Thesis (M.A.), Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2000. / Bibliography: leaves 135-144.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 18, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Thesis advisor: Dr. Marjorie Skubic. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1985.

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

The research of traditional Chinese urban dwellings mainly focuses on the dwelling forms in large cities, like Beijing and Guangzhou. The urban form and architectural typology in prefectural level cities (Zhou 州 and Fu 府cities in history) are generally overlooked. The city of Chaozhou (潮州), a typical southern Chinese prefectural city, has large areas of well-preserved urban fabric constituted of courtyard houses with unique local characteristics. However, a thorough study of its urban forms and architecture is yet to be explored. This thesis aims to explore the relation between dwelling form and urban fabric in Chaozhou’s historical district, and to look into the elements of urban fabric in Chaozhou, including the shaping of urban structure, sub-dimension of urban blocks, the location of houses within urban blocks, and the way that houses are arranged. The urban fabric of Chaozhou is examined at four levels. First, the transformation of urban structure and public space is represented based on the analysis of primary sources. Second, a typological approach is adopted in this thesis to analyze the urban fabric and traditional dwelling forms based on the field study in “Yi xing jia (义兴甲)” Historical Conservation Area of Chaozhou. The dwelling units are categorized into 14 types, according to the layout and scale of the courtyard houses. The survey and illustration of courtyard dwellings has been done with the help of open-ended interviews. Third, the relation between dwelling form and plot pattern is carefully examined, and a set of modules that control and influence the urban fabric and dwelling forms are analyzed through maping. Finally, the transformation of dwelling forms in Chaozhou from imperial China to the Republic era is reviewed, through the comparison between courtyard houses of Chaozhou and Beijing, as well as urban dwelling and rural dwelling. The findings of this study prove firstly that the shaping of Chaozhou city’s form is a process of natural growth and a result of planning, which leads to the irregular urban blocks with an organic pattern, and also the regular urban blocks with a grid pattern. Secondly, a clear module of urban fabric in Chaozhou controls the depth of urban blocks and the dimension of plots, and ultimately affects the choice of dwelling forms within the urban blocks. This research argues that three elements of urban forms (urban block, plot pattern and dwelling form) have interrelationship with each other. Fundamentally, all the plot patterns and dwelling forms are constrained by the block sizes. Streets changed very little, and as a result, the traditional residential fabric has remained through the long-history of socio-economic upheavals in Chaozhou. Finally, Chaozhou has developed a variety of residential building types, and this variety has been shaped over a long historical process. Several original dwelling types were largely determined by the socio-economic condition of the householder and the original land divisions. During the early modern time, with the introduction of modern building materials and technology, as well as the influence of overseas cultures, Chaozhou’s dwelling types transformed in several ways, adopting more free layout and forms / published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The amaNdzundza are a South African abaNtu people. This thesis sets forth to determine the role of their world (in the Heideggerian sense) as it impacts on their Architecture. First the evolutionary process of the amaNdzundza architecture is established. An infinite series of memes (much like genes) that function both on an intra- and inter-cultural level govern this process. Next, the cultural interaction of the amaNdzundza over a period of half a millenium are mapped (and a space-time matrix drawn up: ch.3), as to find the sources of introduction on an intercultural level. Finally, the architecture of the amaNdzundza milieu, both of their settlements and of the cultures with which they shared their environment, is analyzed and a sample of memes identified, which best illustrate the meme-exchange and evolution. This is done in a structure comprising the analysis of selected religious spatial incentives, and some aspects and elements of the settlement, the dwelling and the mural. A summary is given of the memes involved in the amaNdzundza architecture, and their evolutionary dynamics and origins. The researcher thus concludes that, rather than a singular factor such as the patronage of apartheid, the cultural 'memes' in the amaNdebele ya amaNdzundza milieu played the predominant role in the shaping of their existential, spatial and structural dwelling, through a process of 'loci meme' evolution.

A critical concern for society at the present time is the detrimental effects of human activity on the ecosystems. However, while there is raised awareness about issues such as global warming and the thinning ozone layer, humans still plan and develop the urban landscape from the perspective of the Cartesian worldview. This is also apparent in planning for the aging population. Although there is a large body of literature on population aging and sustainable urban development as well as a significant amount of material on aging and urban planning, the three issues of sustainability, urban planning and population aging are seldom addressed simultaneously. This thesis addresses the question of how sustainability planning principles can be integrated with planning for population aging. To this end, I investigate the underlying paradigms of both planning and the sociology of aging to gain an understanding of the values that underscore the policy directions in both these fields. I also review the literature on population aging, as well as housing and health service planning to highlight some needs, preferences and beliefs of the older population. Finally, I survey the literature on sustainable urban planning to elucidate some points of intersection between the needs and preferences of an aging population and the dominant principles underwriting a more sustainable lifestyle. The most significant themes arising from this investigation are the need for social and physical restructuring through changing paradigms. It is clear that older people are treated as a special group and have been segregated either covertly or overtly from mainstream society. Therefore, a change in values is required normalizing the older population within the societal structure. At the same time, traditional urban planning supports increasing consumption of material and energy resources leading to greater environmental degradation. Physical urban restructuring that reduces fossil fuel consumption and waste production will move society towards sustainability. Social ecology and ecological planning principles underwrite such social and ecological restructuring.