DESIGNING THROUGH THE LENS OF LANDSCAPE URBANISM

Abstract

Cities of the 21st century are impacted by uniquely modern phenomena such as sea-level rise, urban flooding, and decentralization. As environmental impacts and urban dynamics change, we are forced to view urban spaces differently than we have in the past.

Landscape Urbanism developed in the early 1990s as a response to this need, turning to the landscape as a foundation for viewing, constructing, and rehabilitating urban spaces. Although Landscape Urbanism theory does provide a platform to determine what sites are ideal for development and how to design with environmental and ecological systems on a site, the abstract nature of the literature of Landscape Urbanism creates challenges in practice.

This thesis combines investigation into Landscape Urbanism theory with research on the methodologies of Sustainable Urbanism, Smart Growth, and Ecological Urbanism to create a framework for the application of Landscape Urbanism to site design. This framework is then tested in the conceptual redevelopment of a former industrial site in Baltimore, Maryland.