Agent-based microsimulation models of socioeconomic processes require an initial synthetic population derived from census data. This thesis builds upon the Iterative Proportional Fitting (IPF) synthesis procedure, which has well-understood statistical properties and close links with log-linear models. Typical applications of IPF are limited in the number of attributes that can be synthesized per agent. A new method is introduced, implementing IPF with a sparse list-based data structure that allows many more attributes per agent. Additionally, a new approach is used to synthesize the relationships between agents, allowing the formation of household and family agents in addition to individual person agents. Using these methods, a complete population of persons, families, households and dwellings was synthesized for the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton.

Agent-based microsimulation models of socioeconomic processes require an initial synthetic population derived from census data. This thesis builds upon the Iterative Proportional Fitting (IPF) synthesis procedure, which has well-understood statistical properties and close links with log-linear models. Typical applications of IPF are limited in the number of attributes that can be synthesized per agent. A new method is introduced, implementing IPF with a sparse list-based data structure that allows many more attributes per agent. Additionally, a new approach is used to synthesize the relationships between agents, allowing the formation of household and family agents in addition to individual person agents. Using these methods, a complete population of persons, families, households and dwellings was synthesized for the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton.

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Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / Public housing has been built largely as a response to the spread of slums in American cities. The origins and growth of slums in different sections of Boston have been caused by several factors. The North and West Ends, originally the most exclusive districts in the city, declined as upper and middle-class residents moved outwards toward the periphery of Boston and beyond into the surrounding towns. The exodus of the upper classes from Central Boston was stimulated by the arrival of European immigrant laborers and by extensions and improvements in public transportation, especially after the middle of the 18th Century. Af first settling in the North and West Ends and in the South Cove, immigrants soon moved into Charlestown, East Boston, the South End and South Boston, attracted by the shipping, factory, and warehouse employment in these areas. Further improvements in public transportation and reduced fares facilitated the migration of low-income families (mainly composed of immigrants) to other outlying sections of Boston; Roxbury, Dorchester and Brighton. Also important as a blighting influence was the elevated railway in Charlestown, the South End and Roxbury. In the West and South Ends and in Roxbury, many cheaply-constructed tenements were built. In 1891, the first city-wide census of housing conditions was made. A wide distribution of slum conditions existed; the North and South Ends and South Boston contained the highest percentages of unsanitary tenements, Charlestown and the built-up sections of East Boston and Roxbury had deteriorated and conditions below the city average were found even in Brighton, Dorchester and West Roxbury. During the first quarter of the present century, many lower-quality frame three-deckers were built in Dorchester, East Boston, Roxbury and South Boston. In studies undertaken by the City Planning Board in 1934 and 1935, physical housing characteristics were compiled, proposed public housing project sites were studied and the relative income and cost of different sections of the city were analyzed. The slums were found to be a heavy economic liability to the city. Although limited as a measurement of blight, 1950 U. S. Census of Housing figures, available by blocks, are the only recent data for the whole city. Boston's first public housing project was Old Harbor Village, built in 1938 under the Federal Government P. W. A. program. This project was built on an essentially vacant site in South Boston and most of the original tenants came from nearby substandard housing areas in South Boston and northern Dorchester. Zoning changes, designed as a protection from harmful land uses, were made in this area and several stores and a church have been attracted by the project. The three programs under which public housing has been built in Boston are; (1) Federally-aided for low-income families, (2) State-aided for low-income veterans and (3) City-State, sold to private individuals five years after construction. The U. S. Housing Acts of 1937 and 1949 that for all Federally-aided public housing units constructed, an equal number of slum dwellings be eliminated. The earliest projects were slum clearance projects located near downtown Boston. The State-aided and City-State legislations, passed soon after World War II, did not require slum clearance because of an acute housing shortage. Many of these, as well as some Federally-aided projects were built on vacant sites. In some cases, due to the lack of available vacant land in Boston and under the pressure of the housing shortage, vacant site projects were located on poorer quality land. City-owned land and private estates were sought for a number of housing projects in order that delays in assembling and clearing several parcels of land could be avoided. Of the several aspects of public housing distribution considered in this study, a sharp contrast between slum clearance and vacant site projects has been evident in respect to services; schools, public transportation and retail shopping. The lack of service availability has been most noticeable in projects located at the city is periphery; Orient Heights, Columbia Point and Fairmount. Both