University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 2012 Environmental Design Research and the Design of Urban Open Space: A Study of Current Practice in Landscape Architecture Jennifer Masters University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Environmental Design Commons, and the Landscape Architecture Commons Masters, Jennifer, "Environmental Design Research and the Design of Urban Open Space: A Study of Current Practice in Landscape Architecture" (2012). Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014. 928. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/928 This thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN RESEARCH AND THE DESIGN OF URBAN OPEN SPACE: A STUDY OF CURRENT PRACTICE IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE A Thesis Presented by JENNIFER MASTERS Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE September 2012 Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning © Copyright Jennifer Masters 2012 All Rights Reserved ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN RESEARCH AND THE DESIGN OF URBAN OPEN SPACE: A STUDY OF CURRENT PRACTICE IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE A Thesis Presented by JENNIFER MASTERS Approved as to style and content by: _______________________________________ Patricia McGirr, Chair _______________________________________ Mark Hamin, Member _______________________________________ Elisabeth Hamin, Member ____________________________________ Elizabeth Brabec, Department Head Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sincere thanks are due to the members of the committee for their support and valued insight throughout this project. Mark Hamin’s research acumen and enthusiastic response to the proposal strengthened this inquiry. Elisabeth Hamin’s expertise in qualitative research methods was essential to conducting a sound analysis. Committee Chair Patricia McGirr introduced the concept of post-occupancy evaluation in my first year in graduate school, fueling my interest in understanding why some spaces seem to work better for people than others. Thanks are also due to Robert Ryan, whose class, People and the Environment, solidified my commitment to studying this phenomenon. Additional faculty members made contributions that are much appreciated. Mark Lindhult and Max Page offered astute feedback at key junctures in the process. Jane Thurber likened the process of translating research for use in practice to a design problem, an analogy that has made a lasting impression. And Sue Weidemann of the State University of New York at Buffalo provided encouragement and access to important resources during the final stages of the project. Thank you to all. Most importantly, a debt of gratitude is owed to the professional designers who agreed to participate in this study. They gave generously of their time and offered articulate and thoughtful commentary on what has proven to be a complex and nuanced topic. Any positive impact this study may have is due to these twelve landscape architects. iv ABSTRACT ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN RESEARCH AND THE DESIGN OF URBAN OPEN SPACE: A STUDY OF CURRENT PRACTICE IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE SEPTEMBER 2012 JENNIFER MASTERS, B.A., UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA M.S.ED., UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA M.L.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Chair: Professor Patricia McGirr A large and growing body of research exists on how the design of the environment can positively or negatively affect people’s health and well-being, as well as influence their behavior. Researchers in this field, known as “environmental design research,” have long acknowledged the challenge of translating their findings into formats that are accepted and used by practitioners. A great deal of this research is focused on open space (parks, plazas, streets) in urban areas. This study explores how this research and the practice-oriented translations of it are used by landscape architects who have been recognized in the profession for their designs of urban open space. Through interviews with practitioners, an understanding emerges of the impact of environmental design research on contemporary practice, leading to recommendations that could enhance it in the future. Key findings of the study indicate that translations of the research, specifically in the form of design guidelines, while intended to inform practice, are not widely used by designers. Rather, to understand how design impacts human behavior, practitioners rely v primarily on what they refer to as intuition, largely informed by their own direct observations of people in public space. The quality of their personal observations, therefore, is critical to their depth of understanding of human behavior and the environment. Many of the study participants regard the findings of environmental design research as a reinforcement of their intuition. The study concludes with recommendations that could improve the skills of design students and practitioners to conduct, interpret, and apply their own direct observations in their designs, using methods and findings from the field of environmental design research to inform and enrich this process. Keywords: urban open space, environmental design research, environment-behavior research, human behavior, human health and well-being, design guidelines, landscape architecture practice, design education and pedagogy, research methods, direct observation, post-occupancy evaluation vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 Complexities in contemporary urban open space design.........................................1 Purpose for research and contribution to the field...................................................2 Project goals.............................................................................................................5 Research questions and hypotheses .........................................................................6 Scope of research and organization of study ...........................................................7 2. ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE: HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND CURRENT TRENDS...................9 Definitions................................................................................................................9 Environmental design research....................................................................9 Environment behavior studies and other names ........................................10 Behavior-based design guidelines..............................................................10 Aesthetic design guidelines........................................................................11 Brief history of environmental design research.....................................................12 William H. Whyte: Pioneer....................................................................................13 Translation .............................................................................................................16 Design guidelines...................................................................................................18 People Places: Design Guidelines for Urban Open Space ...................................21 Additional methods to communicate research to practitioners..............................24 Project for Public Spaces ...........................................................................25 Research Design Connections....................................................................26 Professional associations ...........................................................................26 Professional journals..................................................................................27 Trade publications......................................................................................27 Books .........................................................................................................28 vii Post-occupancy evaluation.....................................................................................32 University design curricula....................................................................................37 Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards ........................................................40 Sustainable Site Initiative™ ..................................................................................41 Summary................................................................................................................42 3. STUDY METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................44