ECOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE DESIGN IN BROWNFIELD REGENERATION

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1006081
• Project Start Date: Jul 1, 2015
• Project End Date: Jun 30, 2018
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
BOZEMAN,MT 59717

Performing Department
Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology

Non Technical Summary
Over the past two decades, clean-up and reuse of post-industrial landscapes has been widely implemented as a way to address cultural and biophysical sustainability in both urban and rural places. Advances in clean-up technologies and expanded knowledge in the theory and practice of brownfield regeneration has led to many innovative projects around the world that have incorporated ecological landscape design strategies as key elements. Now, more integrated, nuanced understanding is needed on how specific brownfield regeneration activities can best be implemented in order to minimize long-term environmental and human health risks, as well as create thriving community places and people. The overarching goal of the proposed work is to improve the quality of brownfield regeneration work for project longevity and community liveability.The proposed work will investigate design strategies for the cleanup and reuse of brownfield landscapes that best regenerate healthy ecosystems and people, and assess how to best align natural and cultural design elements within brownfield regeneration projects. More specifically, the proposed research will focus on these three areas: a) how people perceive landscape characteristics of remediation methods and reuse strategies; b) review of landscape and planting design related to remediation (clean-up); and c) principles for the integration of ecological landscape design and landscape performance in brownfield regeneration.The primary research methods employed to explore these topics will include correlational strategies (photo-surveys, alternative future modeling), classification schemes (collection, typology), and descriptive strategies (observation, interview, and case study). The research undertaken will result in expanded knowledge of design principles for ecological landscape design strategies and planting in brownfield regeneration. Findings and design recommendations produced will be valuable for land planners, managers, design professionals, and others involved in the brownfield regeneration.

Animal Health Component

30%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

40%

Applied

30%

Developmental

30%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
124	0530	3111	40%
112	0530	3111	40%
134	0530	3111	20%

Knowledge Area
134 - Outdoor Recreation; 112 - Watershed Protection and Management; 124 - Urban Forestry;

Subject Of Investigation
0530 - Parks and urban green space;

Field Of Science
3111 - Landscape architecture;

Keywords

brownfield redevelopment

remediation

land reclamation

landscape perception

green infrastructure

ecological landscape design

landscape performance

landscape assessment

planting design

Goals / Objectives
1) Study perception of ecological landscape design approaches and remediation methods in brownfield regeneration.1a. This project will study landscape perception in Butte, MT. The work will be in partnership with Butte-Silver Bow County Planning Department, in particular, the Reclamation Manager, Tom Malloy. One goal is to build additional collaborations with those working on reclamation projects in the County, for example, US-EPA personnel, Montana DEQ, and faculty at Montana Tech researching the use of native plants in remediation.1b. Build an understanding of how planting and landscape projects are used in reclamation work throughout Butte-Silver Bow Country through reviewing EPA, MT-DEQ, and community technical and media resources, on-site observations, meetings with partners, and GIS mapping analysis (exploratory).1c. Develop an integrated approach and master plan for utilizing urban ecological landscape services and landscape aesthetics to inform future planting and landscape design work for brownfields within Butte, and mine reclamation sites more broadly (building theoretical framework).1d. Test perception of landscape design approaches (test exploratory, theoretical work) on brownfield sites.1e. Communicate findings to organizations working on reclamation and design.2) Examine planting typology in brownfield regeneration2a. Explore existing primary resources on brownfield remediation and redevelopment plans to investigate planting strategies used in clean-up and site programming and design.2b. Develop classification approach based on data analysis of the use of plants in site regeneration.2c. A goal of this study is to create a review article that illustrates the breadth and complexities of designing planting strategies for clean-up and redevelopment of brownfield sites.2d. Develop case study on utilizing ecological landscape design strategies in brownfield regeneration. Objectives in the first two projects will lay the groundwork for developing a case study project in Butte, MT at the end of this grant cycle, in preparation for future research.Timeline of Objectives (refer to .pdf file of final submitted proposal to see formatted timeline of studies and objectives.

