Recipient Organization
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
BOZEMAN,MT 59717
Performing Department
Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology
Non Technical Summary
Over the last two decades, leveraging the landscape to perform ecological and cultural services has grown to be a valued approach for urban development. Now a more nuanced understanding is needed on the ways in which green infrastructure components and material details should be designed, constructed and managed in specific bioregional or land use contexts. In addition, further understanding of people's perceptions of green infrastructure will improve project acceptance and impact.The proposed work will investigate three areas: a) how student farms can be designed to be high performing green infrastructure in the campus landscape; b) how people perceive green infrastructure design characteristics in the context of land regeneration and the semi-arid West, and c) how green infrastructure design strategies are applied in a land regeneration project to improve livability. The research undertaken will result in expanded knowledge of planning, design, and management of green infrastructure in community settings. The projects' findings will be valuable for land planners, managers, and design professionals.
Animal Health Component
25%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
25%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
Problem and JustificationGreen infrastructure is an approach to land management in the context of urban development that leverages the landscape to perform as an infrastructural system and provide critical community and ecological services: flood protection, heat reduction, water and air quality improvements, habitat, and human health and wellbeing (Austin, 2014; Lovell & Taylor, 2013; Tzoulas et al., 2007; Yang & Wang, 2017). While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's definition of green infrastructure is more narrowly focused on green management of "wet weather impacts," the American Society of Landscape Architects recognizes that green infrastructure applies beyond stormwater and occurs at all scales (EPA, ASLA 2017). Typical types of green infrastructure built at the community scale include trees, stormwater treatment components like infiltration basins and bioswales, nature corridors and farm preserves, green roofs and walls, green streets, and constructed wetlands.Design and aesthetics of green infrastructure is important in community settings for several reasons. Differently than the conservation or restoration of natural infrastructure at the macro scale, development of green spaces at the community scale is closely integrated with development policies and government design review processes. Green infrastructure at the community scales needs to accommodate higher densities of people and function alongside the interconnections of buildings, transportation, and utilities. With high development pressures, green infrastructure needs to not only be cost effective, but provide multiple community benefits and performance that cannot simply be replaced by hard infrastructure like pipes and roads.Plants and hardscape materials specified for green infrastructure are often different than urban landscape norms, presenting counter-cultural needs for landscape care and management. This disconnect often leads to failures in the long-term, like excessive invasive or weed species, loss of stormwater capture volumes due to sediment buildup or soil compaction, or poor plant establishment. Further research is needed regarding design strategies to make green infrastructure's functions and values more approachable and long-lasting.Because green infrastructure harnesses nature in the urban or community context, these projects become ripe for demonstration and education of natural processes and related environmental and human health impacts. At the site or micro-scale, people engage with and interpret ecological processes, rather than at macro-scale landscapes where patterns and processes may not be as immediately apparent (Gobster, Nassauer, Daniel, & Fry, 2007). Therefore, the way in which green infrastructure projects look when established and maintained becomes a significant means for people's perception and interpretation.Planning and design of green infrastructure in Montana presents additional bioregional challenges. Climatic and biophysical patterns of drought, short growing seasons, and varied elevations coupled with common urban challenges like degraded soil quality, altered drainage patters, and fragmented habitats make for stressed conditions to ensure sustained success. In addition, many communities in Montana face cultural challenges like vacant or contaminated land where redevelopment or reclamation is difficult. Further research is needed to understand best planning and design practices for green infrastructure under these unique constraints.This proposal covers a range of research investigations broadly related to applied design strategies for green infrastructure sustainability. I am interested in exploring these aspects to better ensure a built project's long-term ecological and community services. More specifically, the proposed research focuses on the following areas: (a) design strategies for campus green infrastructure, specifically new student farms, (b) perceptions of green infrastructure, and (c) design strategies for utilizing land regeneration as green infrastructure.Goals/ObjectivesDevelop strategies for student farms as green infrastructure on campus landscapes related to 1) campus planning and land management, and 2) site-scale design layout and features. Second, develop a comparative case study based on farm types, scale, and context.Study perception of green infrastructure. This project will focus on preferences of design strategies for 1) reclamation areas in Butte, MT, 2) semi-arid sites, and 3) interpretive features, like signage. Existing collaborations with, Butte-Silver Bow County Planning Department (Julia Crain and Tom Malloy) and US-EPA Region 8 personnel (Diana Hammer, and Stacey Eriksen).Develop a case study for land regeneration strategies as green infrastructure in the context of a semi-arid bioregion. Objectives in the perception studies, along with existing ongoing work on park and trail design in Butte and Poplar, MT, will lay the groundwork for this study.
Project Methods
This proposal draws on multiple research methods that differ across the three topics of study.Student Farm Design. This study utilizes grounded theory and content analysis (Boyatzis, 1998; Glaser & Strauss, 1967) to analyze previously collected data from 27 semi-structured interviews with student farm personnel and direct field observations from 19 student farm sites at 12 public universities in the United States. Content analysis uses NVivo 11 software to categorize, calculate descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages), and identify patterns of response data. A farm manager was interviewed at all but one University. Forty-one percent of the interviews represented production-focused student farms, 26% represented demonstration-focused student farms, and 33% represented both production- and demonstration-focused farm sites. On average interviews were 37 minutes each, for a total of 993 minutes of recorded content. Direct observation at farms totaled 71 hours. In the laboratory, further geospatial mapping is conducted using Google Earth Pro and AutoCADPerception of Green Infrastructure. Photo-survey instruments will consist of photo-simulations illustrating green infrastructure design strategies to analyze relationships among design theory for land regeneration, landscape preference, and site understanding (Kaplan 1985; Nassauer 1983). Design strategies will be based on sustainable site design principles recommended in SITESv2 Reference Guide (2014) and With People in Mind (Kaplan, Kaplan, & Ryan, 1998; Matsuoka & Kaplan, 2008). Surveys will also include questions on demographic information, participant knowledge of topic areas (plants, remediation, ecology), and short-answer questions. Photo-simulations will be generated using site photographs along with digital manipulation using Adobe Creative and Trimble SketchUp software. Survey participants will be targeted toward 1) professionals within landscape management and maintenance organizations, and 2) residents living in semi-arid communities. Online surveys will be created using Qualtrics, and distributed via neighborhood organizations, public partners in Montana, and potentially members of stormwater and landscape management organizations. Microsoft Excel or SPSS will be used for factor analysis and cross-tabs, while NVivo will be used for qualitative analysis of written responses. Factor analysis will explore photo-simulation groupings related to preference rating and sustainable site design strategies tested (planting aesthetics and ecology, and interpretive signage) in the study. Regression analysis will measure whether participant knowledge, demographics, or design strategies significantly impact preference and understanding of maintenance needs. Survey results will be reported in scholarly articles, practice-oriented conferences or presentations, and landscape design and management organization outlets like newsletters.Land Regeneration as Green Infrastructure. This project will use a case study method, including in-depth site analyses, interviews, and studio review (Deming and Swaffield 2011, p. 79). Site analyses include investigation of primary and secondary data sources, historical documents, digital mapping using ESRI ArcGIS, and on-site observations. This area of research may also include simulation modeling using Adobe Creative, AutoCAD, and ArcGIS software to evaluate the impacts of alternative strategies (Steinitz et al. 2003; Nassauer and Corry 2004). The case study will be based on ongoing park and trail, land regeneration, and green infrastructure projects in Butte and other locations in Montana. Design process and products will be illustrated with analog and digital graphics, and reported through scholarly article and practice-oriented conferences or presentations.