Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Jason Brody / There are six square miles of vacant land spread throughout Downtown Kansas City unkempt and untouched for the fear of what may exist in the soil, air, and water and the consequences that come with it (COR Team 2010, EPA 1997). Not developing the vacant/underutilized land causes more harm than good for the city, the locals, and the environment. It costs the city loss of tax revenue (Holt 2002). It hurts locals’ property values and possibly health. It inhibits the environment’s functions with potential toxins. By activating vacant/underutilized land through phytoremediation and redevelopment, it can meet the needs of the projected population growth in the next 30 years, accommodate the Rock Island Corridor, and dissolve any threats of contamination. With the threat of possible contamination on the vacant/underutilized land, surrounding properties, and industrial properties within the culturally rich Jazz and Crossroads districts downtown, phytoremediation is used as a continuation of the Rock Island Corridor’s linear park system and transit in the city context while allowing for redevelopment. The strategy examines regional to site specific strategies where phytoremediation is used to connect people to the environment, contain contaminant-producing places, and counteract contamination from new development. The development serves as a model for Kansas City to use the Rock Island Corridor to control site-specific problems as a catalyst for redevelopment of districts to solve large-scale issues through the use of phytoremediation. Phytoremediation allows for light contaminant production industries to remain functional and rely on phytoremediation to clean some of the waste to prevent excessive clean up in the future. With the help of the phytoremediation and development, it allows for us to understand how phytoremediation works while preventing sites from becoming vacant/underutilized urban areas for the betterment of the community as a proactive strategy to prevent brownfields. Phytoremediation supports sustainable preventative/remediation strategies while catering to community needs such as redevelopment along Rock Island Corridor and Common Line, multi-modal transit, Metrogreen, character of place, and city life. It blends site suitability with community needs, while creating a cleaner more efficient environment that is aesthetically appealing.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Huston Gibson / In many urban redevelopment discussions, people often refer to a catalyst as the impetus for redevelopment. Unfortunately, no standard definition of an urban redevelopment catalyst exists, so liberal use of the term catalyst persists. As distinguished in Dr. Timothy Chapin’s dissertation, Urban Revitalization Tools: Assessing the Impacts of Sports Stadia at the Microarea Level, the impacts of sports stadia (widely considered catalysts) are often overstated. In order to have valuable arguments over the impacts of presupposed catalytic activities, we need to understand the defining characteristics of an urban redevelopment catalyst and utilize a consistent process for examining them. This study identifies these characteristics and develops a methodology from which others may study catalysts. Included in the study are both narrative and tangible evidence from which researchers may decipher catalytic characteristics and events. In order to explore this analytic method, a case study was necessary. The revitalization of Washington Avenue (in downtown St. Louis, Missouri) provided an excellent opportunity to implement and test the process. Washington Avenue went from decrepit in the early 1980s to receiving the honor of being a Great Street by the American Planning Association in 2011. By delving into the developmental history of Washington Avenue, the process verified urban redevelopment catalytic characteristics, the methodology and the presence of small-scale urban redevelopment catalysts. From these findings, (coupled with a preexisting, dominant discussion focused large-scale catalysts) we see the value of small, organic development. The study prompts further exploration of urban redevelopment catalysts, especially in regards to smaller catalysts. It also suggests a new line of thinking for urban redevelopment dynamics, thus guiding future research to focus on understanding the processes of urban redevelopment.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Blake Belanger / This master’s project and report examines the correlation between social inequity and vacancy to develop a phased revitalization strategy for Raytown, Missouri. The perception of vacant built landscapes cause people to interpret places as having no productive use (Corbin 2003). Vacant spaces appear void of opportunities and are fueled by a capitalist society where markets move toward the urban fringe in order to remain competitive (Fainstein 2010). Vacancy creates a cultural response that “erodes the local social fabric, [signifying] the ills of neglect, [and] communicating to people the futility of inner-city living” (Jakle and Wilson 1992, 175). As a result, people passing through a community dismiss these vacant spaces because what they see is a place of little value. The perception of vacancy can lead to severe social inequity as society’s affluent members move from inner-city cores. Economic viability and the overall quality of life begins to decrease. Building on the Creating Sustainable Places Initiative for the Kansas City region and planning efforts for redeveloping the currently unused Rock Island Rail Corridor, this project explores how vacant built landscapes within Raytown’s Central Business District can be reprogrammed to establish place identity. Through critical mapping, key equity dilemmas at the metropolitan level are brought forth to identify issues that can be addressed through corridor redevelopment in Raytown. Mapping vacancies in the Raytown CBD identifies current vacant parcels. Together, the identification of vacant parcels with parcel size indicates primary redevelopment sites that can readily support higher density development in anticipation of a potential rail transit system. Using a phased approach, temporary design solutions regain public interest in the community, while working to develop mixed-use neighborhoods, pedestrian oriented streetscapes, and improved open space amenities at future build out. Strategies at each phase provide opportunities for community gathering and living choices that accommodate a variety of people. Studying social inequity and vacancy allows landscape architecture professionals the opportunity to better understand this phenomenon and promote community revitalization through the creation of welcoming places for all people.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Jae Hong-Kim / The concept of Live-Work-Play has grown in popularity in the field of planning, as various strands of the planning literature increasingly have highlighted the potential benefits of providing places to live, work, and play in close proximity. This study explores the theoretical foundations of the Live-Work-Play concept and discusses its effectiveness as a strategy for creating vibrant urban areas by reforming the spatial arrangement of the built environments. More specifically, the present study empirically examines how the segregation or the mixture of places to live, work, and play may create differences in terms of growth, inequality, education, the built environment, and transportation by analyzing the Boston metropolitan region as an example. The empirical analysis with the use of census tract level socio-economic data shows that the Live-Work-Play mixes can encourage more desirable travel patterns, while the mixes may not significantly promote growth in small areas. However, the analysis also revealed racial and income inequalities exist in the provision of the mixes in the Boston region. These findings suggest planners carefully should consider the equity issues when adopting the Live-Work-Play concept and providing its potential benefits.

