A New Urban

Ecology: A
Case Study on
Lake Olathe
Taylor Thompson
Lake Olathe
2, 3, 4: http://nut4sports.com/lakeolathe.html
1: http://kansastravel.org/olathe/cedarlakefalls.htm
1
4
3
2
Inspiration
Love for the lake

Lack of interest in/knowledge
of lake

Ranching, Endangered
Species, and Urbanization in
the Southwest: Species of
Capital by Nathan F. Sayre

Urban planning


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/
ranching-endangered-species-and-
urbanization-in-the-southwest-
nathan-f-
sayre/1100002959?ean=97808165255
22
Qualitative research
Informed by the social sciences
My general question was revised
Why social sciences are included in
EVS!
Systematic Qualitative methods:
Participant Observation
Identified key informants
Evaluated maps of the area
Identified photographs that
showed social relationships
between natural and social
systems
Public records of decision making
processes
Engineering Records (pollution
levels)
Previous social and ecological
theories combinations
Historical narrative of Lake Olathe
itself


Methodology
http://ks.water.usgs.gov/cyanobacteria
Where are we going?
Sayres issue and suggestions as guidelines

Problem (urbanization and narrow mindset)

Historical analysis (of Lake Olathe and urban planning)

Thesis:
A broad sociological-ecological approach is
necessary in order to understand the current
condition of Lake Olathe, as determined by past
governmental and community actions, and in turn, to
care for Lake Olathe through future policy and
community actions.
Sayres Dilemma
History of 110,000-
acre Buenos Aires
Ranch in the Altar
Valley

Conversion into Buenos
Aires National Wildlife
Refuge
Attempt to grow
Masked Bobwhite
population
Blamed cattle
ranching
Lack of scientific
evidence

http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Buenos_Aires/wildlife_and_habitat/index.html
The Baseline
Social reconstruction of bobwhite and cattle
Is grazing good or bad? (Sayre, p. xiv)
Symbolic battle between masked bobwhite and cattle

Abstracted Man and abstracted Nature
Complete separation between economics and
ecology

Located in southern
Arizona, Buenos Aires
National Wildlife Refuge
was established for the
reintroduction of masked
bobwhite quail and to
restore the natural
landscapes and native
wildlife that depend
upon it.
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Buenos_Aires/about.html
A New Framework
Production of
Natures

State Agencies

Species of Capital

Nature and the
Capitalist State

http://climate-
adaptation.blogspot.com/2013/02/us
da-releases-draft-climate-
change.html
https://profile.usgs.gov/mooney
http://vcresearch.berkeley.ed
u/faculty/nathan-sayre
Why Urban Planning?
Delve into my career choice
Urbanization dealt with through urban
planning
Urbanization is dominant trend and important
in global land transformation
History of urban planning sheds light on
mindsets of the time
http://www.firminc.org/building-healthy-communities-
update/urban-planning/
Brief History of Urban Planning
1857 One of the first planned
American suburbs Llewellyn
Park
1857 The American Institute
of Architects (AIA) established
1875 Benjamin Ward -
Hygeia
1893 Columbian Exposition in
Chicago (roots of City
Beautiful Movement)
1899 The American Society
of Landscape Architects
founded
1902 the McMillan Plan for
Washington, D.C., redesigning
the National mall, in City
Beautiful style
1907 the first city planning
commission (in Hartford, CT)
established










1909 Birth of American
Planning First National
Conference on City Planning
in Washington, D.C.
1920 US urban population
(54.3 mil) has surpassed the
rural population (51.8 mil)
1923 Harvard opens first
graduate program in city
planning
1932 Frank Lloyd Wright The
Disappearing City
1935 3 Greenbelt towns
1946 The University of North
Carolina established the
Department of City &
Regional Planning
A slight shift
1962 Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
1965 Davidoff, Paul. Advocacy and
Pluralism in Planning.
1966 Babcock, Richard F. 1966. The
zoning game; municipal practices
and policies
1969 NEPA: the National
Environmental Policy Act
1970 Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) established
1970 More people live in suburbs
(37.6%) than central cities (31.4%)
1987 U.N. World Commission on
Environment and Development
1988 Peter Hall, Cities of Tomorrow :
An Intellectual History of Urban
Planning and Design in the Twentieth
Century
1990 Formation of the International
Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives

http://college.lattc.edu/rrptraining/files/201
2/09/epa_logo.jpg
General themes emerge
Urban planning has seen a transformation of mindsets
over its 157 yr. history

