The research programme was relevant to urban planning and in particular to the design of stormwater management schemes that are more environmentally and socially acceptable. It examined social and perception issues relating to stormwater management techniques within residential areas, and in particular to the application of SUDS, mainly ponds, and river management schemes. The thesis arose from a project funded by the Environment Agency of England and Wales through SNIFFER under a programme titled “Social impacts o f stormwater management techniques including river management and SUDS”, SNIFFER Code: SUDS01. The public perception of construction is becoming a matter of increasing importance both in the UK and internationally since socio-economic parameters and public consultation both have to be taken into consideration in the planning and implementation of relevant projects. This research programme endeavoured to match the relevant legislative goals with society’s actual needs. The main aims of the research programme were to obtain an in-depth understanding and knowledge of the perceptions of popular stormwater management practices (SUDS and river management), and to evaluate these techniques from a social perspective. To satisfy these aims the following objectives were set: • To assess public awareness and perceptions of SUDS (particularly retention ponds) in the UK; • To assess professional perceptions of SUDS in the UK; • To assess perceptions of different stormwater management techniques, in three European cities; • To compare perceptions of different stormwater management techniques, SUDS and river management practices; • To link the research findings with trends in perceptions of nature and water. To meet the programme’s aims and to satisfy the objectives, the perceptions of SUDS in the UK (principally ponds) were investigated over a wide range of locations. In addition, the different river management approaches used in three heavily urbanised European cities, Glasgow, London, and Athens were investigated. The results of this research programme provide a means to understand perceptions of stormwater management and to appreciate what types of schemes will be more readily accepted by the public. The research has shown that members of the public hold strong views as to what they like or dislike about SUDS and water management installations in their local area, in spite of the fact that there were demonstrably low levels of public awareness of SUDS. The amenity, recreational value and aesthetics of new schemes seem to be of major importance for public acceptability, while function, efficiency, and maintenance are primarily important in areas facing flooding problems. Other key findings include the fact that there is a general preference for sustainable urban water management and for river restoration schemes compared with more conventional, ‘hard engineering’ approaches, such as culverting of rivers. This preference was expressed both by members of the public and by professionals involved in their planning and implementation. Another important result was that although unfamiliarity can produce negativity, education can influence attitudes positively even in sensitive issues such as safety, and can be used by authorities and planners as a means of enhancing the acceptability of new schemes. Consequently, the results of the surveys can be used as arguments towards the application of informative campaigns which should be taken into account prior to scheme implementation. This information can be utilised not only for stormwater management design, but also for other environmentally friendly constructions which the public may have a low level of awareness. Recommendations are made with respect to public and professional attitudes for improving the public acceptability of new and modified stormwater management systems. Recommendations and barriers to the uptake outlined in this thesis mainly refer to the appearance of schemes rather than technical issues. They are therefore of most use as guidance for improving aesthetics and increasing public acceptability. The outcomes of this research will be of use to policy makers, water companies, local authorities, environment agencies, planners, developers, consultants active in urban development, and researchers in applying wider-accepted practices for the assessment of public perception. Some findings from this research have been presented at several stakeholders’ meetings, at 4 conferences, and are published in the form of papers and reports, including the DTI SR 622 report titled “An Assessment of the Social Impacts of Sustainable Drainage Systems in the UK”, and the Environment Agency & SNIFFER report, SUDS01, 2005, titled “Social Impacts of stormwater management techniques including river management and SUDS”. This publication also constitutes Environment Agency R&D Technical report P2-258.

Doctor of Philosophy / Environmental Design and Planning Program / John W. Keller / Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have become a vehicle to deliver products and services internationally. It is a favored strategy widely adopted for implementing complex urban developments in the United States. However, the complex nature of such partnerships raises serious concerns about meaningful community engagement. Meaningful community engagement is a result of the presence and quality of transparency and public participation elements that are strongly correlated. The following research describes how the community was involved and contributed to an urban development PPP project in Manhattan, Kansas. The research goal is to understand the mechanism of the community engagement in a PPP project and to evaluate the quality of the process at the local level from a planning perspective. With an in-depth case study and an understanding of meaningful community engagement processes, this research will contribute to the body of knowledge in the area of PPPs and meaningful community engagement at the local level and evaluate local PPP policies and practices. The first objective is to evaluate the participation opportunities with a developed Community Engagement Attribute Evaluation System (CEAES) based on the recognized metrics of quality practices. Attributes are drawn from the identified characteristics of quality transparency and quality public participation of meaningful practices. The second goal is to interview the key stakeholders of the project from the public sector, the private sector, and the community and add depth to the findings that complements the overall evaluation. Through both technical evaluation and open-ended personal interview, this study attempts to describe the design and the process of public participation practices. Analysis will show whether or not the community was meaningfully engaged and if the technical aspects of a quality community engagement practice were present. Finally, this study aims to inform future similar planning practices. The result serves two local purposes of planning governance and policy. For the former, it will help those with no record of PPP to better design and implement the engagement process; and for the ones with PPPs’ experience, it will contribute to the quality of the future partnerships. For the latter, it will guide the local governments and policy makers to better address PPPs’ ongoing issue of community engagement.