the Orient Heights and Fairmount projects have been primarily responsible for the recent construction of nearby elementary schools and the new Columbia Point School, built for the exclusive use of children from the Columbia Point Project, is not large enough. Another public school will be required for this project. Again, extensions of public transportation service have been necessary largely because of these three projects, and in the case of Columbia Point, a bus route was initiated solely for the project occupants. On the other hand, all slum clearance projects are well-served by public traasportation, in many instances by the surface and elevated routes that have strongly contributed to slum growth. Few stores, except for supermarkets, have been attracted by public housing projects. Only three stores have located adjacent to Columbia Point, the largest project in the city. The supermarket that serves Columbia Point is approximately 1400 feet from the project boundary and was built primarily for drive-in trade from Morrissey Boulevard. The most widely distributed store types within convenient walking distance from housing projects (taken as 600 feet) are grocery stores, drug stores and eating places. The most frequent store types within this distance are grocery stores, eating places and drinking places. A high percentage (up to 50 per cent in the case of the South St. Project) of the stores around several projects are vacant. Most of these vacancies are the result of overestimation of local markets, including housing projects, depopulation and successful competition of supermarkets. The percentage of registered Democratic voters in precincts containing housing projects is higher than the average for the city. In 1956, 85 per cent of all registered voters in Boston were Democrats; in housing projects approximately 95 per cent of the number of voters that could be determined were Democrats. In one ward, Ward IV, a slight Republican majority was changed to a slight Democratic majority primarily due to voters living in the Mission Hill Extension Project. Many projects, especially slum clearance projects, are not sufficiently protected by zoning restrictions from present and future intrusion of adjacent land uses harmful to the environment of the projects. Although most of the zoning changes and variances requested by the Boston Housing Authority have been granted, zoning restrictions have prevented the construction of several proposed vacant site housing projects. The location of a number of existing vacant site projects has depended on zoning changes. The proportion of younger people (under 21 years) is higher in public housing projects than in the city as a whole. Also high is the percentage of broken homes, often headed by females. Population density has even been increased over previously high densities in several slum clearance projects, especially the South End Project. This reflects expensive site acquisition in the slums. The assessed values of individual projects are extremely variable and there are no apparent factors accounting for the discrepancies. The per-dwelling-unit assessment in some projects is more than ten times that of others. The total effect of housing project construction in Boston has been to stabilize the centrifugal movement of population, since the median average distance of public housing dwelling units from the center of the city is approximately the same as all dwelling units in the city. The center of gravity of public housing distribution in the city has moved 1 1/2 miles to the southwest during the period 1940 to 1954, towards the largest amounts of vacant land. Formerly within a severely blighted area in the South End, the center is now located in Roxbury, south of the city's highest slum concentrations. The proportion of public housing to total housing is approximately 6 per cent in Boston, higher than in most other American cities. Most of the larger multi-family projects in the city are Federally-aided, while the smaller City-State temporary public housing projects usually consisted of two- and one-family houses. Except for the North and West Ends, projects have been well-distributed throughout the city. High land costs prevented the construction of projects in these two areas. The only probable construction of additional public housing in the city will be for low-income elderly individuals. As this would be a State-aided program, slum clearance would not be required and projects would be built on vacant sites. Eventually, public housing may also be built for low-income minority groups, perhaps Negroes. If built under a Federally-aided program, substandard housing sections in Roxbury or Dorchester would probably be chosen for sites. These are the areas of most recent Negro settlement in Boston and lower land values would permit slum clearance at a reasonable cost. Experimental forms of Federally-aided public housing in other parts of the country are small one- to four-faffiily projects on dispersed sites and the renovation of slum housing for use as public housing. Spreading slums and land scarcity would favor the latter approach to future public housing in Boston.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / Problem: The problem of this dissertation is to relate ethical issues in modern city planning in the United States and the emerging context of choice in urban society to a systematic ethical framework which can serve as a normative foundation for responsible planning. Method: The dissertation is developed in three stages: first, an historical study of the development of ethical issues in city planning in the United States; secondly, an analysis of the context of choice in contemporary urban society; finally, the development of a systematic ethical framework for urban planning which explores the emerging coherence between Talcott Parsons' theory of action, Edgar S. Brightman's formulation of the moral laws, the idea of the responsible society, and contemporary discussions of planning theory [TRUNCATED]

