Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone Project / There has been a nationwide movement which has promoted urban agriculture. The locale, seasonality, and methods of cultivation, have all entered the spotlight of public consciousness. While farmer’s markets, and co-ops may sometimes have limited accessibility with respect to cost another community gardens are branch of the urban agriculture movement which are highly accessible. The surge in popularity of community gardens came with the 2008 market crash, which created many foreclosures, and accordingly vacant lots. Where vacant lots are reclaimed by citizens, they create a sense of ownership within a community, they become physical manifestations of neighborhood rally cries, elbows rub, and community connections are made. With a relatively small amount of initial input, and continued care, there are tangible outputs, and literal fruits of labor. The popularity of these gardens extends to schools, and a whole branch of pedagogy which emphasizes place based learning. The benefits to these schools is tremendous; students are offered the opportunity to be academically engaged in a space other than the traditional classroom. Community gardens show the potential to create value from little input. With the benefit of a structured design process, there is potential to make school gardens learning space, in addition to growing space. The intent of this study is to explore the value created for these spaces by a formalized design process.

Application of sustainable design is growing rapidly as companies face increasing pressure to address the environmental impacts of their products. In response, a great deal of research has been directed at the development of sustainable design methods, as early design intervention has the potential to generate radical improvements. At present however, sustainability is often considered as an afterthought, only yielding incremental improvements. As such there is a clear need to redesign our design processes, and promote embedded consideration of sustainability throughout from the earliest stages. This thesis reports on research investigating how sustainability considerations could be systematically incorporated into product design processes through the definition of a framework and the development of a methodology for evaluating established design processes and identifying and prioritising stages for sustainability considerations to be embedded into design activity. The primary objective of this research is to develop an understanding of the challenges and opportunities for the implementation of sustainable design approaches in order to move towards a situation in the future where sustainability considerations are an inherent and embedded part of product design processes or Ubiquitous Sustainability in design.

The thesis inquires into the living value of participatory practices to sustainability. The two problems of lack of recognition of participatory practices and the lack of address of sustainability matters are drawn into one collective inquiry initiative. Twelve Australian participatory practitioners, working in three states, in various aspects of social and environmental sustainability in the public, community and academic sectors voluntarily participated in the initiative for over eighteen months. The author, being the initiating researcher and practising participatory principles from the outset, chose not to facilitate a pre-determined method at any stage so as to let a systemic form of inquiry come into being. Working through three emergent iterations, the Inquiry and its thesis propose that globally, participatory practices are distinguishable in four generic constituents of Governance, Development, Learning and Activism and that incorporating all four of these elements constitutes a participatory practice with transformative qualities at systemic scales. Practically, the co-researchers created participatory practices from an eclectic range of such traditions, modes and disciplines, integrated through dialogic, reflexive, autobiographical and contextual inclusions. The ongoing Inquiry entity resists collapse to a defaulted instrumentalist stance and continues to unfold as a sociological embodiment of the thought it generates. Referring to Polanyi, Bohm, Bourdieu, Foucault, Torbert and Miller the author interprets the Inquiry’s legacy as establishing an articulate, committed and responsive open community within which we freely develop capabilities that are inhibited by our daily life worlds while also crucial for transformation towards participatory sustainability in these same worlds. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The thesis inquires into the living value of participatory practices to sustainability. The two problems of lack of recognition of participatory practices and the lack of address of sustainability matters are drawn into one collective inquiry initiative. Twelve Australian participatory practitioners, working in three states, in various aspects of social and environmental sustainability in the public, community and academic sectors voluntarily participated in the initiative for over eighteen months. The author, being the initiating researcher and practising participatory principles from the outset, chose not to facilitate a pre-determined method at any stage so as to let a systemic form of inquiry come into being. Working through three emergent iterations, the Inquiry and its thesis propose that globally, participatory practices are distinguishable in four generic constituents of Governance, Development, Learning and Activism and that incorporating all four of these elements constitutes a participatory practice with transformative qualities at systemic scales. Practically, the co-researchers created participatory practices from an eclectic range of such traditions, modes and disciplines, integrated through dialogic, reflexive, autobiographical and contextual inclusions. The ongoing Inquiry entity resists collapse to a defaulted instrumentalist stance and continues to unfold as a sociological embodiment of the thought it generates. Referring to Polanyi, Bohm, Bourdieu, Foucault, Torbert and Miller the author interprets the Inquiry’s legacy as establishing an articulate, committed and responsive open community within which we freely develop capabilities that are inhibited by our daily life worlds while also crucial for transformation towards participatory sustainability in these same worlds. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (Sc.D.)--University of Massachusetts Lowell, 2007. / Adviser: Kenneth Geiser. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Iowa, 2009. / Thesis supervisor: Sarah Kanouse.

Thesis (M.S.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2009. / Directed by Robert Charest; submitted to the Dept. of Interior Architecture. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed May 27, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-48).