Project Methods
1) Landscape Perception of Ecological Landscape Design & Brownfield Regeneration. Exploratory research will develop principles to build a theoretical framework for integrating ecological landscape design strategies with reclamation work in Butte-Silver Bow County. Following, photo-survey instruments would consist of photo-simulations illustrating ecological landscape design strategies or alternatives (outlined in the master plan described above) to analyze relationships among design theory for brownfields, remediation methods, and user preferences and understanding (Kaplan 1985; Nassauer 1983).Ecological landscape design principles for reclamation will be developed using ArcGIS mapping and analysis of geographic data.Photo-simulations will be generated using existing site photographs along with digital manipulation using primarily Adobe Photoshop.Survey participants will be targeted toward both professionals and laypeople, who work on or live in the Butte area.Surveys will also include questions on demographic information as well as knowledge of topic areas (plants, remediation, ecology).Quantitative analyses will include factor analysis, multiple correlations, and other statistical methods to understand the ways in which remediation and landscape characteristics significantly impacts people's perception and preferences.2) Remediation and Planting Design. The typological research methods used for this study seek to classify planting design schemes as they relate to remediation and redevelopment strategies.Data collection will draw on primary sources to catalog remediation strategies and design documents that outline remediation and planting design plans or built projects. Examples of primary data sources include: EPA Superfund Site Remedial Design / Remedial Action Plan documents, design and construction drawings for exemplary (ASLA Professional Award Winners) brownfield redevelopment projects completed in the United States.Secondary data sources, including descriptive technical publications and materials may be used for collection of plant species information, in particular, for phytoremediation strategies research. For example, EPA Regional or Superfund Site-specific approved planting lists and remediation texts.Categories for the typology will be generated through analysis of the primary and secondary sources.Developing a typology of planting design within brownfield regeneration will also combine descriptive methodologies to analyze and evaluate the generated categories on the impact of remediation on landscape composition and user preferences. (Deming and Swaffield 2011, p. 79).3) Ecological Landscape Design in Brownfield Regeneration. Specific methods for this study will be informed by outcomes of the first two studies. Likely methods include descriptive research, including interviews, archival documents related to remediation and planning work, and biophysical and cultural data analysis (Deming and Swaffield 2011, p. 79). This area of research may also include simulation modeling to evaluate the impacts of alternative ecological landscape design strategies.The case study site selection will be based on research in objective (a) on landscape perception and brownfield regeneration, which would include Butte, MT, and potentially other locations of reclamation and planning projects in Butte-Silver Bow County.Geographic data analysis (weighted overlay analysis) would be performed using ArcGISAny simulations or design alternatives would be generated using visual modeling software such as SketchUp and Adobe Photoshop, utilizing normative scenarios methodology (Steinitz et al. 2003; Nassauer and Corry 2004).

Progress 07/01/15 to 06/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience:The activities and products of this project targeted those involved in designing and planning landscape spaces in the communities where people live, and specifically within the sectors of brownfield and vacant land planning, land regeneration, and green infrastructure design and management. This included urban and community planners, landscape architects and related design professionals, and civil engineers. The applied projects in Butte and Poplar, MT also reached community members and stakeholders more broadly through public display of design solutions as well as design workshops. In addition, several of the activities throughout the project integrated undergraduate coursework and independent research projects within a landscape design curricula. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Accepted presentation related to perception and management of ecological landscape design typologies. AtMontana's leading storm water conference for practitioners hosted by Montana Department of Environmental Quality.R. VanWieren and A. Murdick. Exploring aesthetics of green infrastructure. Montana Stormwater Conference. Bozeman, MT. Accepted presentation related to ecological landscape design for vacant land regeneration. AtMontana's leading storm water conference for practitioners hosted by Montana Department of Environmental Quality.D. Hammer, R. VanWieren, and A. Weeks. Envisioning community with green infrastructure. Montana Stormwater Conference. Bozeman, MT. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Currently, I have two case-study projects that I have ongoing with land reclamation and environmental health organizations in Butte and Poplar, Montana. In Poplar, recent initiatives to integrate green infrastructure in community planning along with brownfield site cleanups have created opportunities for regenerating vacant land on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. I accomplished objectives related to 2d throughcase-study research on converting a vacant lot into a public plaza that utilizes green infrastructure strategies, in collaboration with the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes Office of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8. For this case study, I completed scholarly creative activity in the form of design development working with two undergraduate researchers. The site design was accepted through a participatory design process employed with project parterns in May 2018. This work continues with a goal of site construction beginning summer 2019, and preparation of a manuscript during 2019 on utilizing green infrastructure for vacant land reuse.

