Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Stephanie A. Rolley / Much like designing golf courses, designing and building skateboard parks requires very specific knowledge. This knowledge is difficult to obtain without firsthand experience of the sport in question. An understanding of how design details such as alignment, layout, surface, proportion, and radii of the curved surfaces impact the skateboarder's experience is essential and, without it, a poor park will result. Skateboarding is the fastest growing sport in the US, and new skate parks are being finished at a rate of about three per day. Cities and even small towns all across North America are committing themselves to embracing this sport and giving both younger and older participants a positive environment in which to enjoy it. In the interest of both the skateboarders who use them and the people that pay to have them built, it is imperative that these skate parks are built correctly. Landscape architects will increasingly be called upon to help build these public parks in conjunction with skate park design/builders. At present, the relationship between landscape architects and skate park design/builders is often strained due to the gaps in knowledge between the two professions. This does not have to be the case. This thesis synthesizes information about skate parks into design guidelines for landscape architects. This information comes from: 1. A case study of the Kansas City Skate Plaza (a.k.a. Penn Valley Skate Park), involving skating of the park, video/photography, physical measurements, and site analysis. 2. Books, articles, movies, and websites concerning ethnography, landscape architecture, concrete construction methods, skate park and pool construction methods,landscape architecture for public spaces, and skateboarding/ skateboarding culture. 3. Interviews with landscape architects, skate park design/builders, and skateboarders. The intent of this thesis is to help landscape architects familiarize themselves in preparation for working with the skate park design/builders.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / John W. Keller / This report reviews pertinent knowledge regarding brownfield redevelopment, specifically the processes and issues involved. It addresses such topics as the type of brownfield sites, steps to remediation, types of remediation and barriers to redevelopment. Finally, a precedent study of Wellston, MO is presented. This study examines the impact that the development of two abandoned brownfield sites, Wellston Electrical Company and ABEX Foundry, had on the entire community. It was found that the onset of the development of these sites spurred the revitalization of the whole city of Wellston, having a positive influence across the city and surrounding area.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Claude A. Keithley / Smart growth has been offered as one potential solution to ease the strain that urban sprawl creates on cities from a social, economical, and environmental perspective. Simply put, smart growth means making smart decisions on the development and redevelopment of our aging cities. During a site visit to the low income housing community of New Columbia. Located in Portland, Oregon, a scorecard was used to analyze the smart growth components of the development. The scorecard had a maximum of 78 points and New Columbia received 73.5 points. Based on the scorecard rating, New Columbia appears as though it is meeting, and often times exceeding, almost all of the smart growth principles. It has successfully provided a mix of uses, a range of housing options (both price and style), enhances community character through design, is compact and transit-oriented, provides open space and supports environmental protection. This report serves as an analysis of New Columbia in Portland, Oregon, to determine if the initial intentions of the smart growth approach are truly being met four years after the completion of the project.

Master of Science / Department of Architecture / David R. Seamon / In this thesis, biomimicry is defined as imitating or taking inspiration from nature’s forms and processes to solve human problems (Benyus, 1997). As the design community realizes the tremendous impact human constructions have on the world, environmental designers look to new approaches like biomimicry to advance sustainable design. Building upon the claim made by biomimicry scientists that a full emulation of nature engages form, ecosystem, and process, this thesis uses a phenomenological approach to interpret human and environmental wholeness. Phenomenology broadens biomimicry’s scientific and technical focus on nature and considers how wholeness can be found among form, ecosystem, and process; and between people and environment. The thesis argues that, without a deeper, more responsive connectedness among people, nature, and built environment, any proposal for sustainable design will ultimately be incomplete and thus unsuccessful. In developing this phenomenological critique, the thesis reinterprets several environmental designs from the perspective of human and environmental wholeness: American architect Eugene Tsui’s hypothetical Ultima Tower; South African architect Michael Pearce’s Eastgate project in Zimbabwe; the Altamont Pass Wind Energy Development in California; Montana philosopher Gordon Brittan’s Windjammer wind turbine; American environmentalist David Orr’s Lewis Center at Ohio’s Oberlin College; and American architect Christopher Alexander’s Eishin campus in Japan. The collective claims developed in this phenomenological critique identify considerations and approaches that move beyond replacement technologies and systems to describe a way of environmental designing and making that is necessary for actualizing a more realistic sustainability in regard to both the natural and human-made worlds.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Richard Farnan / Redevelopment of the 18th and Vine neighborhood has long been a goal of community leaders in Kansas City. Through the redevelopment there is an opportunity to restore pride to an impoverished area once considered the center of black life in the city. During segregation the area around 18th and Vine was famous for its baseball, jazz, and nightlife. However, the area slowly fell into decay. Since the 1980s there has been a renewed focus on the redevelopment of the area with major additions including: museums, music clubs, restaurants, and space for retail. Difficulty in finding tenants for the new retail space has lead to an uncertainty about how to proceed with the development. Understanding the failure to attract retail space to the area is a potential guide for future successful development around 18th and Vine. Lessons learned from African American community development include the need to define the community accurately (Dorius 2009), utilize community organizations (Dorius 2009), encourage residential empowerment (Dorius 2009), create economic self-sufficiency (Moore 2005, Katz 2004), encourage middle class black migration (Sampson 2009), and limit the negative effects of gentrification (Kirkland 2008). These lessons along with information gained in the studies of Overtown in Miami, Florida and Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee were applied to the information about 18th and Vine identifying issues associated with redevelopment of the community. New design strategies and guidelines were developed utilizing the understanding of why the area around 18th and Vine decayed and why new development has thus far failed. A combination of socio-economic and physical strategies is needed to make more informed decisions about future development. The physical strategies are proposed as alternative frameworks of focusing on the core, expanding to the south, and expanding to the west.