The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the population growth pattern of the Japanese urban settlements and the factors behind the changes between 1970 and 1990. From previous studies of the Japanese settlements, it was observed that Japan achieved a high degree of urbanisation, and that a pattern of internal migration saw the population shift into the three Japanese metropolitan areas from outside. However, these observations were based on administrative boundaries, which was not suitable for examining actual changes to the Japanese settlement system. Therefore, a new definition of functional urban regions called 'Japanese Functional Urban Area' (JFUA) was established. Various analyses based on the new JFUA definition, such as population change, city size distribution and urban development stages, showed that the Japanese settlement system witnessed the concentration of population into larger settlements in the 1970s and the 1980s. The largest settlements such as Tokyo and Osaka recorded growth in the 1970s and 1980s. In addition, the Tokyo area showed a 'unipolar concentration' pattern of population growth. This pattern was different from the US and UK settiements, with both their settlement systems showing a decline of the largest settlements in the 1970s and the recovery in the 1980s. Although the Japanese settlement system represented a different growth pattern from the US and UK, the factors contributing to urban change in Japan turned out to be similar those. The role of the service sector was highly important to growth. whilst the declining industries such as steel and shipbuilding were no longer important in promoting regional development and influenced urban decline. This thesis also examined the government's policies for regional development, but an examination of population change in the policy targeted areas found that it is difficult to find any evidence of policy effectiveness.

This thesis challenges current city marketing theory and practice for the oversimplification of analytical tools they employ, which have led to undesirable results such as loss of the uniqueness of places. Current city marketing practice tends to measure the benefits and costs of their practices collectively, not taking into account the value, or utility, that the experience of space has for the individual. In order to account for the individual experience, this thesis develops on alternative analytical approach using phenomenology. The foundations of this approach reside on Heidegger's spatial thinking and Husserl's internal time consciousness. These authors developed ontology beyond the utilitarian gaze of the modern world, which the author finds is at the core of those limitations of current city marketing theory. A neologism is formulated: Topoaletheia, from the Greek topos, place; and aletheia, disclosure of truth. This concept provides a vehicle to understand how an individual may experience Being (i.e. extend one's awareness) through space. It is demonstrated that the extension of one's awareness provides fulfilment, and hence topoaletheia is put forward as a new tool to understand how different phenomena will impact the value, or utility, of the image of the city. A number of typical structures (or rhythms) depicting the possible ways in which an individual experiences Being are given. This results in on aprioristic approach that can predict the utility that an individual will experience through a series of stimuli, namely city marketing practices. Topoaletheia is tested in both the physical setting and the symbolic space of cities. It is also used to analyse the images of Madrid and Barcelona in some depth. Practical recommendations are suggested in order to improve the efficiency of city marketing. Only by taking into account the extension of individuals' awareness, city marketers will be able to forecast the success of their strategies. The typical structures (or rhythms) proposed enable the proper assessment of awareness. The usefulness of a phenomenological approach to the image of the city and city marketing thus comes from its ability to investigate the benefits of the individual experience and awareness of space.

In recent decades a discourse has emerged around the concept of the 'global city'. This discourse has sought to understand the nature of a set of physical changes to the form of many cities around the world, linking these changes to processes of globalisation. Despite its inspiration for important work in other fields. International Relations has been slow to recognise the implications of the rise of the global city. This thesis argues that the emergence of the global city phenomenon is an important indication of broader transformative tendencies in the contemporary international system. It also argues that International Relations as a discipline offers a unique set of theoretical resources that can help analysts draw out the wider impact of the global city on international politics. In particular, the core concept of the 'international system', when formulated in a historically sensitive fashion, offers insight into the rise and fall of many different institutional forms and structures across time. The modern state system, when viewed from the perspective of la longue duree, may be viewed as a unique historical moment. For much of history, different polities have existed together: empires, city-states, leagues of cities, nomadic peoples. This thesis examines the proposition that the rise of the global city reveals another historic shift in the nature of the international system, and indicates the theoretical resources that may allow us to comprehend such a change. The important relationship between cities and states, it is argued, is now undergoing a historic shift, just as it has at many other points in the past. Understanding the nature of this change illuminates a host of important issues, including transformation in the nature of the state itself, and the renegotiation of the relationship between polities, territorial scale and the global economy in the contemporary world.

