Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Jason Brody / Community leaders have substantial interest in fostering the local cultural economy as the arts attract both businesses and residents. Because art and creativity are regarded as spontaneous, organic processes, most researchers recommend planning initiatives that capitalize on a community’s existing cultural economy rather than producing contrived elements of creativity. One strategy that fits the framework of such recommendations is the concept of cultural district development. These districts typically evolve naturally to some extent, due to pre-existing urban form and cultural activities. Because this revitalization strategy does not demand large public investments, it is attractive to public leaders. However, revitalization strategies may have unanticipated results at the detriment to those “urban pioneers” who initially improved the area and catalyzed the districts’ reinvestment. While such districts rely on the collaborative efforts of community members, local governments and public organizations can play a pivotal role in allowing them to address such threats with effective policies. This master’s report investigates the process and effects of cultural district development through a case study of the Crossroads Arts District in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. This illustrates how this particular district evolved, why and how planning initiatives formalized the district, what processes and players were involved, and the resulting changes to the area. As the Crossroads Arts District is becoming increasingly formalized, this report will explore the past, present, and future of the neighborhood with insights drawn from interviews and supplementary historical document review. Through a case study of planning activities, through the scope of cultural district development, this report illustrates the organic nature of creative synergy, the importance of community associations, the relationship between the arts and revitalization, the role of public planning in addressing citizen needs, and the dynamic character of communities.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Lee R. Skabelund / Inner city areas of many major American cities have fallen victim to “urban decay.” In many instances the result is abandonment. Nevertheless, the inner city can be redeveloped by landscape architects and others to provide a place to live, work, learn, and play while displaying sensitivity to the environment. Such developments can be wisely designed by following planning/design guidelines that follow sustainable design principles. The neighborhoods of the 5th Ward in St. Louis, Missouri are the victims of an aging industrial city. Many neighborhoods are troubled with socio-economic problems such as unemployment, low housing values, lack of educational services, scarcity of fresh, reasonably priced food, and elevated crime rates. The socio-economic problems listed above have been major factors in extensive depopulation and disinvestment since the mid 20th-century. “Today, as never before, conditions are ripe for parks to reenter the urban planning agenda. This opportunity exists because so much inner-city land that was once actively used now lies fallow and can be reused for intelligently planned parks, because so much suburban land has been developed without adequate public open space that there is now a huge suburban constituency to support park development, and because so much undeveloped land is now subject to recently enacted legislation intended to protect the environment.” (Garvin 1996, 30) The overall goal for this project is to create a productive uses for the 5th Ward’s vacant land in order to encourage economic and social growth. This can be achieved through investments in urban agriculture and accessible community space. This project serves as a potential solution for renewal of lost urban community infrastructure that includes parks and agricultural cropland. Implementing recreation and urban agriculture on vacant land could help spawn a rebirth and sustain a vibrant and economically-viable community fabric.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture,Regional and Community Planning / Blake Belanger / Resilience theory provides an approach for landscape architects to analyze systems and design adaptive environments. C.S. Holling created the theory in response to changing social-ecological systems (Holling 1973). Resilience is the ability of a system to adapt to disturbances and remain in the same state (Walker and Salt 2006). This report proposes a framework that applies resilience to site analysis. The goal of the Resilience Analysis Framework is to help designers address expected and unexpected threats to human well being on a global and local scale. The framework was created by synthesizing findings from a literature review and expert interviews. A literature review based the framework in theory. Interviews with professionals working on the Rebuild by Design (2013) competition grounded the framework in professional practice. The goal of the Rebuild by Design competition was to develop resilient solutions to the changing environment. Synthesizing findings from the literature review and expert interviews resulted in a five part framework. The five parts are: Stakeholder Engagement, System Description & Goal Establishment, System Analysis, System Report, and Prioritization. Stakeholder Engagement is a process that occurs throughout each part of the framework. It includes education, data collection, reporting, and feedback. The System Description & Goal Establishment part describes the basic properties of a system and establishes goals for the future of those properties. System Analysis is an in depth evaluation of the factors determining a system’s level of resilience. The System Report synthesizes the important information from the System Description & Goal Establishment and System Analysis parts. Prioritization performs the essential task of focusing a project by identifying high priority systems. The goals (from the System Description & Goal Establishment and System Analysis parts) for the high priority systems determine the primary goals for the project. These goals inform decisions during the site analysis/strategic planning phase of the design process. The framework was applied to Washington Square Park in Kansas City, Missouri. This application provided an example of how to apply the framework to a park analysis. This report’s main finding was a framework for building evidence to make resilient design decisions.