Date of Award

8-2024

Degree Type

Report

Degree Name

Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA)

Department

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning

Committee Chair(s)

Ole Sleipness (Committee Chair)

Committee

Ole Sleipness

Committee

David Evans

Committee

Nate Trauntvine

Abstract

The Intermountain West of the United States consists of a variety of climates and landscapes. Despite their diversity, all of these regions face similar issues, such as water shortage, lack of biodiversity, invasion of non-native plant species, land development, and population growth. The pursuit of sustainability has become imperative in order to meet the needs of the present, while simultaneously safeguarding the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Many influential landscape architects have advocated for sustainable design; namely, Frederick Law Olmsted, Ian McHarg, and Laurie Olin. However, sustainability is used too often as a generic buzzword, diminishing its power and making sustainable design difficult to achieve. The Sustainable SITES Initiative (SSI) gives landscape designers tangible guidelines for sustainable landscape design through “a rating system that guides, evaluates, and certifies a project’s sustainability in the planning, design, construction and management of landscapes and other outdoor spaces (SITES).” Owned by the U.S. Green Building Council, it can be a great tool for sustainable advocates; however, its limited scope and certification can make success difficult to achieve when the SITES requirements are strictly observed.

The purpose of this study is to apply the SITES v2 Rating System scorecard to three existing parks in Logan, Utah. Though the system does not allow retroactive certification, this process will reveal a unique perspective regarding the scoring system’s limitations and the parks’ limited sustainable features. The scorecards will be used to recommend improvements to these parks, which will again reveal the disparity between certification and realistic improvements to existing public spaces.

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