What is a periphery? We can think about this word in more than one way. First off, peripheries are places that exist as spatial conditions in cities, They indicate edges and places that have been left behind. Spaces that have lost their meaning. But in this thesis I will use the word in another way as well. What does the periphery mean for us today? What are those parts of our lives that have been marginalized, and how can we begin to reclaim what has been lost? It is the aim of this thesis to address these issues of the individual in a site that exists on the edge of Manhattan--a place physically separated from the city by means of a highway, and in so doing, redeem both a physical space as well as a place within ourselves. One way in which we as a society create this edge condition within ourselves centers around how we structure our time. How do we work? When do we work? And, conversely, when do we rest? An important part of our twenty-first century lives centers around our ability to be in constant communication. Recent advancements in communication technology are fast shaping the way in which we live, and, as a result, we have constructed a world in which productivity and communication are no longer limited by our physical place. For its many benefits, one problem created by this is that of a population simultaneously connected to the world, yet easily disconnected from their physical place. When do we turn off? And, more importantly, what are we missing by being so endlessly connected? In response to this situation, I feel that we as a society need moments of repose to restore balance in our lives. It is during these breaks in our day that we are better able to synthesize information, form memory and maintain balance between engagement and rest. By connecting our minds with our bodies, moments of repose serve as physical and mental experiences that ground us in place.

Gateway communities are the towns, cities, and communities that border public lands such as national and state parks, wildlife refuges, forests, historic sites, wilderness areas, national forests, and other public lands. They offer scenic beauty and a high quality of life that attracts millions of Americans looking to escape traffic congestion, fast tempo and uniformity of cities and suburbs. Gateway communities provide food, lodging, and business for Americans on their way to public lands. They serve as portals to public lands and therefore play an important role in defining the park, forest, or wilderness experience for many visitors. Their beauty, high quality of life, and economic benefits do not come easy. Gateway communities face challenges related to managing growth and development, providing economic prosperity, and preserving their character and sense of place. Parksville, TN is located in extreme southeast Tennessee and is a gateway community to the Cherokee National Forest and the Ocoee River, one of the premier whitewater rivers in the eastern United States. Many rural gateway communities, like Parksville, lack planning and growth strategies. For this reason, among others, they are particularly vulnerable to haphazard growth and development that threaten their economic potential as well as their character and sense of place. The struggles, problems, opportunities, and solutions for gateway communities are explored in this thesis to determine planning and design mechanisms applicable to Parksville. The product of this thesis is a master plan for growth and development as well as conservation and preservation. Embedded in the plan are strategies and mechanisms to build upon and improve the local economy and safeguard natural, cultural, and historic resources. “Proactive Stewardship Planning” is suggested as a useful term to accomplish these ideals.

The intention of this study is to analyze the economic impact of redeveloped Major League Baseball stadiums opened between 1991 and 2004. Using two empirical models, including an event study, this impact analysis captures the economic conditions of the cities during the opening year of the stadium, as well as the prior conditions leading up to the opening of the stadium, along with any lingering effects or gradual changes in conditions. The impact was measured in relation to the Metropolitan Statistical Areas corresponding to the 18 ballparks included, specifically looking at the impact on employment rates and per capita personal income. The common assumption is that stadium redevelopment will provide a positive impact on the surrounding community, initiating revitalization of urban neighborhoods as well as increasing job opportunities, income levels, and city revenues. While previous research on the effects of stadium development have mostly concluded that there is no positive or significant quantitative impact resulting from stadiums, this study shows that the boom of ballpark redevelopment may actually have positive effects, contrasting this prior research. With the results showing small, yet positive effects, the recent boom period may actually have been so far effective in initiating new development and revitalized culture in urban areas, and will therefore be useful in further developing future plans for modernizing and redeveloping baseball stadiums.

The Community and Regional Planning program of the University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture (UTSOA-CRP) has made course-integrated community-based project work (CCPW) a key - if not a requisite, component of its classroom-based teaching and planning instruction. Often referred to as academic service-learning, the pedagogy of incorporating community-based project work with classroom instruction is recognized to have significant benefits for college students, faculty members, institutions, and communities. More specifically, this teaching approach is understood to have substantial advantages in planning instruction. This professional report attempts to offer recommendations towards addressing the question of how a CCPW, or academic service-learning, approach to planning instruction can best be sustained and/or enhanced by the UTSOA-CRP program. Ideally, this report will add to the growing body of literature and research related to academic service-learning in planning instruction, while offering the CRP program useful tools and resources to consider in program design, implementation, evaluation, and planning. / text

This thesis demonstrates that New Urbanism is both an advisable and feasible method for reducing carbon emissions to mitigate global climate change. New Urban areas commonly generate lower carbon emissions compared to conventional suburban development due to lower car use and higher levels of walking and use of other forms of transportation. Economic and political feasibility of New Urban development is determined by analyzing case studies, housing price premia, financing, and fiscal impact. The many contexts and perspectives involved in the planning process are analyzed to determine if New Urbanism is advisable in the larger setting in which developers, advocates, and governments operate. In order to enable the planning strategy to achieve a more positive effect and become more widespread, key policy changes and strategic enactment measures are delineated. This thesis finds that New Urbanism has very strong potential to have a significant positive impact on urban sustainability.

