Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2012 The Cultural Landscape Analysis of the Domain-Centered Place-Based Community of Ave Maria, Florida Brad Huff Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND PUBLIC POLICY THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS OF THE DOMAIN-CENTERED PLACE-BASED COMMUNITY OF AVE MARIA, FLORIDA By BRAD HUFF A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Geography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2012 Brad Huff defended this dissertation on July 10, 2012. The members of the supervisory committee were: Jon Anthony Stallins Professor Co-Directing Dissertation Victor Mesev Professor Co-Directing Dissertation Karen L. Laughlin University Representative Mark W. Horner Committee Member James B. Elsner Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii No one is an island entire of itself … an appropriate metaphor for geographers made all the more profound by those who complete us. I dedicate this to the person who completes me, my wife, Toni. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I gratefully acknowledge the five members of my committee. I have been privileged to have as my co-directors Drs. Anthony Stallins and Victor Mesev who are each fine geographers and truly decent human beings. They share a fierce commitment to their students, a commitment from which I have repeatedly benefitted. Dr. Stallins, who instructed me in both research methodologies and complexity theory, invited me to think outside the box. Among other things, he encouraged me to explore geography using both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Dr. Mesev, the chairman of my department as well as co-director of my committee, taught me by his example to hold a broad vision of the discipline and a strong commitment to the administration, pedagogy, and research that are necessary for its advance. Dr. Mark Horner brings professionalism and command of the discipline to every class he teaches. I have pursued geography largely because in my first geography class, which was with him, I learned to appreciate and enjoy the subject. Dr. James Elsner made statistics, which I have always found threatening, comprehensible. More importantly, I have learned from him the importance of generosity and grace in dealing with students. Dean Karen Laughlin, the outside member of my committee, serves a demanding role in the broader life of the University. She constantly balances the needs of many students, myself included, and in doing so has taught me the importance of balance in my own academic pursuits. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ix 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................1 2. RESEARCH CONTEXT WITHIN THE HISTORYOF GEOGRAPHIC THOUGHT .................................................................................................11 3. ‘LANDSCAPE’ AND ‘DOMAIN-CENTERED’ COMMUNITIES ....................................29 4. HISTORY AND THEORY OF METHODOLOGIES APPLIED IN MY STUDY .....................................................................................................................37 5. METHODS – OBJECTIVE 1 ...............................................................................................60 6. METHODS – OBJECTIVE 2 ...............................................................................................74 7. RESULTS – OBJECTIVE 1 .................................................................................................89 8. RESULTS – OBJECTIVE 2 ...............................................................................................113 9. DISCUSSION OF OBJECTIVES 1 AND 2 .......................................................................146 10. APPLICATION – THREE EXAMPLES ............................................................................162 11. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................175 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................189 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................220 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................231 v LIST OF TABLES 5-1 Events where participant observations were conducted ........................................................71 8-1 The global structure of the ontology used to formalize qualitative data for utilization in GIS analysis .............................................................................................114 8-2 Summary of participatory activities that are part of the community’s repertoire ...............128 8-3 Estimated actual sales per year by neighborhoods in Ave Maria ........................................136 vi LIST OF FIGURES 1-1 Ave Maria as originally designed – grey areas were owned by the developers who were holding them for future development ......................................................................................6 4-1 Two methods for computing travel costs from Point A to Point B are compared. ...............55 6-1 Natural neighbors coefficients example (Markluffel 2010). .................................................80 6-2 Visibility graph geographic extent (left exhibit boxed in red) and the actual area of analysis of open public areas (right exhibit in beige) showing the location of buildings that influence visibility in the area of analysis (right exhibit, buildings in blue). ........................................87 7-1 Total respondents from each residential character area .......................................................91 7-2 The Oratory during the installation of the sculpture The Annunciation ...............................96 7-3 This aerial shows the situation of the Oratory (turquoise) relative to other buildings in La Piazza (rose buildings east of the main street) and the University mall (yellow area west of the main street) ......................................................................................................................97 7-4 A representation of the completed relief sculpture The Annunciation with the guilt statues of the apostles in the background ..........................................................................................98 7-5 East end of the Academic Mall showing fountains in the foreground, the library and classroom building in the background, and the open grass area along the right side ..........100 7-6 Adoration Chapel, a site in the center of the town established for devotional meditation, contemplation, and prayer ...................................................................................................101 7-7 Memorial to the Unborn is an example of the intensity of conservative Catholic beliefs in Ave Maria. ...........................................................................................................................102 7-8 The Klucik memorial is an emergent trace ..........................................................................103 7-9 The route the Rosary Walk followed around the campus the evening I participated as recorded by a GPS ...............................................................................................................104 7-10 Worshipers gathering shortly before the celebration of the Mass .......................................107 7-11 Students study the conservative Catholic interpretive tradition at Donahue Academy ......108 8-1 The relationships among the global elements of the ontology are identified in this illustration ............................................................................................................................115 8-2 The generalized locations of reifications .............................................................................117 vii 8-3 The locations of reifications are shown in the left panel and 'important places' in the right panel. ...................................................................................................................................119 8-4 Natural Neighbor analysis showing the predictive surface of ‘important places’ in the town center relative to the whole development .............................................123 8-5 Natural Neighbor Analysis focused on the predictive surface of ‘important places' in the town center ....................................................................................................124 8-6 Routes for mobile participatory performances ....................................................................126 8-7 Sites of