Landscape Architecture Commons^™

Study Of Cultural Landscapes In Texas: An Inquiry For Policy Recommendations, Dorothy Joelle Wright

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

The object of this thesis is to understand the status of preservation of Texas cultural landscapes and encourage policy recommendations. To do this, the thesis examines the procedure for nominating cultural landscapes in Texas for the National Register of Historic Places (NR), a program administered by the National Park Service (NPS) through state-level agencies. In Texas, the Texas Historical Society (THC) administers NR programs under supervision of the State Historic Preservation Officer. In the 1950s, the term cultural landscape rarely appeared in print. However, beginning with the work of J.B. Jackson, an independent writer and landscape scholar, cultural landscape studies …

Uses Of Sacred Spaces In Urban Neighborhoods: A Study Of Cemeteries In Uptown Dallas, Huei-Chung Cheng

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

This study examines residents' perceptions regarding potential uses of sacred spaces. It further investigates a cemetery's visual impact on residents in high-density urban environments. Historically, cemeteries have provided open space to urban residents, and have become intertwined with the spaces where humans live and work and they have come to provide historical significance to urban space (Harker and Merolli 2010). As rituals and methods of disposing human remains change, the ways people use cemeteries or burial spaces also change. Specifically as alternative uses for cemetery are emerging, along with changes in attitudes toward commemoration burial sites in contemporary culture (Basmajian …

Crime In Transit Oriented Districts: Learning From Dallas, Texas, Devin D. Guinn

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Recognizing that the components of the built environment may effect crime in urban areas, emerging transit station areas and Transit Oriented Developments (TOD) and districts (TODT) present new challenges for designers and planners. Transit oriented developments, especially within the past decade, are seen as desirable choices for developing metropolitan areas to accommodate the concerns surrounding population growth (Ozdil et. al, 2012), but very little is known about how the spatial environment impacts delinquency around station areas. More specifically, it is not clear how design and planning might address such issues, and influence future TOD and TODT strategic plans. This research …

Urban Morphology, Open Space Planning And Analysis Tools: Fort Worth Since The 1909 Kessler Plan, Dandan Zhu

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

This thesis focuses on the relationship between the parks system and city growth patterns in Fort Worth, Texas. It describes the evolution of the city's parks as well as the city's urban morphology since the inception of 1909 Kessler city park plan. Throughout Fort Worth's history, open space planning has played a key role in the city's development policies (City of Fort Worth Planning and Development Department 2004). Kessler's 1909 original park plan for the City of Fort Worth still serves as the basis for major park facilities (City of Fort Worth 2012). Evolution of the parks system in Fort …

Uses Of Sacred Spaces In Urban Neighborhoods: A Study Of Cemeteries In Uptown Dallas, Huei-Chung Cheng

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

This study examines residents' perceptions regarding potential uses of sacred spaces. It further investigates a cemetery's visual impact on residents in high-density urban environments. Historically, cemeteries have provided open space to urban residents, and have become intertwined with the spaces where humans live and work and they have come to provide historical significance to urban space (Harker and Merolli 2010). As rituals and methods of disposing human remains change, the ways people use cemeteries or burial spaces also change. Specifically as alternative uses for cemetery are emerging, along with changes in attitudes toward commemoration burial sites in contemporary culture (Basmajian …

Urban Morphology, Open Space Planning And Analysis Tools: Fort Worth Since The 1909 Kessler Plan, Dandan Zhu

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

This thesis focuses on the relationship between the parks system and city growth patterns in Fort Worth, Texas. It describes the evolution of the city's parks as well as the city's urban morphology since the inception of 1909 Kessler city park plan. Throughout Fort Worth's history, open space planning has played a key role in the city's development policies (City of Fort Worth Planning and Development Department 2004). Kessler's 1909 original park plan for the City of Fort Worth still serves as the basis for major park facilities (City of Fort Worth 2012). Evolution of the parks system in Fort …

Urban Agriculture Stormwater Management In California Cities, Rachel L. Cohen

Master's Theses

Cities within California are beginning to incorporate urban agriculture into their land use designations. Prompted by residents and local organizations, cities are hoping to capture the benefits that urban agriculture provides. Research has shown that urban agriculture renews and beautifies neighborhoods, provides healthy food choices, increases public health, has the potential to help with stormwater runoff, creates jobs, and fosters community. In the last few years, several California cities have made headlines as they have adopted new zoning codes that include urban agriculture.

