This study about Norrland’s hillforts has been a way to understand and figure out how the hillforts has been used. By reading previously published literature around mostly Scandinavian hillforts and what they may have had for functions and dating, if the assumed previously functions in Norrland was right or if there could be more to them. In this study it shows that functions for hillforts is mostly assumed with none or a few archaeological evidence. The first assumed function of Norrlands hillfort as refuge has been criticized by authors from Norway and Finland because of the distance between district and hillfort. The assumption suggested that it would have been too difficult to flee from an enemy if a raid would be of essence, and with published literature, GIS-analysis, and 3D pictures this can hopefully be shown for the reader.

Urban public spaces have been considered an essential part of cities throughout history. Over the span of urban life, public spaces have continuously reflected the complexities of their cities’ cultural, social, and economic contexts. Public spaces play a particular role in the life of urban areas, whether as memorable, accessible, or meaningful places. However, recent researches on public spaces reveal that some are currently experiencing a decline in their physical design and in their use. Many writers and scholars of public spaces issues identify a general decline, for which the causes and prescriptions are different according to the context of urban planning and designing. Thus, in this period of change in using public spaces, it becomes important to evaluate and investigate actual use of contemporary public spaces, how and why they are used, particularly in terms of their physical deterioration and/or improvement. Therefore, an opportunity exists to reveal and understand the interrelationship between physical patterns of contemporary public spaces and people’s activity patterns within such spaces. This thesis relates to urban public spaces uses, particularly public squares, and to the relationship between their physical and activity patterns. It considers the design features of urban public space, focusing on people’s activities and various forms of use – from passive to active engagement to understand the activity-physical patterns relationship in a selected urban public space. It therefore asks: How do people’s activities relate to the physical patterns of an urban public space? And how are people’s activities affected and encouraged by urban public space’s physical features? In order to address these questions, this thesis employs a methodology that combines direct field observations, activity mapping and Geographical Information Systems (GIS), as applied to a selected public space in Toronto, Mel Lastman Square to reveal the activity patterns that appear to be correlated with particular use of design features within the square. Thus, the value of this thesis is in studying the relationship between the activities and the physical settings of urban public spaces through using a proposed methodology and exploring GIS as an analytical tool to describe the activity-patterns relationship. Analyzing this relationship will add insights into and complement the application of urban design theories and practice which could lead to further studies to improve the public spaces design and planning process.

The routing of the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline plays an important role in the future energy security of the European Union. The natural gas pipeline is planned to run from the natural gas fields in the Caspian Sea through Turkey. This project is a case study for a Geographic Information System (GIS) least-cost route analysis of a section of the proposed pipeline in Western Turkey. The route analysis comprised of weighting multiple types of criteria in a compiled risk assessment map that was analyzed by a least-cost algorithm to display the least hazardous route through the study area. Multiple varieties of criteria were considered such as, lithology, slope of terrain, environmental and social risk factors, e.g. proximity to natural reserves and urban centers, to provide the least hazardous route through the region. The derived least cost paths were more efficient than the proposed route in the relative cost associated with each route.

Urban public spaces have been considered an essential part of cities throughout history. Over the span of urban life, public spaces have continuously reflected the complexities of their cities’ cultural, social, and economic contexts. Public spaces play a particular role in the life of urban areas, whether as memorable, accessible, or meaningful places. However, recent researches on public spaces reveal that some are currently experiencing a decline in their physical design and in their use. Many writers and scholars of public spaces issues identify a general decline, for which the causes and prescriptions are different according to the context of urban planning and designing. Thus, in this period of change in using public spaces, it becomes important to evaluate and investigate actual use of contemporary public spaces, how and why they are used, particularly in terms of their physical deterioration and/or improvement. Therefore, an opportunity exists to reveal and understand the interrelationship between physical patterns of contemporary public spaces and people’s activity patterns within such spaces. This thesis relates to urban public spaces uses, particularly public squares, and to the relationship between their physical and activity patterns. It considers the design features of urban public space, focusing on people’s activities and various forms of use – from passive to active engagement to understand the activity-physical patterns relationship in a selected urban public space. It therefore asks: How do people’s activities relate to the physical patterns of an urban public space? And how are people’s activities affected and encouraged by urban public space’s physical features? In order to address these questions, this thesis employs a methodology that combines direct field observations, activity mapping and Geographical Information Systems (GIS), as applied to a selected public space in Toronto, Mel Lastman Square to reveal the activity patterns that appear to be correlated with particular use of design features within the square. Thus, the value of this thesis is in studying the relationship between the activities and the physical settings of urban public spaces through using a proposed methodology and exploring GIS as an analytical tool to describe the activity-patterns relationship. Analyzing this relationship will add insights into and complement the application of urban design theories and practice which could lead to further studies to improve the public spaces design and planning process.

