Disturbance Emergence | Regenerative Stewardship of Urban Prairies

Abstract

Amidst a warming climate, urban public landscapes often reflect and reinforce land-management practices that contribute to ecological degradation, including turf-dominated planting regimes, fossil-fuel-dependent maintenance, and ecologically simplified systems reliant on constant intervention. These conventional approaches not only drive emissions and biodiversity loss, but also perpetuate fragmented relationships between humans, more-than-humans, and the land itself. This thesis argues for a fundamental rethinking of how urban public landscapes are designed, stewarded, and perceived. Grounded in ecological planting design, disturbance ecology, and regenerative stewardship, this research investigates urban prairiescapes as a framework for cultivating more ecologically and socially regenerative public landscapes within Seattle’s urban realm. Adapted to disturbance, drought, and nutrient-poor soils, prairie ecosystems are uniquely capable of supporting biodiversity, improving soil health, strengthening climate resilience, and fostering reciprocal relationships between people and ecological systems. While ecological planting design has increasingly been applied within urban landscapes, the integration of regenerative stewardship practices such as grazing and prescribed fire remains largely unexplored in highly visible public urban contexts, particularly as a strategy for supporting biodiversity, ecological resilience, and public engagement. Using the Washington Park Arboretum’s Montlake Peninsula as a case study, this thesis investigates how regenerative stewardship can inform the design and stewardship of urban prairiescapes to restore and sustain ecological and social function. Methods include literature review, interviews and consultations with practitioners and researchers, precedent analysis, and spatial and qualitative site analysis. Through these methods, the research examines how ecological planting design can support functional biodiversity and shape public perception; how disturbance regimes such as grazing, burning, mowing, and rest influence habitat heterogeneity, ecological resilience, and opportunities for cultural ritual and community engagement; and how regenerative stewardship frameworks can cultivate adaptive, participatory, and reciprocal relationships between humans and ecological systems. Findings from this research suggest that ecologically functional landscapes can operate successfully within urban public contexts while reducing long-term maintenance demands, increasing biodiversity, strengthening climate resilience, and creating new opportunities for public engagement with ecological processes. The project proposes a speculative framework for regenerative urban prairiescapes that integrates heterogeneous planting communities, patch-burn grazing strategies, and adaptive stewardship systems supported through community partnerships and long-term ecological stewardship. Ultimately, this thesis positions prairiescapes not only as an ecological strategy, but as a cultural and relational framework for reimagining how public landscapes are co-created, stewarded, and cared for in the face of climate change. Themes: Prairiescapes, ecological planting design, disturbance ecology, regenerative stewardship, climate adaptation, biodiversity, landscape architecture.