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In this dissertation spatial arrangement and placement are considered par excellence among the instrumental functions of rhetoric. I unsettle the canon of arrangement in consideration of the spatial turn. Approaching space by way of arrangement brings to bear a different range of phenomena and is a departure from the prevailing practices of existing scholarship on rhetorical memory places. Rhetorical arrangements of space, their deep structure and underlying coherence in public discourse, are contingent and unstable. Arrangements of space widely circulating in public discourse furnish provisional order to orient life, politics, and planning. Arrangements of space have inherent thresholds, limits periodically exposed and contested in public discourse warranting displacement. Despite displacement, traces of past arrangements of space are preserved in public documents and leave lasting impressions on the built environment. Accordingly, space may be viewed as a layered rhetorical document; a work in progress whose surface writing has recorded over imperfectly erased remnants of earlier drafts. Former arrangements of space and their displacement may be uncovered and interpreted by the critic. The methodology I develop in this dissertation, a rhetorical cartography, entails evaluating numerous arrangements and displacements of space across time. I analyze arrangements and displacements of Atlanta’s urban space to demonstrate the methodological import of a rhetorical cartography. Rhetorical invention and (re)arrangement of Atlanta is the city’s most enduring and pronounced characteristic, aggressively made and remade through forms of boosterism that has been labeled the “Atlanta Spirit.” The first chapter details rhetorical invention and arrangement of Atlanta as a regional railroad center, recognized as the “Gate City of the South.” The second chapter introduces pivotal displacement of Atlanta as urban space became centrally rearranged within the logics of race, as the “City Too Busy To Hate.” In the third chapter I focus on arrangements of Atlanta as an “International City,” linked with discourses of global economics and multiculturalism. The fourth chapter analyzes recent rearrangement as “Sustainable Atlanta,” linked to environmental discourses, with ecological and planetary scope. The cartography evinces the rhetorical vitality, multiplicity, and openness of Atlanta’s urban space.

This thesis explores the relationship between colonialism and planning in a contemporary urban context in Canada. This project is important because colonialism continues to have impacts on the way that cities and city spaces are constructed. Using The Forks, Winnipeg, as an example, it reviews planning documents using a critical, postcolonial, interpretive and reflexive textual analysis. The intent is to gain more understanding of the ways in which colonialism is implicated in contemporary planning practices in settler societies. The analysis shows three main themes: the identity of The Forks is created in opposition to that of the downtown; heritage at The Forks is presented in ways that ignore colonialism and its past and present impacts on the city; and decision-making at The Forks does not reflect Indigenous priorities. The thesis concludes with some implications for planning practice.

In developing a set of guidelines for development in Chongqing this paper has first contextualized the city in terms of Chinese urban design history. This urban history is argued to have been shaped by three distinct eras of authoritarian rule: Imperial rule, from the 8th century B.C. to the 19th century; Maoist rule, from 1949-1978; and post-Mao communist rule, from 1978 to the present. It is further argued that the corresponding central authority in each of these eras has relied on a strategy of directing urban development as a means to propagate ideology. This characterization is then linked to many of the current problems with the direction of development in Chongqing. The urban environment of Chongqing is then analyzed from various scales and perspectives through history. From this analysis, a set of design guidelines is produced. These guidelines address educational structures, theoretical principles, governmental and legal instruments, and environmental strategies.

In municipalities across the globe, traditional forms of governance are being supplemented by collaborative arrangements between governments and their constituencies toward jointly produced public services. Since the late 1970s, this phenomenon known as coproduction has been utilized in efforts to survive severe budget cuts, improve performance, increase accountability, and welcome traditionally silenced voices. However, no study to date has undergone a citywide assessment of coproduction to determine its breadth and depth in a city. Additionally, there is practically no empirical study that examines what citizen characteristics and perceptions are associated with participation in coproduction. The present study represents a first attempt to begin to fill these gaps in the literature. Specifically, this dissertation analyses: (1) How prevalent is coproduction? (2) Who engages in coproduction? and (3)What motivates coproducers? I employ a mixed-method case study of Atlanta, Georgia via its Neighborhood Planning Unit system, using focus groups, citizen questionnaires, census and GIS data, and direct observations. Overall, the coproduction classifications developed in this dissertation enable more systematic research on coproduction. The dissertation findings also contribute to our understanding of (1) how much this service delivery strategy is being utilized in an urban municipality, (2) which forms are most utilized, (3) what triggers participation in each form, and (4) who utilizes coproduction the most – even challenging the longstanding perception that African Americans and low-income groups do not participate in such activities. Lastly, study findings suggest a need to reconceptualize the current theory of coproduction as a public service delivery strategy.

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