Landscape Architecture Commons^™

Riverview Community Park Commoning Plan, Haley B. Keene

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

Riverview Community Park began as an illegal DIY skatepark in the Maymont neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. Now, although it is a city park, it is still entirely managed by volunteer community groups (skateboarders, the neighborhood Civic League, and a community garden) who view the park as a creative, experimental community-led spatial project. Due to a dearth of communication between the three groups, the park has suffered political strife between the groups and a chaotic physical atmosphere. This plan utilizes a commons governance framework and participatory, asset-based community design to usher in a new era of enhanced collaboration, common narratives, and …

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 …

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 …

Pocatello Downtown Development Plan: A Vision For The Twenty-First Century, James L. Anglesey

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

Downtown Pocatello is the beating heart of the city and serves as the community's epicenter of civic and cultural life. It encompasses Pocatello's unique heritage and will play a vital role in Pocatello's success in the future. Downtown's physical location between world-class recreational opportunities and a research-based university provides key metrics for creating a successful downtown. This thesis establishes the foundational premise for downtown success and sets forth a vision for Pocatello to reinforce, connect, and intensify its greatest community assets through a series of urban design and redevelopment solutions and recommendations. A literature review focused on the theoretical underpinnings …

Restorative Streetscapes: Promoting Positive Mental Health Outcomes Through Urban Landscape Design In Winooski, Vermont, Sean R. Fitzsimmons

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

The global health burden of mental health disorders is immense. The World Health Organization ranks depression as the single largest contributor to global disability; anxiety disorders alone rank sixth. One in four people will have a diagnosable mental illness in their lifetime and mental health conditions are increasing worldwide, rising 13% in the last decade. The economic implications are also immense, costing the global economy US $1 trillion each year. Mental health is more than the absence of disorders or disabilities, however. It is defined by the WHO as “a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or …

Co-Habitation And Migration: Urban Design For Bird Migratory Pathways, Steve C. Kurtz

All Theses

Urban landscapes are intricate systems interacting throughout the globe. Over the past decades, urban development has widely sprawled and fragmented flyway systems and corridors. This has led to many changes in species composition and has even caused the extinction of some animals (Marzluff 1997). Recent studies have indicated that there exists a protective or restorative design to create stepping-stone connectivity in urban areas. This study looks to understanding potential benefits in urban biodiversity, animal species protection, and urban benefits of green roof designs.

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 …

Oceanside Transit Center Transit-Oriented Development (Otc Tod): Revisioning North San Diego's County Transit Hub, Chad Johnston

City and Regional Planning

Many California coastal communities lack a supply of housing, produce high levels of greenhouse gas emissions by daily auto commuters but have existing local and commuter rail stations with large fields of parking surrounding it. Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) integrates the building of housing, retail, office, and public space together focused around transit stations. This infill of development locates people within comfortable walking distance, usually within a quarter-mile, of a public trail transit station reducing automobile dependence for local trips or commuting for work.

The Oceanside Transit Center (OTC) is a major railway interchange, serving as a gateway to the San …

Urban Storytelling: Rebuilding The Understanding Of Place Via Immersive Narrative, Xue Gao

Masters Theses

This thesis explores a hyper reality- in this case, virtual and augmented reality- storytelling system, focused on individual readings and experiences, as a new method of place understanding.

Give Us Back Our River's Edge: An Analysis Of Man Made Flood Controls Along The Mississippi River, Taylor Jacobsen

LSU Master's Theses

Settlement and engagement along a river’s edge can be seen throughout human history. The direct proximity to a water’s edge has both physical and mental benefits, as well as economic value. However, throughout the last century, cities and their citizens along the Mississippi River have become disconnected from their water’s edge; due to man-made interventions for increased flood control and advancements in the maritime industry. These interventions appeared to be prudent at the time and contributed to many cities' economies to growth, poor planning and placement of these interventions created barriers between citizens and their water’s edge. This thesis analyzes …

Dimensions Of Dissent: The Urban Landscapes Of The 2017 Women’S March In The United States, Camille L. Wildburger

