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The Portfolio Cover The inspiration for the portfolio cover initially came from this photo I took of a Great Egret foraging between tide markers in the Chesapeake Bay.
Contents Case Study: Urban Wildlife Movement in Philadelphia, PA.
pg. 3 - 9
LA+ Creature Competition: Conserving for the Piping Plover in Chatham, MA.
pg. 10 - 14
Community Design in Hazelwood, PGH: Establishing New Identity Through Wildlife Conservation in a Post-Industrial Community.
pg. 15 - 20
Great Egrets are not exactly picky when it comes to habitat, and I began to envision a scenario in which a Great Egret may even be spotted within an urban center. Initial sketches did not prove dramatic enough. So I took inspiration from a favorite film: Godzilla. In order to make the Egret feel more alien, I sketched over a still from a 1970’s Godzilla movie where an actor stomps around a model city in a Godzilla suit. Godzilla’s initial reason for its rampage is that its oceanic habitat was being polluted. I wanted to toy with that idea in how it relates to wildlife in cities, and finished the piece by making the ground plane a subtle wetland, or the ideal habitat of a Great Egret. 1
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Case Study: Urban Wildlife Movement in Philadelphia, PA
Species of Interest and Wildlife Parametrics Species of Interest: “Pest” Species
Virginia Opossum Didelphia virginiana
House Mouse Mus musculus
Little Brown Bat Myotis lucifugus
Common Raccoon Procyon lotor
Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus
Why These Species?
Generalists Extremely adaptable to a range of foods and nesting habitats.
Commensal
Human Perception
Directly benefit from living around humans without causing intentional harm.
Seen as “pests” by humans despite important roles within ecosystems.
Metrics Used to Understand Movement An Independent Case Study as a Continuation of 2020 LAF National Olmsted Scholar Finalist Research. In 2020, I was named a Landscape Architecture Foundation National Olmsted Scholar Finalist for my work on the impact wildlife had in shrinking cities. I have continued that wok through an independent case study, using the parametrics that inform the theoretical ecology of wildlife movement to establish a design methodology for urban wildlife in the city of Philadelphia.
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Foraging: Simple Optimality Foraging Theory fi = (λi)(yi-di)(1-βi), where: fi = foraging fitness, (λi) = food abundance, (yi-di) = net energy gained, (1-βi) = chance of predation
Reproduction and Shelter: Thermal Comfort Thermal Comfort as Energy Spent, where: Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) used to calculate outdoor thermal comfort. ASHRAE used to calculate indoor thermal comfort.
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Study Area Selection Pennsylvania Locator Map
Philadelphia Litter Index as Proxy for Food Abundance Neighborhoods in Study Area
Why Hunt When Trash Doesn’t Move?
Philadelphia Litter Index
Urban environments are attractive to wildlife because they allow animals to maximize energy gained while minimizing energy spent. An abundance of food (in this case, garbage or litter) increases the chance of finding food (λi). Since this food is high calorie while also being immobile, energy gained foraging increases (yi), while total energy expended foraging decreases (di). Therefore, total net energy gained (yi-di) increases. Predators, such as the Coyote, will act similarly to foragers, choosing high calorie, immobile food sources over hunting. Risk of predation (1-βi) will decrease.
N Philadelphia City Boundary Pennsylvania Boundary
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Miles 126
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Esri, HERE, NPS
Philadelphia Locator Map
Study Area Boundary
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Philadelphia City Boundary
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2.17
Miles 8.7
4.35
Esri, HERE, NPS
Selecting the Study Area The neighborhoods of Southwest Schuylkill and Bartram’s Village were selected due to their proximity to a large urban green space, Bartram’s Garden, as well as unconventional habitat, such as vacant homes. Considering both allows us to have a more complete view of animal movement within the city.
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Natural Habitat Features
Urban Habitat Features
Impact of Litter Abundance on the Chance of Finding Food (λi)
Impact of Litter Abundance on the Risk of Predation (1-βi)
Impact of Litter Abundance on Total Net Energy Gain (yi-di)
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Reproduction and Shelter Reproduction: The Ultimate Animal End Goal
Environmental Justice Implications in Philadelphia
Shelter Typologies
The ultimate goal for any species is reproduction. Reproduction, however, is an energetically taxing process. As shown with foraging, urban environments are ideal as they allow animals to expend less energy. This is primarily due to the microclimate of urban ecosystems and the habitat within them being generally warmer. I used the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) to illustrate outdoor temperatures, while the US system for thermal comfort within buildings, ASHRAE, was used to gauge the temperatures of vacant and occupied buildings. Animals will choose where its warmer to breed, as they expend less energy, and this will often cause conflict with humans.
High Litter Index Streets Within Majority Non-White Census Tracts
High Litter Index Streets Within Majority White Census Tracts
Vacant Properties Within Majority Non-White Census Tracts
Vacant Properties Within Majority White Census Tracts
Re-classifying Shelter Typologies by Habitat Desirability
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Conclusions Cities are not bad habitat for animals, but rather excellent habitat; albeit with the potential to act as an ecological trap.
Animals are dynamic and kinetic; to accommodate them as urbanization spreads, our cities, sites, and landscapes need to be as well.