In reviewing these new zoning codes and exploring the topic of urban agriculture, it became evident that …

Play In Place: The Role Of Site-Specific Playgrounds In Community Space, Allison Nkwocha

Scripps Senior Theses

Playgrounds do not have to be static sites, but safety standards should not be the only force that guides their evolution over time. Just as the ongoing transformation of any city is a product of many interwoven factors, the collection of smaller sites that delineates one city from another should reflect the same holistic influences. This is not an argument for the abandonment of the safety standards that influence playground design. Instead, it is an argument for the adoption of and stronger adherence to community standards that influence city design. This paper argues that a park area (and more generally, …

Trees Nestled Among Skyscrapers: Frederick Law Olmsted And The Creation Of Central Park, Matisse Murray

Library Research Prize Student Works

In the remarkable degree of scholarship that has been written on Frederick Law Olmsted since a resurgence of interest in his life during the early 1970s, there have been a number of varying interpretations regarding the social attitudes with which he approached his first major project, New York’s Central Park. Following a classic pendulum pattern, study has vacillated between emphasizing his democratic vision for the park to placing more of a focus upon his esteem for gentility. In the former, scholars such as biographer Laura Wood Roper described Olmsted’s idea of Central Park as a place for Americans of all …

Gardens Are A Physical Manifestation Of Culture: Postmodern Public Parks Of The Twenty-First Century Will Be Built On The Infrastructure Of The Industrial Age, Steven W. Grant

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

Gardens are not simply arranged trees, lawns, walkways, fountains and ponds. They are a physical expression of the values and beliefs of culture. Adapting industrial age infrastructure into public parks is a reflection of culture in the postmodern age as much as the cloister garden expressed theology in the middle-ages, the sensuous garden expressed the humanism of the Renaissance, the Baroque garden expressed autocratic power, the neo-classical garden expressed reason, and the picturesque garden expressed awe of nature. The postmodern postindustrial public park of today is being built on the infrastructure of the industrial age; it is an expression of …

Regional Planning Initiative For The Province Of Puerto Plata In The Dominican Republic: A Tourism Planning Framework For The Towns Of San Felipe De Puerto Plata And Sosua, Ana A. Baez Sarita

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

The Dominican Republic has locations rich in cultural, historical, and ecological assets. One of these places is the province of Puerto Plata. Located in the northern region of the country, Puerto Plata was one of the first territories of America in which Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. Built in the year of 1494 because of the second Spanish expedition arrival, La Isabela, the first new world’s Spanish village represents one of the many vital historical components of the province of Puerto Plata. The country has an economy largely based in the service sector. According to the U.S. Department of State, …

Powder Mountain Bike Resort Master Plan, J. Dayton Crites

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

In the last decade ski resorts worldwide have developed mountain bike specific recreational facilities in an effort to increase summer revenues. Their success has been mixed, with some becoming quite profitable, but others closing summer operations after only a few low revenue

years. With minimal information regarding bike park design currently available, the planning and design of these facilities remains largely a grassroots effort. This thesis project develops a methodology that approaches the creation of mountain bike resorts on ski mountain terrain based on landscape architectural best practices, sustainable trail

construction techniques, and site-specific requirements. For this project, the terrain …

(In)Formal Distinction In Urban Istanbul: Evaluating Spatial Performance, Hannah Breshears

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

As globalization continues to draw the cities of the world into closer economic and intellectual dependence, Istanbul stands as bridge between two continents and a city poised for urban transformation. Massive tracts of informally designed communities are being cleared to accommodate the structure of the modern, tourism driven city. The attempt to purge the city of its squatter heritage is startling and raises questions of cultural and architectural integrity in urban development. Istanbul’s desire for expanded global investment and tourism is particularly apparent in the industrial district of Kartal, whose blended development is the subject of this study. Jane Jacobs …

Holding The Process Accountable: An Exploration Of New Housing Developments And Place In Cukurcayir, Turkey, Beyza Sen

All Theses

Housing environments are the places where its residents spend most of their time in. In Turkey, housing types that have been built in the past have over time. Especially during the past decade, due to the concentration of people in the city centers and the nations goals on housing developments have resulted in dense and tall apartment buildings to be built in newly developing cities. This study exemplifies the current planning practices and its effects on housing environments and place. The reasons why this study is focusing on the housing environments are: housing environments represent the culture and society, people …

Generating Recreation, Transforming Communities: Utilizing Transmission Power Line Corridors In Regional Greenway Design, John Pay

