agreed that the Dayton View Triangle lacks access to a green space. Most believed that a garden would offer social cohesion. Understandably, most participants were concerned about who would manage the garden …

Water Wise Landscape Practices: A Case Study For The City Of Gering, Christina E. Land

Community and Regional Planning Program: Professional Projects

This professional project is founded on my education, experiences, and networks. I have had the opportunity to use what I have learned thus far and be challenged to look at public planning from a different perspective. In partnership with the City of Gering I was able to get knee deep in the facility planning of the city owned property which is home to the Community Ever Green House. The project reviews how the property is integrated into the community and the impact it has. Then, identifies opportunities to improve overall functionality with a closer look at addressing hazard mitigation using …

Las Facultades Especiales De Los Parques Públicos: Investigar Los Efectos Reconstituyentes De La Plaza Almirante Brown En Los Visitantes, Aidan Michelow

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En las últimas décadas, los psicólogos ambientales y expertos en la salud pública alrededor del mundo han realizado una cantidad creciente de estudios sobre los impactos de la salud mental de los espacios verdes urbanos en los visitantes. Este proyecto de investigación, que recogió datos de los participantes de la Plaza Almirante Brown en Río Grande, Argentina, es un estudio exploratorio que tiene el objetivo de investigar los efectos reconstituyentes de la Plaza en los visitantes. Las preguntas centrales son ¿Tiene la Plaza Almirante Brown efectos reconstituyentes en sus visitantes? En caso afirmativo, ¿qué aspectos del parque son reconstituyentes y …

Rising Coastal Groundwater As A Result Of Sea-Level Rise Will Influence Contaminated Coastal Sites And Underground Infrastructure, K. Hill, D. Hirschfeld, C. Lindquist, F. Cook, S. Warner

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Faculty Publications

Sea-level rise (SLR) will cause coastal groundwater to rise in many coastal urban environments. Inundation of contaminated soils by groundwater rise (GWR) will alter the physical, biological, and geochemical conditions that influence the fate and transport of existing contaminants. These transformed products can be more toxic and/or more mobile under future conditions driven by SLR and GWR. We reviewed the vulnerability of contaminated sites to GWR in a US national database and in a case comparison with the San Francisco Bay region to estimate the risk of rising groundwater to human and ecosystem health. The results show that 326 sites …

Demographic Data In The Built Environment And Human Health Studies, Huaqing Wang, Louis G. Tassinary

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Faculty Publications

Demographic data is widely used in both built environment and population health studies. Traditional data sources include national, state, and local surveys as well as archived data from longitudinal studies and newly emerging sources such as digitally accessible administrative data and real-time data from mobile devices. The value of these diverse data sets hinges on their accuracy, completeness, reliability, relevance, and timeliness. This chapter reviews the literature published in this field, provides a selective overview of the extant published research based on such data, and offers suggestions for the continuing access and use of such datasets.

The Town That Built Its Own River: La Plaza Del Cerro At Taos County New Mexico, José A. Rivera Ph.D

Faculty Publications

Cerro is an unincorporated community in Taos County, New Mexico, and is situated near New Mexico State Highway 522 heading north to the Colorado border. Nearby is Cerro de Guadalupe, a peak that has an elevation of 8,796 feet and Cerro at 7,490 feet. The connection to Guadalupe Mountain gave the town its original name as “La Plaza del Cerro de Guadalupe.” Cerro was established in the early 1850s by settlers who arrived from nearby Questa and Taos. By itself, Guadalupe Mountain did not provide sufficient water to sustain an agrarian economy based on farming and livestock ranching as was …

Reflecting On Design: A Study Of The Relationship Between Beginning Landscape Architecture Students’ Graphic Skills And Self-Efficacy Through Hybrid Assessments And Reflective Writing, Rachel Michelle Nobles

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the connection between self-efficacy, reflective writing, and graphic quality inside a first-year Landscape Architecture design studio. Reflective writing and self-efficacy can be studied to better understand how to motivate students within a design studio. Bandura (1977) defines self-efficacy as the belief in one’s own capabilities relating to motivation, behavior, and environment. Reflective writing is overlooked as a mode of advancing knowledge in the design process (Lousberg, 2019). The data were collected with pre- and post-semester Likert scale questionnaires, graphic skill-building tests, and reflective writing. To determine growth, the pre-and post-Likert-type questionnaires and …

Script-Based Design Toolkit For Digitally Fabricated Concrete Applied To Terrain-Responsive Retaining Wall Design, Nada Abdel-Aziz

Theses and Dissertations

The potential of digitally fabricated concrete (DFC) to produce terrain responsive designs has not been thoroughly investigated. Existing research indicates diverse benefits of DFC, such as the rapid fabrication of customized geometries. This research clarifies the advantages and design processes involved in creating site-specific DFC structures. Existing literature is analyzed to provide an overview of fabrication methods and their impacts and constraints on design. Parametric scripting is used to develop an interactive toolkit that integrates aesthetic, structural, and fabrication considerations into the design process. This toolkit specifically focuses on unreinforced retaining walls with interchangeable modules for terrain analysis, wall form …