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, conservationists' concern about the loss of wildlife habitat on farmland escalated into open conflict with farmers, the conflict being heightened by controversy surrounding the passing of the Wildlife and Countryside Act in 1981. An improved understanding of the attitudes of farmers and conservationists would help ensure the most appropriate measures are adopted to resolve or avoid such conflict. This research therefore compared the attitudes of farmers and conservationists in Bedfordshire in two pairs of surveys. In the first, free-ranging interviews were used to establish the range of opinions on farming and conservation held by the two groups. In the second, Fishbein and Ajzen's theory of reasoned action was used as the framework for a more detailed comparison of the differences in attitudes between the two communities. The correlation of attitudes and social pressures with farmers' behaviour was also explored for three conservation-related activities about which there was conflict: hedge management, pesticide use and straw disposal. The first survey revealed a complex matrix of shared, complementary and conflicting beliefs and values between and within the two communities. Examples of conflicting values included those concerning land ownership and freedom of individual action versus stewardship, and pride in an efficient, productive and tidy farm versus a wilder countryside. The second survey showed that while farmers agreed with conservationists about the advantages of conservation expressed in general terms, once decisions about specific farm practices were involved, attitudes to conservation and wildlife were far outweighed by attitudes to farming and business considerations. Social pressures on farmers from conservationists were minimal; the strongest social pressures came from within the farming community itself and these generally served to perpetuate the dominant farming values. Although the theory of reasoned action provided a valuable means of exploring the role of attitudes, social pressures and behaviour in the conflict, some limitations in the use of the model in these complex circumstances were found. In particular it did not allow a distinction to be made between self-interested and deeply held values; the recommended method of constructing and scoring a behaviourial index was inappropriate where value judgements were involved; and respondents experienced difficulty in distinguishing between beliefs and values when evaluative opinion statements were used. Some suggestions for overcoming these limitations are made.

The planning policies of South Yorkshire County Council are based on the philosophy of helping the "have-nots". From these policies a number of hypotheses concerning accessibility to and by public transport have been defined and tested in the Sheffield study area to gauge the extent to which the policies have been implemented. The literature on accessibility is reviewed with attention to recent work concerning accessibility by public transport. The Sheffield study area is described and the Structure Plan and other planning documents of South Yorkshire County Council are assessed with regard to policies relating to accessibility and public transport. Recent changes in the level of bus service provision in the study area are summarised. Access to bus services is investigated in terms of walking and waiting times for 170 sampling points. Overall the route density - service frequency trade-off is found to be optimal. The spatial variation in the walking and waiting times is such that areas with high proportions of people dependent on public transport do not have more accessible bus services than other areas. Access to bus services is investigated further in the Mosborough area with the relationship between the introduction and improvement of bus services and the occupation of new housing being studied. Accessibility by public transport to specific facilities is investigated. In spite of Structure Plan policies little improvement in the accessibility of five district shopping centres in Sheffield has taken place. Areas with poor access by bus to sports centres and public libraries are defined and possible locations for new facilities evaluated. In the first ten years of its existence South Yorkshire County Council has supported policies relating to improvements in accessibility and public transport. The work reported in this thesis indicates that the implementation of such policies has not always been achieved.

This research project aims to explore the hypothesis that a Community Technology approach can be considered appropriate for reclamation and recycling activities, and to investigate the opportunities for reclaiming and recycling domestic wastes viably at a 'community' scale. A framework is first established to define a Community Technology approach, and then used to assess the compatibility of reclamation and recycling technologies to this approach. 'Community '-scale reclamation and recycling in Britain, together with some examples from the USA, is examined and the 'state of the art' for both areas of activity described. 'Community'-scale is interpreted as relating to groups of people of less than 10,000, defined as neighbourhoods (of between 100 and 1,000 people) and communities (of 1,000 to 10,000 people). Initial analysis identified only three recycling processes with potential as 'community'-scale activities; all concerned with waste paper recycling. One of these, a neighbourhood-scale technology, was chosen for a detailed feasibility study. The process involves recycling waste paper into sheets of drawing or printing paper suitable for use as 'art' paper, in particular as speciality printing paper, or as sugar paper in schools. The feasibility study was carried out using design and evaluation methods, to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of the process and to investigate what role it might play in the community, in particular in relation to promoting greater community self-reliance. The results show that this technology would not be financially or economically viable as an independent enterprise but indicated additional non-quantified social benefits and hence a possible non-economic role in the community. Some possibilities of educational and job creation roles are explored.