Letter of Intent

678 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Urban planning essay topics

Plastered on the walls of the landscape design lab at BYU are stickers that emphatically decree, “trees are the answer.” While this seemed like an obvious proclamation, it wasn’t until my professor sarcastically asked, “well, then what do you think is the question?” that I began to give it some serious thought. If trees really are the answer, what was the process in coming to that conclusion? I have started to formulate these questions as an undergraduate students, However, I feel this process has a wider application for not only tress, but how new questions can find new answers to issues we face today in our urban and natural environments. As a Profession Landscape Architect I hope to confront issues in the urban landscape in a way that will bring these new solutions; I hope to ask questions in a way that will facilitate positive change in our cities and communities. I believe that a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from Pennsylvania State University will provide me with the tools and opportunities I need to reach these goals.
I find Dr. Cole’s and Dr. Gorenflo’s research to be especially applicable to my goals. As a landscape management student, I have been exposed to common practices in landscape maintenance, construction and design. I hope to use my background to find innovative solutions and make them practical and manageable. Dr. Cole and Dr. Gorenflo are looking outside our typical urban environment for answers to make it better. They are asking the right questions. I am especially intrigued by Dr. Gorenflo’s research on human interaction with their environment. I firmly believe that a healthy urban ecological environment can alleviate many emotional, social and environmental problems in our cities.During the summ...

... middle of paper ...

...althy or sustainable for the desert climate of the area. This neighborhood, like many others in the area, was disconnected from sources of food and required the residents to own a car to get anywhere. I felt uncomfortable in this space and the neighborhood was not all that inviting. I decided that I wanted to plan and design cities and neighborhoods that work with their environment and keep people connected. Learning how has been a longer process, but I believe that a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture will allow me to make that difference.
I want to study in an environment that facilitates positive growth in its students and allows them to explore their own interests with help from professors that understand issues we face in the urban environment. This is why I hope to work towards a Masters degree in Landscape Architecture at Pennsylvania State University.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place In Nature

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    Look at the civilized, beautiful capital cities in every developed country all around the world which is the central of high fashioned and convenience facility. To live in the city, it seems like the nature surrounding is not important to us anymore. In “The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature” David Suzuki presents the connection between human and the nature and how we depend on the surrounding environment. However, within the past century, most of our modern technologies have been developed in order to provide people needs of goods and products (63). Many of the products we made are causing much more harm to the environment than the value that products provide. Technological development has damaged our environment to the point

    Read More

  • Natural Happiness By Paul Bloom Summary

    1480 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is this feeling we all experience when we step away from the chaos of rushing cars, infrastructure, and artificial lights, and we step into nature. Some describe it as bliss, comfort, excitement, pleasure or just pure happiness. This is the answer to the question Paul Bloom asks “Why should we care about nature?” in his article “Natural Happiness.” Paul goes through this process in which he uncovers the fact that “real natural habitats provide significant sources of pleasure for modern humans”, regardless of our need for food, clean water, and air. There are 3 main arguments that Paul makes in this article that I find particularly interesting, they include: “Our hunger for the natural is everywhere. In many regards our species has already kissed nature goodbye, and we are better off for it. There is a considerable mismatch between