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

In considering the design of protest events, one might assume a certain set of conditions, for example the focus of civic monuments and buildings within an appropriated public civic space. However, are these conditions constant and required throughout all protest events? This research examines the destinations and routes taken by participants in the 2017 Women’s March to better understand the role landscape architecture and urban design play in supporting and advocating for the ideals of public democracy during times of civil unrest. To quote the recently renewed Landscape Declaration, “Landscape architects bring different and often competing interests together so as …

Dimensions Of Dissent: The Urban Landscapes Of The 2017 Women’S March In The United States, Camille L. Wildburger

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

In considering the design of protest events, one might assume a certain set of conditions, for example the focus of civic monuments and buildings within an appropriated public civic space. However, are these conditions constant and required throughout all protest events? This research examines the destinations and routes taken by participants in the 2017 Women’s March to better understand the role landscape architecture and urban design play in supporting and advocating for the ideals of public democracy during times of civil unrest. To quote the recently renewed Landscape Declaration, “Landscape architects bring different and often competing interests together so as …

The Economics Of Landscapes: Why Invest In Landscape Architecture In Mixed-Use Developments/Centers In Texas, Ann Bridget Podeszwa

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

The purpose of this research is to understand the extent to which developers perceive landscape architecture to be a valuable component of mixed-use developments/centers in Texas and how such perceptions add value to their investment strategies. The research focuses on the mixed-use center landscape typology, a growth sector in Texas regional real estate development (VNT, 2014). Since 2000, approximately an 80% Texas population growth occurred in the four major metropolitan areas, Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio (Slijk,.& Saving, 2018) and global trends illustrate that by the year 2050 70% of world population will live in cities (United Nations, 2018). …

The Economics Of Landscapes: Why Invest In Landscape Architecture In Mixed-Use Developments/Centers In Texas, Ann Bridget Podeszwa

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

The purpose of this research is to understand the extent to which developers perceive landscape architecture to be a valuable component of mixed-use developments/centers in Texas and how such perceptions add value to their investment strategies. The research focuses on the mixed-use center landscape typology, a growth sector in Texas regional real estate development (VNT, 2014). Since 2000, approximately an 80% Texas population growth occurred in the four major metropolitan areas, Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio (Slijk,.& Saving, 2018) and global trends illustrate that by the year 2050 70% of world population will live in cities (United Nations, 2018). …

Re-Live Downtown Pine Bluff, Community Design Center

Project Reports

Once a prosperous cultural urban center in the Mississippi River delta, but now the nation’s second fastest shrinking city, Pine Bluff (population: 42,700) is Arkansas’ Detroit. Indeed, a study of black wealth conducted by famed sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois in 1899 found that Pine Bluff had the fourth highest rate of black wealth in the nation behind Charleston, Richmond, and New York City. The school’s community design center prepared a downtown revitalization plan, Re-Live Downtown Pine Bluff, a housing-first initiative focused on building neighborhoods around downtown “centers of strength”. While the revitalization approach is triaged around a …

Urban Design Guidelines For Places With Restorative Values, Nigel Cartlidge, Lynne Armitage, Daniel O'Hare

Daniel O'Hare

This paper evolved from a case study of three Gold Coast beach precincts that examined the complex relationships between the urban design attributes and spatial arrangement of beach precincts and their effect on public access to activity, amenity and facility. Australian and overseas urban design guidelines were examined along with the requirements of restorative places. The focus of the scrutiny of the guidelines was to identify the nature of urban design principles that enhance egalitarian, walkable access to the restorative values found in beach precincts. The intended goal was to produce urban design guidelines for walkable places with restorative values, …

Creating A Successful Wayfinding System: Lessons Learned From Springfield, Massachusetts, Yanhua Lu

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

The masters project presents findings from recent work the author completed related to wayfinding, and wayfinding systems. This work began as part of a graduate urban design studio, followed by work as a research assistant at the UMass Design Center in Springfield, on a new “demonstration” wayfinding system installed in Springfield, Massachusetts. The wayfinding project was done in association with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and the Springfield Office of Planning and Community Development, was implemented with the main goals of improving public health by encouraging more people to walk.