No description available.

No description available.

Freshwater is essential for a functional society and the human well-being. However, it should not be taken for granted. Freshwater aquifers in coastal are subject to current and future risk of becoming saltwater contaminated – reaching a tipping point. Freshwater security on islands is vulnerable. The aim of this empirical study is to identify the effects of a 2-meter sea level rise and the current risk of well salinization at the Baltic Sea island of Öland, Sweden. A Geographical Information System (GIS) was used to conduct a quantitative risk assessment analysis. Natural and physical parameters affect the risk of intrusion into wells including hydrology, geomorphology, and climatology. Anthropogenic causes and climate change also add to the risk of salinization. However, they are not included in the quantitative study. The spatial distribution of the current risk is mapped in this study and can be used as a tool to identify wells at risk. Moreover, a future sea level rise has been visualized and show that 3% of all wells on the island will get directly inundated along with 5% of the total land area. Important land such as urban areas, nature reserves, and animal protection areas will get inundated including the loss of environmental and socio-economic values. A precautionary approach needs to be implemented in future planning since many wells are already at risk of salinization. The complexity of the problem is vast, and this study aims to fill the gaps in literature and previous research in a more multi-criterion way. Nevertheless, the political discussion urgently needs to address the topic and a mitigation and adaptation strategy must be on the agenda.

No description available.

The purpose of the study is to develop a method that generates areas in the municipality of Karlstad that satisfies the habitat area requirement for the bird species lesser spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor). The purpose is also to compare two different databases (kNN-Sweden and the Vegetation Map). Habitat area requirement for lesser spotted woodpecker is 40 ha of forest dominated by deciduous trees, which may be fragmented over a maximum of 200 ha. The software ArcMap was used to developed method to generate habitat areas, based on input from the kNN-Sweden and the Vegetation Map databases. The habitat areas were reviewed and compared by overlay analysis and compared to reported observations. Generated habitat areas from the kNN-Sweden database and generated habitat areas from the Vegetation Map database differed significantly. The format of the input data and the threshold values are probably contributing reasons of the difference. An important shortage of the kNN-Sweden database is that a buffer zone around the water surfaces at generalization has been masked off and hence the volume of mature deciduous forest generally underestimated. The number of observations of lesser spotted woodpecker within the habitat areas differed between the kNN-Sweden and the Vegetation Map that fulfilled the requirement. The Vegetation Map had 138 observations of lesser spotted woodpecker while the KNN-Sweden only had 38 observations. / Karlstads kommun behöver finna potentiella habitat för fågelarten mindre hackspett, som är en förslagen ansvarsart i kommunen. Mindre hackspett behöver minst 40 ha äldre lövdominerad skog inom ett område på upp till 200 ha för häckning. Behovet kan ses som artens habitatvillkor vid utsökning av potentiella områden för dess habitat. Syftet med studien är att utveckla en metod för att finna områden i Karlstads kommun som uppfyller habitatvillkoret för mindre hackspett. Syftet är även att jämföra två olika databaser, kNN-Sverige och Vegetationskartan, vid dess användning som indata. kNN-Sverige är en rikstäckande databas med information om Sveriges skogar och dess grundformat är digitala kartor i rasterformat med en upplösning på 25 meter. Informationen i kNN-Sverige bygger på en kombination av fältdata från Riksskogstaxeringens stickprovsinventering och heltäckande data från satellitbilder. Vegetationskartan består av polygonskikt innehållande klassning av olika vegetationstyper. Underlaget för vegetationsdata är flygbilder av närainfrarödkänslig färgfilm som har tolkats och karterats utifrån dominansförhållanden hos olika vegetationstyper, med stöd från aktivt fältarbete. Med hjälp av programvaran ArcMap 10.3 utvecklades en metod som genererade habitatområden, baserade på indata från kNN-Sverige respektive Vegetationskartan. Därefter granskades och jämfördes resultaten genom överlagringsanalys och kontroll mot inrapporterade observationer av mindre hackspett. Genererade habitatområden för kNN-Sverige respektive Vegetationskartan skiljde sig åt och det genererades betydligt fler områden med kNN-Sverige. Grundformatet på indata och valet av gränsvärden är troligen en bidragande faktor till skillnaderna.   Resultaten från analysen av Vegetationskartan bedöms rimligare än kNN-Sveriges resultat. För kNN-Sverige saknades även en del områden där det finns mycket lövskog, till exempel vid Klarälvsdeltat. Vegetationskartans resultat påvisade däremot att det fanns områden med mycket lövskog kring Klarälvsdeltat. En stor brist hos kNN-Sverige är att en zon kring vattenytor har maskats bort vid generaliseringen och volymen av äldre lövskog generellt har underskattats, vilket bland annat kan förklara varför inte viktiga områden kring vatten kommit med. Antal observationer som låg inom habitatområden skilde sig betydligt mellan kNN-Sverige och Vegetationskartan, inom habitatområden som uppfyllde villkoret hade Vegetationskartan 138 observationer av mindre hackspett medan kNN-Sverige endast hade 38 observationer.

