Commemoration, Accessibility, and Efficiency: Using Two-Dimensional Path of Travel Prediction Software for Historic Veterans Cemetery Expansions

Dominic Fischer (North Dakota State University)

Historic veteran cemeteries across the American landscape are running out of space and also receiving requests for alternatives to full-body burials, such as internment in a columbarium, memorial wall, ossuary, and natural burials. Given the thousands of burial plots within a relatively small acreage of property there are path of travel issues for accessibility, commemoration ceremonies, and improved efficiency for future expansions that can be best achieved through predictive modeling.

This discussion is timely and important because it addresses spatial needs in urban environments and is applicable to historic cemetery sites such as Arlington National Cemetery and other early cemeteries.

This novel research approach to cemetery planning and expansion addresses current issues being faced by cemeteries across the globe and can better equip designers and directors for the future. Furthermore, this approach has merits beyond historical cemeteries. Applying two-dimensional path of travel research to individually visited sites could help revolutionize the way we design small shared spaces in urban environments. We mapped and analyzed over 5,000 plots and individual paths of travel to each, we then analyzed each path to rate its frequency and preference of use. The case study site for this research is the first and only (at the time of the research) veterans cemetery in North Dakota. The needs for expansion at this pilot site are consistent with veteran cemeteries across the country, but the exclusivity of the burial sites to such a large geography make the study even more critical.

As a landscape architecture professor specializing in public landscapes, I along with my collaborator, bring technological approaches to traditional design issues and frame them in a cultural and historical context. This work seeks to create a methodology which can be replicated for complex site designs in urban environments to make quick hitting and long-lasting impacts.