A non-place is understood to be “a space which cannot be defined as relational, or historical, or concerned with identity“ (Augé, 1995, pp. 77-78). In the age of globalization, these spaces are becoming increasingly common, with roads being one of the most homogenized conceptions resulting from said movement. The travelling experience, however, is a significant element of the lived experience and contributes to the understanding of human existence. Therefore, it is important to evaluate how landscape architecture can be utilized to establish a sense of place in these oft overlooked spaces. Through literature review, background research, and site analysis, a site design is developed for Wellington Avenue, Winnipeg as a demonstration of how specific landscape architecture elements can be applied to a space in order to stimulate the travelling experience and place identity. / October 2016

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Mary Catherine (Katie) Kingery-Page / Human happiness is often overlooked in urban revitalization. Many studies have proven the benefits of regular exercise for overall health and happiness. Active transportation adopted as a major form of transportation has the potential to provide similar benefits. Wichita, Kansas, like many other mid-sized, American cities, prioritizes the car over the pedestrian. Currently, the plans for Douglas Avenue, the major thoroughfare, includes only minimal bicycle infrastructure, shared lane symbols (City of Wichita 2013). Lack of focus on the pedestrian and bicyclist only reinforces the auto-dominated downtown. Douglas Avenue is a missed opportunity and needs a re-envisioned strategy based upon current needs. I hypothesized that better understanding the lived biking experience of Downtown Wichita would help me to develop design recommendations that address current streetscape issues as they occur in daily life. This exploratory study documents the experiences of a small group of people who bicycle in or through downtown Wichita on a regular basis. First, participants recorded their experience visually and verbally by using GoPro cameras during a typical bike ride. Next, each participant reviewed their video with me, clarifying their comments and the overall experience. Dominant themes included: urban environment, bicycling infrastructure, road/traffic, safety and motorist behavior. The analysis of the bike rides and follow-up reflections were mapped over each participant’s route to reveal positive, negative, and neutral experiences categorized by theme. Final design strategies for selected areas (determined through analysis of experiences) were then produced based upon feedback and streetscape best practices. Bicyclists of Wichita are faced with many stressful situations during their daily routes. I have realized that downtown Wichita has more than a design problem to fix—an entire bicycle culture must be developed. I learned that while each participant was unique, they wanted the same things: safety, a pleasurable ride, and to be respected by motorists. Not all bicyclists’ needs can be answered through design; however, this proposal can help to create a safer and more pleasurable bicycling experience in downtown. An improved bicycle network provides humans with increased health, freedom to move, encourages and strengthens social connections, and provides a resilient form of transportation.

The middle landscape, more commonly referred to as Suburbia, has become spatially discontinuous, lacking the cohesive union, open spaces and city centers that once defined community. Presently, the middle landscape's community spaces do not offer the opportunity for familiar and chance encounters or ritual activity. Large-scale housing development in Northern Virginia and in the mid-Atlantic region is continually segregating and ultimately destroying community and all links to the area's history. Located in Southern Fairfax County, the newly abandoned Lorton Central and Maximum Security Prison Facility provides an opportunity to serve as a catalyst for community in this area. This thesis investigates the historic precedence for creating successful community centers. The author's personal investigation is focused upon using form and function to accomplish this vision. By adaptively reusing the existing architecture alongside new construction, the intent is to create a dense urban town center at the abandoned historic site. / Master of Landscape Architecture

When human constructs the physical surrounding, a psychological environment of meanings is being created, accompanying the world of shapes and masses. Interventions into built environment affect the meanings extracted from the composition of the physical setting and the response of people to design strategies reveals the importance of them. The entrance spine of a city is important in creating an image of the city in the minds of the observers, and the protocol highway of Ankara introduces the city to other countries&amp / #8217 / leaders and visitors. So any intervention into this highway will affect the symbolic image formed. As such, attaching claddings onto visible fa&ccedil / ades of buildings in terms of beautification changes the appearance of the streetscape, and Municipality&amp / #8217 / s approach to fa&ccedil / ade improvement does not heed the prestige of this corridor / being an application rather than a well-advised project. This thesis aims to study the quality of the streetscape under the principles of design in terms of objective and subjective dimensions with respect to the physical characteristics of the setting and people&amp / #8217 / s interpretations from it, and the objective of this study is to question the success of this intervention with regard to solutions to improve the quality of the streetscape. To this end evaluative analyses are studied in the second chapter and the third chapter introduces a matrix of design principles. According to these evaluations, most design concerns are being underestimated, resulting in the monotony of the streetscape but the streetscape appears to be visually more ordered compared to the past.