All Theses

Utilizing existing transmission power line corridors and increasing their uses through the implementation of an infrastructural recreational element helps to preserve existing natural areas while increasing the recreation amenities in the areas. These corridors, often considered an eyesore to many, provide an opportunity to become beautiful public greenspaces which can act as recreational amenities, economic drivers, and providers of alternative transportation infrastructure. With the use of transmission lines being a necessity in supplying the energy needs of nearly all regions of the United States, the adaptability of this greenway system, model can be adapted by other communities throughout the country …

Linking Intermountain West Shrub-Steppe Grassland Restoration Ecology With Cultural Meaning Through Landscape Design, Bridget Marie Atkin

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

It has been proposed that the aesthetic quality of landscapes, designed or natural, provides a critical linkage between humans, and ecological processes and function. Ecological function is not always compatible with cultural expectations of the landscape aesthetics or is considered desirable. This thesis argues that landscapes that demonstrate desirable environmental characteristics can also possess aesthetic qualities. If they are well-utilized by the general population and more valuable ecologically, they will be more successful. This thesis examines the use of principles of landscape design to incorporate meaningful ecological function within a constructed landscape with desirable aesthetics for the mutual benefit of …

A Critical Examination Of The Stormwater Education, Based On Sites Parameters, In Landscape Architecture Departments In The Sec, Brandon Doss

Landscape Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

The amount of accessible natural resources is dwindling and water could be the next world crisis. One response to this issue is the creation of methodologies which evaluate sustainability of new land development. A system to address the issues is the Sustainable Sites Initiative. This method was created in 2009 by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the United States Botanic Garden. Their primary goal was to create a metric for rating development to encourage a more sustainable approach. A piece of this evaluation is water management. Landscape architecture is poised to address …

Marston Quadrangle: Past, Present, And Proposals For A Sustainable Future, Meryl Seward

Pomona Senior Theses

Pomona College has professed a commitment to sustainable leadership and decreased water use, exemplified by shifts to garden areas with native landscaping. However, the central college green space, Marston Quadrangle, was renovated in the summer of 2012 and only a few native plants were added to the landscape. In this thesis, I explore Pomona’s Marston Quadrangle as a visual and symbolic space, attempting to better understand the intentions of the landscaped area. I first briefly examine recent campus dialogue surrounding sustainability, water issues, and native landscaping. Then, I look at the history and architectural iconography Marston Quadrangle is steeped in, …

Systematic Comparison Of Two Habitat Connectivity Modeling Approaches: Least Cost Path And Circuit Theory, Adam Rose

All Theses

Intensifying human development requires landscape-level planning to restore connectivity to fragmented and ecologically isolated habitats. The rapidly growing field of conservation planning has produced a variety of approaches to modeling habitat connectivity. The objective of this research is to inform the choice and use of appropriate software packages for connectivity conservation planning. I focused on comparing two prevalent approacheds, 1) least cost path, patch-patch modeling using CorridorDesigner software and 2) electrical circuit-theory based approaches for patch-patch and 'all points' connectivity using Circuitscape software. Additionally, I compared two dominant connectivity modeling approaches: 1) the focal species approach and 2) a generalized …

Cultivating America's Working Lands: A Study Of The Sociocultural Value Of Family Farms, Katherine Lloyd

All Theses

Our ability to produce food in a sustainable, healthy and humane manner is threatened, both in the United States and on the global scale. This difficulty is exacerbated by expected population growth, creating a need for 60% more food worldwide by 2050 to feed a population of 9.3 billion (United Nations Chronicle, 2012). How we produce food affects local economies, the cultural vitality of communities, and the health of regional ecosystems. Industrial or conventional agriculture is damaging all three of these systems, by draining local economies through corporate business practices, isolating farmers and attributing to rural population losses, while depleting …

Beyond Drawing The Line: A Study Of The Edge Structure Of Boston's Emerald Necklace, Priyanka Vankina

All Theses

Landscapes are mosaics of patches and corridors which are formed by hills, different soils types, vegetation patchiness, natural disturbances and human activities. As humans have developed, the patches and corridors have become fragmented and edges have been created. These edges become the critical points of interaction for wildlife with their surroundings. This is especially true in urban areas where development has created harsh edge environments.
This study investigates the edge structure of Olmsted's Emerald Necklace to understand how edges can be designed to create habitat for wildlife in urban areas. The Emerald Necklace is located in Boston, MA and was …

Transforming Urban Brownfields: Creating Natural Communities Through Successful Stormwater Management And Bioremediation Strategy, Yang Song

