This study has examined opportunities for reclaiming industrial brownfield sites for the communities that surround them, recreating derelict sites as community-oriented spaces that increase understanding of and restore pride in industrial and cultural heritage.The study consisted of two primary components. The first phase consists primarily of an exploration of the linkages between landscape/urban design and industrial heritage. This phase also examines and evaluates various design projects that have attempted to celebrate industrial heritage through the adaptive re-use of former industrial sites. The second phase of the study consists of the development of a master plan for the transformation of a derelict industrial site to a community space that interprets and celebrates industrial heritage. This phase includes researching the industrial heritage of Muncie, selecting an appropriate project site within the city, and developing a master plan for the reclamation of an industrial site by the community.A layered design strategy was developed for the selected site, with the end result being a master plan for a new public park. The three elements of the design strategy included industrial heritage, adaptive reuse, and improvements in the surrounding community. / Department of Landscape Architecture

During this creative project rationale, developed from scientific fact, community needs and the values inherent to the student was utilized as the foundation for decisions associated with the development of a campground facility for Prairie Creek Reservoir. Comprehensive and site specific problem-solving methods were used to form a broad overview of the park and recreation planning and design procedures available to landscape architects.At the comprehensive scale, a survey was conducted to assess the community need for the camping experience. An inventory of existing camping opportunities available to the residents of Delaware County was used, in conjunction with the survey results and recreation standards, in a supply/demand equation to determine the number and the type of camping facilities needed to meet present and future demand for the camping experience. The concept of camping at Prairie Creek Reservoir Park was viewed in this light.Site scale investigations began with the establishment of user and resource criteria. Natural, cultural and economic data were collected from the landscape contained within, and immediately surrounding, the property leased by the Muncie Park Board at the Prairie Creek Reservoir site. This information was analyzed in accordance with the design criteria to produce a series of computer generated maps. The student identified alternative campground sites within the site with the help of these visual aids. The campground site, best meeting the user needs and resource capabilities, was selected and a series of development proposals for the campground facility was prepared. / Department of Landscape Architecture

The processes by which urban areas come to be and evolve create outdoor spaces that experience different uses and have different characteristics over a period of time. For example, a space previously used for industrial purposes may presently be used as a community park. In some cases, a significant area of land may become a kind of leftover or remnant space whose uses are unclear, undefined, or unprogrammed, but exhibits natural characteristics. The purpose of this study is to utilize one of these natural remnants, Marott Park, in the cultural arts district of Broad Ripple in Indianapolis, Indiana as the basis for a design effort that provides access to the site while retaining both its site-specific and contextual characteristics. The intent of this effort is to enhance the community/pedestrian recreational, educational, and cultural experience through a detailed design for a portion of Marott Park. A set of recommendations also addresses the potential for connections between the site and other features such as existing open space, schools, and cultural features in the Indianapolis area. / Department of Landscape Architecture

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In May 1906, Wonderland Amusement Park opened its gates on East Washington Street in Indianapolis to reveal its 125-foot tall “Electric Tower,” a tree-top “Scenic Railway,” and dozens of other thrilling and fantastical attractions. Indianapolis now had a Coney Island of its own. Even more amazing, by the end of the month, two more Coney-Island-style amusement parks had opened in the city. This thesis examines three Indianapolis parks: Wonderland Amusement Park, White City Amusement Park and Riverside Amusement Park and their impacts on the city of Indianapolis in the first years of the twentieth century.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In 1911 Dr. Robert W. Long gave a gift of real estate to the state of Indiana and stipulated that the sale of the property would fund a teaching hospital for the Indiana School of Medicine. The state senator who sponsored the hospital bill suggested placing the proposed hospital within the boundaries of Military Park, the city’s oldest park. Indiana University trustees agreed, which led to Indianapolis Mayor Samuel Lewis Shank’s angry denunciation of the proposition as “one of the greatest outrages” proposed in recent years in Indianapolis. Three interested camps formed over the location of what became known as Long Hospital: the Indiana University trustees, who approved of placing the hospital in the park because of its proximity to downtown Indianapolis; lineage societies and veterans, who touted the park’s historical significance as a nationalistic message to all residents; and the state and city governments and local civic organizations, who promoted the health benefits of public parks and playgrounds. Through open debate, particularly in Indianapolis’ newspapers, each position supported Progressive era reform attitudes towards the use of civic space in terms of its relationships to public health, social morality, and nationalistic values.