Wayfinding systems are increasingly seen as an important part of …

Identity And Urban Design: The Path To Meaningfulness In The City Of Concepción., Laura Yazmin Rodriguez

Focus

In her research leading to this article, Laura Rodriguez studied the urban design and place making qualities of the University of Concepción campus in Chile. Based on interviews with a select group of experts and field observations, the results indicate that the campus' strong meaning within the city image is partly due to its original conception as an overall consistent project and as part of the city grid and life.

Forgotten Infrastructure: The Future Of The Industrial Mundane, Whitney Ann Manahan

Masters Theses

The typical cycle of industrial use, disuse, and abandonment is no longer acceptable or feasible. This thesis investigates phased remediation and conversion of petrochemical structures and their respective sites with the intention of increasing both the socioeconomic vitality and environmental quality of the area.

The oil silo is an intriguing object and industrial artifact. Being close to one of these massive structures is captivating and there is something truly exciting and thought provoking about inhabiting a space that was clearly not meant for humans. These are qualities that provide opportunities to connect people with a site and create a place …

Springfield, Nebraska Urban Design Master Plan, Tonya K. Carlson

Community and Regional Planning Program: Professional Projects

Sarpy County has been experiencing rapid growth over the past several decades. Seeing the effects of rapid growth in other communities in Sarpy County, Springfield, Nebraska chose to be proactive in shaping the growth and aesthetics of their community. The Urban Design Master Plan is a measure taken by the city to ensure Springfield is fully ready for further growth. The purpose of this professional project is to provide Springfield with a tool that will help guide and influence future development.

The project begins by researching the history of Springfield. The community has remained relatively small in population, compared to …

No Space Left Behind - Graduate Urban Design Studio - Landarch 606, Christopher H. Counihan, Matthew R. Hisle, Yanhua Lu, Maozhu Mao, Emilie Marques Jordao, James S. Prendergast, Michalagh C. Stoddard, Ruoying Tang, Jing Wang, Nelle Katharine Ward, Yuqing Yang, Yi Yang, Yu Yu, Kellie Fenton, Yue Li, Yuquing Wu

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

The following report documents the work of the 2015 Spring Graduate Urban Design Studio course in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. This fourteen week studio focused on using tactical urbanism to engage Springfield’s Metro Center neighborhood with visions to revitalize the downtown core of this legacy city.

In addition to completing the components of a traditional urban design studio (site analyses, schematic plans, spatial designs, and programming), the student teams also developed conceptual projects to immediately engage the public. These efforts culminated in a free afternoon walking tour throughout the Metro Center that presented several tactical interventions. …

Revisit And Revise: The Introspective Approach To Reclamation And Redevelopment In Miami's Urban Core, Jescelle Renee Major

LSU Master's Theses

The human plays a vital role in the city and the city a vital role in the sustainability and resiliency of the future. It is imperative to explore all avenues for improvement and longevity. Now is the time to explore methods to strengthen the cities we have and the people who live there. This is especially true for coastal cities facing sea level rise and climate change. It is important now not to dwell on what we have lost but to seek methods for using the memory of a place to restore and build for the future. Recognizing there is …

Discussion Of The Contradictions Of The Contemporary Urban Landscape: The Case Of Caracas, Fabio Capra-Ribeiro

Faculty Publications

In the ongoing debate between seemingly conflicting conditions, the author contrasts several features of urban landscape to dig deeper into the understanding of the current Caracas. An interpretative process allows viewing the city from a daily perspective of joy and suffering. The process takes into account different scales of approach, the relationship between buildings and emptiness, and the role of green in the city. Gradually the carelessness of Caracas’s urban landscape becomes evident, fed by little attention to the small scale, the clustering of individualistic interventions and the neglect of the natural component. Final considerations will show the urban landscape …

Espacios Sucre: Interdisciplinary Program To Develop A System Of Small- And Medium-Scale Interventions In Public Spaces, Daniel Belandria, Fabio Capra-Ribeiro

Faculty Publications

With the accelerated growth of most Venezuelan cities, many of them show precarious settlements where residents seek to resolve their housing needs while services, facilities, and public spaces in particular hove been neglected. This is the case in Caracas and within the Municipality of Sucre, the second largest in size and population of the whole country. In this context. the Espacios Sucre Program, an interdisciplinary initiative with the main purpose of building networks of public space in both small and medium scales, not only works to confront the deficit but also to relate the contrasting areas of the Municipality and …

Socio-Economic Revitalization Through Brownfield Reclamation, Corrin James Breeding

Masters Theses

Brownfields are defined as real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant (epa.gov). Brownfield remediation is land rehabilitation.

