Border Patches: Reconnecting Ecology and Human Experiences at the U.S.-Mexico Border

Author

• Shima Goodarzi

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

International borders are among the most engineered and ecologically fragmented landscapes in the world. Along the U.S.-Mexico border, infrastructure systems such as walls, patrol roads, and cleared enforcement zones have disrupted wildlife movement, fragmented habitats, altered hydrological systems, and limited social interaction between neighboring communities.

This thesis develops a digital environmental twin framework to evaluate ecological and social connectivity within the San Diego-Tijuana border region. Using ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Urban, spatial datasets including land cover, habitat suitability, hydrology, circulation networks, and urban density were analyzed to identify areas with high ecological potential and opportunities for intervention.

The research informed a site-specific landscape architecture proposal within a 1,400-acre border landscape at San Ysidro-Tijuana. The design reimagines the border as a layered ecological and social infrastructure through habitat restoration, wildlife corridors, wetlands, elevated circulation systems, and controlled cross-border gathering spaces.

Together, the research and design demonstrate how digital environmental tools can support evidence-based landscape strategies that restore connectivity, strengthen biodiversity, and create new forms of interaction within fragmented border environments.

Recommended Citation

Goodarzi, Shima, "Border Patches: Reconnecting Ecology and Human Experiences at the U.S.-Mexico Border" (2026). Landscape Architecture Theses. 3.
https://digitalcommons.ndsu.edu/landscape-architecture-theses/3