Geographic Information System technology as a tool for environmental planning problems. Instruction in software for use in environmental inventory and in analysis and assessment of various design and planning alternatives. Formal and informal processes of design are investigated to determine the potential for expanding the computer-aided design and planning process. Theories of practical research and methods of applying them as they relate to landscape architecture. Includes research program development, data collection and analysis, proposal writing and research techniques and tools.
Emphasis is on qualitative methods.
Advanced presentation and discussion of issues related to contemporary and historic urban design. Students present and lead informed discussions on topics such as population density, environmental management, waterfront development, allocation of open space, public art, urban form, and cultural determination. Advanced presentation and discussion of issues related to contemporary and historic aspects of landscape aesthetics. Students present and lead informed discussions and debate on topics such as landscape beauty, values, and perception in exterior space, aesthetics versus function, and philosophic interpretations of beauty applied to the landscape. Students spend one semester as a teaching assistant in the studio sequence under the supervision of the assigned faculty member.