Les villes d’Europe centrale et orientale suscitent l’intérêt des chercheurs, car leur évolution a suivi des trajectoires particulières vu leur histoire complexe. Mais le plus souvent leurs transformations sont recensées à partir des changements politiques et socio-économiques et non pas du point de vue de l’évolution morphologique et fonctionnelle. Cette thèse propose une démarche d’analyse quantitative à la fois des changements morphologiques des villes d’Europe centrale et orientale avant et après l’effondrement de communisme, ainsi que des changements fonctionnels dans la période post-socialiste, les deux doublées par une analyse exploratoire de la capacité de résilience spatiale et socio-économique des villes à court et à long terme. Par conséquent, cette thèse vise à ajouter la dimension spatiale à l’analyse socio-économique et politique de la ville post-socialiste de l’Europe centrale et orientale, en questionnant les similarités et les dissimilarités qui les caractérisent. Nos résultats montrent un territoire d’Europe centrale et orientale assez hétérogène, avec des fractures ouest-est au niveau régional (dans l’ensemble du territoire), mais également au niveau national. La ville d’Europe centrale et orientale s’esquisse dans un modelé urbain conciliant l’héritage du passé, y compris l’héritage socialiste, avec les nouvelles demandes de l’économie de marché, ce qui se traduit spatialement par l’émergence d’une ville qui se rapproche du modèle de la ville d’Europe de l’Ouest, tout en restant différente. / Cities in Central and Eastern Europe are a subject of interest for researchers, as their evolution has followed particular trajectories in view of their complex history. However, often, the transformations of the cities of Central and Eastern European countries are analysed by taking into account only the political and socio-economic changes and not from the point of view of morphological and functional evolution. Thus, this thesis proposes a quantitative approach in what concerns the analysis of both the morphological changes of the cities of Central and Eastern Europe before and after the collapse of communism as well as the functional changes of the post-socialist period, both doubled by an exploratory analysis of spatial and socio-economic capacity of resilience of cities in the short and long term. Therefore, this thesis aims to add the spatial dimension to the socio-economic and political analysis of the post-socialist city of Central and Eastern Europe, by questioning the similarities and dissimilarities that characterize them. Our results show a rather heterogeneous territory of Central and Eastern Europe, with West-East fractures at the regional level, as well as at the national level. The city of Central and Eastern Europe is outlined as an urban model that seeks to reconcile the legacy of the past, including the socialist legacy, with the new demands of the market economy, which spatially translates into the emergence of a similar city, but in the same time different from that of Western Europe, which he seeks to match, fact that proves its complex context of evolution.