Matching Items (9)
Filtering by
- Genre: Doctoral Dissertation
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
This study addresses the landscape connectivity pattern at two different scales. The county-level analysis aims to understand how urban ecosystem structure is likely to evolve in response to the proposed development plans in Maricopa County, Arizona. To identify the spatio-temporal land pattern change, six key landscape metrics were quantified in relative to the urban development scenarios based on the certainty of the proposed urban plans with different level of urban footprints. The effects of future development plans from municipalities on landscape connectivity were then analyzed in the scaled temporal and spatial frame to identify in which urban condition the connectivity value would most likely to decrease. The results demonstrated that tremendous amount of lands will be dedicated to future urbanization, and especially urban agricultural lands will be likely to be vulnerable. The metro-level analysis focuses on a group of species that represent urban desert landscape and have different degrees of fragmentation sensitivity and habitat type requirement. It hypothesizes that the urban habitat patch connectivity is impacted upon by urban density. Two underlying propositions were set: first, lower connectivity is predominant in areas with high urbanization cover; second, landscape connectivity will be impacted largely on the interfaces between urban, suburban, and rural areas. To test this, a GIS-based connectivity modeling was employed. The resultant change in connectivity values was examined for exploring the spatial relation to predefined spatial frames, such as urban, suburban, and rural zones of which boundaries were delineated by buffering method with two criteria of human population density and urban cover proportion. The study outcomes provide a practical guidance to minimize connectivity loss and degradation by informing planners with more optimal alternatives among various policy decisions and implementation. It also gives an inspiration for ecological landscape planning in urbanized or urbanizing regions which can ultimately leads urban landscape sustainability.
ContributorsPak, So-hyŏn (Author) / Cook, Edward (Thesis advisor) / Crewe, Katherine (Committee member) / Wu, Jianguo (Jingle) (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
As a significant level of the reformation and transformation of our society has been provoked by environmental deterioration, ecological approaches in environmental design have drawn much attention from professionals as an alternative world view and also as a practical design approach. Particularly in landscape architecture, ecological understanding has been at the very core of the profession since its emergence and plays an important role in the decision making processes. While ecology supports the profession with an objective rationale, aesthetics plays another major role in providing various understandings about the aesthetic experience of people, which is rather subjective. However, the ways to seek the balance between them are still controversial. Furthermore, the conventional aesthetic value system of landscape appears to have limitations for guiding us to an appropriate appreciation, especially in dealing with newly emerging urban landscape patterns such as regeneration of post-industrial landscapes. Understanding these issues, there have been continuous attempts to describe the relation between ecology and aesthetics, suggesting that a new approach known as "ecological aesthetics," can bring us a new set of viewpoints seeking a reunion of nature and culture, and science and art. It asserts that "there is a type of beauty" in the landscape associated with its ecological health which people could aesthetically appreciate; and therefore, revealing the "hidden" beauty of nature in more visible ways should be the primary concern of today's ecological designers. This research mainly consists of extensive literature research and a case study on two landscape restructuring projects of post-industrial landscapes in Seoul, Korea. The literature research redefines the tasks of landscape architecture based on the idea of ecological aesthetics, and the case study seeks the potentials and limitations of current design projects. This research proposes a framework for landscape perception and reflects on the lessons that would be useful for better practice and research.
ContributorsMin, Byoung Wook (Author) / Cook, Edward (Thesis advisor) / Crewe, Katherine (Committee member) / Pijawka, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Literature on the design and management of urban parks has been informed by empirical research on the value of public space in terms of economic value, public health, social, and environmental benefits. Although there is significant value in discussing these benefits, there has been a lack of understanding about the production of public space as a normative goal. Neighborhood parks have been recognized as one of the key urban public spaces that serve the social, economic, and environmental needs of adjacent neighborhoods. However, relevant studies mostly focus on the contribution of neighborhood parks as discrete space, instead of neighborhood parks as built spaces within the urban context. This research provides a better understanding of the relationship between the context of surrounding neighborhoods and the success of neighborhood parks. The research addresses two major research questions. First, what are the major characteristics of the morphological context around neighborhood parks? Second, how do the characteristics of morphological context associate with the success of neighborhood parks? For the first question, the `context' refers to the layout and configuration of urban form including blocks, parcels, and buildings; street network; pedestrian-oriented attributes; and property land uses. For the second question, the `success' of neighborhood parks is defined by property/ violent crime rate. The study is based on a quarter mile buffer area around 150 neighborhood parks in the City of Chicago, Illinois. The research employed factor and cluster analysis to develop a typology of neighborhood park contexts. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify the relationship between park morphological contexts and crime rate. Based on understanding the dimensional structure of urban form elements, neighborhood park surroundings were classified into six categories. This study provided an alternative way of constructing public space typology based on surrounding urban form. The findings of regression analysis revealed that variables associated with higher-density, permeability, and mixed-use development do not necessarily correlate with reduced property/ violent crime rates. However, some variables representing `traditional neighborhood' characteristics were correlated with lower property/ violent crime rates. The study provides guidelines for urban design and physical planning strategies for neighborhood park development.
