Charles Darwin proclaimed, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change”. At the time, he probably did not fathom the relevance of his statement to the economy of cities. As the manufacturing sector dissipates, industrial cities strive to adapt by diversifying their local economy. This research provides a narrative of Hamilton’s industrial development and its transformation in search of a new identity. It examines the city’s economical, social and physical decay and its current urban regeneration that is based on the re-appropriation of its cultural landscape. This thesis argues that when cities focus only on the economic dimension of development, it may have an adverse influence on their inherent cultural identity which serves to undermine their ability to adapt and diversify. For Hamilton, a case in point is urban transformation of James Street North in a city that was recently subject to decades of neglect. James Street North has become the centre of a bourgeoning arts scene that is beginning to revitalize its neighbourhood. The thesis proposes the adaptive re-use of a deteriorated yet historically significant urban block within the area. The design intervention advocates an urban intensification intended to materialize a social and aesthetic identity derived from the urban agendas of Jane Jacobs, Charles Landry, and Sharon Zukin. The design synthesis proposes to establish a ‘creative milieu’ that becomes a catalyst for social cohesion, sustainable regeneration and an incubator for creativity. The design strategy consists of a hybrid building typology that is able to intensify diversity, exhibit creativity and engage dialogue among its occupants.

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Many cities in the US and around the world are facing a dual challenge of promoting both urban revitalization and urban sustainability. Increasingly, cities are exploring greening initiatives - through which vegetation is planted and maintained - targeting vacant land as a potential means of addressing both of these challenges. This research is a sustainability-based assessment of the impacts of a Philadelphia, PA-based program that uses greening as an interim management strategy for vacant land. I use quantitative spatial analysis techniques to measure economic, environmental, and social justice impacts of the Philadelphia Land Care (PLC) program, which `treats' vacant land by removing debris, bringing in topsoil, planting grass and trees, putting up a split-rail fence and providing regular maintenance during the growing season. The analysis is shaped by the concept of sustainability which posits that to be sustainable, development must incorporate and balance economic development, environmental preservation and social justice. This research seeks to answer a series of questions about the economic, environmental, and social justice impacts of the PLC program, ultimately assessing not only the extent to which it exhibits impacts along these three dimensions of sustainability but also whether or not the impacts vary for different locations, and also questions the extent to which there may be tradeoffs between the different potential impacts of the program. This dissertation addresses several gaps in the urban greenspace literature including an assessment of the effect of location on the impacts of greenspaces and an assessment of the extent to which temporary greenspaces have the same impacts of more permanent greenspaces. It also addresses questions in urban revitalization and sustainability about the potential role of greening programs in meeting these challenges. Ultimately, the PLC program is shown to increase surrounding property values, improve environmental conditions, and increase equity in access to greenspace in Philadelphia. These benefits are not uniform, however, and differ for neighborhoods across the city. The research indicates the potential for greening programs such as PLC to help cities address pressing economic, environmental, and social concerns, but highlights the need to understand the tensions and tradeoffs between different forms of program impacts. / Urban Studies

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Jae Hong Kim / Professional sports stadium development projects are major civic endeavors, and city officials and sports franchises often promise stadiums will generate significant gains in the regional economy. This study examines the effectiveness of stadium development in inducing economic development and urban revitalization by conducting a secondary data analysis, and case study of PNC Park and Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Consistent with prior empirical studies, the secondary data analysis shows that stadium projects do not always produce significant regional economic benefits. A close investigation of the two stadium projects in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, however, finds substantially positive effects on investment and physical development at the district level. The present research suggests that stadium developments can be a more powerful urban redevelopment catalyst when consideration is given to four essential factors – location, design, institutional structure, and history and timing.

Gentrification applies not only to the largest and oldest cities; it is a multi-scalar phenomenon playing out in smaller and less prominent settings as well. This study examines temporal changes in property values, demographic characteristics, and types of businesses in the central Oklahoma City area. A major urban revitalization project which began in 1993 created strong gentrification characteristics near the renewal's epicenter, the Bricktown entertainment district. Data suggest that several specific neighborhoods in the surrounding area exhibited rising property values, improving educational attainment rates, decreasing household sizes, and a shift toward cosmopolitan retail activity. While it is evident that Bricktown has been transformed, the socio-economic traits of surrounding neighborhoods have been altered by the ripple effects of urban renewal.

[pt] Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar o projeto urbano de reconversão de um espaço ocioso em um parque quanto ao nível de comprometimento com a sustentabilidade. O processo de revitalização da High Line, linha férrea elevada situada em Manhattan, na cidade de Nova York, erigida nos anos 1930 como parte da estrutura industrial da região e posteriormente abandonada por décadas, deu origem ao High Line Park, espaço livre público que obteve êxito em alavancar a requalificação de seu entorno imediato nos bairros que atravessa – Chelsea e Meatpacking District. Ruína urbana integrante do legado industrial deixado pelo processo de desindustrialização, a High Line teve sua demolição evitada em grande parte pelo envolvimento da comunidade no decorrer de uma campanha pela sua reconversão. Concebido em uma época em que impera a pertinente preocupação com a mudança climática global e com o grau de sustentabilidade das cidades, o projeto do parque expressa a busca pela adoção de soluções que contemplem esses cenários. Além disso, a implantação do High Line Park se insere no contexto do empenho da própria Nova York, cidade de maior densidade populacional dos Estados Unidos, em gerenciar o desenvolvimento de seus aspectos físicos em direção a uma cidade mais verde e melhor – mote do PlaNYC, plano elaborado pela prefeitura que estabelece metas para que isso efetivamente ocorra. Trata-se, portanto, de uma investigação – mediante estudo de caso centrado no exame do projeto e da operação do parque – que pretende contribuir para uma possível análise do grau de sustentabilidade de projetos similares futuros. / [en] This study aims to analyze the urban conversion project of abandoned space into a park while taking into consideration the levels of commitment to sustainability. The process of revitalization of the High Line elevated rail line located in Manhattan, in New York City, erected in 1930 as part of the industrial structure of the region and later abandoned for decades, led to the creation of High Line Park, a public space which was successful in leveraging the requalification of the immediate surroundings in the neighborhoods that it goes through - Chelsea and Meatpacking District. Urban ruins, part of the industrial legacy left by the process of deindustrialization, the High Line was able to avoid demolition largely as a result of a community led conversion campaign. Created in an era of pertinent concern with global climate change and the degree of sustainability of cities, the park design expresses the search for the adoption of solutions that address these scenarios. Moreover, the implementation of High Line Park inserts in the context of the progress of New York itself, the most densely populated city in the United States, in managing the development of its physical aspects toward a greener and better city – motto of PlaNYC, a plan elaborated by the city that sets targets for this to effectively occur. It is therefore an investigation – following a case study centered on the examination of the design and operation of the park – which aims to contribute to a possible analysis of the degree of sustainability of similar future projects.