This thesis is based on field research conducted in Moscow in 1992-1993. It addresses a theoretical literature on urbanism, and examines the consumption and interpretation of space by urban social actors. The hypothesis is that a particular social context, in this case a post-Soviet city, can only be understood by examining the meanings of the city as these are constructed by its inhabitants. It is an analysis of the ways in which these meanings are constructed through practical experience as people consume things, spaces, and interactive moments as they move through the city in pursuit of individually intended, cooperatively negotiated and institutionally directed projects. It is suggested that the resultant meanings are the product of partial and contingent knowledge, of interpretations of the physical landscapes of the city, and of the socio-emotive face to face interactions that characterise distinctive places and spaces in the city. The thesis is also concerned with elucidating the nature of social change in the specific context of post-Soviet transition. The transition to the Market is examined through analysis of the ideas and practices of the city's inhabitants. The thesis concludes with an examination of the differences between Soviet urbanism and the urbanisms described by authors interested in cities of the capitalist world. These differences and their effects on urban culture, are imported to give a sense to the ways in which Muscovites consume and interpret the new socio-economic phenomena which attend the transition period. The thesis attempts to elucidate the links between abstract and changing social, political and economic forces and their operationalisation in everyday life. I argue that attention to the interactive moment illuminates the point of articulation between structural forces and embodied or internalised identity. These moments are cued by the specifics of different socio-spatial contexts, which in turn inform the ways in which social actors interact with and construct the meaning of post-Soviet urbanism.

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This study is about how we live in cities. It is about the nature of the relationships we have to the places in which we live, whether we feel a sense of attachment and belonging to local communities and what the nature of these attachments might be. Specifically it asks what are the characteristics of local belonging and attachment in cities today? What circumstance shape and influence these attachments and how are they affected by processes of urban change? Despite drawing on sets of literature from across the social sciences, the research demonstrates the value of a geographical lens in analysing these questions by demonstrating both the social and spatial nature of an individual’s sense of belonging. Located primarily within literatures from human geography, the work of this thesis seeks to move this discussion forward from relational discussions of mobility in everyday life, by acknowledging the importance of both place and mobility for understanding and explaining attachment and belonging. Based on the exploration of local belonging and attachment in a local community in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, two conclusions were reached. Firstly the nature of local attachments as being characterised by sets a set of three characteristics; comfort and confidence, commitment and contribution, and irony and critical distance and secondly, the basis of such attachments as unfolding as a process within the materiality of everyday life in place, pointing to both the territorial and relational nature of such attachments. In doing so, the research argues for an understanding of attachment to place as a process with affective dimensions as well as spatial practice within the everyday and secondly, to recognise the agency or the desire to belong as part of these active negotiations. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the potential for an understanding of the place of local belonging within human geography debate, reiterating the value of a complimentary understanding of both territorial and relational approaches to place.

Like its neighbouring countries, Oman has witnessed an extraordinary social and economic development over the past few decades. This was mainly one sided socio-economic development dependent on the oil sector and the government has continuously strived to draw a balance between exploitation of its natural resources, and the development program which indicates an early courtesy towards sustainability and environmental protection. The pressure towards massive investment in development and economic progress was nevertheless higher and determined to a large extent its success in maintaining this equilibrium. As such, one has to address this important issue within the framework of urban sustainability. The essence of this thesis contribution to knowledge lies around the dissection of the decision making process around urban planning and development in Oman during the past forty years (through problem and process analysis) and how it may be directed towards a more sustainable urban future. The aims of this research are: to develop a comprehensive understanding of the history of urban development in Oman since 1970, and to provide insights into the decision making processes which have occurred during this period; to develop an understanding of contemporary decision making processes in urban planning, including an understanding of decision makers and citizens attitudes towards urban sustainability; to identify problems and successes in these areas; and to develop an improved strategy for urban planning that will provide an effective and equitable sustainable urban future. The study has progressed in a sequence of phases: identifying the main dimensions of urban sustainability that are relevant for this study; mapping out the history of urban development planning, including its main objectives, policies, urban development milestones and challenges; carrying out the research using a triangulated methodology approach that consists of: historical analysis of milestones and projects within the development of town planning in Oman over the past forty years, semi-structured interviews of decision makers, and the assessment of behaviour and attitudes of the general public towards sustainability through the use of focus groups and questionnaires. This has revolved around a few case studies of existing districts from Muscat, the capital of Oman. The framework for this study consisted of 16 urban sustainability dimensions (USDs), which can be looked at as the agenda for any serious review of urban sustainability specific to Oman. The problem analysis phase produced a list of problems, challenges, constraints and drivers that can be utilized in addressing the progress of urban development and how it may be enhanced in the future. It was evident that throughout the early years of development, and up to 1995, Oman has undertaken serious strategy development across various disciplines within urban development. As a result of the process analysis phase, there is an apparent gap between strategy development and implementation, and this research identified 14 strategy shortcomings and 24 implementation shortcomings. As an outcome of this analysis, the research identifies a comprehensive list of recommendations against each urban sustainability dimension and this should aid any consultant that aims to develop future urban planning strategies, and the professionals entrusted with implementation of such strategies. It is not surprising that focus should be cast on land use, urban planning and urban transport. The plot distribution system in Oman has driven our cities to the shape they are in today, and has affected other elements of the city in this route, such as transport corridors, urban design and urban quality. The lack of a meaningful urban development management at a city scale contributes to this dilemma, but there are solutions to overcome this that should be looked at. This research could be carried forward by translating these urban sustainability dimensions into indicators which will be able to measure progress and success against the government actions and other initiatives addressing sustainability. In addition, the product analysis phase that would involve case studies within Muscat as a city could be undertaken to identify the association of the outcome with the strategies developed and their implementation. In addition, the results within this research could be tested against the current progress and development of Oman National Spatial Strategy, under development since 2008. The qualitative analysis in this research would be enhanced by conducting quantitative analysis into the decision making process and to measure the gap behind strategy and implementation.