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional and Community Planning / Jason Brody / This report acts as an independent study which contributes to the author’s participation in the 2012-2013 Kansas City Design Center planning and urban design studio. The project focuses on Independence Avenue in Kansas City, MO, the commercial and transportation backbone of seven neighborhoods, collectively known as Northeast Kansas City. Residents of these neighborhoods place great value in the “diversity” which exists in their neighborhoods, and have made it clear that this should be encouraged as a major part of the Northeast’s identity. This inspired the author to pursue a deeper understanding of the idea of diverse neighborhoods, how they fit into the “sustainable development” consciousness, and ultimately how one can plan and design for neighborhood diversity. The resulting study consisted of two levels of analysis. First, analyzing the mixture of age, sex, household type, race, and income level at the regional, city, and neighborhood scale, in order to understand what social diversity means in the Kansas City context, and define how diverse Northeast Kansas City neighborhoods are. The second was an analysis of conditions in the built environment. Using the Scarritt Renaissance and Lykins neighborhoods, and a common commercial district/social seam between the two as a case study, the author intended to analyze how successful or unsuccessful the typical Northeast neighborhood is at encouraging diverse populations. Ultimately, these analyses yielded two main conclusions. The first is that neighborhood diversity means drastically different things depending on how you define and measure the term. The second is the notion that social seam commercial districts are a unique spatial typology, which requires special design consideration, and can be most catalytic to setting the tone for future growth. Finally, the author concludes with the idea that one cannot necessarily plan or design for diverse neighborhoods, but they can do so in ways which empower diversity, and be conducive to things which support diverse neighborhoods. However, the built environment only makes up a portion of the things which influence neighborhood diversity, requiring an involved and invested community who values social diversity in their neighborhood.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Howard Hahn / Since 2005, local jurisdictions have been required to prepare hazard mitigation plans to maintain eligibility for a number of disaster-related federal grant programs. All types of communities prepare these plans, high-risk coastal communities and low-risk Great Plains communities alike. Research, both current and historic, has found hazard mitigation plans have a number of weaknesses, ranging from weak fact bases to weak mitigation actions. The purpose of this study is to explore how this research can be used to prioritize enhancements to hazard mitigation plans in growing rural counties, referred to as urbanizing rural communities, which have limited staff and resources. Specifically, Pottawatomie County, Kansas was the focus of this study. In order to prioritize enhancements, the current issues and challenges related to hazard mitigation were explored through interviews and assessing the quality of hazard mitigation plan documents. Based on the outcome of this initial analysis, plans of comparable communities were explored to identify a range of policies and methods that could be used by Pottawatomie County. Finally, these policies and methods will be prioritized based on the level of enhancement and resource requirements. This study found two possible directions for plan improvements: a combined response/mitigation planning process for a single county and strategies for participation within a regional planning context. The interviews with Pottawatomie County staff reveal an opportunity to combine phases of the emergency management cycle to boost interest and participation. The interviews also revealed a statewide shift to a regional planning process. This shift, while presenting new opportunities, will require Pottawatomie County staff to be more active and engaged to ensure the resulting regional plan will be beneficial to the county.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Hyung-Jin Kim / What makes a city a place people love and want to live is the essence of livability. Livable cities are places where people can delight in a high quality of life. College towns are great places to live because their universities function as a cultural wealth and an economic anchor for the city. Using Manhattan, KS and Kansas State University (KSU) as a case study, this study utilizes a survey as an instrument to investigate the possible correlations and patterns between the perceived quality of life of permanent residents of college towns and their degree of interaction with their university’s campus. Using statistical analyses of this data, this study explores the relationships between a higher quality of life in Manhattan and a higher interaction with KSU. As well, it seeks to find what aspects of university interaction have the most impact on quality of life, if there are any shortfalls in quality of life in Manhattan, and if the university can play a role in the strategy to mitigate for these shortfalls. In this, town-gown relationships give insight to creating more livable cities as a whole.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional & Community Planning / Mary Catherine (Katie) Kingery-Page / There is currently a dearth of planning literature concerning participatory processes relative to children, particularly in the planning and design of schoolyard or playground spaces. Through a local, place-based, participatory approach emphasizing local knowledge and active listening, this master's report seeks to confirm the value of children in the planning and design of a schoolyard space. The study took place at the Northview Elementary School in Manhattan, KS comprising students as primary stakeholders, teachers/administrative staff as secondary stakeholders and parents as tertiary stakeholders. Additionally, the study employed Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s childhood cognitive development theories and five operational play categories in guiding the development of a learning landscape design aimed at supporting and maximizing cognitive development, physical activity and recreation. The report concludes with a set of five (5) recommendations designed to equip prospective researchers in undertaking participatory processes within school settings. The implication of this study is that sustained stakeholder engagement during planning and design processes of schoolyards will result in spaces reflective of the target audience.