Differentiating Urban Forms: A Neighborhood Typology for Understanding Urban Water Systems

With rising populations and changing climates, urban areas need water systems capable of meeting a range of social, economic and environmental sustainability objectives. Different configurations of urban growth and development also produce varying water system outcomes. In this paper we develop a multi-dimensional classification scheme that identifies distinct configurations of ‘urban forms’ in Northern Utah, USA. We identified characteristics within urban landscapes that have been linked in the scientific literature to three types of water outcomes: water demand, water budgets, and water quality. Using publicly-available data at the census block scale, we create a typology of urban neighborhoods that share distinctive combinations of natural, built, and social structures that are expected to shape water system dynamics. The resulting typology provides a conceptual and empirical basis to generate hypotheses and design studies of complex urban water systems. We illustrate the value of the typology by using data from surveys of urban residents. While our typology classifications are unique to this region, the methodology relies on publicly available data and could be replicated in other urban areas

Landscape Architecture Studio in a Large, Complex and Remote Location: The Learning Experience of StudioMx

Studio projects offer students opportunities to shape and test their design skills. These challenging projects require them to develop knowledge and skills to address increasingly complex situations, ultimately preparing them to be professionals with insightful, creative design strategies. In a studio project, fourth-year undergraduate students in landscape architecture at Utah State University had to structure and map their understanding of a large urban area in northern Mexico for possible planning and design interventions. The students worked on integrating urban systems at the metropolitan scale and illustrated their findings through mapped concepts in a studio called StudioMx. After reviewing a selection of studio methodologies and processes operating in a global context, this paper describes the structure of StudioMx. With the focus on large urban systems in an unfamiliar location, the studio project’s goal was to stress the need to frame analyses and design approaches in creative and abstract ways before investing efforts in a detailed design outcome. The learning objectives were to increase students’ awareness of the design thinking process and to explore creative ways of conveying design approache

Teaching Sustainability in Planning and Design Education: A Systematic Review of Pedagogical Approaches

Sustainable development principles are being increasingly incorporated into university planning and design education. This paper evaluates how university planning and design programs teach sustainability and how these various approaches may influence future planners and designers. This systematic review quantitatively analyzes 5639 empirical research documents published from 2011 to 2020, including peer-reviewed papers and reports related to planning and design disciplines in higher education institutions. Key findings include differences in how planning and design curricula include and emphasize sustainability topics, as well as how various modes and teaching approaches correlate with sustainability values. This research offers a comprehensive understanding of how sustainable development approaches and teaching methods may influence how students and emerging professionals approach complex planning and design problems