Dune To Shore: The Relationship Between Vegetative Dune Systems And Shoreline Stability In Barrier Islands, Walter Hastings Hogue

Theses and Dissertations

Dauphin, Petit Bois, and Horn Island form the Alabama gulf-barrier chain directly south of Mobile Bay. Many studies have targeted local climate stressors and the flux of longshore currents as factors for erosional and accretional changes on these islands, but little attention is paid to the degradation of their vegetative dune-systems as a contributor to their shoreline morphology (Hanley et al., 2014; Smith, 2018; Byrnes, 2010). This study fills this literary gap, utilizing GIS raster classification and Digital Shoreline Analysis System to measure vegetative health and shoreline change on these islands and verify a relationship between these two factors. The …

Community Space Planning And Design Guide For Enhanced Wildfire Resilience In Heber, Utah, Devin Macfarlane

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

The wildland urban interface (WUI) is the fastest growing land type in the conterminous United States. These areas are prone to catastrophic wildfire events. In response to rapid population growth, Heber City, Utah is planning a significant amount of development within the WUI. This thesis project is aimed at proactively addressing wildfire risk in the WUI of Heber through two main strategies: regional geospatial planning and public space design to create wildfire resilient communities. Researching principles of wildfire adaptive practice and planning for defensible space led to the development of a list of criteria. This list was developed in the …

A Systematic Review On The Ecosystem Services Provided By Green Infrastructure, Daniel Jato-Espino, Fabio Capra-Ribeiro, Vanessa Moscardó, Leticia Bartolome Del Pino, Fernando Mayor-Vitoria, Laura Gallardo, Patricia Carracedo, Kristin Dietrich

Faculty Publications

Urbanization and climate change are endangering the sustainability of public spaces through increased land artificialization, ecological fragmentation, reduced resource availability, and limited accessibility to natural and seminatural areas. Properly managing Green Infrastructure (GI) can contribute to mitigating these challenges by delivering multiple provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural Ecosystem Services (ES). This would facilitate the implementation of strategically planned GI networks in cities for urban regeneration purposes. In this context, this study developed a systematic review on the ES provided by GI using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The analysis of 199 eligible articles indicated …

A Case For Educational Communication On Sustainable Stormwater Management Sites Using Interpretive Methods: Applications For Utah State University, Lilian Taft

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

Humans are increasingly urbanizing landscapes, lowering the land’s ability to infiltrate stormwater, increasing surface water runoff. This, combined with decreasing water availability in the Intermountain West, produces the issue of sustainable stormwater management. Professionals are moving toward green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), but public is often not aware of stormwater’s impacts on natural environments or what the purpose of GSI is. Stormwater management design techniques are evolving to use visible, sustainable methods celebrating stormwater, rather than treating the valuable resource as a disposable nuisance, channeling it underground and out of sight. Artful Rainwater Design (ARD), a technique coined by Stuart Echols …

A Mixed-Method Study On The Walkability Of Streets In Hospital-Anchored Neighborhoods, Xiaowei Li

All Dissertations

The field of healthcare design is adopting planning and design principles from the Healthy Communities movement to connect hospitals to their adjacent communities. This research explores the impact of neighborhood and street design on the walkability of Hospital-Anchored Neighborhoods (HANs), a concept integrating hospitals and satellite services with their surrounding communities to enhance public health. Walkability, a crucial marker of healthy and vibrant communities, was investigated through a mixed-method study across three HANs. A comprehensive Walkability Framework with 17 built environment dimensions was developed from the literature to inform data collection utilizing GIS archival data, ethnographic observations, street audits, and …

The Water Mills Of The Historic Río Arriba In Northcentral New Mexico, 1598-1975, José A. Rivera Ph.D, Thomas F. Glick Ph.D

Faculty Publications

The water mills of New Mexico played a major role in the agricultural economy of the Río Arriba for centuries following the introduction of wheat from the Old World to the Americas. Wheat, in its ground form as flour, was a staple during the Spanish colonial period. To process raw wheat, local grist mills (molinos) were essential infrastructure as were the aceq uias (ditches) that powered them. Situated near the banks of rivers, the internal components of each mill were driven by the gravity force of water from an acequia, itself diverted from the river. Researchers have documented …

Descriptive And Network Post-Occupancy Evaluation Of The Urban Public Space Through Social Media: A Case Study Of Bryant Park, Ny, Bo Zhang, Yang Song, Dingyi Liu, Zhongzhong Zeng, Shuying Guo, Qiuyi Yang, Yuhan Wen, Wenji Wang, Xiwei Shen

