Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Timothy D. Keane / The purpose of the investigation was to inventory and analyze riparian corridor vegetation changes throughout the Black Vermillion watershed from approximately 1857 through 2007. Three sub-watersheds were studied; North Fork, Irish Creek and Black Vermillion Main Stem. Research questions investigated were: 1) What changes in riparian corridor width have taken place since the original territory surveys done in 1857 and why? 2) How has land cover adjacent to riparian corridors changed since the original territory surveys? 3) Has woody species composition in the riparian corridors changed? The research questions were addressed using a variety of techniques and tools including aerial photography, basic GIS, and vegetation survey techniques. Territory of Kansas survey maps and notes that were completed in 1857 were used as baseline reference conditions concerning corridor width and woody species present in the riparian corridors. Inventory and analysis of the riparian vegetation change over time and adjacent land cover will aid in understanding the present ecology of these riparian corridors and are important to stream and riparian ecosystem rehabilitation. Woody riparian corridors increased in width throughout the watershed from 1857 until about 1956 (probably due to a decrease in prescribed burning and lack of grazing), which is the pre-channelization period for this watershed. After channelization (late 1960's & early 1970's), average corridor widths dropped significantly as the stream was shortened a total of 15.8 miles (25.4Km). Most often, the land cover changed from native, tallgrass prairie to cultivated cropland or pasture. Woody species composition has changed over time from established mature woodland to a pioneer successional stage. The findings of this study can influence beginning stages of design for natural habitat rehabilitation purposes in this watershed. Design decisions for land rehabilitation purposes should consider reference conditions (historic), and to understand reference conditions we must study the history of land use and land change. This study provides a template for studying the history of land use and land use change of riparian corridors for Midwestern, agricultural landscapes.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / William P. Winslow III / This project is of a personal interest to me, because Junction City, Kansas has been my home town since birth. The city is a rapidly growing community with a strong military presence from nearby Fort Riley, Kansas. The project will explore the capacity for effective growth while preventing the degradation of fragile natural resources within the community. It will also provide new amenities for the people of Junction City as well as capitalize on the existing natural amenities. The project provides storm water management solutions for an existing retail development and a proposed mixed use development incorporating sustainable practices. Studying the history and progressive nature of Junction City provides an understanding of how to embrace the design within the surrounding landscape. A model for responsible mixed use retail and residential development in Junction City is provided through this project. Storm water best management strategies were also implemented to improve the oxbow wetlands by capturing the first flush storm event as well as a 25 year storm event. Finally, the project should continue to shape the history and enthusiasm of Junction City and its people.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Mary Catherine (Katie) Kingery-Page / It is estimated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that approximately 1 in every 88 children are diagnosed with some level of autism or various degrees of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (2012). Pervasive Developmental Disorders are commonly referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorders (and hereafter referred to as autism). Many children with autism have difficulty communicating, must cope with their disorder, and may need special considerations in the classroom. Needs of children with autism vary from child to child, but they all can benefit from environments that are designed with awareness of challenges and characteristics associated with autism. Schoolyards commonly contain asphalt, turf, and traditional play structures that do not take into consideration the needs of children with mental or physical disabilities. However, schoolyards can be designed to provide therapeutic benefits on these children without segregating them from the larger school community. In order to understand how a schoolyard might be designed as a therapeutic environment for children with autism the challenges, needs, and common therapies for children with autism must be understood. The characteristics of therapeutic landscapes for children must be considered in addition. After examining both therapeutic landscapes and the many facets of autism, the researcher applied lessons learned to the design of a schoolyard master plan for Amanda Arnold Elementary School in Manhattan, Kansas.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Blake Belanger / Sustainable landscape design is generally understood in relation to three principles—ecological health, social justice, and economic prosperity. However, people have neglected to recognize the significance of their impact on the environment. The real conflict begins to address our relationship with the environment and how we attempt to reconnect and reverse centuries of environmental degradation. As a society, we lie at the intersection of the past and the future, presenting us the opportunity to think organically. Harboring values much different from post-industrial thinking, organic values work with nature rather than against it. However, most contemporary processes are not organic in nature. Rather they are products of our isolated way of thinking; a limited form of consciousness that arrogantly declares that we are the greatest intelligence on Earth. This consciousness has taught us that for our survival, it is our duty to subdue nature, relating to it as a resource for implementing how and what our minds invent. We have learned to relate to nature as a commodity rather than respect it as our community. Infusion seeks to establish this connection by creating a Transit-Oriented Development in the Knobtown District that uses the power of aesthetics to promote and inspire educational exploration, cultural expression, and ethical revelation of sustainable design. Supporting this solution is a four-part foundational framework that identifies specific design principles that are envisioned to improve the way we relate to our environment through aesthetic eminence educational exploration, cultural expression and ethical revelation. The conceptualized framework is structured to be adaptable for many design situations becoming a foundation for the way in which we design and interact with form and space. In its final state, Infusion communicates the significance of these essential design principles and how the new Knobtown District can become an important part of the Rock Island Corridor.