Landscape Architecture Master's Projects

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Browsing Landscape Architecture Master's Projects by Subject "Adaptive reuse"

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    Transforming Cemeteries: A Framework for Enhancing Ecosystem Processes and Human Uses In Formerly Rural, Urban Cemeteries.
    (University of Oregon, 2016) Tromp van Holst, Katherine
    The purpose of this research is to document the operational elements used to effectively adapt formerly rural, urban cemeteries into more multi-functional urban open spaces, with expanded ecosystem and passive recreation functions. The goal is to create a transferable framework to guide the process of adaptation of these cemeteries into community open spaces that support ecosystem processes. This project has two motivations: 1) the urban planning problems of inadequate quantities of public open spaces in some cities, and 2) some planners and property owners viewing formerly rural, now urban cemeteries as liabilities due to a lack of perpetual care or the occurrence of anti-social activities. The method documents the successful adaptation of Eugene Masonic Cemetery, and compares and contrasts it with the Eugene Pioneer Cemetery. Findings show how the Eugene Masonic Cemetery site was transformed from an underused liability to a well-loved community open space, and what elements of its adaptation can be included in a broadly transferable framework to help other communities reach similar goals. Specifically, the research shows how, through sociocultural and biophysical interventions, exotic invasive plant species were replaced with a robust native shrub layer, and how this process improved the cemetery’s appeal and the perception of care within the adjacent community. The processes used to transform the Eugene Masonic Cemetery, and those used maintain and manage the Eugene Pioneer Cemetery, inform the framework for urban cemetery adaptation. This transferable framework can guide managers through the processes of evaluating sociocultural and biophysical conditions, determining desired future conditions, and determining how to progress from the present to desired future conditions through the collaborative creation and implementation of a management plan.