    Read More

  • Frederick Law Olmsted

    2540 Words  | 6 Pages

    Landscape architecture has been around since the beginning of time, but it was not until Frederick Law Olmsted came along that the idea of integrating design into the landscape with plants, water, and structures that it turned into a thriving profession. To many, Olmsted is considered “a pioneer in the profession of landscape architecture, an urban planner, and a social philosopher, one of the first theoreticians and activists behind the national park and conservation movements” (Kalfus 1). Growing up, he did not ever graduate from formal schooling and just sat in on a few classes while at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut. Instead, he acquired his education from being out in the world through traveling and reading. He had a hard childhood. His mother died when he was just four years old and on his journeys around the world to Europe and China, he became sickly with seasickness, paralysis of the arm, typhoid fever, apoplexy, sumac poisoning, and at times suffered from depression. For many years he went on a journey within himself to find out whom he really was and what he wanted to do with his life, career wise. Frederick had one brother, John Hull, who died in 1857. This left Olmsted feeling empty and at loss of what to do. That was when Calvert Vaux came and filled the space in Olmsted’s life that his brother left. Vaux convinced Olmsted to enter the Central Park Commissioner’s design competition with their design entitled the “Greensward Plan.” With the success in that project, Olmsted figured out what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, which was to become a landscape architect. Olmsted practiced from the years of 1857 up until he retired in 1895. Olmsted’s two boys, adopted son John Charles and biological son Frederick La...

    Read More

  • Water in New Jersey

    1857 Words  | 4 Pages

    Residential, commercial and industrial development is the largest contributors to landscape change in the state of New Jersey. When buildout occurs in one region, development pressure begins in another, virtually insuring the Megalopolis concept of one huge urban corridor stretching between Boston and Washington D.C. Year after year, farmland dwindles, roads become congested, and more residents are left to compete for diminishing natural resources. Desperate measures and newer technologies are incorporated to replace poor planning and lack of vision on behalf of decision-makers caught between competing interests. When the long term health and wellbeing of the established population and the short term gain of a limited number of people compete for vital natural resources there should be no question who's interests should prevail.

    Read More

  • Olmsted

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    Growing up in the Bay Area next to San Francisco ha slead me to become fascinated by the complexity of the cities of the world and how they affect so many people. I love the idea that these cities were all planned and thought up of by individuals working together for a larger goal. The planning of cities affects all its inhabitants in ways that they probably do not even realize which makes these plans and the planning process even more compelling. I am also interested in what makes cities unique. Cities are all made up of roughly the same things: blocks, big buildings, parks, cars, and people. Even though the basic elements of cities are the same they all still have there own unique character. I think one of the most distinguishing factors of cities is how they were designed to accommodate certain needs of their inhabitants outside of where they live or work. Cities can easily be overwhelming or a harsh place to live, which is why certain areas need to be set aside to offer some kind of escape. In addition to being a place to withdraw, parks and recreational areas can be a distinguishing characteristic of a city. In San Francisco, the Golden Gate Park, Union square, the Presidio, the wharfs and many other areas set it apart from all of the other cities of the United States and the world. How the planners of San Francisco thought about the areas that the inhabitants needed outside of work and home helps give it its individuality as a major city. Just like how someone must plan all cities, people planned all the parks and recreational areas of cities that have such a widespread effect. By looking at Fredrick Law Olmsted and the Urban Design and Social Context approach he represents, one can learn more about landscape architecture in...

    Read More

  • We Must Live A More Sustainable Life

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    Withgott, J., & Brennan, S. (2011). Environment: the science behind the stories (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Pearson Benjamin Cummings.

    Read More

  • Green Spaces

    2046 Words  | 5 Pages

    Grahna P, Stigsdotter U K (2010): The relation between perceived sensory dimensions of urban green space and stress restoration. Landscape and Urban Planning 94: 264–275.

    Read More

  • Landscape Architecture

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    of landscape architecture. This field interest me for several reasons. First, I have always liked to draw and design and growing up I always wanted to be an architect or engineer. I felt that engineering put too many limitations on creativity, so architecture was the path of choice. Then, after working with my father’s small business for the past 6 doing some landscaping and lawn care, I decided that since I enjoyed working with plants and landscaping that I might want to look into a profession that would allow me to continue to work in those areas. Landscape architecture seemed to be the next logical choice, allowing me to continue being involved in the landscape industry and also to work much like I would in the field of architecture.

