RSS 1.0Senior Capstones
ABOUT THE COLLECTION
The Senior Capstone is the culminating experience for Sustainable Built Environment majors involving a substantive project that demonstrates a synthesis of learning accumulated in the major, including broadly comprehensive knowledge of the discipline and its methodologies. It is intended to be a personalized experience in which a student explores a concept in-depth while incorporating the knowledge or investigative techniques learned during his or her undergraduate career. Students are encouraged to build upon their major Emphasis Area, internship, or a previously completed project or research topic for the starting point of their Senior Capstone experience.
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For more information, please visit: http://sbe.arizona.edu.
Recent Submissions
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Sustainable Climate Design(The University of Arizona., 2018-12-18)Sustainable climate design is one that is sensitive to the environment, energy consumption, human thermal comfort, and health & wellbeing. Several tools are used including a psychometric chart, sun dial diagrams, and 3D modeling to make design decisions. A design in Green Bay, WI a cold & humid climate, is analyzed to find sustainable design strategies that achieve this goal.
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ROUTE REPAIR: DESIGN CHANGES TO IMPROVE SAFETY AT MOUNTAIN AVENUE AND HELEN STREET(The University of Arizona., 2018-12)The intersection of Mountain Avenue and Helen Street in the city of Tucson, Arizona, lies at the end of a high use pedestrian and cyclist corridor. The intersection is located near the University of Arizona and is vital in facilitating walking and cycling connections to the university as well as the greater surrounding areas, including downtown Tucson. The intersection is currently unsafe and inefficient as a result of both design and location. This Thesis attempts to analyze and provide recommendations for potential design changes that would increase both vehicle levels of service and safety for all road users. A case study of successful cities and nationally recommended best practice design strategies was conducted to determine what features and infrastructure could be implemented to improve the intersection. It was found that safety infrastructure at intersections and connectivity between safe intersections were among the best practices for improved bicyclist and pedestrian safety. An application of these designs to the study intersection was explored with several alternatives offered. The application of left turn and straight through restrictions for automobiles proved the most promising design change. A significant increase in the level of service of the intersection was observed along with a 66% decrease in the number of conflict points at the intersection, a proxy for intersection safety. In conclusion, it is recommended that turning restrictions be implemented at this intersection to improve walking and cycling safety and connectivity in the greater university region of the city of Tucson.
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Adaptive Reuse as a Sustainable Solution(The University of Arizona., 2018-12)The scope of the research if focusing on how adaptive reuse of historic buildings satisfies the three pillars of sustainability. The implementation of adaptive reuse will reduce environmental impact, provide a place for communities to learn and interact with, and bring money into the local economy. The methodology for the study included an online survey, case studies, and literature reviews. This allowed the research to be unbiased and to obtain current research on the topic to figure out if there is a lack of knowledge on the topic. Case studies offer real-world examples of adaptive reuse in and their payoffs. The literature reviews provide information on the concepts and strategies that are involved with adaptive reuse. An online survey was conducted to grasp the general public’s knowledge of the topic. The purpose of researching adaptive reuse in historic buildings is to persuade people to restore a property for a new use rather than constructing a new building. This practice will be able to fulfill social, environmental, and economic sustainability in communities. The findings towards the research topic implied that more research and implementation of adaptive reuse in historic buildings need to be utilized to show the benefits as a sustainable solution.
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Blue Design: Fighting Food Deserts With Rainwater Harvesting(The University of Arizona., 2018-11-30)Food deserts are an increasing issue in the United States. Low-income areas within cities have little economic incentives for grocery stores, leaving the residence with little to no access to healthy foods. Schools within these food deserts have the ability to provide members of the low-income communities with these healthy foods. These foods can be sustainably grown with rainwater harvesting design and implementation. Tucson Arizona and its food desert locations were the focus area of this study. After generating the data on how much rainwater each school was able to collect in a given year, the amount of potential food produced was calculated for each school. The data and report provide the foundation for schools to build their rainwater harvesting and community farming programs upon. The results suggest that every school has the potential to at least supplement their daily diets with healthy foods grown on campus and watered with a sustainable source.