The urban landscape requires a shift to a more self-sufficient, healthy and sustainable future. Urban agricultural (UA) projects are one way to do so. This research explores how low-income UA projects in North America and Europe can be supported strategically in moving towards a sustainable future. The authors analysed UA projects using the 5 Level Framework (5LF) and the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) to understand their current reality and to help determine sustainable advances within UA projects. Leverage Points were also used as a subsidiary analytical tool to help pinpoint effective actions of change. Research resulted in the creation of Strategic Recommendations and guidance for UA projects to help foster a societal shift towards sustainability. / An in-depth exploration of urban agriculture. Using the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, an analysis was conducted, as well as looking at main barriers and enablers to success to determine what is the most strategic support urban agriculture projects need. An Ideal Project was created, complete with a set of 10 Foundational Values to build a vision on, 25 best practice recommendations and an ABCD planning process to move urban agriculture projects towards sustainability.

Community service learning, when integrated into the modules of academic learning programmes, has the potential to contribute to the value and effectiveness of learning by offering hands-on experience and placing the learners in real-life situations as part of their learning phase. Most of the research done on community service learning has investigated the benefits, outcomes and learning experiences of students engaged in service-learning programmes. As there is little or no research on students' attitudes to and perceptions of service learning before it is integrated into an academic programme, the purpose of this study was to determine teacher training students' attitudes to and perceptions of community service learning before it became integrated into their academic programmes. The research was quantitative in nature and followed a descriptive design, in which a survey employing a questionnaire as instrument was used for measuring the attitudes and perceptions of third-year teacher training students at the Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria. A purposeful or non-probability sampling strategy was used, yielding a sample size of 168 students (n=±168). The results of the study indicate that students with prior knowledge of and/or participation in a community service programme showed greater willingness to enrol for such a programme, especially if it would add value to their career development and bear credits. The conclusion is that teacher training students are career focused and need to know more about community service learning before such courses/modules are integrated into their curriculum, to ensure their positive participation and enhanced learning. Recommendations are made with the intention of providing information to academic staff, to assist them with the successful design and implementation of courses/modules which include community service learning and would be meaningful to the community and of value to the student. The recommendations are also intended to encourage students to participate more willingly in community service learning courses/modules. These recommendations include a discussion on a thorough introduction to the pedagogy before integrating it into their curriculum. / Dissertation (MEd (Education for Community Building))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Curriculum Studies / MEd / unrestricted

Complex socio-technical problems such as climate change and the opioid epidemic strain current conceptions of public problem solving. Practitioners, including technical communication researchers, need methods that address immediate needs while supporting sustained community and policy response. Drawing on new materialist theory, technical communication research methods, and participatory research design, I trace the 2015 outbreak of HIV in Scott County, Indiana, and the subsequent passage of syringe exchange legislation, to craft frameworks for collaborative research calibrated to the messiness of wicked problems. My study draws on analysis of publicly available documents related to the outbreak, and interviews with public health practitioners, and community activists in order to identify sensitizing metaphors, and map how different metaphors organize work. Mapping these differences, and the networks they create for policy-making, operational response and research makes visible the embedded work of technical communication. I hope my research will help scholars and practitioners work more closely and communicate more effectively with more interdisciplinary and diverse audiences, contributing to critical scholarship that builds better communities. <br>

The notion of placemaking and sustainability are central to planning practice. However, is there a connection between the goals of sustainability and the impacts of placemaking initiatives? The ultimate goal of sustainable planning is the creation of a sustainable community which include the defining features of a healthy climate and environment, social wellbeing, and economic security. Yet, sustainable planning is heavily focused on the environment. Placemaking initiatives focus on underutilized space, permanently or temporarily highlighting location, locale, and sense, the three realms of place. In attempt to answer whether placemaking can contribute to sustainable planning, this research focuses on the case study of the east side neighborhoods of Cleveland, Ohio and three placemaking initiatives which take place in those neighborhoods. Placemaking attendees were surveyed on their perspectives of the impact that the placemaking initiative has on the community. After coding the responses for common themes, these themes were related back to the larger defining features of a sustainable community. It was found that placemaking can be used to support the social and economic realms within sustainable planning and communities. The main characteristics which make these initiatives successful are free and open to the public, expression of uniqueness, and the support of local businesses. Placemaking offers benefits to both community and non-community members. Ultimately, placemaking is a beneficial tool that should be utilized by planners to aid in sustainable planning.