Architects + Social Workers + Government Officials +
Public Health Officials
Distinct mindsets shape the field

City Beautiful Movement

Different values assigned to nature
Socially-constructed value trapped in economic value

Built environment using nature for beauty
governmental control suburban sprawl social
problems include environment?



Lake Olathe
17 month severe drought in 1953-1954
Citys water sources dried up
1,500 ft. dam on Cedar Creek
Built in 1956
Surrounded by 208 acre community park
Activities:
Skiing
Swimming
Fishing
Hiking
Shelters for parties/picnics
http://www.angl
ersfishinginfo.co
m/ks/olathe/olat
he/
Lake Olathe now
No swimming, no waterskiing
Lack of funding
Ed Colson:
Community activist and lifelong
citizen of Olathe
Lakes condition result of
political climate
Liability issues
Costs
Clean-up
Infrastructure
Surrounding land use changes
Plan-less
http://www.msbanddirect
or.com/profile/EdColson?
xg_source=activity
http://maps.jocogov.org/ims/
http://ks.water.usgs
.gov/lake-olathe
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2005/3093/pdf/fs_05_3093.pdf
WRAPS
Kansas Watershed Restoration and Protection
Strategy, 2004
Stakeholder developed action plan
Local approach - plan of restoration and protection
goals for surface waters
Farmers, landowners, representatives of natural
resource agencies, city/county government, public
water suppliers
Best Management Practices (BMP) Cost Share
Program
http://www.kswraps.org/wraps-process
New Perception is Possible!
City of Olathe
Municipal
Services
Department
Proactive
influence of
public
discussion of
water instead
of reaction
Changing
Consumer
Perceptions

http://books.google.com/books?id=wrpPxBwyYcQC&pg=PA53&lpg=PA53&dq=lake+olathe+watershed&source=bl&ots
=oN0d4rr0jJ&sig=SaCeuu_zNxSqtlHeU0qGIVMtLkQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=aK0KU_yoNKaF2AW-
4oDYAQ&ved=0CGAQ6AEwDQ#v=onepage&q=lake%20olathe%20watershed&f=false
Attempts
WRAPS and
Olathe
Municipal
Services
Department =
good intentions
BUT,
economics are
always the
underlying
issue
Golf course
issues
Stagnant
http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=6062
New Mindset Needed

Spatial prominence of urban areas
Working with new types of people agriculturalists,
foresters, and conservationists
Human influence prevalent and pervasive
Reciprocal flows and influences between densely and
sparsely settled areas
Urban Ecology conflicts

Open definition of urban systems that accounts for
the exchanges of material and influence between
cities and surrounding landscapes
Understanding the Norm
Urban ecology typically involves:
Segregation of economic and social functions
Efficiency of transportation and delivery of utilities
Efficient filling of undeveloped space
Green infrastructure
Requirements for monitoring results


New Framework
Perspective of a:
dynamic, open, connected system
use of wide range of theories
continual understanding new ecological theories

Wider model
Recognize spatial structure and linkages
between social and ecological differences of
an ecosystem
Case by case basis
Ecology of Cities vs. Ecology in Cities
Conclusions
Calling for decision makers to not just make decisions
based on social and economic decisions, but also
contemporary ecological theories and research
New perspective, not just more funding
History of urban planning shows transition towards a
more ecological mindset
Planners will play an integral role in combination of
social and ecological theory
Increase communication between citizens, government,
agencies, and companies
Lake Olathe requires this integrated mindset; otherwise it
will continue to deteriorate