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Green Infrastructure and ArcGIS on the University of Arizona Campus(The University of Arizona., 2018-12)Climate change has led to an increase of destructive weather events around the world. This is a trend that is expected to continue in the coming decades. Because of this, making our cities more resilient and sustainable should be a top priority. However, realistically there are limited funds available to spend on improving our urban centers. We must find ways to be increasingly efficient and effective with the way we use our resources. This paper explores one way Arc GIS could play a role in analyzing data in order to decide where to prioritize spending. Green infrastructure is a cost effective and sustainable way to handle storm events. It allows water to be retained on site, rather than funneled through gutters. For this study, Arc GIS to create a density map of where green infrastructure currently exists on the University of Arizona’s campus, and then combining that with an NDVI analysis that reveals what areas are furthest away from existing green space. The resulting map shows what areas of campus are furthest from existing green infrastructure and greenspace, and are therefore in most need of additional green infrastructure. The area identified by the final map as having the most need is the north-west part of campus, by Park and Speedway. This same process could be applied at the scale of a city in order for city planners to make informed decisions on how to allocate their funds.
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Streetcar Track Risk to Cyclists: Education as a Solution(The University of Arizona., 2018-12-14)The study evaluates bike safety education as a solution to bike crashes involving Tucson’s Sun Link Streetcar Tracks. Bike crashes on streetcar tracks present a problem for public safety that is complex and unique. This study measures the effect of bike safety education on bike crash rates on the streetcar tracks. A survey was used to measure bike crashes on the streetcar tracks before and after the treatment was given. The first survey measured the number of bike crashes on the tracks in the past 8 weeks and randomly divided the treatment and control groups. The control group received no education. The treatment group watched a 3 minute bike safety video. After 6 weeks, a second survey measured the number of crashes on the streetcar tracks in both groups since. The crash rates were compared before and after the treatment and between the groups. The p-value of change in crash rate between the treatment and control groups is .2209. This means that there was not a significant difference between the two groups. The change in crash rates is not likely a result of the educational video. Part of the study is an index to measure the knowledge level of participants about bike safety, specifically as it relates to the streetcar. The index used answers to questions in my survey about experience, risk perception, formal education experience, and how to cross the tracks. This index could be helpful in future studies about bike safety education. While no relationship was found between education and bike crashes on the streetcar tracks in this study, future studies could find something else. If future studies find education effective, then treating the problem might mean a slight shift in bike safety education resources to be more oriented towards the streetcar tracks. If education is not effective, then we need our infrastructure and design standards to change to prioritize safety.
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Green Infrastructure and its Applications on the University of Arizona Campus(The University of Arizona., 2018-12)Cities all around the world are experiencing new challenges in the wake of climate change. In the United States the effects of climate change, coupled with failing infrastructure, are leading to major problems when it comes to flooding and storm water management. With the predicted increase and severity of storm events due to climate change, storm water mitigation is becoming an important task for planners, engineers, and landscape architects. Green infrastructure is emerging as a solution to these challenges where in place of traditional infrastructure multi-layered systems that mimic natural processes are being used to capture, treat and infiltrate storm water on site. This capstone examines the various components of green infrastructure design and how it can be utilized on the University of Arizona campus. This research, in addition to quantitative storm water calculations, have been used to inform the re-design of a site on campus using green infrastructure practices to mitigate flooding and capture storm water runoff. Through a carefully planned green infrastructure approach, the proposed design captures 90% of the storm water that falls in a 100-year, 60-minute design storm on site.
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Effective Strategies to Manage Underground Utilities and Urban Trees in Public Rights-of-Way(The University of Arizona., 2018-12)With more than 8.6 million lane miles of roads and adjacent right-of-way in the United States, it is easy to understand why the management of those public assets is of vital importance. Public rights-of-way serve a variety of critical functions including, but not limited to, freight transit, recreational travel, utility infrastructure corridors, alternative modes of transport, drainage elements, vegetation management, and aesthetic enhancement or beautification. This paper will explore the constraints encountered in managing these public spaces for such a variety of stakeholders. Through means of case study analysis, literature review, and interviews with industry experts, recommendations will be made for both technologies and practices being used to effectively manage competing interests in the public rights-of-way. Best Management Practices include preliminary utility identification, accurate mapping utilizing Subsurface Utility Engineering, design considerations including appropriate species, planting, irrigation and maintenance of urban tree forests, public policies that are multi-disciplinary and holistic in their approach, along with funding mechanisms that can be leveraged to support a thriving urban tree forest.
