ABOUT THE COLLECTIONS

These collections contain master's reports and master's theses from the Landscape Architecture program, dating back to 1979. Most of these reports and theses were digitized from paper copies held previously in the Fine Arts Library, while reports and theses after 2005 were submitted electronically to be archived and made available online.


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Contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu with questions about items in these collections.

Collections in this community

Recent Submissions

  • Riparian Renewal: Rethinking Randolph Dell Ulrich Golf Course Watercourses

    Livingston, Margaret; Thomas, Keegan (The University of Arizona., 2023)
    Golf courses inherently have a lot of problems. They take up very large spaces, are generally designed for single user groups (golfers), and are very resource intensive, especially in the US Southwest. They also have a host of benefits: the sport of golf supports an active lifestyle and has health benefits associated with it, and golf courses do provide ecological value as a green space in urban settings. This masters report looks at a typical municipal golf course in Tucson Arizona, and through site analysis and background research & case reviews proposes a redesign that aims to benefit members of the community, further optimize habitats for local wildlife, all while reducing the resource dependency required of the golf course. Page
  • Designing Inclusive Public Spaces in Southern Arizona: The Development of the Tubac Nature Preserve

    Livingston, Margaret; Vasquez Cabrera, Patricia (The University of Arizona., 2023)
  • Green Links

    Livingston, Margaret; Tang, Sinlin (The University of Arizona., 2023)
    Urbanization started in the early 1800s and grew rapidly after the Civil War in the United States. Along with attracting jobs and economic gains, rapid urbanization brings greenhouse effects, erosions and natural habitat destruction. After the golden age of urbanization, old infrastructure systems are degrading and the destruction of native habitats is progressive. Year after year, studies show evidence of the inevitable climate change effects on living organisms, particularly in arid regions such as the Sonoran desert. The urban ecology study carries a simple and effective answer to these concerns. Urban Ecology and green infrastructure have designs for a green space system in urban areas that target an array of amenities and have a cost-effective implementation. This master's report looks into past studies worldwide in order to seek reasonable solutions to modern urban challenges. Specifically, a site in downtown Tucson, between Stone Ave and 6th Street, is examined through a process of literature review, case review, and design applications to mitigate the urban issues by recent developments.
  • Storytelling Historic North Fourth Avenue

    Livingston, Margaret; Houghton, B. Blake (The University of Arizona., 2023)
    Historic landscapes are often times only thought about in terms of park-scapes, this project redefines the term “historic landscape” to include urban heritage and historic districts. Through this redefined terminology, we look at the Fourth Avenue Historic District in Tucson, Arizona to understand how and why an urban district could be re-imagined as an historic landscape. From 1903 to 1967 the Fourth Avenue Historic District saw a lot of change. The changes made across the district reflect the evolving needs of the users of the district from residential to commercial purposes. The district is comprised of historic buildings, reflecting the work of several master architects, and several legacy businesses, while not contributing to the historic nature of The Avenue, are never-the-less important as contributing to the cultural significance of Fourth Avenue and Tucson. This work focuses primarily on the research done in order to provide the Historic Fourth Avenue Coalition enough material to begin an historic interpretation project. That effort, while ongoing, is an important step towards creating an education space that helps regular users and occasional visitors consider the broader impacts of the history of the community, and the cultural heritage, that Fourth Avenue represents for Tucson.
  • Designing for Conservation, Advocacy and Recreation in the High Sonoran Grasslands

    Livingston, Margaret; Potucek, Alizabeth (The University of Arizona., 2022)
    The Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch (AWRR) is an exceptional place with in the high-sonoran grasslands of the Madrean Sky Islands. The AWRR’s primary function is as an ecological research and conservation station. The Sky Island bikepacking route has increased recreational visitors to the ranch in recent years. Outdoor recreation is a quickly growing industry, especially across the Western US. Research shows that the outdoor recreation and tourism is growing faster than traditional economic pillars such as oil, mining and ranching. AWRR cultivates place-based attachment for many of its visitors- from the researchers to recreators. Design, programming, and land management play an important role in balancing conservation and recreation. Well-designed recreation opportunities with thoughtful management can be a practical way to engage the public in regional issues. This project generates design concepts for additional recreational amenities at AWRR, while still prioritizing conservation and research. The design outcomes include a proposed new trail location, signs, and lodging. A new trail designed for bikepackers at the AWRR would strengthen the connection etween recreation, outreach and conservation at the ranch.
  • Transect the Loop

