This study aim is to look closer on how municipalities utilize the citizens and creatin a dialog between the two parties as a tool to achieve a more sustainable development. To answer this question this study looks closer on the municipality of Umeå and their work with the process and dialog together with the citizens to create a detailed development plan for the area of Tomtebo gård. Through analysis of document used as a basis for the creation of the detailed development plan for Tomtebo gård. The conclusion is if the municipality of Umeå have done enough work to get the citizens involved in the process or if they are using the process as a tool to increase the legitimacy in their decisions

Citizen participation is seen as relevant in today’s planning process, to let the people be an active part in the planning of the city and to strengthen the trust in democracy. Traditionally, the dialogue takes place in form of physical meetings, where planners and citizens meet face to face. But this concept might be changing. The ambition in Sweden to transition into digitalization is already in motion, where one of the goals is to see the use of digital communication expand.  The main purpose for this work was to examine how two municipalities, one sparsely populated and one more developed, are working with implementing digitalization and what challenges they are up against, how it affects the participation of the citizens in city planning and development. For future Planning, the digital tools will generate greater citizen dialogue and participation since people will be able to participate without needing to leave their current geographical location. This means that the factors of time and space will be out of the question as people no longer will have to rely on resources to travel to be able to attend at meetings face to face, due to the space compression of digitalization. Still, there are risks and challenges that goes along with digitalization. The risk for exclusion of citizens due to lack of access to internet, low levels of use due to lack of competence and the resources to be able to work with the development of digitalization, which can leave municipalities left behind while other municipalities continue to strive forward and grow.

Bibliography: leaves 136-141. / This is an exploratory study using a qualitative approach. This study attempts to explore the nature of makgotla found in the rural community of Ramokgopa. It examines the structure and operation, nature of services rendered, successes, areas of concern as well as the role of makgotla played in community development. The primary objective was to assess the viability of makgotla as a vehicle for development in rural communities. Data was collected via in-depth interviews, and using a community-forum approach. Eleven headmen/key members and five consumers of services were selected for interviewing. Two community meetings were also held for the same purpose. The study found that makgotla have taken initiatives and efforts to develop their own community. This is in spite of the fact that there are areas of concern like gender sensitivity that need to be addressed. The study concludes with some recommendations, one of them being that local government officials be made aware of the presence of makgotla and how best to engage in a dialogue which will reap benefits for the community.

From 2007 to 2011, select Virginia localities were legislatively mandated to update their respective comprehensive plans to include Urban Development Areas. The completion of the Urban Development Area comprehensive plan requirement was complicated by uneven application and codification of the legislative mandate. In 2012, the Urban Development Area legislation had been reduced from a legislative mandate to a state enabled optional comprehensive plan element. This research examines the practice of comprehensive planning in the Commonwealth of Virginia during the Urban Development Area comprehensive plan update requirement to determine legislation outcomes and the effects of citizen participation in the comprehensive planning process in relation to organizational and planning practitioner outcomes. Select local jurisdictional planning organizations were studied using the organizational learning theories of Argyris and Schön in a mixed method research setting. Conclusions find the presence of limited learning systems (single loop planning) and limited modal learning occurring within the Commonwealth of Virginia\'s local jurisdictions, directly affecting completion of legislative mandates. Recommendations suggest modification of existing communal planning procedures at a local and state level to encourage citizen involvement and investment in comprehensive planning and future economic development. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Air quality in general is a hot topic that is significantly linked to respiratory diseases that have been causing a decrease in life expectancy around the globe. Over the past three decades, European cities have done air quality monitoring using one or two air quality instruments per 249 thousand inhabitants. The instruments are big, rigid and expensive. This thesis focuses on new ways of air quality monitoring using air quality sensors that are small, cheap and flexible. An investigatory approach was used through taking insights from citizens to get an understanding of what air pollutants to measure, where to measure and how to present the information in ways that are clear and easy to understand. From a survey of 82 participants, results showed that 74% of the people are concerned about air quality and they would like to receive information in ways that are easy to understand like colours (red for bad or green for good), numbers (µg/m3) and graphs. The citizens identified carbon dioxide (40.6%), particulate matter (25%), nitrogen oxide (18.8%) and ozone (9.4%) as pollutants that need critical attention which can be measured in places that they spend a lot of time in for example playgrounds and parks as well as near sources of pollution like busy roads and industries. The survey was followed by an analysis of eight sensors that were put in the urban environment measuring PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 together with environmental factors (temperature and humidity) to find how the information can be used for citizen air quality awareness and if was accurate enough. The sensors could accuracy detect particulate matter variations from all the places. All environmental factors (temperature, humidity and wind) significantly affected particulate matter (p ≤ 0.05) variations. However, associations with particulate matter were weak to moderate (r = 0.02 to 0.46) which were influenced by the surroundings in the locations of the sensors. A strong correlation with municipal refence instruments and the ability to detect pollution variations is enough accuracy for sensors to be used for awareness which the sensors did. In conclusion, the sensors can be used for air quality monitoring and it is important to do a background study of the area including the number of people in an area and sources of pollution if they are to be used for citizen awareness. Therefore, using sensors will bring more awareness in air quality monitoring by measuring air pollution concentrations in localised places that municipal air quality instruments cannot do.

