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<p> In the decade since 2007, public bikeshare systems (PBS) have disrupted the landscape of urban transportation systems all over the world. The rapid pace at which urban systems are enduring this disruption due to PBS has left cities and researchers play catch up on understanding various factors impacting the usage and impacts of PBS. Comprehending the profiles and preferences of bikeshare users have a substantial role to play in policy-making, planning and operational management at PBS. However, the research is scant related to these factors. </p><p> As its first major objective, this research evaluated the impact of pricing on bikeshare ridership and revenue. As a case study, the introduction of single-trip fare (STF) for $2 by Capital Bikeshare (CaBi) was studied. Aggregate analysis results showed that the first-time casual (short-term) users increased by as much as 79% immediately after the introduction of STF. Jurisdiction-level analysis indicated a statistically significant increase in casual user ridership for identical 12-month periods before and after the introduction of STF. The introduction of STF did not impact ridership and revenues of registered (annual or monthly) members. Casual user revenues before and after the introduction of STF were also compared at the station-level, while controlling seasonal and weather factors. The results showed a statistically significant increase in ridership and decrease in revenue per ride for casual users after the introduction of STF. </p><p> Even though casual bikeshare users account for a large share of revenue, literature provides very little insights about the casual users. As the second major objective of this research, profiles and preferences of bikeshare users (registered members and casual users) were obtained by conducting an intercept survey of CaBi users. Survey findings indicated that, when compared to casual users, registered members are more likely to earn more and are more sensitive to service as reflected by station density. A typical White user has 2.4 times greater odds of being registered members than other race. Analysis also revealed that each additional increase in the number of monthly trips leads to about 18% increase in the odds of the bikeshare user being a registered member. </p><p> As the third major objective, this research evaluated price sensitivities and elasticities of bikeshare fare products using monadic design implemented in the survey instrument. Higher household income groups and White users were found to be less sensitive to price compared to other income groups and other races/ethnicities. Pivot-price elasticities revealed that females are about 30% and 10% more price sensitive than males for single-trip fare (STF) and annual membership, respectively. Also, sightseeing trips are 30% less price sensitive than work trips for STF purchasers. Results from this study would be useful in policy-making, planning and operations for bikeshare systems.</p><p>

<p> This thesis presents an indicator based assessment that seeks to determine how residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems contributed to sustainability goals and how feasible emission reduction was through residential solar photovoltaic systems in the Las Vegas-Paradise Metropolitan Statistical Area. Southern Nevada is a rapidly growing southwestern US region that has high potential for renewable, non-combustible, energy technology, in specific, rooftop solar. The four LVPMSA cities released sustainability and/or sustainable development plans with goals directly, or indirectly, relating to solar energy. A triple bottom line framework, using ten energy-based indicators, helped to analyze how equitable, viable, and livable residential solar was in the LVPMSA to meet sustainability goals. Indicators and emission reduction calculators were also used to determine how much and how feasible emission reduction in the LVPMSA through residential solar. Data were provided through The Open PV Project (a voluntary cooperative solar website), the US Census Bureau, and the Clark County Department of Air Quality. </p><p> In respect to the literature, the results reflect that rooftop solar in LVPMSA cities to meet sustainability goals is not equitable, and weakly viable and livable, based on measures from economic, environmental, and social indicators, but how equitable, viable, and livable each LVPMSA city varies. In order from greatest to least, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Las Vegas and then Boulder City best contribute to sustainability goals with rooftop solar. Rooftop solar also serves as a feasible means to reduce emissions on a smaller (residential) scale, but not on a larger city or county scale. Larger scale projects, versus smaller scale rooftop solar, should be considered as a stronger means to both significantly reduce emissions and contribute to sustainability goals.</p><p>

<p> In the year 2000, Loukaitou-Sideris and Banerjee conducted a study on the Blue Line light rail system in Los Angeles. The study examined eight station areas between Long Beach and Los Angeles that were in some of the more neglected, inner-city areas. The study concluded the presence of light rail alone would not be sufficient enough to stimulate the economic development necessary to attract successful transit oriented development in those areas because of 11 antecedents identified by the authors. However, it can be argued that since only 10 years of rail service had passed when the original study was done, it was not enough time for the Blue Line to attract transit oriented development to the area. </p><p> The existing literature on TOD and inner cities argues that it can take up to 25 years for the benefits of light rail to fully establish. Using this argument to revisit the area studied by Loukaitou-Sideris and Banerjee, this study seeks to find out if and how conditions of the Blue Line have changed and if the 11 antecedents remain. By mirroring the methods used in the original study, this study investigates the same eight stations analyzed in the original study to determine if light rail can spark development and if areas are still hindered by the same antecedents.</p><p>