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Claude A. Keithley / Planning Support Systems allow planners to create alternative development scenarios to forecast a more accurate and precise future trend of development in their communities. The software What If?™ has been developed and introduced in the planning profession since its first release in the 1990’s. This report evaluates the software What If?™ based on the planning decision-making process. The report provides three aspects of evaluation: technical, empirical, and subjective. In addition, the paper will be also providing an overall understanding of the analytical capability of What If?™, and an overview of its operating procedures.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / John W. Keller / Form-based codes are gaining in popularity and provide a much needed and adequate alternative to more commonly used zoning regulations. Analysis shows the inadequacies and negative consequences that zoning regulations have created over the past 100 years of use within the United States. The focus being that traditional zoning regulations create undesired and unsustainable communities. A progression of form-based codes from their origins to the use of form-based codes today shows how they can be used to influence and shape the built environment. Further examination of the evolution of form-based codes reveals the guiding principles and elements of more modern codes. When compared to traditional zoning regulations, form-based codes can assist in designing a better quality built environment by creating more conscious, significant and sustainable places and spaces within our communities. By looking at current ways in which form-based codes are implemented we can begin to define best management practices and speculate on the future of form-based codes.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / John W. Keller / Rural communities are a vital part of America; they account for two-thirds of the land in the U.S. and are home to about one in every nine Americans. Throughout history, our country has been shaped by their presence and social, economic, and cultural influence (Flora et al., 2004). For over the past half century however, communities in rural America have been declining in size and population; in nearly 70% of the counties of the Great Plains, there are fewer people residing there today than there were in 1950. Furthermore, over the last half of the 20th century, residents living on farms in America have dropped by two-thirds (Mayer, 1993). These statistics indicate a drastic pattern of population loss among small town communities and farms throughout rural America, which is devastating because they [towns] ultimately depend on population to contribute to their industries, businesses, and local services in order to function and survive (Wood, 2008). Understanding the causes of rural decline is important in the field of planning; nevertheless, identifying statistical relationships and spatial patterns associated with rural decline is just as important. This research report is both an overview on rural decline, and a comparative analysis of rural decline amongst Kansas counties. The objective of this research report is to identify characteristics, patterns, and trends associated with rural decline, and to rank Kansas counties according to a list of variables which represent those characteristics for analytical purposes. The ultimate goal is to explain any spatial phenomenon associated with the variables and Kansas counties, as well as identify specific counties in Kansas most devastated by factors associated with rural decline. In order to determine which counties are most devastated by factors associated with rural decline, a numerical comprehensive comparative analysis will be conducted; the results of the analysis will serve as a side-by-side measure of rural decline among Kansas counties. It will also serve as the template for conducting the simulation and modeling research; ArcGIS 9.3.1 will be utilized in order display the characteristics, patterns, and trends of rural decline spatially among Kansas counties. The final maps will help serve to derive final conclusions on rural decline in Kansas.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Claude A. Keithley / This report examines what planners can do to increase healthy lifestyles within their communities by presenting development recommendations. In the beginning of the twentieth century the discipline of city planning was dedicated to stopping the spread of infectious diseases through improved sanitation and housing. Over the years planning separated from its origins in public health. Mobility and increased technology began to drive community development and planning, and our society created environments that devalue healthy lifestyles. A wide array of activities contribute to healthy lifestyles. Five characteristics have been shown to be the most promising in promoting health. They are regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, moderate alcohol consumption, not smoking, and a prudent diet. To achieve its purpose this report will explore the prevalence of adhering to healthy lifestyle characteristics and recount a brief history of community development that has contributed to decreased healthy lifestyle adherence. Through the review of past destructive practices and current initiatives to create healthy communities, a guide to community development for healthy lifestyles is laid out. This guide will allow communities to determine their location in the process of becoming a health conscious community and give them recommendations about what they can do to promote health.

Master of Arts / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Lee R. Skabelund / This report presents one approach for increasing understanding, appreciation and protection of watersheds by individuals living within the urban-to-rural lands interface. The purpose of the study is to provide guidance to developing and implementing a driving tour of environmentally sensitive land around Clinton Lake and the Upper Wakarusa Watershed (UWW). Although the tour is particular to the UWW, the principles will be useful to planners and watershed advocates working to promote water quality improvement in other geographic areas. A first step in increasing community involvement to restore and protect watersheds is developing a broader public understanding of what watersheds are and their integral part in daily life. By taking a driving tour (literally or virtually), participants can see firsthand how a watershed functions and the values it provides to people and ecosystems. Two key ingredients in the planning process are public participation and clearly defined goals. Public participation begins with awareness of an issue that impacts lives. The first step in engaging the public is to develop a framework for making residents aware that watersheds are a critical part of their environment and the health of their community. The driving tour of the Upper Wakarusa Watershed should help residents and visitors experience a “sense of place” related to the watershed by achieving three over-arching goals: Develop meaningful themes that engage the residents and visitors in learning about watersheds and give insight to their relationships with the watershed. Introduce concepts that are relevant to the lives of residents and visitors and their understanding of a watershed. Generate a stronger “sense of place” as it relates to the Upper Wakarusa watershed. The driving tour in this report has been designed to serve as a broad blueprint for future implementation. The route was devised to take advantage of area resources, especially those on public land, while adhering to guidelines proven successful in promoting rural areas such as the Flint Hills and Cheyenne Bottoms. The actual implementation of the Upper Wakarusa Watershed Driving Tour is expected to be led by local coalitions, and the precise route should be adjusted as necessary.