Date of Award

8-2026

Degree Type

Creative Project

Degree Name

Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA)

Department

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning

Committee Chair(s)

Daniella Hirschfeld

Committee

Daniella Hirschfeld

Committee

David Evans

Committee

Stacia Ryder

Abstract

Brownfield sites represent some of the most environmentally compromised landscapes in the United States and are frequently concentrated within economically disadvantaged communities, raising important environmental justice concerns. Redeveloping these sites requires integrated approaches that address contamination, urban form, ecological restoration, and long term community needs. This thesis examines the 143 acre former Union Pacific Railroad site in Pocatello, Idaho and proposes a comprehensive redevelopment framework that reconnects a historically significant industrial landscape to the surrounding city.

The project draws from an analysis of eight precedent brownfield redevelopment projects and applies key planning and landscape architecture principles, including New Urbanism, pedestrian oriented design, form based coding, housing diversity, and interconnected open space systems. Site analysis considers the environmental history of the rail yard, the cultural significance of the Shoshone Bannock Tribes, the legacy of the adjacent Triangle Neighborhood, and Pocatello's constrained opportunities for outward growth.

The resulting master plan demonstrates how contaminated industrial land can be transformed into a mixed use district that supports housing, recreation, economic development, and community connectivity. By integrating remediation strategies with urban planning and landscape architecture, the project provides a transferable framework for brownfield redevelopment in similarly sized communities. The thesis illustrates how formerly contaminated sites can become resilient, equitable, and economically productive landscapes that strengthen the relationship between people, history, and place.

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