ContributorsLee, Sungduck (Author) / Talen, Emily (Thesis advisor) / Crewe, Katherine (Committee member) / Petrucci, Darren (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The lack of substantive, multi-dimensional perspectives on civic space planning and design has undermined the potential role of these valuable social and ecological amenities in advancing urban sustainability goals. Responding to these deficiencies, this dissertation utilized mixed quantitative and qualitative methods and synthesized multiple social and natural science perspectives to inform the development of progressive civic space planning and design, theory, and public policy aimed at improving the social, economic, and environmental health of cities. Using Phoenix, Arizona as a case study, the analysis was tailored to arid cities, yet the products and findings are flexible enough to be geographically customized to the social, environmental, built, and public policy goals of other urbanized regions. Organized into three articles, the first paper applies geospatial and statistical methods to analyze and classify urban parks in Phoenix based on multiple social, ecological, and built criteria, including landuse-land cover, `greenness,' and site amenities, as well as the socio- economic and built characteristics of park neighborhoods. The second article uses spatial empirical analysis to rezone the City of Phoenix following transect form-based code. The current park system was then assessed within this framework and recommendations are presented to inform the planning and design of civic spaces sensitive to their social and built context. The final paper culminates in the development of a planning tool and site design guidelines for civic space planning and design across the urban-to-natural gradient augmented with multiple ecosystem service considerations and tailored to desert cities.
ContributorsIbes, Dorothy (Author) / Talen, Emily (Thesis advisor) / Boone, Christopher (Committee member) / Crewe, Katherine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Canal oriented development (COD) is a placemaking concept that aims to create mixed use developments along canal banks using the image and utility of the waterfront as a natural attraction for social and economic activity. COD has the potential to for landlocked cities, which are lacking a traditional harbor, to pursue waterfront development which has become an important economic development source in the post-industrial city. This dissertation examines how COD as a placemaking technique can and has been used in creating urban development. This topic is analyzed via three separate yet interconnecting papers. The first paper explores the historical notion of canals as an urban economic development tool with particular attention paid to the Erie Canal. The second paper explores the feasibility of what it would take for canal development to occur in the Phoenix region. The third and final paper explores the importance of place in urban design and the success or nonsuccess of COD as a place maker through the examination of three different CODs.
ContributorsBuckman, Stephen Thomas (Author) / Talen, Emily (Thesis advisor) / Ellin, Nan (Committee member) / Crewe, Katherine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Many Indigenous communities in North America develop tribal museums to preserve and control tribal knowledge and heritage and counteract negative effects of colonization. Tribal museums employ many Indigenous strategies related to Indigenous languages, knowledges, and material heritage. I argue that architecture can be an Indigenous strategy, too, by privileging Indigeneity through design processes, accommodating Indigenous activities, and representing Indigenous identities. Yet it is not clear how to design culturally appropriate Indigenous architectures meeting needs of contemporary Indigenous communities. Because few Indigenous people are architects, most tribal communities hire designers from outside of their communities. Fundamental differences challenge both Indigenous clients and their architects. How do Indigenous clients and their designers overcome these challenges? This dissertation is a history of the processes of creating a tribal museum, The Museum At Warm Springs, on the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. The focus is to understand what critical activities Tribal members, designers, and others did to create a museum whose architecture represents and serves its community. The study also considers how people did things so as to honor Indigenous traditions. Design and construction processes are considered along with strategies that Tribal members and their advocates used to get to where they were prepared to design and build a museum. Interviews with Tribal members, designers, and others were central sources for the research. Other sources include meeting minutes, correspondence, Tribal resolutions, and the Tribal newspaper. Visual sources such as drawings, photographs, and the museum itself were significant sources also. This study revealed several key activities that the Confederated Tribes did to position themselves to build the museum. They built an outstanding collection of Tribal artifacts, created and supported a museum society, and hired an outstanding executive director. The Tribes selected and secured a viable site and persisted in finding an architect who met their needs. Collaboration--within the interdisciplinary design team and between designers and Tribal members and contractors--was key. Tribal members shared cultural knowledge with designers who adapted to Indigenous modes of communication. Designers were sensitive to the landscape and committed to representing the Tribes and their world.
