James Barnes

TACTICAL GROWTH: BIODIVERSITY, ATTENTION, AND TRANS-SPECIES ARCHITECTURE IN A K-5 VIRGINIA SCHOOLYARD

Global biodiversity is undergoing a 6th mass extinction event—an ominous trend of the Anthropocene. Meanwhile our understanding of biodiversity and biodiversity-human interactions in built environments is poorly understood. These interrelated trends have significant implications, particularly for children and the spaces of education; childhood is a critical developmental period when engagement with nature, a broader concept than biodiversity, promotes numerous developmental benefits such as health and well-being, learning, and pro-environmental values. The role of biodiversity as a core component of nature is less clear in these processes. At the same time, U.S. public school infrastructure—the space of education for most U.S. children—is largely lacking in ecological complexity including biodiversity for a range of reasons including resource limitations, information gaps, and stakeholder buy-in.

This dissertation investigated Biophilic Tactical Urbanism (BTU)—temporary, low-cost biodiversity interventions—as a methodological innovation to interrogate these twin challenges through a systems thinking framework. BTU, a novel intersection of biophilic design, multispecies design, and tactical urbanism, aimed to 1) generate new knowledge at the human / biodiversity / built environment nexus in schools, and 2) serve as an applied ecological “stepping stone” strategy towards more biodiversity-integrated public spaces. This transdisciplinary, scaffolded research explored BTU through design, ecological, and psycho-social lenses.

James Barnes is an Assistant Research Professor in the NC State University College of Design, Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, and the Natural Learning Initiative. His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture, ACADIA (Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture), and Divergence in Architectural Research. He has received national fellowships from The U.S. Geological Survey, The National Audubon Society, and Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.