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Blake Belanger / Anticipating a thirty five percent population increase over the next thirty years, the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) developed the Creating Sustainable Places: A Regional Plan for Sustainable Development in Greater Kansas City (CSP) as a comprehensive strategy to guide the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Region (KC Metro) to grow sustainably into the future. The Rock Island Corridor (RIC) is one of six key corridors identified by the Smart Moves Regional Transit Vision Alternatives Analysis to be redeveloped with the first phase extending seventeen miles from Downtown Kansas City, MO to Pleasant Hill, MO. Phase one will include a mixed use trail and commuter rail line with the second phase planning to extend the mixed use trail to Windsor, MO; becoming the primary link between the KC Metro and the 238 mile long Missouri Katy Trail State Park. Reactivating the RIC, having zero gateways and untouched for thirty years, suggests the corridor communities will require a true collaboration to develop the gateways as destinations at the proposed commuter rail stations. Involving an artist(s) with the interdisciplinary professionals during the entire gateway development project will allow public art to be more successfully integrated into the proposal from the onset. Proposing collaborative gateway design process guidelines, with background information on public art and the collaborative process, will guide the corridor communities in creating a destination for the RIC and the individual communities “achieving the shared vision of creating more vibrant, connected and green centers and corridors” (MARC CSP 2011, 1). Raytown, Missouri is used as an example demonstrating the materials which should be discussed during the initial design meeting in the collaborative gateway design process between the Consultant Team and the Design Advisory Council. Thinking of the RIC as an alternative transit amenity, establishing a collaborative design process and a general understanding of its components will allow for a true collaborative process to develop a destination for the community, the RIC, and KC Metro. Including public art in the collaborative design process will encourage more community involvement, potentially fostering a greater sense of ownership in the gateway, and personal investment in the community; engaging the residents to establish the foundation for a sustainable community capable of developing socially and economically over time.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture, Regional and Community Planning / Stephanie A. Rolley / This paper presents a model which identifies areas in state parks most susceptible to recreation related degradation. Factors of soil capability class rankings, slope, native vegetation presence, rangeland productivity, visitation, and revenue are overlaid in a weighted raster model to extract those land parcels within Glen Elder State Park, Kansas, which have the highest susceptibility to environmental degradation and greatest potential to generate high revenue. Park user characteristics stored in an attribute table are related to vulnerable parcels so park managers can develop management or mitigation strategies reflecting the strength of environmental, social, or economic interactions in an area.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Stephanie A. Rolley / Landscape architects have the opportunity to compose a setting in which certain types of socialization may prosper by altering the environment to improve opportunities for socialization. Socialization, or interpersonal contact, is a primary determinant in the formation of individual characteristics and behavior. The experiences to which one is exposed contribute to personal development and are affected by environmental stimuli. The purpose of this thesis is to document the design process of a project that has enhancement of socialization as the primary goal. This study includes a review of the existing literature to determine the design elements that can improve socialization in the designed environment employing the theories of Randolph Hester (1975), Clare Cooper Marcus with Trudy Wischemann (1998) and William “Holly” Whyte (1980). These design elements are categorized by the types of socialization that they can facilitate: manifest, latent, and spontaneous interaction. Next, a case study of Spaights Plaza on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus was conducted to define the current socialization levels among university users. A new design addressing socialization elements was drafted, and a comparative analysis of the existing and proposed designs concludes the thesis.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Tim Keane / The multidisciplinary quality of green roofs involves landscape architects, architects, structural engineers, horticulturalists, and increasingly ecologists in design and implementation. A standard of measurement of green roof sustainability is necessary with increasing professional and public interest in green roofs and green roof impact on stormwater and urban ecology. Currently, green roof LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) credits do not address the sustainability of green roofs. The intent of this research is to take a critical look at green roof sustainability in regards to the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED green building standard credits. It is also my intent to be (at least) a small, yet integral part in advancing the LEED standards and environmental standards as a whole. Precedent studies, archival research and professional interviews provide a solid foundation for the development of green roof LEED credits to measure success and increase green roof sustainability. Dialog with the USGBC and professionals provide a sound base for the development of the green roof criteria.

