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This research examines ways to assess the built environment (BE) for its impacts on the ecosystems and its sustainability in terms of social, economic and environmental aspects on an urban scale. The examination is based on the argument, acknowledged in the literature, that urbanisation is one of the leading causes of unsustainable development, and that the BE makes a significant contribution to this. In order to accomplish this, urban dynamics are identified and mapped with respect to the built environment, and the relationship between urbanisation, the built environment, and the ecosystem is closely examined. The thesis argues that the common denominator in all efforts to move closer to sustainability is an effective assessment method, which not only quantifies the impacts but also informs and educates. The current methods used for assessment of the impacts of BE are found to be inadequate. An appraisal of contemporary assessment methods addressing sustainability and environmental issues at micro (individual building) and macro (urban system) levels is conducted to understand the mechanics of assessment theories. Based on this, a framework for a new assessment system which has the potential to overcome some of the observed weaknesses of the existing ones is proposed. Using multi-criteria analysis principles, this system uses ecological footprint and spatial analysis as its operational engine. It is then applied to a part of the Sydney Central Business District (CBD) for an integrated sustainability assessment. The ecological footprint of the building stock, transport, roads, waste disposal and water supply is calculated as a measure of the environmental impact of the built environment. In addition to this, ???return on investment??? (rental return on construction costs) as a measure of the economic aspect, embodied energy as a measure of material consumption, and ???proximity to facilities??? as a measure of the social benefit of the building stock, are calculated to assess the study area performance on these aspects. These are used to compute an integrated sustainability index for the study area. Various attributes of the built environment, such as total constructed area, height of building, road density etc., are analysed against the ecological footprint to understand the patterns of relationships between urban morphology and the state of sustainability.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

This thesis examines the concepts of power and participation and how they are intertwined in the examination of the urban planning systems in Curitiba, Brazil. Power is identified as both the planning system's ability to affect the daily lives of the city's residents and the power of individuals and groups to influence the planning process. Participation relates to how individuals, groups and communities are involved in the planning process. As a case study, Curitiba presents an example of how power gradients within the city influence participation in planning and how the power of planning impacts the daily lives of citizens. To explore these two themes, ethnographic research was conducted using ten key informants and more than twenty supporting informants. Additionally, participant observation methods and demographic data supplemented the respondents' statements. Three main aspects of the city's planning system -- transportation, land-use and education -- are examined. The discussion of these systems focuses on four main themes -- public participation, the role of government, the unequal provision, access and use of social services, and power relationships. The final three chapters examine the theoretical implications of this work and the application of the results to planning elsewhere. Planning in Curitiba demonstrates the inability of modernization theory to explain the multidirectional influences of planning concepts. Dependency theory and the world-systems perspectives are shown to offer better explanations of the dominance of multinational corporate interests in planning and the role Curitiba's planning systems play in incorporating residents into the broader world. Furthermore, the planning system in Curitiba shows the inability of elitist and pluralists perspectives of community power structures to capture the complexity of planning decisions. On the individual level, the resistance of shanty town residents to planning is viewed as a form of participation. Curitiba's planning systems show the importance of including the whole community in the process. Planners must encourage citizen participation and work to mobilize diverse community groups. Planning must be depoliticizing and supported through innovative leveraging of the city's resources. In promoting a city's planning identity, planners must identify the individual interests that motivate involvement in the planning process. / Graduation date: 1998

Thesis (M.Arch.)--Dalhousie University (Canada), 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Technische Universiteit Delft, 2003. / DatabaseEbrary. EAN: 9789040724794. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Thesis (M.C.R.P.) -- University of Texas at Arlington, 2008.

Thesis--Hamburg. / "Literaturverzeichnis": p. 189-192.