Questions?
Sources

2012 Kansas 303(d) List - Forward. Lawrence: Kansas Department of Health and Environment, 2012. PDF.
"2DOlatheLakePublic.pdf." N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.nut4sports.com/files/2DOlatheLakePublic.pdf>.
"65-166a." Bureau of Water, Livestock Waste Management Section, Kansas Statute No. Kansas Department of Health and
Environment, 1 July 2003. Web.
"65-171d." Bureau of Water, Livestock Waste Management Section, Kansas Statute No. Kansas Department of Health and
Environment, 1 July 2003. Web.
"79-32,204." Bureau of Water, Livestock Waste Management Program,. Kansas Department of Health and Environment, 7 May 1998.
Web.
Article 16. - Surface Water Quality Standards. Lawrence: Kansas Department of Health and Environment, 3 June 2004. PDF.
Campbell, Scott. "A Selected Chronology of Urban Planning History." A Selected Chronology of Urban Planning History. N.p., 14 Apr.
2013. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.
Kaduk, Kevin. "Home News Rough Going for Courses." Golf Course Industry RSS News. GIE Media Horticulture Group, 19 June 2004.
Web.
"Lake Olathe." City of Olathe. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.olatheks.org/parksrec/Locations/LakeOlathe>.
Lake Olathe Watershed BMP Cost-share Program. Olathe: Olathe Municipal Services Department, n.d. PDF.
Lower Kansas WRAPS 9 Element Plan Overview. Lawrence: Kansas Department of Health and Environment, 24 June 2011. PDF.
Mau, David P., and Carly S. Adams. "The Lake Olathe Watershed-Understanding an Important Resource." Kansas Water Science
Center. USGS, July 2002. Web.
Mau, David P. "Sediment Deposition and Selected Water-Quality Characteristics in Cedar Lake and Lake Olathe, Northeast Kansas,
2000." Kansas Water Science Center. USGS, 2000. Web.
"Olathe - Lake Olathe." Region 2 / Fishing Locations. Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, n.d. Web.
"Open Town Hall | City of Olathe." Open Town Hall | City of Olathe. City of Olathe, 2014. Web.
Pickett, S. T. A., M. L. Cadenasso, J. M. Grove, C. H. Nilon, R. V. Pouyat, W. C. Zipperer, and R. Costanza. "Urban Ecological Systems:
Linking Terrestrial Ecological, Physical, and Socioeconomic Components of Metropolitan Areas." Annual Review of Ecology and
Systematics 32 (2001): 127-57. Print.
Policies and Procedures Handbook. N.p.: Kansas Association of Conservation Districts, 15 Sept. 2011. PDF.
Rasmussen, Patrick. "Lake Olathe Nutrient." Kansas Water Science Center. USGS, n.d. Web. <http://ks.water.usgs.gov/lake-olathe>.
Ross, Nancy. WORLD WATER QUALITY FACTS AND STATISTICS. N.p.: Pacific Institute, 22 Mar. 2010. PDF.
Spaargaren, G. "Theories of Practices: Agencies, Technology, and Culture. Exploring the Relevance of Practice Theories for the
Governance of Sustainable Consumption Practices in the New World-order." Global Environmental Change: Human and Policy
Dimension 21 (2011): 813-22. Web.
Tatham, C., E. Tatham, and R. Cicerone. "Stakeholder Perceptions of Utility Role in Environmental Leadership." Google Books. The
International Water Association, 1 July 2006. Web.
Water Quality Technical Report Content. N.p.: Olathe Municipal Services Department, 29 Nov. 2007. PDF.
Webb, J. "Climate Change and Society: The Chimera of Behaviour Change Technologies." Sociology 46.1 (2012): 109-25. Web.
"What Is a Settlement House?" United Neighborhood Houses. United Neighborhood Houses of New York, 2011. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.
Wright, Kevin. "A New Idea for Old Golf Course." The Olathe News. N.p., 19 Apr. 2010. Web.