There are many brownfield sites that exist around the world today. These locations are nuisances because of their effect on the environment. They can be eyesores, riddled with dilapidated structures and debris that put chemicals into the soil, affect local watersheds, become prime areas for violence and/or other activities viewed as unsafe, etc. The impact these areas have on the health of living organisms is a …

From Fail-Safe To Safe-To-Fail: Sustainability And Resilience In The New Urban World, Jack F. Ahern

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

Abstract: The extent to which the 21st Century world will be "sustainable" depends in large part on the sustainability of cities. Early ideas on implementing sustainability focused on concepts of achieving stability, practicing effective management and the control of change and growth-- a "fail-safe" mentality. More recent thinking about change, disturbance, uncertainty, and adaptability is fundamental to the emerging science of resilience, the capacity of systems to reorganize and recover from change and disturbance without changing to other states-- in other words, systems that are "safe to fail." While the concept of resilience is intellectually intriguing, it remains largely unpracticed …

Formerly Urban: Projecting Rust Belt Futures, Mark Robbins, Stephanie Miner, Nancy Cantor, Julia Czerniak, Darren Petrucci, Jane Wolff, Mclain Clutter, Hunter Morrison, Damon Rich, Toni L. Griffin, Don Mitchell

School of Architecture - All Scholarship

A two-day conference on the benefits of creating urbanity in weak-market cities gathers twenty-one international experts in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design, as well as planning, policy, finance, economics, and real estate development. Participants share strategies for cities whose urban character has devolved radically due to economic, demographic, and physical change - cities that are now considered "formerly urban."

Contemporary Practices In Sustainable Design: Appraisal And Articulation Of Emerging Trend, Archana Sharma

Architecture Publications and Other Works

Sustainable design is a phrase commonly used in the realms of design practice and yet the definition of the same remains quite fuzzy, thus providing the motivation for this research. The paper looks at contemporary sustainable design practices in the area of architecture design, building construction and landscape architecture. The objective is to understand what the term “sustainable design” really means as used in practice and what strategies are being employed towards the goal of sustainable development. The practices are assessed for their empathies as per the currently defined social, ecological, economical well-being goals of sustainable development. The paper concludes …

Ralph Bunche Agape Neighborhood Vision Plan, Community Design Center

Project Reports

The Ralphe Bunche Neighborhood Vision Plan provides a general design framework to spur reinvestment in this 100-year old historic African-American neighborhood in Benton, AR. The plan aggregates attainable housing (under $100,000/unit) around two neighborhood parks―one existing, and one proposed. Since the city cannot afford comprehensive street and drainage improvements to accommodate redevelopment, the proposal retrofits streets and open space with Low Impact Development (LID) landscapes to remediate urban stormwater runoff. Housing unit types between 1,000 and 1,750 square feet are amassed around these LID landscapes and amenitized with screened rooms, balconies, terraces, and multiple-height living spaces.

Macarthur Park Master Plan, Community Design Center

Project Reports

Like waterfronts and transit stops, parks leverage value in urban areas. While much recent attention has been given to the signature mega-park, the value of the small-scale neighborhood park in reinventing the city has been overlooked. Once connecting neighborhoods of differing character, and sponsoring more than 80 residential structures along its edges, the historic MacArthur Park at the edge of downtown Little Rock is radically underutilized as an urban neighborhood asset. Severed from its neighborhoods along two edges by interstate construction in the 1960s, this moribund 40-acre municipal park is left with only 16 residential structures along its frontage. The …