Few countries can boast of having the culture of formal volunteering seen in the United States. In explaining this phenomenon, many empirical studies have found religiosity significant in predicting behaviors among young adults, adults, and the elderly. However, teens (13 – 17 years) have not attracted much attention from researchers, though they possess the time and resources most needed to volunteer. Using data from the National Study on Youth and Religion (NSYR) Wave 1, this study examines the relationship between formal volunteering and teens’ individual (religious salience and religious experience) and collective religiosity (religious tradition, church attendance, and religious youth group participation). Parental variables and teen demographics are also tested using a three-stage ordinal logistic regression. Regarding individual religiosity, the results suggested a significant relationship between teens’ religious experiences and formal volunteering. In addition, parents can induce formal volunteering by encouraging their teens to volunteer and participate in religious youth groups.

The goal of this project completed for the Greater Northfield Sustainability Collaborative (GNSC) was to understand how Northfield, Minnesota citizens are experiencing climate change. Thirty individuals were interviewed to find out what they know about climate change, what actions they are taking, what they think the solutions are to the problems, and what barriers they have to more fully engaging with climate change issues. The interview results are intended to promote and advance the community's discussion on climate change via social learning and community engagement activities such as town hall forums and community surveys. These activities encourage citizens in the community to have direct input into the development of the community's climate action plan (CAP). Analysis of the interviews showed that the interviewees are witnessing climate change, that most are taking at least some action such as recycling or lowering thermostats, that they can name barriers to their own inaction, that they say communication about climate change remains confusing and is not widespread in Northfield, and that they are able to provide numerous suggestions for what the local and broader leadership should be doing. The analysis also showed wide individual variation within the group. Interviewees who were less knowledgeable about climate were less likely to be taking action and do not participate in social groups where climate change is discussed. Conclusions are that the whole group would like more and better communication and education from our leaders, that they also expect our leaders to be part of creating solutions to climate change, and that the solutions the interviewees suggested provide a very thorough initial list of mitigation and adaptation strategies for the city's future CAP.

The principle of child protection and the efforts to protect children from abuse and neglect in pre-modern societies have different notions. According to De Mause, the past was a barbaric place for children and the history of childhood is a nightmare (De Mause, 1995, p. 1). In 1989, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child outlined the fundamental rights of children, including the right to be protected from economic exploitation (Convention on the Rights of the Child: 1990). This study explores issues of Child Protection Policy in humanitarian settings, and focuses on how the outbreak of COVID-19 has affected its implementation in South Sudan Internally Displaced People (IDP) in Camp settlements. This study is underlined by the theory of Participatory Communication while making use of concepts like Communicative Competence and Community Engagement. A case study and qualitative approach method is chosen for this research because it explores  and captures the uniqueness and complexities of South Sudan IDPs Camp in “real life” contexts  through systematic inquiry and data analysis (Geertz, 1973). The primary research tool of this study makes use of both primary and secondary sources of information. Qualitative research methodology through literature review, semi-structured interviews are used to gather data from respondents because qualitative research method aligns with the aim of finding out “how” and “why” (Kulothungan &amp; Oham, 2019, p.12). Public statements, reports, policy documents and other resources are also used. Results from the empirical data suggest that Child Protection services in IDP camp settlements have been greatly affected by COVID-19 mitigating measures because schools and Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) are not operational as before and children are not getting the maximum support and services that they need. These measures have significantly affected the wellbeing of children in key areas including education, food and nutrition, gender and mental health. The study gives crucial insights into how stakeholders can address challenges in implementing Child Protection Policies during a global pandemic and in humanitarian settings.

<p>Socially engaged design programs, community development coalitions, and intentional and unintentional design spaces are rich with expertise and thinkers who are developing solutions to very pressing, yet complicated problems. Little research has been conducted on the expertise and sense-making of the community partners who participate in these situations. The goal of this research endeavor is to unpack the ways various community partners make meaning of their design experiences by answering the question: What evidence of system’s thinking can be seen in the way community partners describe their work or context? A qualitative research study was conducted in which three community partners were interviewed at various points during their engagement with socially engaged design programs. They demonstrated their systems thinking ability most strongly across the following domains: differentiate and qualify elements, explore multiple perspectives, consider issues appropriately, recognize systems, identify and characterize relationships. These findings imply that the community partners are not only capable of systems thinking but have the potential to be more deeply involved in <a>developing solutions</a> within these settings. Future studies should investigate systems thinking beyond socially engaged design in formal settings and should consider investigation protocols that more directly surface systems thinking domains. Overall, this study contributes to existing work in systems thinking by calling for a more expansive and inclusive engagement of community partners in socially engaged work.</p>