xi, 63 p. : ill. (some col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Walking, bicycling, and other modes of active transportation can be utilitarian modes of personal transport, but barriers exist that limit the ability of groups of people to use these modes. This research looks at the walking and bicycling behaviors and attitudes of residents of suburban multifamily housing, a housing type identified in previous literature as needing research. Particularly, the roles of pedestrian route distance and directness as well as physical route characteristics are explored in their effects on walking and bicycling behavior. Results show that both the pedestrian network distance and major arterials are significantly correlated with a person's mode choice. Recommendations include increasing density around suburban commercial centers and encouraging pedestrian and bicycle connections between developments to limit arterial interaction. / Committee in Charge: Nico Larco, Chair; Dr. Marc Schlossberg; Dr. Kathryn A. Lynch

The purpose of this study was to determine the differences between industrial and municipal executives' practices and perceptions toward the administrative requirements of a water pollution control system as set forth in a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. This was a descriptive study that utilized a two-part attitudinal survey designed to obtain the perceptions of the executives (N = 171) of all major industries and all major municipalities in the State of Tennessee who had direct responsibility for the administrative requirements of an NPDES permitted water pollution control system. Descriptive statistics were used for the analysis of data with the chi-square formula used for the analysis of the study's three hypotheses. The descriptive analysis of the three hypotheses resulted in the following findings and conclusions: (1) There was no significant difference in what principal executives perceived was the most important administrative requirement of the NPDES permitted water pollution control system ($\chi\sp2$ = 1.44, df = 2). Both categories defined operational problems as the most important administrative requirement. (2) There was a significant difference in what principal executives perceived were the important water quality designated uses achieved by the facility water pollution control system ($\chi\sp2$ = 12.80, df = 6). Industrial respondents perceived "protection of fish and aquatic life" as most important, while municipal executives perceived "domestic and industrial water supply" as most important. (3) There was no significant difference in what principal executives perceived was the direct motivation for the water pollution control system installation, operation, and maintenance ($\chi\sp2$ = 1.65, df = 2). Both categories perceived environmental motivation as the most important reason for the NPDES permit administrative requirements. These findings supported the Clean Water Act regulatory program national objective to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters" (Arbuckle, Frick, Hall, Miller, Sullivan, & Vanderver, 1983, p. 83). The major municipal and industrial facility executives in Tennessee were in agreement that their systems were effective in achieving compliance with the administrative requirements of the permit. The researcher recommended future research to identify specific problems resulting from the administrative requirements of the NPDES permit and replications of the study nationally.

abstract: A right to the city is a human right that is overlooked in American cities. Cities reflect humanity in collective form, but are manipulated by the powerful at the expense of the powerless. Landscapes of cities tell the city's stories, as historical inequalities become imprinted on the city's physical and symbolic landscapes. In Detroit, Michigan, over forty square miles of the city are vacant, unemployment might be as high as fifty percent, and the city has lost about sixty percent of its population since the mid-1950s. Detroit must now solve its spatial problems in the context of depopulation; the city's planners, nonprofits, and scholars are now debating "planned shrinking" or "right-sizing." Simultaneously, a blooming arts scene is also slowly revitalizing parts of the city. This thesis will critically examine the possibilities of planned shrinking and the arts movement in Detroit, as well as suggest theoretical explanations for the city's dilemmas. Detroit has been the subject of a myopic popular narrative, one that isolates the city from modern America rather than critically examines its place in modern America. Redefining regional healing through honest discourse and developing a more appropriate narrative for Detroit are among the solutions proposed. Finally, the importance of establishing a human right for the city is discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Social Justice and Human Rights 2011

abstract: Sustainability research and action in communities should be holistic, integrating sociocultural, biogeophysical, and spiritual components and their temporal and spatial dynamics toward the aim of co-creating thriving living systems. Yet scientists and practitioners still struggle with such integration. Regenerative development (RD) offers a way forward. RD focuses on shifting the consciousness and thinking underlying (un)sustainability as well as their manifestation in the physical world, creating increasingly higher levels of health and vitality for all life across scales. However, tools are nascent and relatively insular. Until recently, no empirical scientific research studies had been published on RD processes and outcomes. My dissertation fills this gap in three complementary studies. The first is an integrative review that contextualizes regenerative development within the fields of sustainability, sustainable design and development, and ecology by identifying its conceptual elements and introducing a regenerative landscape development paradigm. The second study integrates complex adaptive systems science, ecology, sustainability, and regenerative development to construct and pilot the first iteration of a holistic sustainable development evaluation tool—the Regenerative Development Evaluation Tool—in two river restoration projects. The third study builds upon the first two, integrating scientific knowledge with existing RD and sustainable community design and development practices and theory to construct and pilot a Regenerative Community Development (RCD) Framework. Results indicate that the RCD Framework and Tools, when used within a regenerative landscape development paradigm, can facilitate: (1) shifts in thinking and development and design outcomes to holistic and regenerative ones; (2) identification of areas where development and design projects can become more regenerative and ways to do so; and (3) identification of factors that potentially facilitate and impede RCD processes. Overall, this research provides a direction and tools for holistic sustainable development as well as foundational studies for further research. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Sustainability 2019

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