This dissertation explores the University of Cape Town’s Global Citizenship (GC) Programme as a site for teaching citizen leadership. We live in times that are marked by complexity, uncertainty, and a plethora of global challenges, many of which have resulted in injustices in people’s lived experiences. Increasingly ordinary citizens are calling for new ways of leading change which combats social injustices. This form of leadership values social justice, democracy, equity, shared agency, active and engaged citizenship – this is regarded as citizen leadership. Higher education institutions have a role to play in developing student leaders who are equipped with the capacities to confront uncertainty and thrive in a changing world. This study recruited student participants of the GC programme courses. In total, ten students participated in one of four focus group discussions which were guided by semi-structured interviews, and ninety students consented to have their reflective essays on the GC programme courses analysed. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the participants’ experience of the programme, in the focus group discussions and reflective essays, was examined to determine how they understood citizenship, social justice and leadership in relation to the programme’s teachings. The findings revealed that most students regarded the programme as developing their capacities for active and engaged global citizenship. Most students did not view the programme as teaching leadership; however, based on the definition of citizen leadership, I argue that the programme is indeed a site for teaching this form of leadership. It is recommended that the programme staff make the connection between active and engaged citizenship, social justice, and leadership more explicit in their curricula and teaching. It is believed that this change to the programme will enable students to have a clearer understanding of themselves as leaders prepared for the world beyond university and enabled to bring purposeful change to the world.

Bibliography: pages 53-57. / This dissertation has four main aims: 1. To assess whether multi-media (particularly interactive video) can be used in illiterate and semi-literate communities as a tool for both increased environmental awareness and increased participation in various stages of the development process. 2. To assess whether interactive video as an approach in itself facilitates empowerment of target communities. 3. To create a visual communication experience which combines the rigours of academic research with the practical application of academic theories in the field. 4. To foster a sensitivity in the "reader" towards access to information.

This dissertation explores the University of Cape Town’s Global Citizenship (GC) Programme as a site for teaching citizen leadership. We live in times that are marked by complexity, uncertainty, and a plethora of global challenges, many of which have resulted in injustices in people’s lived experiences. Increasingly ordinary citizens are calling for new ways of leading change which combats social injustices. This form of leadership values social justice, democracy, equity, shared agency, active and engaged citizenship – this is regarded as citizen leadership. Higher education institutions have a role to play in developing student leaders who are equipped with the capacities to confront uncertainty and thrive in a changing world. This study recruited student participants of the GC programme courses. In total, ten students participated in one of four focus group discussions which were guided by semi-structured interviews, and ninety students consented to have their reflective essays on the GC programme courses analysed. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the participants’ experience of the programme, in the focus group discussions and reflective essays, was examined to determine how they understood citizenship, social justice and leadership in relation to the programme’s teachings. The findings revealed that most students regarded the programme as developing their capacities for active and engaged global citizenship. Most students did not view the programme as teaching leadership; however, based on the definition of citizen leadership, I argue that the programme is indeed a site for teaching this form of leadership. It is recommended that the programme staff make the connection between active and engaged citizenship, social justice, and leadership more explicit in their curricula and teaching. It is believed that this change to the programme will enable students to have a clearer understanding of themselves as leaders prepared for the world beyond university and enabled to bring purposeful change to the world.