    Read More

  • The Environment: My Relationship With The Environment

    1496 Words  | 3 Pages

    When I think of the perfect place, I imagine a cascading waterfall, a vast forest, a stunning mountainside, or a warm sunset on the beach. I look up around me, mesmerized by the vastness of the natural world and breathe in the fresh air. Over the course of my life, I have come to respect the environment and the earth’s natural surroundings in ways that most others do not in the industrialized and technological era of today. I can appreciate the beauty of the Earth and of all the different landscapes and organisms that surround me. The way in which I value and treasure the environment has evolved just as I have. I see the environment as something to be preserved and admired, not destroyed or exploited. My relationship with the environment is

    Read More

  • Letter of Intent

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    I am a twenty four year old female with an Associate of Arts with Emphasis in Arts and Humanities and an Associate of Science in Child Development from Rio Hondo Community College. I am currently finishing up my Undergraduate Degree in Liberal Studies at California Polytechnic University Pomona. In addition, I hold a Teacher’s Permit in Child Development from the Commission of Teacher Credentialing. I am currently pursuing a Masters in Child Development at Cal State LA because I want to be a future educator focusing in the field of Early Childhood Education.

    Read More

  • Sustainable Cities

    1604 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... architectures would led to a more organic organization beneficial to the people that choose to make their lives in this city. Although this model of a sustainable city is not a perfectly closed loop, it lays the foundation for one that is. Over time, with constantly evolving and improving technology and new methods of design from the scale of products to buildings, the gaps in the loop could be closed, and a “true” sustainable city could be fully realized.

    Read More

  • Deviation From Nature Is Deviation From Happiness

    1189 Words  | 3 Pages

    2010). The robotic lifestyle that urbanization harbors takes a bigger toll on us than we realize. Along with having a repetitive schedule every day that usually includes a cycle between work, school and sleep with other responsibilities thrown in the mix we can get mentally exhausted. Needing to get away from it all is a big reason why people travel and explore different parts of the world all the time. Taking a “break” from the typical urban lifestyle is not the only reason we feel a sense of relaxation being outdoors. On a biological level, that good feeling that we get from being outside and taking a fresh breath of air stems from the fact that our great ancestors survived off the land and that we still carry that instinct (Ryan et al. 2010). Many people even have wallpapers of natural landscapes that bring them a relaxing feeling when they look at it. Fortunately, some of the most beautiful places in these photos such as Niagara Falls are under heavy environmental protection as they are a huge tourist attraction for a reason. Additionally, most of the food we eat comes from farms and it just proves that urban cities are reliant on rural areas for their food production. With the current issues of erosion, pollution and urbanization of rural areas… how would human happiness would be affected by these changes in the

    Read More

  • Statement of Purpose for Electrical Engineering

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...e of today and the reality of tomorrow, and my dream of accomplishing a graduate degree that will help me to be a proficient and competent professional for the future will undoubtedly enlighten my present and in turn and help me to brighten up many lives tomorrow.

    Read More

  • Essay On Urban Sprawl

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...only a very small part of the extremely multifaceted phenomenon of urban sprawl. As previously mentioned, urban sprawl seems to be an inherent part of human community development and an issue that has always present worldwide. It seems highly unlikely that the phenomenon of urban sprawl itself can be eradicated from society. It may be a more realistic goal to attempt to change various aspects of society to decrease the effects of urban sprawl, which may require a dramatic paradigm shift for everyone in a society. It is impossible to correct a community problem if the members of that community are not even aware of the issues and the stakes at hand. Such an overreaching phenomenon such as urban sprawl will require acute awareness and enormous effort on the part of every individual in a community to make a marked difference on the negative effects of urban sprawl.

    Read More

  • Reflection Paper On Architecture

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    I believe that this is the correct program for me and I hope that this program will help me foster and develop my creative talents further and become the person I want to be, an architect that leaves an impact on the world. I realize now the power that architecture has and the role it plays in shaping lives as I have seen it shape mine through studying it, and so now I would like to continue my education, so that I can take the necessary steps forward to fulfilling what I want to do in my architectural

    Read More

More about Letter of Intent

Open Document