    Livingston, Margaret; Anthony, Paige (The University of Arizona., 2021)
    What interventions can improve connectivity within established residential neighborhoods and to the nearby regional recreational assets? This project looks at the challenge of connectivity within Tucson, specifically the residential core of the city. That is not to say that the goals of this effort could not be applied to other urban environments. The framework presented here could be used to develop site specific outcomes in any city. Focus of the literature and case reviews may shift, as might the inventory. Nevertheless, the need to address the safety and infrastructure to support alternative transportation and improve our urban ecology is everywhere.
  • Tucson al Fresco: A Toolkit for Decentralized Streetscape and Streatery Design

    Livingston, Margaret; Bejjani, Ramzy (The University of Arizona., 2021)
    The Covid-19 Pandemic forced a dramatic reimagination of public space. To reconcile the seemingly dueling requirements of public health and quotidian activities, people developed a diverse quiver of strategies to reconfigure the public realm, be it open air markets, pedestrianized neighborhood streets, a shift towards outdoor dining, etc. This report explores how one of these responses – streateries, an expansion of dining and drinking space into the public realm -- could be formally integrated into our post-pandemic urban fabric. Working with local municipalities, small businesses deployed streateries to great effect during the pandemic, building them quickly with only informal, on-hand materials. This ad hoc, often grassroots response was a global experiment in design deregulation. This report formalizes a process for decentralized and democratized streetscape design in order to institutionalize lighter, quicker, cheaper strategies and tools so that their practice and benefits can be more easily understood, more quickly deployed, and more equitably shared. The result is a toolkit for those wanting to start their own streatery or streatery program.
  • INTERLACE: NANHU ECOLOGICAL PARK - New development of the city, ecological restoration, and reuse of abandoned man-made reservoirs

    Song, Zhiuyan (The University of Arizona., 2019)
    As urbanization has progressed in Lijin County that is located in Shandong, China, natural areas have gradually been replaced by concrete banks and decorative greenery plantings. The original wild wetland landscape’s degradation has influenced people living in this county who have lost their sense of belonging. Currently, there is an excellent opportunity to redevelop the Lijin’s new district: Southern District. The 75-hectare Lijin Reservoir built in 2002 will be considered for re-use and participation in an urban ecological restoration. A plan will redesign the deserted reservoir into a residential-friendly, ecological, new urban open space showing the unique wetland landscape of the Yellow River estuary and Lijin’s urban culture. At the same time, it will serve as an essential part of the entire urban water system, promoting public water circulation and improving water quality. Overall, this will promote the surrounding economic development and cultural construction.
  • Wetlands and Bouncy Castles: A Juarez Nature Park Along the Us-Mexico Border

    Nuno-Whelan, Mario (The University of Arizona., 2020)
    What the heck do wetlands and bouncy castles have to do with each other? Usually, absolutely nothing. This project proposes that maybe they could. The focus here is the design of a constructed wetland park in the city of Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, that uses treated effluent to create wildlife habitat that once existed in the floodplain of a meandering Rio Bravo/Rio Grande prior to channelization. However, there are two broader design challenges that make it unique: 1) the site is adjacent the Juarez-El Paso border and directly across the river from an existing 372-acre Rio Bosque Wetlands Park in El Paso, constructed in the 90s and irrigated by the effluent of a wastewater treatment plant; and 2) the site is an undeveloped patch of agricultural land nearly surrounded by compact, single-family housing in an overlooked community. And this is where bouncy castles fit in. The goal is to integrate undeveloped wetland habitat with much-needed recreation space for a dense, urban neighborhood in a growing Mexican city. If you’ve ever been to a big public park in a Southwest city around graduation season or summer birthdays, you’ll know that shade ramadas and bbq grills get a lot of love. Families - and I mean families: grandmas, grandkids, aunts, neighbors, friends, every age group - go all out with food and lawn games...and sometimes, for big occasions...bouncy castles. Public parks are used similarly in Juárez. Families often visit parks in big groups. In order for this park to work, that kind of visitation needs to be designed for. The bouncy castle is a symbol. No, the park doesn’t come with bouncy castles and they will probably seldom be there. But they could be. And the design allows for it. It even welcomes it. It allows for people to use the park the way a lot of people actually use parks: in big groups, with food and family and games, with coolers and tables and camping chairs. The bouncy castle is a poofy pink stand-in for future graduation parties, family reunions, and Sunday family picnics in a park that also has wetlands and trails and unprogrammed nature.
  • Urban Voids: A Potential in Tucson's Wasted Spaces