All Theses

Brownfields are a crucial issue for the 21century's urban development. To successfully restore brownfields and transform them into comfortable and enjoyable environments, we have to study how to mitigate contamination issues related to soil and stormwater. Three bodies of knowledge are studied in the literature: natural community restoration, urban brownfield restoration, storm-water management. Then, these areas are researched through case studies focusing on topography design, plant adaptation, and treatment wetland. The findings are in the form of descriptive design guidelines addressing six factors: spatial experience, stormwater collecting, natural succession, plant and species diversity, habitat creation, treatment, and cleaning. The recommendations …

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 …

Measuring Sprawl Across The Urban Rural Continuum Using An Amalgamated Sprawl Index, Barry Kew, Brian D. Lee

Landscape Architecture Faculty Publications

Urban sprawl is rapidly transforming the landscape of Kentucky’s prime farmland from a dominant agricultural land use pattern to a patchwork of dispersed and loosely defined parcels. This state, located in the east central portion of the U.S., is not unlike many states considered rural, nor is it unlike many rural regions found throughout the world where urban sprawl is concentrated in metropolitan areas that are often encroaching into these rural areas. Authors have argued for and against urbanization patterns generally understood to be sprawl on the basis of social, economic, and biophysical opportunities and constraints. Finding consensus in the …

Cultivating America's Working Lands: A Study Of The Sociocultural Value Of Family Farms, Katherine Lloyd

Graduate Research and Discovery Symposium (GRADS)

Our ability to produce food in a sustainable, healthy and humane manner is threatened, both in the United States and on the global scale. This difficulty is exacerbated by expected population growth, creating a need for 60% more food worldwide by 2050 to feed a population of 9.3 billion. How we produce food affects local economies, the cultural vitality of communities, and the health of regional ecosystems. Industrial or conventional agriculture is damaging all three of these systems by draining local economies through corporate business practices, isolating farmers and attributing to rural population losses, while depleting natural resources and polluting …

Wasteland To Wonderland:Sustainable Brownfield Redevelopment Projects In Low-Income Areas Of Los Angeles, Rachel L. Warburton

Pitzer Senior Theses

The conversion of industrial waste sites, also known as brownfields, into sustainable green space can impact the surrounding community in a number of ways. This thesis is a compilation of three case studies in low-income areas of Los Angeles which have all experienced a brownfield to green space conversion. All three projects are dictated by various stakeholders and are located at the intersection of economic and environmental issues. I examine how the stakeholders of these projects affect the process and design and in turn how the process and design affects the community surrounding the site. Additionally this thesis sheds light …

Landscape Architecture Foundation Case Study Investigation And The Case Of The Streetscape, Pamela Blackmore

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The demonstration of landscape performance benefits has become increasingly important in landscape architecture practice and in communicating to interdisciplinary audiences. This project introduces four built streetscape projects investigated in the 2012 Landscape Architecture Foundation Case Study Investigation (CSI) program, including a large-scale permeable pavement project in Charles City, Iowa, and American Society of Landscape Architects' award-winning projects in Missouri, California, and Colorado. Following the case studies, several compelling performance benefits of these projects are presented, such as safety and accessibility and water and energy conservation. The paper specifically illustrates the economic benefits and the data source used for performance assessment …

Re-Thinking The Green Belt: Sustainability And Development In Growing Cities, Maria Saavedra

Architecture Senior Theses

One of the major goals of this research is to study the relationship between nature and technology as urban generators. I agree with Lisa Tilder and Beth Bostein, who state that instead of using architectural technology to return nature to some impossible, pre-human pristine state, we should consider fully employing the power of architecture to produce new forms of nature. Instead of thinking about the River’s edge as a natural and physical barrier between the water and the city, we should consider it as an opportunity to challenge the image of nature, exploring how it limits or furthers our social …

Master Planning For The Arts: Identifying The Skills And Roles For Landscape Architects, Jack Randal Phillips

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses - Archive

Thіs rеsеаrch еxаmіnеs thе skills and experiences of lаndscаpе аrchіtеcts appropriate to lеаd thе dеsіgn аnd dеvеlopmеnt of аrts mаstеr plаns for communіtіеs, by assessing current arts master plan practices in major metropolitan areas in the United States. It first identifies thе requirements of thе arts master planning procеss through systеmаtіc documеntаtіon of еxpеrt opіnіons. A comparison is then made to thе scopе of mаstеr plаnnіng for thе аrts. Thе scope includes prеrеquіsіtеs аnd profеssіonаl аptіtudеs nееdеd to complеtе аn аrts mаstеr plаn for lаrgе cіtіеs іn the United States аnd to аssеss lаndscаpе аrchіtеcts rolе wіthіn those needs. An …