Architecture Faculty Research

In modern cities, urban public spaces, such as parks, gardens, plazas, and streets, play a big role in people’s social activities, physical activities, mental health, and overall well-being. However, the traditional post-occupancy evaluation (POE) process for public spaces such as large urban parks is extremely difficult, especially for long-term user experiences through observations, surveys, and interviews. On the other hand, social media has emerged as a major media outlet recording millions of user experiences to the public, which provides opportunities to inform how public space is used and perceived by users. Furthermore, unlike previous research that primarily presented descriptive characters …

Water-Based Settlements At The Confluence: San Gabriel & El Guique New Mexico, José A. Rivera Ph.D

Faculty Publications

After more than four centuries, the acequias of New Mexico continue to serve agricultural purposes in spite of economic, demographic, political, technological, and environmental changes. Their origins can be traced to early settlements at the confluence of the Río Grande and the Río Chama, the birthplace of Iberian acequia irrigation in New Mexico. This article demonstrates the value of water in high desert environments where mountain snowpacks feed rivers and streams that are diverted to irrigate fields in places such as San Gabriel (now Chamita) and El Guique. These and other acequia communities in the region should be protected for …

Toward One Health: A Spatial Indicator System To Model The Facilitation Of The Spread Of Zoonotic Diseases, Daniel Jato-Espino, Fernando Mayor-Vitoria, Vanessa Moscardó, Fabio Capra-Ribeiro, Leticia Bartolome Del Pino

Faculty Publications

Recurrent outbreaks of zoonotic infectious diseases highlight the importance of considering the interconnections between human, animal, and environmental health in disease prevention and control. This has given rise to the concept of One Health, which recognizes the interconnectedness of between human and animal health within their ecosystems. As a contribution to the One Health approach, this study aims to develop an indicator system to model the facilitation of the spread of zoonotic diseases. Initially, a literature review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement to identify relevant indicators related to One Health. The …

Evaluation Of Green Roof Technology In Egypt, Hend Abada

Theses and Dissertations

A green roof is a well-known technology worldwide that provides many social, economic, and environmental benefits. In Egypt, green roofs are still a new construction practice where most stakeholders lack business and technical expertise within this emerging industry. This research is concerned with assessing this emerging technology within its contemporary context, Egypt, and testing its feasibility within the physical condition of the Egyptian buildings and the social and economic conditions of the Egyptians. This study starts by presenting intensive information about green roof technology and reviewing the literature on green roofs within the Egyptian context. A grounded methodology is used …

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

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

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 …

Rebuild Relationships Between City, Agriculture And Ecosystem In The World Of The Drought, Ninghao Wang

Masters Theses

The drought is a threat to our planet and our way of life, causing serious consequences for both people and the environment. These consequences include crop failures, food shortages, water conflicts, and so on. Arizona is currently at the center of the water crisis affecting the American West. The state depends on the Colorado River for a third of its agricultural and urban water needs. However, the river is shrinking due to drought, leading to water scarcity in the region. Rebuilt Relationships Between Agriculture, Ecosystem, and City in the World of the Drought: rethinking regenerative landscape practices in the drought-prone …

Nature As Material, Time As Tool, Chuchu Chen

Masters Theses

No building stands forever. Over time, the natural environment acts upon the outer surface of the building, leading to the failure of materials and the final dissolution of the structure itself, leading to ruin. In order to prevent this or retard its occurrence, we constantly maintain and renew the things we build. Nature seems to stand in opposition to architecture. The passage of time is constantly subtracting from the building. However, what differentiates nature from architecture? This thesis questions whether these two are not opposed, but on a continuous spectrum. Approaching the building as part of the overall environment that …

Orchestration Of Experience, Jingyi Shen

Masters Theses

The sensory experience shaped by the landscape unconsciously influences people’s emotional and mental states. Contemporary urban landscape designers prioritized the functionality of the landscape, sometimes ignoring the spiritual impact of the atmosphere created by imperceptible environmental sonic factors. Orchestration of Experience explores the connections between sound and vision in shaping people’s sensory experience of the landscape. Drawing from soundscape ecology, environmental psychology, and dynamic visualization, this study demonstrates how they are closely intertwined. Motivated by the idea that white noise can unconsciously affect people’s mental health by Michael Rutter, we question how physical and sound landscapes shape each other, how …

Celebrate Scarcity: Water Harvesting As Cultural Keystone, Jiajun Ni

Masters Theses

As Phoenix, Arizona’s population has been increasing intensely in recent years, the city is facing a potential water crisis because of the over-extraction of underground water and a gradual decrease in water supply from the Colorado River. To solve the crisis, Phoenix has promoted water-saving lifestyles for citizens and built aquifers to capture stormwater and floods. However, these decisions are not inherently sustainable since they are too costly and centralized without enough consideration of different community contexts. Therefore, we need to rethink the water-efficiency system that is zoomed into the community level.

This thesis explores a water-collection model that is …