In an increasingly complex world, there is a need for youth to address scientific issues both locally and globally. While interest and proficiency in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) decline, diverse methods to successfully engage, educate, and empower youth based on informal, learner-centric approaches are being tested. The factors potentially contributing to the success of a technology-supported civic engagement program were documented for 20 after school programs using qualitative methods. Using content analysis, the data was coded and tabulated and key variables were constructed. Univariate regression analysis revealed that four out of seventeen potential predictor variables proved to have a significant relationship with program success. The final multivariate regression model for predicting program success included youth-drivenness and total events (R-squared =0.58, p-value=0.0006), suggesting that encouraging participant ownership of the learning process is important to community and environmental problem awareness and the pursuit of solutions through STEM skills.

The rapid urban development has impacted a great loss of natural landscape in the U.S in recent years. In the process of urbanization, the population has moved from the city centers to the edges of the Metropolitan or the newly developed suburbs as much as 62% until 2000. The annual conversion rate of undeveloped land to developed land between 1982 and 1992 was 1.4 million acres per year while it accelerated later in only five years between 1992 and 1997 to 2.2 million acres per year. Among all the development one of the most common was the Enormous shopping mall in suburban districts which are the collections of a vast range of retail corporations in response to the growing consumerism. In support of the gigantic malls, more service infrastructures were built as in the multi-storied parking garages, surface parking, HVAC. Currently, the total number of malls in the U.S is approximately 116,000. The downside of the development has been observed as rapid as it has grown. As in 2014, nearly 3% of all the malls in the United States were considered to be "dying" (40% or higher vacancy rates) and nearly one-fifth of all malls had vacancy rates considered "troubling" (10% or higher). The sudden deterioration was caused because of several factors such as the socio-economic change of the demography in the urban context, the change in the spending habit of the consumers (i.e. spending for experience rather than goods), Rise of the E-commerce, etc. While the dying circumstance continues, these vast and trapped places have nothing but negative impacts in the urban environment as being wasteful land, blocking the visual connectivity through places, clogging the pedestrian flow, contributing to the heat island effect. Thus the problem is evoking to rethink a sustainable design approach. This thesis will first generate an adaptive master plan for the future, in a specific site as the result of investigating the socio-economic issues that forced the mall site to be vacant. After projecting the master plan, the architectural project will be proposed which will prioritize the physical and social development of the context. Educating people regarding the redevelopment of the community and the sustainable way of living are the key features of the project. The new project will be considered an iconic community asset that would serve the neighborhoods. / Master of Architecture / The rapid urban development has impacted a great loss of natural landscape in the U.S in recent years. In the process of urbanization, the population has moved from the city centers to the edges of the Metropolitan or the newly developed suburbs as much as 62% until 2000. To serve the resettled population new services have been developed at the outskirts of the cities. Among all the development one of the most common was the Enormous shopping mall in suburban districts which are the collections of a vast range of retail corporations in response to the growing consumerism. In support of the gigantic malls, more service infrastructures were built as in the multi-storied parking garages, surface parking, HVAC. Currently, the total number of malls in the U.S is approximately 116,000. The downside of the development has been observed as rapid as it has grown. As in 2014, nearly 3% of all the malls in the United States were considered to be "dying" (40% or higher vacancy rates) and nearly one-fifth of all malls had vacancy rates considered "troubling" (10% or higher). The sudden deterioration was caused because of several factors such as the socio-economic change of the demography in the urban context, the change in the spending habit of the consumers (i.e. spending for experience rather than goods), Rise of the E-commerce, etc. This thesis will explore the strategy for reintegrating the troubling mall sites within the urban fabric. The thesis will first generate an adaptive master plan for the future, in a specific site as the result of investigating the socio-economic issues that forced the mall site to be vacant. After projecting the master plan, the architectural project will be proposed which will prioritize the physical and social development of the context. Educating people regarding the redevelopment of the community and the sustainable way of living are the key features of the project. The new project will be considered an iconic community asset that would serve the neighborhoods.

Apartheid left a legacy that is spatially skewed. This is reflected in the present patterns of poverty and inequality in South Africa. While a number of global and national initiatives are in place to reduce the levels of poverty and inequality in rural South Africa, this research aimed at the development of a tool that would be able to assist communities themselves in reducing their own levels of poverty and inequality. This research was undertaken in collaboration with the Greater Rustenburg Community Foundation and a variety of rural communities in South Africa. The Community Asset Mapping Programme (CAMP) has as its purpose the achievement of sustainable and responsible high impact social change within communities. CAMP enables community members to map their own assets and empowers them to use these assets sustainably to create a better life for themselves. Communities are empowered to identify their own entrepreneurship and livelihood strategies and opportunities in an attempt to generate their own wealth. Unlike many existing asset mapping applications, CAMP advocates that the success of any roots-driven change depends on the inclusion of processes that will provide a cognitive shift in terms of a variety of processes such as wishes, fears, trust, self-worth, and power mapping, all providing different components that ensure a process of sustainable change within communities. The research presents an argument that if communities are to achieve effective roots-driven change they would require partnerships with Non Profit Organisations, government, civil society, business, and institutes of higher learning, who are willing to stand aside and allow communities to decide their own priorities in their journey to achieve their own wealth, but who would be willing to provide funding, mentorship, skills, and a continuous monitoring process over the medium to long term. / Sociology / Ph.D. (Geography)

Apartheid left a legacy that is spatially skewed. This is reflected in the present patterns of poverty and inequality in South Africa. While a number of global and national initiatives are in place to reduce the levels of poverty and inequality in rural South Africa, this research aimed at the development of a tool that would be able to assist communities themselves in reducing their own levels of poverty and inequality. This research was undertaken in collaboration with the Greater Rustenburg Community Foundation and a variety of rural communities in South Africa. The Community Asset Mapping Programme (CAMP) has as its purpose the achievement of sustainable and responsible high impact social change within communities. CAMP enables community members to map their own assets and empowers them to use these assets sustainably to create a better life for themselves. Communities are empowered to identify their own entrepreneurship and livelihood strategies and opportunities in an attempt to generate their own wealth. Unlike many existing asset mapping applications, CAMP advocates that the success of any roots-driven change depends on the inclusion of processes that will provide a cognitive shift in terms of a variety of processes such as wishes, fears, trust, self-worth, and power mapping, all providing different components that ensure a process of sustainable change within communities. The research presents an argument that if communities are to achieve effective roots-driven change they would require partnerships with Non Profit Organisations, government, civil society, business, and institutes of higher learning, who are willing to stand aside and allow communities to decide their own priorities in their journey to achieve their own wealth, but who would be willing to provide funding, mentorship, skills, and a continuous monitoring process over the medium to long term. / Geography / Ph. D. (Geography)