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.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Larry L. Lawhon / Affordable housing is an important component of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) because it provides lower income households the option to live an automobile-free lifestyle. A TOD, for this research, can be defined as a development located next to a transit line which provides small-scaled amenities and pedestrian activities. It also integrates a mix of uses, such as residential, retail, and public uses. This report focuses on the residential portion of TOD by identifying the importance of affordable housing in Transit-Oriented Development. In order to explore affordable housing in TOD, a case study was conducted of an existing TOD in the Denver metropolitan region. This TOD, known as the CityCenter Englewood TOD, is specifically located in Englewood, Colorado. This report explores the policy decisions that Englewood made when deciding not to integrate affordable housing provisions into the development. The affordable housing situation in Englewood is rather complicated. A review of census data suggests that affordable housing is needed in the community, while community officials state that Englewood is contextually affordable compared to the Denver metropolitan region. The conclusion of this report identifies the characteristics of the Englewood community that portray little tangible need for additional affordable housing units in the year 2010. However, according to the “Best Practices” Study of this report, other TOD communities do show various levels of tangible need for a mixed-income environment.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Timothy D. Keane / Many small Midwestern towns established near a river thrived on industry and the transport of goods up and down the waterway. Unfortunately, industrial riverfronts that have acted as the heart of their communities have seen tremendous flux as time has progressed. In the past half century the economic activity of industrial riverfronts declined as more goods can be shipped via interstate highways and as factories are closed and relocated. These vacant factories leave behind contaminated brownfield sites which discourage reinvestment and promote greenfield development on a city’s periphery in agricultural lands. Citizens have turned their backs on a history and heritage from which the first cornerstones of their communities were laid. A void results as industry begins to fade from the riverfront and a town loses its connection to the river. Put simply, we have lost our riverfronts. The Riverfront Found Master Plan for Quincy, Illinois integrates the different uses of the riverfront, weaving together the existing industrial, recreational, and natural fabrics that line the Mississippi River. Design concepts strive to create a dynamic atmosphere to encourage a healthy lifestyle environment and destinations with year-round interest. Enjoyable and memorable experiences of Quincy’s riverfront encourage users to return as the negative community perceptions of the Mississippi River are reversed. Planning is inwardly focused to combat sprawl of the urban fabric. Decision-making remains sensitive to floodplain ecology and mindful of flood occurrence. Conservation is an important design response concerning riverfronts and requires understanding an intricate system regionally and locally. Education ties both conservation and site experience together as users remember how their city and culture are embedded in ecology. Three case studies identify key concepts to inform the project at later stages. A site inventory and analysis spanning three scales, regional, city, and site uncovers history and processes. The programming phase addresses proposed elements to address the concepts, ideas, and problems identified in previous steps. A final master plan presents the proposed program elements within context of the site to create a functional and dynamic riverfront for the citizens of Quincy.

Master of Science / Department of Architecture / David R. Seamon / This thesis presents a redesign of Kansas City’s downtown Government District, making use of the conceptual approach provided by Responsive Environments (1985), a manual for urban design written by architects Ian Bentley and Alan Alcock, urban designers Sue McGlynn and Graham Smith, and landscape architect Paul Murrain. “Responsive environments” are those urban places, the physical settings of which maximize usability and social value by offering a wide range of day-to-day user choices within close proximity. The authors of Responsive Environments identify seven hierarchical qualities—permeability, variety, legibility, robustness, visual appropriateness, richness, and personalization—that are said to be vital in creating responsive environments within the city. Through a literature review and critique, chapters 1 and 2 of the thesis overview Responsive Environments in terms of several major theorists of urban place making, including urban theorist Bill Hillier (1984), urban critic Jane Jacobs (1961), and urban designer William Whyte (1980). In turn, chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 investigate the practicability of Responsive Environments as an urban design approach by applying its three larger-scale qualities of permeability, variety, and legibility to the Government District, an existing urban area in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, presently underdeveloped in terms of environmental responsiveness and a strong sense of urban place. As a means to identify strengths and weaknesses of Responsive Environments, the last chapter of the thesis critiques the resulting Government District design. The thesis concludes that Responsive Environments is a valuable design approach that offers much for strengthening the quality of urban life and urban sustainability.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Ray B. Weisenburger / This research explores the challenges related to the visual image of a city situated in a developing country. Originated as the colonial capital of British India, Kolkata faces new urban challenges in the post colonial world. This report intends to answer questions of imageability of the city as relevant to the Third World countries. Empathizing on the issues of scarcity of land, traffic congestion, accumulation of the urban poor, inadequacies in infrastructure and the organic expansion of fluid city boundaries under the neo-ideological globalization and liberal economic policies – Kolkata faces a host of urban problems. Imageability of the city usually tries to define the positive image of a city. The question here is, should the notions of imageability be confined to cities that inherently have succeeded in maintaining an appealing public image or should it be applied to the potential qualities of visual appropriateness to cities that have historically remained unattractive? This research intends to explore the visual quality of an area surrounding the five point intersection at Shyambazar, Kolkata, India. This study will be based on a number of observations and the different visual analysis techniques applicable in critically analyzing the visual conditions of an urban street pattern of a megacity in India. The main objective of this study is to find an appropriate visual quality for Kolkata, a megacity in the tropics – considering various related factors like – historical significance, demographic trends, geographical and climatological influences, transportation pattern, existing land use, socio-economic structure and inherent or associated urban problems of planning in developing nations.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / Laszlo Kulcsar / Retirement age migration is not new. However, it has recently been garnering the attention of both researchers and local policy makers. Older migrants present the possibility of economic stimulus without creating additional pressure on the labor market. That said, a majority of works on retirement migration come to the same conclusions. Conventional theories state that older people move to places based on natural amenities and recreation opportunities. Further, these findings are often utilize a binary dependent variable based on whether a county has achieved a certain level of growth from inmigration of all people age 60+. I argue that this view is too narrow. Older age migrants move for a variety of reasons. These motives also vary across different age, sex, and race-ethnicity characteristics of the migrants in question. Further, not all counties that attract older migrants have bountiful natural or recreation amenities. Not only have these unconventional retirement destinations (URDs) had different historical trajectories, they also possess a different kind of amenities that appeal to older people who have relocated to the area. Finally, a focus on binary retirement classifications misses both diversity in retirement patterns and fails to explicitly account for the influence of space in county desirability. The goal of this work is to address these issues. First, I discuss the history and theories of retirement migration. Second, I develop models accounting for variation across older age migrant groups with varying demographic characteristics. Third, I identify and describe URD counties. Fourth, I present the results of a small-scale survey, community leader interviews, and a new model with additional variables to get at what other kinds of things should be labeled as “amenities.” Finally, I examine the role of space in migration research. My analysis demonstrates that there is much to be learned from looking at spatial models, micro-regional effects, and relative advantage between neighboring counties. Results indicate that conventional theories of retirement migration, while not necessarily wrong, are at least incomplete. The addition of diversity, new amenities, and space may greatly enhance our understanding of older age migration and migration research as a whole.