This project offers a post-phenomenological approach to politics in urban space. Its contribution is to ask , and answer, what becomes of the subject in designed environments in the contemporary global city. Its interdisciplinary motivations are located at the intersection between politics , geography and philosophy . More specifically it extends the engagement between the political study of governmentality, the geographical exploration of embodied everyday life in cities, and the philosophical inquiry into ontology and subjectivity. The project develops a specific post-phenomenological account of world, applying the concepts of foam, affect, habit and event to re-describe how urban spaces are negotiated and practiced. The research site is the city of London, whose initiatives around liveability, innovation and resilience comprise a shared policy framework in many global cities. It uses the method of performative ethnography, supported by interviews with users, designers, architects and policymakers, across a handful of selected spaces in central and East London. It uses ontological insights to explore the politics and ethics of worlds rather than human subjects.

Adequate housing provision for the growing population in Lagos State, Nigeria is a major challenge. Addressing this challenge necessitated the involvement of both public and private sectors in the development of housing estates. However, regardless of the nature and ownership status of these housing estates, they need to be properly managed; hence the integration of facilities management (FM) into their management. The research objectives included a critical examination of FM strategies, policies and processes adopted in housing management through data collection and elucidation. In conducting this research, qualitative grounded theory (GT) and case study methodologies were adopted. This was done in order to understand, and thereby gain knowledge of the practice of FM in housing. Consequently, interview was conducted with 26 Facilities Managers and 971 residents in 20 different housing estates. The emergent facts from the analysed data revealed that the organisation structure of FM department and their roles depend on the nature of the housing estate concerned, and their purpose. Furthermore, FM is of immense benefit to the housing estates where it is practiced, as it had positively impacted on their general condition and goodwill. Some of the challenges besetting the practice of FM in housing cut across the strategic, tactical and operational aspects. The most pressing ones were financial constraints, residents‘ behaviour; and some of the Facilities Managers‘ lacked the requisite academic and professional qualifications. Some of the recommendations included the need to adequately train and properly empower the Facilities Managers and their teams to ensure FM effectiveness; the adoption of residents-led FM approach; and the need for comprehensive improvement on the existing housing environment especially in housing estates with aging infrastructures.

This thesis develops a theoretical and practical framework of analysis for measuring the liveliness of urban streets. It studies the inter-related functions of streets to cater for the dynamic activities of people (walking) and the more static activities such as stopping, sitting, standing, waiting, watching, eating, etc. Practically, this framework measures the empirical relationship (the configuration) between these spatial and social functions, (the accessibility and sociability of the street). The sociability is measured through the capacity of the street to accommodate static activities. The accessibility relates to the ability of the street to accommodate and distribute static activities within its local and global network. Theoretically, the former regards the street as a setting, or a place wherein the dual processes of interactions between people and between people and the environment, are expressed. The latter subsequently regards the street as the conduit through which processes of interaction occur simultaneously. The thesis also considers the impact of socio-physical and syntactical variables in the street. The socio-physical variables are the topography of the physical designs such as building indents, ledges, windowsills, etc. The syntactical variables are the topology of the spatial connectivity of the local and global network of the streets in the area. In doing so it asserts that pedestrian static activities are the predominant social variable in the street.