<p> Ongoing economic insecurity, political conflicts, and increased terrorism attacks in eastern Turkey has generated massive internal migration into the country&rsquo;s western cities, leading to vast changes in demographic, social, economic, and political structures. For decades, migrants and displaced persons lived in informal, makeshift dwellings in less developed spaces in the older city centers. Since 2000, municipal governments have relocated thousands of migrants to newly constructed, massive public housing developments in suburban &ldquo;satellite cities.&rdquo; </p><p> This dissertation examines the impact of relocation from the viewpoint of low-income women relocated to two neighborhoods, Zubeyde Hanim and Uzundere, in Izmir, Turkey, For this project, residents were asked about their perceptions and experiences with education and employment opportunities in the newly developed urban satellites communities and where relocation has or has not benefited them. Data for this dissertation include extensive fieldwork observations and seventy interviews with female residents and key community informants, such as high school and middle school principals and the director of educational and cultural programs. </p><p> The main findings of this dissertation show that access to newly provided educational and employment opportunities upon relocation mattered for particular everyday practices of the women. But their overall participation in these programs was low and relocation did not result in a significant increase in education and employment participation. Furthermore, the involvement of residents in new opportunities was largely influenced by their prior employment and educational experience. Another significant finding of this dissertation was that residents responded to the process of relocation differently based on cultural, religious, and gendered conditions. As a result, issues of resident trust and participation in community life differed for Zubeyde Hanim and Uzundere residents. The larger implications of this dissertation include the need for more inclusive forms of official communication between authorities and resettled residents that appreciates the challenges they experience.</p><p>

Environmental conservation and natural resources management are critical global issues of the 21st century. The management of protected public lands emerges as a challenge particularly in developing countries because of the biophysical and socio-cultural importance of these lands. These lands are often referred to as ‘working landscapes’ where the natural systems and the collective actions of local residents have shaped one another in well-balanced interactions for generations. The working landscapes of the Köprülü Kanyon National Park (KKNP) in Turkey have provided the case study for this dissertation. Eleven villages exist within the park with a total of approximately 7,100 residents. The rich natural resources of the park have been contested by local communities, management and concessionaires. The objectives of the research were: first, to understand the fundamentals of the natural and socio-cultural dynamics within protected areas in general, and within the KKNP in particular; second, to examine the social conflicts which complicate the management of the KKNP; and third, to explore potential solutions whereby the stakeholders can cooperate in stabilizing the traditional dynamics of the park’s working landscapes. Qualitative data was collected via 38 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with local residents, managers and concessionaires. The research found that an array of social disturbances and conflicts impact the social fabric and harm the land-human integrity of the site. These include shifting demographics, changing lifestyles of the villagers, pressures from tourism, multiple governmental authorities and instable management. Yaylacýlýk tradition, a semi-sedentary form of pastoralism, has played a significant role in both the traditional ecology and the social relations within the communities of the KKNP; and its abandonment has severely impacted both social and biophysical conditions. Through yaylacýlýk local residents had managed the lands as common property. The establishment of the national park, changing life styles and the pressures on the local agricultural economy brought an end to yaylacýlýk. Now the resources are treated in effect as open pool resources, thus leading to their demise. Throughout the eventful past of the KKNP the local residents have come from being integral elements of the ‘working landscapes,’ to being as antagonistic enemies of the park management. The three ideal characteristic elements of the ‘working landscapes’ of the KKNP (controlled access, coordination and communication) which once were maintained by the yaylacýlýk tradition, can be re-institutionalized within the region through contemporary applications by neutral third party initiatives. Restoration, conservation and efficient management of biophysical resources and the natural environment should be the outcomes of the resolutions of social conflicts which can be accomplished by the restoration of these three elements of the social structure.

abstract: This dissertation focuses on thermal comfort and walking as an experiential phenomenon in outdoor urban environments. The goal of the study is to provide a better understanding of the impact of psychological adaptation factors on thermal comfort. The main research questions included the impact of psychological factors on outdoor thermal comfort as well as the impact of long-term thermal perception on momentary thermal sensation. My research follows a concurrent triangulation strategy as a mixed-method approach, which consisted of a simultaneous collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. Research consisted of five rounds of data collection in different locations beginning February 2018 and continuing through December 2019. During the qualitative phase, I gathered data in the form of an open-ended questionnaire but importantly, self-walking interviews where participants narrated their experience of the environment while recording one-minute long videos. The visual and audible information was first processed using thematic analysis and then further analyzed via Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). During the quantitative phase, I gathered information from participants in the form of three-step survey questionnaires, that data was analyzed using T-Test regression analysis in STATA. The quantitative data helped explore and address the initial research questions, while the qualitative data helped in addressing and explaining the trends and the experiential aspects of thermal environment. Results revealed that spatial familiarity (as a psychological adaptation factor) has a significant relationship for both overall comfort and thermal comfort within outdoor environments. Moreover, long term thermal memory influences momentary thermal sensation. The results of qualitative and quantitative data were combined, compared, and contrasted to generate new insights in the design of outdoor urban environments. The depth and breadth of the qualitative data set consisting of more than a thousand minute-long of narrated video segments along with hundreds of pages of transcribed text, demonstrated the subjective aspects of thermal comfort. This research highlights the importance of context-based and human-centric design in any evidence-based design approach for outdoor environments. The implications of the study can provide new insights not only for architects and urban designers, but also for city planners, stakeholders, public officials, and policymakers. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Design, Environment and the Arts 2020

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