Publications

Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Personnel of Butte-Silver Bow County, MT planning and parks and recreation were reachedthrough 1) site designand ecological landscape design of the Bonanaza Park project on reclamation land within the City of Butte, and 2) preliminary conceptual design work for ecological landscape design strategies for a trail in Butte related to project goal 2d. Changes/Problems:Planned work on goal 1stated in the last reporting period report wasnot accomplished, specically completion of the survey, analysis, and presentation or publication. This was due to more research on goal 2 during this period to accomodate case study/design approvals and the political process in Butte-Silver Bow County. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Conduct the survey instrument (still in pilot stage) to complete goal 1d. For goals 2c and 2d, I plan to continue schematic case study workfor either conference presentation or publication. In particular, additionalliterature review, writing up analyses and findingsfrom work on goals 2a and 2b (planting typology and aesthetics or cultural goals), and development on site master plans. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica}

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Accomplishments during this period primarily related to goal 2. Continued research and design took place in finalizing the schematic design of the community park on reclamation land that received a grant last reporting period, in Butte, MT.Further literature review was accomplished toward goal 2a.Together, this research and work contributes to goal 2b and 2d of applied ecological landscape design strategies for brownfield regeneration. In particular, the schematic site design accomplished drainage and planting design for stormwater management on a site where residual contamination remains atlevels below EPA thresholds for cleanup. In addition, complimentary initial research began on another case study contributing to goal 2d, looking at how toleverageurban ecological design strategies and green infrastructure for social and cultural values in reclamation work.

Publications

Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Preliminary research presentations were given at 1) Montana Tech during spring 2016 for the Ecological Restoration seminar series, within the Biology Department, for students, faculty, and community staff interested in land management and reclamation research; and 2) Montana State University during spring 2016 for the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences seminar series, for students and faculty interested in land management research and applied work. Collaboration continued with Butte-Silver Bow Planning and Reclamation staff in regard to project objectives. Finally, a landscape design major undergraduate student continued work with me on research project tasks to further foster research expeirence and mentorship. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The next goal is to build on pilot work to develop the complete survey instrument for dissemination to target audiences (1d). Also, I plan to submit work from goal 1 for conference presentation/proceedings and peer-review publication during spring and summer 2017. On goal 2, I would like to make progress on literature review on planting typologies for brownfields (2a-c).

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Accomplishments related to goal 1 included continued meetings and collaboration among MSU and Butte-Silver Bow County (1b) and development of pilot survey instrument for the study of landscape perception of brownfield planting strategies (1d). Indirect accomplishments related to goal 2 included establishment of a partnership with MSU faculty in the School Architecture on a project to design and develop a community park on reclamation land within the city of Butte. In summer 2016, this project was awarded a Butte Natural Resource Damage Restoration Council, Butte Area One Small Projects grant toward project construction. An undergraduate student in landscape design has been working with me on research related to planting typologies for reclamation land that integrate with site drainage and stormwater management (2a, 2b).

Publications

Progress 07/01/15 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:There was no direct target audiences reached during this reporting period because of the stage in my research projects. Currently, literature review and data collection are underway, and the research is not an applicable stage to disseminate or communicate to target audience. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?I plan to continue making progress on goal 1b, including meeting with collaborators in Butte-Silver Bow project area, performing furthersite analyses through ArcGIS mapping, collecting data and resources related to planting approaches, design, and species in both Superfund reclamation work and Butte urban forestry projects, capturing imagergy of the project area's landscape to build understanding of landscape perception scenarios, review existing literature to refine landscape perception research design. I also plan to hirean undergraduate student lab aide to assist with research design and data collection efforts, goals 1c and 1d. This will also provide anopportunity for one-on-one training and mentoring in doingresearch in landscape design field.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During this initial three month reporting period (FTE at0.03), research activity was accomplished related to goals of study 1. In particular, progress was made on goals 1a-1b. Further collaborations have been initiatedwith the Butte-Silver Bow County Planning Department, GIS Department, and Park and Recreation, and Montana Tech. Relevant GIS data available at this time has been gathered from public sources, including the Butte-Silver Bow GIS Department and Montana Geographic Information Clearinghouse. Initial exploratory mapping that will inform the research's surveydesign and ecological design master plan producthas begun using ESRI's ArcGIS software. This mapping haslookedat relationships among land use,land cover, hydrology and drainage, infrastructure, and Superfund status to understand the current and historical conditions of the study area.

Publications