Date of Award

5-2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA)

Legacy Department

Landscape Architecture

Committee Chair/Advisor

Powers, Matthew

Committee Member

Russell , Paul

Committee Member

Sperry , Stephen

Abstract

Brownfields are a crucial issue for the 21century's urban development. To successfully restore brownfields and transform them into comfortable and enjoyable environments, we have to study how to mitigate contamination issues related to soil and stormwater. Three bodies of knowledge are studied in the literature: natural community restoration, urban brownfield restoration, storm-water management. Then, these areas are researched through case studies focusing on topography design, plant adaptation, and treatment wetland. The findings are in the form of descriptive design guidelines addressing six factors: spatial experience, stormwater collecting, natural succession, plant and species diversity, habitat creation, treatment, and cleaning. The recommendations emphasize the topography manipulation and vegetation establishment as two key elements to consider when doing brownfield projects. New topography can help make mitigation by redistributing site soil. Vegetation species can be seeded according to the new topography and conditions such as moisture, PH level, and temperature and wind intensity on ground surfaces. Moreover, the stormwater treatment process should include collection, filtration, sedimentation, and metabolization as four major components. Finally, a design application provides an example implementation based on the research results.

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