published_or_final_version / abstract / Architecture / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Geography / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Applied Geosciences / Master / Master of Science

During the Middle Bronze II B-C period (1800-1500 B.C.) Palestine underwent an unprecedented period of urban development. This urban development had several spatial consequences, which may be divided into three categories: (1) Spatial relationships between urban settlements and features of the local and regional environment, (2) Spatial patterns in the internal organization of urban settlements, and (3) Spatial patterns in the distribution of urban and rural settlements across the landscape. These three categories form the basis of this dissertation. With respect to the relationship between urban settlements and environmental features, it is demonstrated that urban settlements are associated with productive agricultural land, ample natural water sources, and natural routes of travel. They are also found only in regions where rainfall is sufficient for successful dry farming. The internal spatial organization of Middle Bronze urban settlements is found to be characterized by both agglomeration and centrality. Zones of land-use related to various urban functions are identified, and the similarity of these cities to other pre-industrial cities is demonstrated. Examination of the distribution of urban settlements across the land-scape suggests that these cities were not integrated into a regional urban system, but rather were independent city-states, each with its own supporting region. An examination of rural settlements within the hypothetical supporting region of each urban center supports this conclusion, although the inadequacies of survey within each of these regions preclude definitive conclusions.

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The rapid growth of secondary cities in Kenya is explored through an analysis of various factors related to development. Through a shift-share analysis of employment figures it is shown that, while employment expansion and diversification has occurred in some of the secondary cities, this does not fully explain the population growth which has taken place. Road improvements facilitated rural out-migration while perceived employment opportunities encouraged in-migration to smaller urban centers. While these factors do not fully correspond to the growth which has taken place, it is suggested that they do reveal certain growth patterns which are occurring. Finally, it is suggested that the growth of Kenyan secondary cities is a positive step towards a more equitable and efficient spatial distribution of the population and that, through their development, secondary cities can play an important role in diminishing rural-urban differences and unifying Kenya's space economy. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)

In winter-cities such as Saskatoon there exists a significant potential to improve cold-weather walking conditions for most pedestrians. To realize the walkability potential of a winter-city downtown, by necessity automobile traffic must be reduced. However, when surface parking lots are permitted to operate in abundance, isolated and uncoordinated, and detached from overall planning and transportation policy, automobile traffic reduction downtown cannot be efficiently achieved. In many winter-cities, Saskatoon included, downtown parking lots in fact are oversupplied. Vital space for housing, employment and public space is thereby reduced and pedestrian winter exposure to wind chill and sidewalk ice is increased by breaks in the urban fabric. Systematic conversion of surface parking lots into mixed use would not only enhance incentives to walk, but simultaneously would reduce the incentive to drive. The question thus arises whether and how can we screen a large number of surface parking lots for a limited number of candidate-sites that could be earmarked for infill redevelopment. A screening methodology that prioritizes potential parking lot sites ought to account for a wide range of criteria that address urban design, development-potential, proximity, and microclimate. In a case study of parking lots in downtown Saskatoon, a screening methodology has yielded one priority site out of an inventory of twenty-four sites. Integrated within public transit policy the proposed methodology has generic applicability to downtown areas elsewhere, and can advance the goal of safety and higher residential density downtown.

In this thesis I undertake a study of Canadian municipal open data initiatives in order to assess the current state of the programs and to gauge the role(s) that these initiatives may play in regards to improving public engagement in local government issues. After an initial literature review, I adopt two separate approaches. The first approach involves the creation of an inventory and evaluation of the contents of all twenty three (23) Canadian municipal open data catalogues in existence during the summer of 2012. The second approach involves asking questions of key informants in the field through the execution of nineteen (19) semi-structured interviews with open data experts from both government and civic realms in ten (10) case study cities across the country. The results of the research illustrate the major differences and similarities between the structure, output, and roles of open data initiatives in various Canadian cities. The data provided by these programs mostly consists of politically neutral geographic data, though there are a few exceptions. I find two major program structures in Canadian cities: (1) The first type of open data program is created and operates within a specific municipal department and the (2) second type of program operates across a number of departments. Each approach has its own benefits and challenges. The open data initiatives across Canadian cities also appear to have different approaches to public engagement. Several cities have developed strong collaborative relationships with local open data advocates which are explored in some detail. Larger themes about the current state of open data, its current and future role, and the challenges faced by operators and users, are also described in this thesis. I conclude with some recommendations for improving municipal open data initiatives in the future. / Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2013-08-12 11:27:50.037

The 'cities of the Levites' have left no trace in the historical and prophetical literature of Israel; they appear only in P and Chronicles. They must then be either a fiction of the later compilers of the Law, or an earlier institution which made no great impact in monarchic times. This study therefore begins with a review of the materials of Levite history up to the Exile; the Levite cities must find a place somewhere within this setting, if they ever had any real existence. In the second chapter we turn to survey the development of modern critical study of Joshua and Chronicles, culminating in the classic interpretations of Wellhausen and, for Chronicles, of Rothstein and Rudolph. These provide the presuppositions widely accepted by more recent scholars. We then examine and compare the texts of the two versions of the Levite city list, from a literary standpoint, and conclude that, contrary to previous opinion, the one in Chronicles represents an earlier stage in the development of the tradition than that in Joshua. There are signs that at some time the list has been remoulded, with additions and deletions, to fit the pattern of four cities from each of the twelve tribes. Having recognised the difficulties in supposing the list to be entirely a late invention, in the second half of this study we try to find the Levite cities' place in history. First, the findings of archaeologists, traditio-historians and form-critics are examined, When their proposals appear not wholly satisfactory, we turn in chapter five to those who have attempted to re-appraise the character of the 'Levites' of these contexts. In pursuing this enquiry further, we reach the conclusion that these 'Levites' must be distinct both from the old secular tribe of Levi, and from the sacerdotal Levites of the Deuteronomic and Priestly literature. The 'cities of the Levites' seem to be towns which, in the second millennium, entered Israel by alliance rather than by conquest. Finally, we observe the measure of correspondence between the areas of 'Levite' and Hivite/Hurrian occupation, and raise the question whether the term 'Levite' here may not stem from a textual corruption of 'Hivite' in the Jerusalem archives.

The traditional social and political divisions between the Late Roman and ‘Barbarian’ inhabitants of the post-Roman successor states has in the last few decades been challenged from several new angles. In this thesis, a comparative approach to the question of post-migration period urban settlement is constructed, taking into account recent scholarly research and developments. Following a short introduction broad issues such as terminology, ethnicity, historiography, cultural exchanges, and archaeological evidence are examined in the first two chapters of this work. After this the case studies of Visigothic Spain, Lombard Italy, and Merovingian Francia are presented in three respective chapters. Having looked at some of the specific details for these regions and how they illustrate some of the underlying concepts, trends, or variations in urban administration, the sixth chapter of this thesis presents the comparative approach itself. The main goal of the approach is to alter the ways in which historians perceive the processes of ethnic interactions and identity formation taking place from the mid-sixth to eighth centuries AD, and consists of six main points based upon both the earlier broader chapters, but also incorporates the specific details from the case studies as well. Ultimately it states that while each of the newly established aristocracies inherited a largely fragmentary and localized region following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century, the administrative structures and means of interaction with the Roman populace varied widely in each of the three case studies. The greatest variations were detected in how each group administered non-capital cities within their respective region, particularly the degrees to which they altered the Late Roman urban framework. This work advocates the importance of focusing on ‘the new elite and interactions with different types of cities’, rather than the traditional approach of studying their impact upon cities as a general and broad term.