ContributorsMarshall, Anne L. (Anne Lawrason) (Author) / Crewe, Katherine (Thesis advisor) / Jojola, Theodore (Committee member) / Paxson, Lynn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Research indicates that projected increases in global urban populations are not adequately addressed by current food production and planning. In the U.S., insufficient access to food, or the inability to access enough food for an active, healthy life affects nearly 15% of the population. In the face of these challenges, how are urban planners and other food system professionals planning for more resilient food systems? The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the planning and policy resources and food system approaches that might have the ability to strengthen food systems, and ultimately, urban resiliency. It proposes that by understanding food system planning in this context, planning approaches can be developed to strengthen urban food systems. The study uses the conceptual framework of urban planning for food, new community food systems, urban resiliency, and the theory of Panarchy as a model for urban planning and creation of new community food systems. Panarchy theory proposes that entrenched, non-diverse systems can change and adapt, and this study proposes that some U.S. cities are doing just that by planning for new community food systems. It studied 16 U.S. cities considered to be leaders in sustainability practices, and conducted semi-structured interviews with professionals in three of those cities: Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; and Seattle, WA. The study found that these cities are using innovative methods in food system work, with professionals from many different departments and disciplines bringing interdisciplinary approaches to food planning and policy. Supported by strong executive leadership, these cities are creating progressive urban agriculture zoning policies and other food system initiatives, and using innovative educational programs and events to engage citizens at all socio-economic levels. Food system departments are relatively new, plans and policies among the cities are not consistent, and they are faced with limited resources to adequately track food system-related data. However they are still moving forward with programming to increase food access and improve their food systems. Food-system resiliency is recognized as an important goal, but cities are in varying stages of development for resiliency planning.
ContributorsTaylor, Constance M (Author) / Talen, Emily (Thesis advisor) / Crewe, Katherine (Committee member) / Pijawka, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Survivability of a place brand: politics of place in downtown Scottsdale, in the 1950s and the 1960s
Description
Place branding by its very nature is a highly selective endeavor. Typically, place branding focuses on highlighting positive aspects of place while discounting others that are deemed less appealing. Whether it pertains to attracting tourism, investment or people, or whether it concerns achieving a level of cultural significance, ultimately place branding impacts physical planning decisions and consequently the built environment. The selectivity entailed in projecting a sellable place image, together with the presence of different interests among the particular place stakeholders, may lead to a divergent dialectic of assertion and resistance over which brand ought to be projected and how it ultimately should be represented. This dynamic, I argue, will have impact on equity, on the issue of authenticity and on representation. Through a historical analysis approach and a case study, this dissertation examines how such a dynamic plays out in the built environment and how it evolves and shapes it over time. Downtown Scottsdale is chosen as a case because it offers an example of a small city downtown in the US West that experienced significant place branding activity in the 1950s and the 1960s. In the 1950s, the City of Scottsdale branded itself as a Western town and the built environment of the downtown area was themed to reflect this image; in the 1960s, the Western brand was challenged and calls for change emerged. Stakeholders and supporters of the Western image and those of the call for change are identified, and the dialectic that ensued is examined and discussed in relation to its impact on the built environment.
ContributorsElmubarak, Marwan G (Author) / Crewe, Katherine (Thesis advisor) / Talen, Emily (Committee member) / Pijawka, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
While Lynn White’s 1967 article, The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis, ignited a firestorm of controversy regarding the relationship between religion, particularly Christianity, and the environment, the testing of White’s hypothesis, that Christians are anthropocentric and anti-environment, has produced results that are significantly less clear. Additionally, little research has been conducted with experts in the field of Christianity, the clergy, adding to already significant gaps in the literature. The current research study helps fill that gap by providing the perspective of clergy on the relationship between Christianity and the environment. This qualitative study uses in-depth interviews to assess the topics of importance to members of the clergy within the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan region as well as their professional perspective of the relationship between religion and the environment. The results indicate that community is of great importance to leaders of faith-based organizations, but stewardship is also a primary foundation of the church. While no support was found for White’s hypothesis, a willingness to learn and a need for expertise on environmental issues was identified. In this regard, environmental professionals, specifically landscape architects, have been identified as the ideal group to provide the bridge between faith-based organizations and the environment.
ContributorsSamples, Samantha (Author) / Crewe, Katherine (Thesis advisor) / Cook, Edward (Committee member) / Hagen, Bjoern (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019