    Palomo, Isaac (The University of Arizona., 2020)
    In the last decade, urban voids have emerged as a challenge for rapidly urbanizing cities. Especially in the city center where the early city settlement was situated, many urban and industrial functions have moved out leaving behind abandoned and under-utilized spaces. Underutilized and abandoned land in urban areas are often overlooked and neglected, ultimately rendering them as unattractive, dead spaces. Urbanization has led urban life to become dull due to the degrading of the environment and the devoid of space for sociocultural activities. As city populations continue growing, there is an increased pressure to provide open outdoor spaces for inhabitants. Urban Voids are a vital component in the context of social interaction and act as a meeting point to enable people to have direct contact with the society around them. The aim of this study is to understand the urban character of dead spaces within Tucson’s downtown district and identify a wasted space that has the potential to be leveraged into an active space to further enhance and strengthen the public realm.
  • Lizard Tales Loop: An Urban Greenway throug Flood Mitigation and Wildlife Education

    Johnstone, Rebecca (The University of Arizona., 2020)
    This project aims to look at the various ways that we can aid our washes in rehabilitation strategies to promote a healthier ecosystem for people and wildlife. Through research, a site was picked to be able to demonstrate ways of providing interactive learning on these rehabilitation strategies as well as to highlight lizards as one of the wildlife species that live in the washes. Techniques that were used to rehabilitate the washes include slowing, sinking, and spreading the water in vacant parcels that have more room using detention basins, terracing, and baffles to naturally meander the wash’s path.
  • A Walk on the Wild Side: Incorporating Ecological Design and Ethnobotany Interpretation in Morris K. Udall Park

    Hatch, Dionna (The University of Arizona., 2020)
    Parks have the potential to be educational, athletic, aesthetic, and artistic places. This work focuses on the linking of art, ecology, ethnobotany and socialization within a portion of a recreational park. The project utilizes the framework of Sonoran ecology and ethnobotany, while integrating the elements of Citizen Science programs and social environments within a new trail. The framework will be applied to a public recreational park, Morris K. Udall Regional Park, to develop a unique socially dynamic, educational and artistic space that inspires users about the natural environment. Methods include: literature review, site analysis, and design guidelines. Final outcomes will include an on-line resource for Citizen Science programs, master plan design for Udall Park, revegetation techniques, and a social ethnobotanical center for the east side of Tucson. Recommendations for the integration of Citizen Science programs and educational art installations are included throughout the design.
  • Songs of Chansons D' Haute Ville: Strategies for resilience within a rural heritage landscape

    Cottrell-Crawford, Penelope (The University of Arizona., 2020)
    Songs of Haute Ville is a culmination of my passions for heritage conservation, landscape architecture, and climate adaptation. The report will identify strategies to build physical and social resilience within a rural French heritage site called Haute Ville. The name means “high town” in French, as the site clings to a hill which overlooks the village of Puget-Ville in the valley below. The site is the original footprint of Puget-Ville, and it remains a wellspring of natural and cultural heritage resources for the town. Within the site's bounds are an 11th-century chapel, a 14th-century castle ruin, and footprints of the medieval village, all nestled within an dense pine-oak forest. In recent decades, the historic site has seen unprecedented damage from droughts and extreme weather impacting the hillside location. Major pathways have been rendered inaccessible due to landslides from eroded soils and rock-slides from destabilized masonry. This damage has impacted the site’s capacity to host visitors and events, which in turn has created ramifications for restoration and fundraising efforts. My Master’s Report will provide typologies for erosion mitigation and acoustic appreciation spaces; designs for re-vitalized entrance areas; and recommendations for native planting and alternative event programming. This project has ties to my personal heritage as well: my grandparents were live-in stewards of for almost four decades, until 2018. I have been fortunate to spend valuable time there throughout my life, exploring the lands, touching the stones, witnessing the hillsides change in wind and sun and rain. As such, has been a great pleasure to write this report, and to share it with my family, who are all intertwined with the site. Songs of Haute Ville aims to showcase strategies for the holistic protection of our shared global heritage. Heritage landscapes are much more than the built environment: they are comprised of the cultural talismans that exist in the ecologies and accumulated memories of the places we hold dear.
  • Tomorrow's Garden: Uniting Tradition Technology Community