Site use by wildlife must be considered; does the site act as foraging, reproductive, or sheltering habitat? How does that fit with surrounding amenities?
Previously established ideas within landscape architecture of “Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames” (Nassauer, 1995) do not account for animal movement between sites or within a system. Human-Wildlife interactions can be potentially negative, such as in the case of zoonotic disease. Currently the risk of involuntary urban wildlife interaction, and therefore risk of disease, is unevenly weighted based on race.
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LA+ Creature Competition “Form and process are indivisible.”
-Ian McHarg In design, there is nothing more integral than process. Be it iteration or active ecologies, process shapes the world around us. However, as it stands now, we have often ignored one key process when considering our urban forms: the movement of animals. As climate change and habitat destruction forces more animals into our cities, I seek to marry the iterative process with the ecological processes that drive animal movement. In doing so, I hope to help inform a more dynamic urban form. As proven by COVID-19, animals, when mishandled, can prove dangerous. But they also provide us with song and beauty. To ensure we benefit from the latter rather than the former, we must consider the process of movement.
Parametrically Rebuilding Barrier Islands Off the Coast of Chatham, MA to Conserve for Piping Plover. (Partners: Jeff Wertheim - Landscape Designer and Eammon Powers - Wildlife Biologist). In Chatham, MA, the piping plover is simply known as the bird that shuts down beaches. Our goal with this project was to ease this burden on public beaches through reconstructing barrier islands along the coast that could act as both habitat for the plover as well as protection against the legendary “Noreaster” storms.
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Surfacing Submerged Dunes 1.
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Reconstructing Base Topography in Rhino
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Proxy Height Maps 1
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Points from Height Maps 1
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Contours from Points 1
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2. 3. Several submerged sand dunes lay off the coast of Chatham, Massachusetts. These dune were likely once barrier islands, naturally occurring topographic features that helped to protect Chatham from North Eastern storms as well as providing critical habitat for the endangered Piping Plover. By using Rhino-Grasshopper, I brought those islands back to the surface, then used parametrics to plant them for maximum protection.
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Exporting to ArcGIS for Analysis
Parametric Planting from GIS Analysis (Where 4 is most suitable, and 1 least suitable)
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Slope of Proposed Barrier Islands
Generated Topography in Rhino
Topographic Mesh from Contours
Points Generated from Topographic Mesh Generated Point
Existing
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Existing Land Mass
Proposed
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Proposed Land Mass
Analysis Metrics Section Diagram Beach grasses provide reproductive habitat as well as cover for Piping Plovers Piping Plover forages in shallow waters near nesting areas
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Areas not key for vegetation or habitat used for human recreation
Secondary Dune
Prevailing Winds Along Proposed Barrier Islands
Planting Suitability along Proposed Barrier Islands
Raster Generated in ArcGIS from Points
Wind moves sand through fencing and helps to establish secondary dunes
Grasses
Vegetation stabilizes dune and protects Chatham from storm surges Primary Dune
Sun Aspect of Proposed Barrier Islands
Highly Suitable
High Suitability Values Extracted in Grasshopper
Point
Tree Canopy
Highly Suitable
Highly Suitable
Populating Mesh Faces with Points in High Suitability Areas
Placing Vegetation Based on Populated Points
View of Parametric Planting from Rhino
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Community Design in Hazelwood, PGH
Master Plan Geo-Tensile Play and Observation Tent
Greenway
teps
S City
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eidg lks -Br -Wa pe Ro nopy Ca
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Greenway
Establishing New Identity Through Wildlife Conservation in a Post-Industrial Community. Hazelwood had the last coke stacks in all of Pittsburgh. Once they left, the community felt as if an essential part of their identity did too. However, de-industrialization opened the door for wildlife to return. The community spoke excitedly of their blue jays, bald eagles, and peregrine falcons, and my project aimed to merge this passion with local history by centering the greenway and city steps as new conservation infrastructure.
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Perspectives
Section A to A1 This section illustrates how the canopy walk cuts through the greenway, as well as the birds people may see as they move through the different levels of the canopy. The accompanying “Birds of Hazelwood” booklet gives tips on how to identify each bird and where they may be found.
What You May See Overhead
American Crow
Bald Eagle Red-Tailed Hawk
Tree Swallow
A1 1. Projecting Public Art onto the City Steps
2. Platforms Extend to the Greenway
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
A 2. Sculptural Planters Imitate the Furnace’s Glow
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3. Exploration through Play - Rope-Bridge-Canopy-Walks
City Steps
Northern Flicker
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Canopy Walk
Northern Cardinal
Blue Jay
Downy Woodpecker
Geo-tensile “Tree House” 18
Community Companion Piece - The Birds of Hazelwood
The Birds of Hazelwood
The Birds of Hazelwood - Blue Jay Profile Cyanocitta cristata Family: Corvidae Order: Passeriformes
Where to Look:
Lawns and Parks
They Nest:
A brief introduction to your native birds, birding, and nature journaling. Information sourced from Cornell University’s All About Birds. 19
Eats: Insects, Fruits, Seeds, Acorns
In Trees
Finding Food: Searches for food along the ground.
Song Neumonic:
Common?
Jay! Jay! Jay!
Very Common.
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Thank you. JM.Tiernan57@gmail.com (267) 884 3367