The planned Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria - Abuja is the context of this research. Abuja was conceived and conceptualised under a Master Plan designed by Kenzo Tange and Utec to replace Lagos as the new Capital City for the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1977. This came about because of the unstructured and unplanned facilities characteristically evident in buildings, communities and some critical infrastructure in Lagos. These have combined, with the rapid rates of urbanisation, and relative to lack of supporting infrastructure and services, to render Lagos as one of the most overcrowded and dysfunctional cities in the world. Housing shortages, urban sprawl, traffic congestion, overburdened and dilapidating physical infrastructures and services, and poor quality environment have become the defining characteristics of Lagos. These were the issues that forced the idea of relocating the Capital City elsewhere in the country that resulted in Abuja’s selection as the New Capital City for Nigeria in 1977. Kenzo Tange Associates, an authority in urban design was appointed that resulted in a Master Plan to guide the development of the new city. The resultant Master Plan was designed with the specific peculiarities of Lagos in mind to avoid reoccurrence, although, the concept of environmental sustainability and development was not the preoccupation of urban design and planning in the 1970s, Abuja Master Plan incorporated the concepts, principles, and practice of sustainable development today. Nevertheless, the implementation of the Abuja Master Plan has drawn consternation from built environment professionals. Anecdotal evidences exist to suggest that Abuja is rapidly incubating all the urban problems experienced in Lagos in the 1970s. Sequel to the above therefore, this thesis aims to develop a conceptual framework that will enable Abuja develop into a 21st century functional and resilient City of sustainable communities. The view pushed in this thesis is that not only does sustainable approach to design, implementation and management of urban communities holds huge capacity for bridging urban inequalities and prudent resource management; it holds the key to the survival of cities. The main aim of the research; to produce a conceptual framework to guide the development of Abuja Capital Territory into a 21st Century City of Sustainable Communities. To accomplish this aim, a mixed method of research methodology has been used for data gathering, an approach informed by the epistemological and ontological positioning of the researcher. Data obtained were analysed using the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSSx) and the results resulted in a conceptual model illustrating ‘the road map’ to sustainable community development approach to Abuja in becoming a 21st century sustainable city. The study has successfully highlighted and resolved key issues centred around the sustainability of Abuja. It has also answered fundamental questions of whether Abuja can, and how it can develop into a 21st Century City of Sustainable Communities. Therefore, it is expected that the conceptual framework which is the outcome of this research becomes a reference manual to both urban decision makers, built environment professionals, and other stakeholders in planning the development of Abuja Capital Territory into a 21st Century City of Sustainable Communities.

To say that modern day stadium and arena construction is a controversial topic is an understatement of the magnitude it has. Every couple of years, a host-city somewhere in the world gets the burden of building new expensive and spectacular stadiums, infrastructure and all the logistics that comes with hosting a major sporting venue such as the olympics or FIFA world cup. But after the games, these stadiums most often stands as an expensive tourist attraction that requires maintenance and is not used to the intended full potential. Occupying valuable space and resources. My project is a conceptual research that aims to find an alternative story-line for this problem and suggest a new method of how stadiums could be designed, built, transformed and used.

The pandemic has taught us several valuable lessons. It led to a new interest in redesigning-built environments that promote healthy indoor atmospheres and provide a space for reflection along with social distancing. The architecture of a space affects how people move within a space and live their lives. By using organic design principles and sustainable systems, we can transform and renew our built environment. A holistic approach that combines natural and built elements can create a sense of harmony and health, which is in line with the essence of organic architecture. Organic architecture can provide a sustainable solution to the persistent conflict between humans and nature due to urbanization, resource scarcity, and deforestation. By incorporating organic design principles, we can reconcile expanding urban environments and mass constructions with the natural world and biosphere. This approach can establish a harmonious relationship between human-made environments and nature, creating a more sustainable future. Despite their benefits, earthen materials are not widely used in new construction in North America. (Jenkins Swan, Rteil, and Lovegrove 2011) Some people even might believe that earthen materials are indicators of poverty, creating a social stigma that limits their use. Labor standards and knowledge sharing in the building industries may preference other ways of building. For others, the technical data available may be insufficient to quantify an understanding of building performance in various climates. Importantly, earthen materials are not fully represented in building codes and standards, particularly in North America.(Jenkins Swan, Rteil, and Lovegrove 2011) According to recent research, earthen building materials are capable of regulating indoor temperatures and humidity to attain optimal levels for occupant health (Alassaad et al. 2021). Low toxicity along with recyclability at the end of its life cycle which in turn allows for a cradle-to-cradle supply chain are also some of the other advantages of earthen materials. By being sustainable from the start of its life cycle, this thesis explores the use of earthen materials in construction by not just promoting the environmental benefits but also demonstrating how it could possibly add life to new organic forms.