    Kindler, Brad (The University of Arizona., 2019)
    Today challenges of climate change, population growth, biodiversity loss, and water scarcity, lead farmers to ask new questions about how to grow food in a changing environment. Additionally, innovative technology and public food preferences present challenges and opportunities for farmers to consider before planting. Honoring Tucson’s diverse community and unique history, this study proposes the design of Tomorrow’s Garden. This garden seeks to punctuate Mission Garden’s historic timeline with a demonstration of sustainable and innovative agricultural practices. Outcomes of this proposal include the design of a garden that has the capacity to adapt to changing climate, as well as build community through design process and project implementation.
  • El Rio Preserve riparian rehabilitation & community recreation

    Stoicof, Alexandra (The University of Arizona., 2017)
    The Sonoran Desert is a unique biodiverse landscape of approximately 100,000 square miles in Southwestern United States. It is characterized by seasonal monsoon rains in both the summer and winter that sustain some 2,000 different plant species, making it a comparatively lush desert. Because of the Sonoran Desert’s geographic location and seasonal precipitation patterns, a variety of biomes can be found in the region, including tundra, coniferous forest, temperate deciduous forest, grassland, chaparral, desert, thornscrub, and tropical forest (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 2017). Within these biomes are corridors of riparian communities, which are areas of watercourses that create unique habitats. In the Southwest, many of these riparian watercourses are currently ephemeral and only fl ow temporarily throughout the year. These xeroriparian habitats (dry riparian) are largely and increasingly ephemeral because of human disturbances. Watercourses that once were perennial, such as the Santa Cruz River, now flow primarily only during the monsoon rains. Riparian communities are critical components in the network of biomes and habitats in the Sonoran Desert. They provide corridors for the movements of plants and animals, and sustain unique species in the desert that require more water. These communities are also beautiful, lush landscapes that are often enjoyed by humans for their oasis-like qualities; trails, camping and picnicking spots, and scenic points-of-view are often found along watercourses. The El Rio Preserve in Marana, Arizona is such a riparian community tucked along the banks of the Santa Cruz River. It is part of a chain of other regionally-significant habitats, and presents opportunities for both habitat and human recreation. Many species of plants and animals have found refuge at El Rio, including invasive species. Its origins as a former borrow pit, however, make it a disturbed xeroriparian landscape that could benefit from rehabilitation strategies. The following Master’s Report presents a process and design for El Rio. A majority of the work was done in collaboration with the Town of Marana. Public participation was a large component of the project, which informed many design decisions. A comprehensive literature and case review, and ongoing site assessments also contributed to the final design and rehabilitation strategies.
  • MULTI[FUNCTIONAL] an approach to maximize use of remnant urban space

