Prairie Haven: Combating Urban Sprawl With Ecological Landscape Assemblage in Forest Lake, Minnesota
Files
Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Landscape Architecture
College
Arts and Sciences
Department
Landscape Architecture, Disaster Resiliency & Emergency Management (LADREM)
Faculty Advisor
Dominic Fischer
Studio Coordinator
Jay Kost
Faculty Chair
Dominic Fischer
Publisher
North Dakota State University
Rights
NDSU policy 190.6.2
URI
https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf
Abstract
Contemporary residential developments frequently default to sprawl, creating fragmented environments that lack both environmental resilience and authentic human interconnection. This thesis explores how landscape architects can utilize Assemblage Theory to design residential developments where sustainable materials, ecological systems, and social elements dynamically assemble to create a meaningful, human-scaled sense-of-place. By synthesizing the structural planning efficiency of New Urbanism, the ecological imperatives of Landscape Urbanism, and the metrics-driven performance of Ecological Urbanism, this research develops a hybridized operational approach to residential development. Applied to a master plan in Forest Lake, Minnesota, the design for “Prairie Haven” demonstrates how treating a neighborhood as a socio-material network allows for an adaptable, living master plan. This approach effectively bridges the gap between structured urban design and fluid ecological processes, offering a robust, multidimensional model for creating resilient community developments.
Recommended Citation
Calhoun, Ryan Anthony, "Prairie Haven: Combating Urban Sprawl With Ecological Landscape Assemblage in Forest Lake, Minnesota" (2026). Landscape Architecture Theses. 1.
https://digitalcommons.ndsu.edu/landscape-architecture-theses/1
ThesisPresentation_Calhoun.pdf (8946 kB)
ThesisSupplement_Calhoun.mp4 (642277 kB)