People who live in cities are far more likely to suffer the physical and psychological effects of urban environments--high noise levels, automobile emissions, toxic industrial waste, crowded living conditions, and a general scarcity of open space. Combating these issues, public parks do more than provide recreational space. They are fundamental to any efforts focusing on urban revitalization, social justice, and sustainability. In downtown Los Angeles, public parks are rare, especially in low-income communities. Several new public parks have reclaimed abandoned land, unwelcoming spaces, and the City’s brownfields. After years of intense private use and neglect, spent land has been reinvigorated as green communal space. This study focuses on Vista Hermosa Natural Park, Grand Park, and Los Angeles State Historic Park. It combines previous research with site visits and interviews that explore the degree of success these recent reclamation movements have experienced and if there are any lessons learned than can be applied elsewhere. My conclusion is that the reclamation movement in Los Angeles is largely successful, especially when parks feature multiple benefits such as ecological restoration, recreational enhancement, and cultural engagement. But the less community involvement and public accessibility any reclaimed park has, the less success a park will have in alleviating spatial injustice.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 529-554).

Landscape development[1] can provide many benefits, including the reduction of stormwater runoff and the creation of habitats for wildlife. It can also provide health benefits. Researchers, such as Roger Ulrich and Rita Berto have demonstrated that views of trees and other vegetation are associated with lower blood pressure and reduced recovery times in hospitals and that environments with more natural elements may lessen mental fatigue (R. Ulrich 1984) and (Berto 2005). As rebuilding in New Orleans continues 11 years after Hurricane Katrina, landscape development has been limited or lacking, especially in the redevelopment of commercial properties. Two prominent reasons for this deficiency are a lack of funding and, until August of 2015, the absence of a comprehensive landscape ordinance. The purpose of the research presented here is to determine the degree to which community residents express a preference for healthier commercial environments. As part of my research, I measured community perceptions of four potential redevelopment concepts for a blighted strip shopping center utilizing attention restoration theory (ART), which postulates that certain environmental qualities contribute to reductions in mental fatigue. I found that commercial environments with the most quality landscaping[2] are those that neighborhood residents most prefer and are most conducive to better health. Keywords: mental fatigue, attention restoration theory, perceived restoration scale, commercial landscape quantity, public health, healthy urban environment [1] Refer to operational definitions (pages 4-6). [2] Refer to operational definitions (pages 4-6).

The foundation of Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais in 1897 represents a pivotal moment in urban planning and the search for modernity in Brazil. This thesis argues that the decision to move the capital of Minas Gerais at the outset of the First Republic and the designing of the new city encompassed an evolving vision of modernity that helped establish the planned city as a means to transport Brazil into the future. It also situates the effort to build Belo Horizonte within the wider theoretical discourse on modernity and the development of urban spaces in Brazil. The politicians in favor of the move, mudancistas, responded to the unique geo-political situation of Minas Gerais to craft a vision of the city that embraced railroads and industry and rejected Ouro Preto for its association with the colonial past. They envisioned a white space with little room for Brazil’s majority population of color that would embody the republicanism of Brazil’s future. After the decision to move the capital, Chief Engineer Aarão Reis added significant elements of Positivist thought to the vision of modernity surrounding the creation of the new capital city, Belo Horizonte. Reis sought to build a city based on mathematic rationality that would bring order to society. He echoed politicians’ rejection of Ouro Preto in his emphasis on sanitation and the prevention of unregulated development. Moreover, he intended for Belo Horizonte to be a performance of modernity that would be studied around the world.

Historical area is the unique place to a certain context because it contains the most valuable culture on the site and also keeps recording its history. While the increasing pressure from developing tourism and booming population seriously impacts the old site resulting in culture lost. This thesis investigates a typical historical area in Xi’an in a logical process. The process starts with analysis from local fabric as urban scale to living unit as family scale to make a clear view on local culture lost. According to the context, set up appropriate criteria to select typical site to make sure the solution can be well integrated into similar scenario. Then, based on the analysis, generate possible conceptual responses. Finally, design from a modular unit, to courtyard space and to the final block prospect, and make sure the final solution in every step could not only solve the problems, but also accommodate the local life style. The whole design process appropriately integrates the concept of shared space in dealing with the overload urban and living density. The application of the phasing study makes the whole research and design process more sustainable and feasible.