    Hatch, Andrew (The University of Arizona., 2016)
    The urbanization boom this country experienced in the twentieth century set the foundation for the urban fabric we live in today. The urban fabric functions as a result of the many and varied systems modern society has built in hopes of taming the forces of nature. An important example of one of these networks, though seldom seen and rarely celebrated, is the urban drainage system. Creeks and wetlands covered significant portions of coastal southern California until urbanization arrived in the early twentieth century. Typically small in scale but rich in biodiversity, these creeks came roaring to life following winter rains, draining the basin to the sea, all while feeding the wetlands that protected the coastal land. However, in an attempt to eliminate flooding risk and provide stable land on which to build, the majority of the coastal creeks were entombed in concrete, some above ground, and others below. What sounded like a good idea at the time has become a relic of the past. The experiment has demonstrated what happens when an ecological resource is misinterpreted as a liability in the urban fabric. That is, with research and observation, it is now becoming clear that these resources are assets to the communities and regions in their vicinities. Additionally, these potential resources have been walled off and shut away from the public, creating corridors that act as barriers within the urban fabric. A new attitude has emerged toward urban drainage infrastructure as the potential ecological and social benefits of green infrastructure become clearer in the public’s mind. Research along with many successful infrastructure projects from around the globe demonstrate the potential multiple benefits green infrastructure strategies can provide. These projects offer examples of strategies and elements that combine to create successful multi-functional spaces centered on urban infrastructure. A desire to synthesize these new strategies and traditional landscape architectural methods informed the development of a master plan for remnant urban space straddling a channelized coastal waterway in Oxnard, CA. This project demonstrates one approach to re-imagining coastal infrastructure as a multifunctional asset that provides habitat and recreational and social opportunities for the local community.
  • CORONADO AIRPORT A Project in Flight

    Gamboa, Malerie (The University of Arizona., 2019)
    Located at the junction of different urban tracts in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the abandoned Coronado Airport was once a popular small aircraft airport. Operational from 1961 to 2001, the Coronado Airport was ultimately closed due to safety concerns, a fate shared by other small aircraft facilities around the U.S. Currently the 268 acre abandoned site contains only the two runways and several large concrete foundations where the airport buildings and hangars were once located. Although in a state of disrepair and left with only remnants of its former use, the site has the opportunity to become an effective and iconic space for the City of Albuquerque and surrounding communities. The Coronado Airport redevelopment project could also provide design and reuse concepts applicable to other equivalent sites within urban areas around the country. Through visual observations and site research this is a prime location to develop multi-purpose functions including a large natural park in an urban setting, alternative forms of active and passive recreation, while acting as a landmark for the city. The Coronado Airport redevelopment project explores the challenges of creating a destination for both locals and visitors through the reuse of an abandoned site while showcasing its transformation over time and acknowledging its former use. Moreover, the design incorporates elements of this diverse landscape context, its past use as an airport, the significant role of flight in the region, and new physical and metaphorical connections that can be enhanced and created.
  • Malls of Memory: DEATH AND REBIRTH IN A SUBURBAN LANDSCAPE

    Livingston, Margaret; White, Cody (The University of Arizona., 2019)
    In today’s suburban landscape, the shopping center has become a significant destination for many. Vastly sized, it has become a cultural landmark within many suburban and urban neighborhoods. Not only a space for ‘purchasing’, the suburban shopping center has become a place to shop, a place to eat, a place to meet, a place to exercise – a social space. However, with the development and dominance of big box retail stores and online shopping on the rise, suburban shopping malls as we currently know them, are slowly disappearing. Suburban malls, which were once successful in serving their suburban communities, are on the decline. These malls are suffering financially as stores close and the community no longer has reason to attend these dying monoliths – it is with this catalyst that the mall eventually has no choice but to close. With little additional places for social engagement in a suburban community, the mall has become a contradictory example of what it was once intended to do. A place for social and civic engagement, as well as an economic triumph has now become an eye sore – a burden on the community it was once designed to serve. Citizens are forced to drive elsewhere – arguably to a regional mall, or a big box power center. What if a declining mall could be repurposed or redefined to enhance the community it stands within by reimagining the shopping mall? Are there possibilities for a reimagined shopping center – possibilities that would resist the single minded consumerist approach and instill a sense of place within the community it stands? This master’s report is aimed at determining a new typology for a failing approach to consumerism, architecture and landscape architecture – an approach that focuses on social engagement and meaningful connections with the surrounding community. There have been a number of advancements and changes within consumerism in the Western World - a cycling of architectural styles, technological innovation and social trends. By focusing on the ‘next shift’ in successful urban planning, this report opens up a new possibility of both consumerism and social engagement acting harmoniously. Can these ‘dead malls’ help define a ‘sense of place’ within the community they were originally part of? Rather than discarding (literally tearing down) what once was a flourishing space of both consumerism and social engagement, can they be reimagined to enhance the community beyond a reductive view of pure consumerism, and become a new landmark that will have the potential to enhance and engage the community, as well as contribute to the economic success of a city?

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