Safe Haven Leveling the Playing Field by Creating a Home for the Unsheltered, Homeless, Water, and Native Plants

Through natural and constructed elements, landscape architects design public landscapes to engage the public in the great outdoors. While many local governments and designers actively create landscapes to keep the unsheltered and homeless out of public spaces, keep water in storm drains, and keep native plants on the periphery of the public landscape, my project, Safe Haven, is about creating an inclusive public landscape for people, water, and native plants. Preliminary research into the history of property ownership, discrimination, economic inequality, and government programs for the unsheltered created a picture of why certain demographics struggle with housing. Case studies of homeless encampments in the Washington DC area of NOMA, Abbot's Camp in Austin, Texas, and car camping in San Diego, California, and Seattle, Washington, gave insight into the current landscape needs of unsheltered people. Studies of the watershed and plants native to the site inspired a water retention system and a seasonal pallet of plants. The design incorporates existing infrastructure, new buildings, a natural playground, wilderness camping, a Mount Vernon-inspired vegetable garden, and a sunken garden designed to retain water while showcasing native plants. Describing the design are narratives sharing the perspective of water, native plants, the unsheltered, and the homeless. Lady Landscape guides the stories and offers her views on the responsibilities of a landscape architect.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Landscape Architecture

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Landscape Architecture

Department dc:contributor.department

Landscape Architecture

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Mitchell, Michelle Lynn

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Kelsch, Paul J.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Piedmont-Palladino, Susan C.
• Heavers, Nathan

• Homeless
• Unsheltered
• Re-purposed Infrastructure
• Vegetative Swale
• Sunken Garden
• Shopping Center
• Activity Center
• Water Retention

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:33927

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/107628