Doctor of Philosophy / Environmental Design and Planning Program / Timothy D. Keane / The original purpose of this investigation was to develop streambank erosion prediction curves for Northeast Kansas streams. Rosgen's (2001, 2006) methods were employed and eighteen study banks were measured and monitored over a four-year period, summer 2007 through summer 2010. At each study bank, a toe pin and two to three bank pins were set at a recorded longitudinal profile station of the stream. Vertical and horizontal measures from the toe pin to the bank face were taken each summer, 2007 as the baseline measure and 2008 - 2010 as bank change years. Bank profiles were overlaid to gain insight into bank area lost or gained due to erosional or depositional processes. A Bank Erosion Hazard Index (BEHI) and Near Bank Stress (NBS) combination rating was assessed and calculated for each study bank during the initial survey of 2007. The streambanks experienced varied erosion rates for similar BEHI/NBS combinations producing R2 values from 0.43 as the High/Very High BEHI rating and 0.80 as the Moderate BEHI rating. In addition, Moderate BEHI ratings provided higher erosion rates than the High/Very High BEHI rating and curves intersected at lower NBS ratings, suggesting a discrepancy in the fit of the model used in the Northeast Kansas region and conditions. In this light, modification of the BEHI model was evaluated and variables were assessed in the model for additional influence exerted in the Northeast Kansas region. Vegetation seemed to provide the most influence to bank resistance and was more closely evaluated. Banks with and without woody riparian vegetation were then plotted against BEHI and NBS values, as banks lacking woody vegetation eroded at higher rates. This study's findings can allow us to calibrate the BEHI model according to woody vegetation occurrence levels along streambanks in the Black Vermillion watershed. Modifications regarding vegetation occurrence of the BEHI model was completed and the results of these modifications generated R2 values of 0.78 for High/Very High BEHI and 0.82 for Moderate BEHI ratings. High/Very High ratings provided higher predicted erosion rates than Moderate ratings, while the curve slopes did not intersect at lower NBS ratings.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Mary C. Kingery-Page / People often move through public transit space only recognizing the functional qualities. In such an environment we become faceless bodies moving through the landscape. As our environments become increasingly functional, so do humans—we cycle anonymously between work and home with little spontaneous interaction occurring in between. The daily routine is executed in nonplace: “Where once there were places we now find nonplaces. In real places the human being is a person. He or she is an individual, unique and possessing a character. In nonplaces, individuality disappears. In nonplaces, character is irrelevant and one is only the customer or shopper, client or patients, a body to be seated, and address to be billed, a car to be parked” (Oldenburg 1989, 205). The Maplewood light rail station in St. Louis County, Missouri is an example of nonplace. Although functional, the landscape lacks character. In order to combat nonplace sociologist Ray Oldenburg suggests that we cultivate third places—liminal spheres between home and work that facilitate informal social interaction. A major component of third place is user accessibility. Therefore, the ability to physically and mentally access public transit space will be investigated as a design dilemma. Through the reframing of physical and mental accessibility the Maplewood MetroLink station will evolve into a third place capable of supporting informal social interaction. In order to understand the factors influencing social interaction in public transit space, five precedents were examined using the Project for Public Spaces definition of “place.” Characteristics found to promote social activity include linkages, flexibility, imageability and social infrastructure. The factors were further defined as ‘mental’ or ‘physical’ accessibility which were then used to analyze the Maplewood MetroLink station. After examining physical and mental accessibility at the Maplewood MetroLink station, a design solution was proposed. The design encourages users to pause and interact with each other and the landscape in a highly mobile environment.