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Addressing Sustainable Management of Natural Resource Use: Coltan(The University of Arizona., 2018)The Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.) is home of Tin, Gold and Coltan which is extracted from tantalum (Ta) and is a key mineral in the production of cellular devices, laptops, aviation components and other electronics. With the mining practices having an effect on land, wildlife & biodiversity, government officials and industry leaders worldwide must adopt sustainable approaches and socially responsible policies and report on their implementations to assess impacts. The movement towards sustainable management of natural resources in the D.R.C. would require proposing organisations such as the United Nations Global Compact to take initiatives in aiming to encourage D.R.C.’s mining industries and coltan-using industries worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies.
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A Relative Look at Light Rail Systems and Property Values(The University of Arizona., 2018-12)The debate on whether or not Light Rail Systems have a net positive or negative on a surrounding areas property values has been a debate raging since the first implementation of the public transit systems themselves. This paper shall attempt to answer this question and do further research into which areas particularly in western culture, ranging from London to Portland and applying said findings to Phoenix, Arizona. Through this research it has shown that although small there does appear to be a positive correlation between the two separate entities. Building upon this a collection of data from Phoenix residents has been collected and shall be discussed as to gauge overall interest in the light rail system. This data may allow planners to understand the wants and needs for the community and in going forward with plans for the public transit systems may be able to systematically implement new expansion lines for the Phoenix Light Rail System.
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Wildfire and Land Cover Change in the Archipelago Mountain Ranges(The University of Arizona., 2018-12)This study analyzes 10 years (2001-2011) of land cover and wildfire data in the Sky Islands Region. The aim of this study is to produce visual models of land cover change in conjunction with human-caused wildfires. Research was conducted using data gathered from the National Land Cover Database, the USDA Forest Service and from wildfire.cr.usgs.gov. This information was spatially mapped using ArcMap. Land cover from 2001-2011 was evaluated as either a negative change, a positive change or a constant. Wildfire data was classified as either human-caused or naturally occurring. These two maps were used to compare and analyze the relationship between wildfires and land cover change.
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A Review of Alternative Building Materials in comparison to CMU: Hempcrete, Woodcrete , Papercrete(The University of Arizona., 2017-05)Buildings consume an extraordinary amout of our finite natural resources during their construction and operation. It is imperative we begin to examine more sustainably-produced materials to construct them, as well as lifecycle costs. Concrete is the most widely-used building material in the world, and aggregate forms the majority of its composition. The goal of this research is to compare building materials incorporating renewable aggregate—hempcrete, woodcrete, and papercrete—as alternatives to traditional concrete utilizing nonrenewable aggregates. Comparing and contrasting commercially-available, similar products helps identify feasible applications for these alternatives to concrete that may prove more responsible, sustainable, and cost-effective throughout a building’s lifecycle.
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Land Use for Photovoltaic Solar Electric System Siting Rating Metrics(The University of Arizona., 2015-12-04)Since solar electric power is becoming increasingly popular throughout the United States, there is some concern that this growth can have negative environmental effects associated with the siting of solar modules and land use. Five different locations for siting photovoltaic (PV) systems were evaluated including open lands, brownfields and mine tailings, rooftops and carports, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), and transportation corridors. A ranking system was created to determine which locations are the best for PV systems. The ranking system examined and compared four important metrics including environmental impacts, technological barriers, cost, and social implications. Based on the results of the rating system, rooftops and carports received the highest ranking with a total score of 11 points, BIPV received the second highest score with a total of 10 points, open lands received 9 points, and brownfields and mine tailings and transportation corridors both received a final score of 8 points each.
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Sustainable Pool(The University of Arizona., 2018-05-09)The following document addresses the importance of sustainability into design of a private swimming pool. It shows how easy it is to establish human thermal comfort, xeriscaping ideas for a cooler environment, and recycling water and recharging aquifers. All by powering the pumps, lights, heaters, and maintenance only by using solar energy from PV panels used as a Ramada for the pool design. The study was conducted at a residential home in Tucson, AZ. A house was chosen to see how these benefits will impact the thermal zone and how it will perish the water we don’t have much of in the southwest region of the US. Different materials were implemented into the design to show the comparison of the sustainable principles and products versus the non-sustainable products to show how you can save and how the payback period of all the costs to pay back in 2 years.