abstract: Citizen Science programs create a bi-directional flow of knowledge between scientists and citizen volunteers; this flow democratizes science in order to create an informed public (Bonney et al. 2014; Brown, Kelly, and Whitall 2014). This democratization is a fundamental part of creating a science that can address today’s pressing environmental, economic, and social justice problems (Lubchenco 1998). While citizen science programs create an avenue for sharing knowledge between the public and scientists, the exact program details and dynamics leading to different outcomes have not been studied in detail. The current shortcomings in the literature fall into three categories. First, the concept of ‘volunteer’ is used as a catch-all without considering how different demographics (e.g. young, old, wealthy, poor, differently abled, local inhabitants, and visitors) affect both volunteer and scientific outcomes of citizen science. The second shortcoming: there are no standards to assess the quality of citizen science datasets. The third shortcoming: the volunteer and scientific outcomes of these programs are not routinely, or strategically, measured, or integrated into policy and planning (Brossard, Lewenstein, and Bonney 2005). This research advances the understanding of tourist volunteers in citizen science by examining these three shortcomings through a case-study in Denali National Park and Preserve. This case study included the development of the Map of Life-Denali citizen science program is a “tourist-friendly” program. Volunteers of the program use the Map of Life- Denali mobile application to record wildlife observations in the park. Research conducted on this program shows that tourists can be successful citizen science volunteers, and when compared to resident volunteers produce similar data, and have positive volunteer outcomes. The development of a fitness for use assessment, called STAAq is also a part of this research. This assessment is shown to be an effective method for assessing citizen science data quality. Throughout the development and launch of the program, stakeholders (the Park Service, and Aramark) were consulted. The Map of Life-Denali program will be integrated into the park’s shuttle and tour bus systems as an educational tool, however, the scientific merits of the program are still disputed. / Doctoral Dissertation Geography 2017

Woodpeckers create nesting cavities for other birds and animals in forests. This creates dynamic interactions between both woodpeckers and these other animals. Using video cameras, we documented direct behavioral interactions between nesting woodpeckers and other animals in the Eastern Washington Cascades during the 2015 and 2016 breeding seasons. Additionally, we offered 937 students in a General Biology laboratory course to participate in this original research opportunity and described and the impact the experience had on the participants as well as the researchers. In 2015, Western Blubebirds took over two active Black-backed Woodpecker nests by physically attacking the woodpeckers. In 2016, almost half of the woodpecker nests were reused by other animals, with Western Bluebirds being are most common SCU. We found that some nests we reused within minutes to hours of vacancy. However, we were not able to significantly predict nest reuse or the presence of other animals at the nest. Parent woodpeckers towards avian cavity nesters when compared to rodent, predators, and other woodpeckers. Our fine-scale analysis provides a new window into behavioral interactions at woodpecker nests and same-season nest reuse, but it is limited by its scope. Thus, we suggest for larger-scale video studies examining behavioral interactions around the nest. About 15% of students in the course participated in our research, and we found that students accurately recorded data approximately 90% of the time. Most students came away from the experience with a more positive attitude towards undergraduate research and were able to restate the main research question. However, many students had difficulty understanding their role as a data collector. We suggest making the experience mandatory to include all students and placing a greater emphasis on the process of science.