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional and Community Planning / Tim Keane / The City of Manhattan, Kansas has been subject to intense flooding in the last couple of years. Areas of the city, within the Wildcat Creek Watershed, have been adversely affected. The City of Manhattan and stakeholders from various walks of life are looking for solutions to alleviate flooding within the area. This Master’s Project looks into rainwater harvesting as one of the solutions to help reduce stormwater runoff and contribute to the alleviation of flooding within the Watershed. Rainwater harvesting is increasingly being recognized as an effective way to reduce stormwater runoff. The project explores the potential benefit of using a network of rainwater harvesting elements, namely rain barrels and cisterns supplemented by rain gardens and other infiltration methods to reduce runoff in the City of Manhattan, Kansas. To assess the benefit of using rainwater harvesting in the City, a neighborhood scale site was chosen and divided into land use types. Three phases were used to assess the impact and implementation of rainwater harvesting. Phase I calculates the volume of runoff generated from each land use type and how much of that runoff can be harvested from the rooftops. The values from the neighborhood scale analysis were then extrapolated to see the impact of rainwater harvesting on a larger scale. Phase II looks at the configuration of a rainwater harvesting system for the structures in each land use type and rainwater reuse options. Finally, Phase III looks at policies, regulations and incentives that can be employed by the City of Manhattan to help encourage rainwater harvesting. This Master’s project seeks to educate the City and its residents about the benefits of rainwater harvesting as a stormwater management tool and provide steps towards potentially using rainwater harvesting as a way to reduce runoff, and help alleviate flooding in the Wildcat Creek Watershed.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Jason Brody / The design of a transit-oriented development (TOD) is a major concern with regards to its functionality and prospects for success. The Truman Sports Complex in Kansas City, Missouri, home of two professional sports venues, has a unique location on a proposed transit corridor, the Rock Island. This corridor is planned to run between downtown Kansas City and suburban Lee's Summit. Therefore, the Truman Sports Complex site is a natural choice for a TOD. Building a TOD at the Truman Sports Complex will create a focal point on the Rock Island Corridor that connects Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums to downtown Kansas City and Lee's Summit via a regional transit system; bring together a diverse population through the creation of a walkable, mixed-use center located adjacent to the regionally known cultural institutions; and encourage new development around the junction of Interstates 70 and 435, a major transportation node in Kansas City, Missouri. This study, focusing on the design of such a project on this specific site, employs an extensive site analysis informing conceptual and specific planning ideas. It draws from a large body of literature and precedents, incorporating well established elements and principles into a new development that is both unprecedented in the Kansas City region and unique among TODs and sports-related districts. The main findings reveal the desirability of a strategy to develop on the existing parking surface of the Truman Sports Complex and reroute the Rock Island Corridor through the middle of the site so that it passes between the two stadiums. The final plan incorporates a mixed-use program, with retail, entertainment, offices, and apartments, into a variety of building types, including garden apartment buildings, low- to mid-rise mixed-use buildings, and high-rise towers, placed throughout the site in a compact, walkable grid pattern of streets. The significance of this project is that it can inform the Mid-America Regional Council, the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority, and other relevant stakeholders about the potential for developing on this site, and it demonstrates that a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly, large-scale transit-oriented development with a wide variety of program is both viable and desirable at the Truman Sports Complex.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Jason Brody / Transit-Oriented Developments (TODs) are an unprecedented typology in the Kansas City region, which predominately exhibits automobile-oriented development characteristics. The Truman Sports Complex in Kansas City, Missouri, home of two professional sports venues, has a unique location on a proposed transit corridor, the Rock Island, planned to run between downtown Kansas City and suburban Lee's Summit. Therefore, the site is a natural choice for a TOD. Building a TOD at the Truman Sports Complex will create a focal point on the Rock Island Corridor that connects Arrowhead and Kauffman Stadiums to downtown Kansas City and Lee's Summit via a regional transit system; bring together a diverse population through the creation of a walkable, mixed-use center located adjacent to the regionally known cultural institutions; and encourage new development around the junction of Interstates 70 and 435, a major transportation node in Kansas City, Missouri. This study employs extensive regional, market, and transportation analyses to inform specific planning and programming ideas. It draws from a large body of literature and precedents, incorporating well established elements and principles into a new development that is unique among TODs and sports-related districts. The project’s findings reveal that retail, multi-family housing, and office development at the Truman Sports Complex, supported by rail transit and strong tenants, would fill a void in regional business and population density close to downtown, and have the potential to be economically viable as a regional center through 2040. This research has also shown that in order to achieve the adequate density for pedestrian vitality on the site, high-rise development with limited single-family options is necessary. And perhaps the most important finding is that the rail line should be rerouted through the center of the site if Transit-Oriented Development at the Truman Sports Complex is pursued, in order to maximize the pedestrian-accessibility of land suitable to development and ensure that activity is concentrated around the stadiums. Overall, the significance of this project is that it can inform the Mid-America Regional Council, the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority, and other relevant stakeholders about the potential for developing on this site, and it demonstrates that a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly, large-scale transit-oriented development with a wide variety of program is both viable and desirable at the Truman Sports Complex.