In the case of the BlueRidge/Western Boulevard area, she found that environmental preservation could allow for dense, mixed-use developments “that promote walkability and other outdoor activities that provide mental and physical health attributes to the community.”Īfter designating two main landscape corridors in the area, Snipes said, “The first step of design was to examine ways to improve the width and connectivity of these corridors before determining where development could occur. Her plan was to tackle the “amazing disconnect between the residential and business areas,” by proceeding from an “environmental focus” - an approach inspired by an ecological design theory of Harvard landscape ecology professor Richard Forman. What happens if they become too old to drive or cannot afford a vehicle? Access to needs is then lost therefore we can design where access to contemporary goods and services is part of a neighborhood fabric.” The problem lies in the fact that many of the residents depend solely on automobiles to carry them from each of these places. Snipes explained that “contemporary needs include simple access to goods and services of your daily life, which today can include your place of work, groceries, medical care, etc. “Consequently, the large ‘islands of concrete’ created by separate building development force automobile use.” Large amounts of impervious surfaces create large volumes of storm-water runoff, polluting and degrading the watershed. This discourages the creation of view sheds into the natural environment from existing buildings, hindering mental health. ![]() “The area is fragmented business, homes and attractions, with little or no connectivity between them, and residents of the area depend solely on automobile transportation,” she said, noting that these conditions can be suburban health crisis contributors.Īs she states in her research poster, “there is a lack of diversity in overall plant material, which is divided into fragmented patches of non-native vegetation, limiting native habitats. Upon further research and analysis of the surrounding area, I found problems with the watershed of the area, the vegetative conditions and the altered topography. What initially caught her attention in this area, she said, “was the massive, underutilized Kmart parking lot. “The overall location was chosen by my adviser Kofi Boone as an area that was representative of what we were studying in our studio: Inner ring suburbs, areas of transition for Raleigh’s future, where population growth is expected to significantly increase by 2030,” Snipes said. ![]() State’s JC Raulston Arboretum.) For this locale, she designed a suburban retrofit “to promote both human and environmental growth along the Blue Ridge corridor,” she said. ![]() Essentially she selected one of Raleigh’s inner ring suburbs (areas built between 19), specifically the Blue Ridge Road/Western Boulevard vicinity that includes businesses such as Kmart, as well as single-family dwellings and apartment complexes and related environs. She is also on schedule to receive her master’s in horticultural science from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in August.īoth disciplines were interwoven in her symposium project. ![]() Snipes, a native of Greenville, Miss., conducted the project as part of her graduate studies in pursuit of the master’s degree in landscape architecture she earned in May. State University’s 2011 Graduate Student Research Symposium in March. That’s what Brantley Snipes sought to find out in her project “Retrofitting Suburbia with Health in Mind,” research that she presented at N.C. Can landscape design accommodate both the needs of a growing population and an endangered environment? Can you take a business-and-residence mash-up and transform it into an environmentally healthy, pedestrian-friendly, urban oasis blending open space and neighborhood-serving businesses?
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