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Evaluating the Effectiveness of Rede CUCA: A Precedent for Environmental Education(The University of Arizona., 2018-05)In the area of sustainability, community outreach and engagement is a crucial part in encouraging communities to make more environmentally conscious decisions, such as through environmental education. An important process in the implementation of community engagement programs is the evaluation of the programs to determine whether they are working as intended. This report will use the organization Rede CUCA as a case study. The report will research different methods of program evaluation currently used at CUCA and an independent evaluation of the organization will also take place to analyze its effectiveness. The purpose of the research is to study how to evaluate programs by analyzing current assessments on CUCA as well as through the practice of conducting an evaluation. The gatherings will provide insights on best evaluation practices and processes which programs and organizations can use to analyze their impacts and make improvements where necessary.
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Renovation and Revitalization of Imuris, Sonora River and Downtown.(The University of Arizona., 2018-05-04)Revitalization and Restoration of the zone composed of the River and Imuris downtown, is a main emphasis of development purpose. Based on a mixed methodology studies, it is intended to achieve a sustainable development on the community, by starting with the redesign of downtown and then, following with the river to revitalize it, where residents and non-residents can spend mornings and afternoons enjoying a nice, environmental and sustainable moment. It is focused for all the public, where will be enjoyable to hang out and spend time with friends, couple, kids or the entire family.
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Congestion Control Along Tucson's Streetcar Route: A Case Study Analysis of Implementing Dedicated Lanes(The University of Arizona., 2018-05-04)This paper discusses the relationships between traffic congestion and public transit within Tucson, Arizona in attempt to pinpoint the direct repercussions traffic congestion has on public transit operating systems and suggest potential solutions to these issues. This paper focuses on Tucson’s most recent public transportation development of the local streetcar system, also known as the SunLink. The significance of traffic congestion along the SunLink route was measured both currently and in the future in respect to estimated population growth and increased automobile dependency. In attempt to distinguish these potential traffic concerns along Tucson’s streetcar route, a case study analysis of two different cities was incorporated within this study. The reported traffic concerns along the streetcar systems of these two cities were compared with Tucson’s streetcar system by similarities in trends that created traffic issues along the routes. Both of these case studies presented in this paper initially implemented a streetcar plan where the public transit systems shared a lane with mixed traffic, similar to Tucson’s initial plan of the streetcar. Each of these cities identified the shared lanes as the underlying reason for traffic concerns along their streetcar routes and later adopted dedicated lanes for the streetcar to alleviate these concerns. Ultimately, this paper seeks to determine whether similar modifications should be adopted along Tucson’s streetcar route and if so, whether these modifications are even feasible for Tucson.
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Sustainably Covering the Central Arizona Project(The University of Arizona., 2017)The Central Arizona Project is second largest and expansive aqueduct system in the entire United States. It moves more than 1.5 million acre feet of water annually which is only half of its capacity. This engineering marvel is truly incredible that supports millions of people in the state as well as well as millions of people around the United States that are in need of crops year-round. The Southwest is one of the fastest growing regions in the country. With climate change affecting yearly temperatures and water needs in this region increasing, infrastructure of the Central Arizona Project needs to be retrofitted with new technologies to combat against the water loss that comes from evaporation due to the open aired canal. This study was designed to look at three different technologies with the capability of covering the Central Arizona Project canal and reduce the amount of water that is lost annually.
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Creating a Sustainable House for Klong Toey(The University of Arizona., 2018-05-04)This capstone looked at a housing problem in Klong Toey which is a slum in Bangkok, Thailand. Currently 100,000 people live in Klong Toey which is only on a 1 square mile plot of land. (Sapsuwan, Peewara, n.d.) The goal was to come up with a new sustainable housing design that could not only solve their housing issue, but also solve power and water shortages and health issues that arise due to their current living situation. The capstone looks at a resource called “Community Action for Sustainable Housing: Building a Low-Carbon Future” to help understand what goes into making a sustainable home. Two case studies were looked at to take ideas that had previously worked. There is also a cost benefit analysis to compare the design of just a simple house to one with more sustainable features added on. In the end it was concluded that there is not enough money to build the most sustainable home so it would be better to just go with the simple design.
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Factors Influencing Recycling Behaviors and Contamination at the University of Arizona(The University of Arizona., 2018-04-30)
