Urban environments are typically host to a high level of biodiversity which is important for the provision of ecosystem services, and for facilitating contact between humans and nature. However, accelerating urbanisation precipitates considerable declines in the number of species which inhabit these environments as a greater number of homes and roads are constructed to accommodate a growing global human population. Domestic gardens afford an important opportunity to combat these declines, owing to their capacity to support a high level of biodiversity and the substantial land area which they cover. However, the fine spatial scale of individual isolated domestic gardens constrains their ability to increase biodiversity at larger spatial scales. Consequently, managing domestic gardens collectively, by conjoining multiple neighbouring domestic gardens and managing them as a single larger habitat, has been proposed as a promising approach to increase biodiversity at these scales. Importantly however, the practical implementation of this approach necessitates neighbouring householders to collaboratively undertake biodiversity favourable garden management and to conjoin their domestic gardens. Crucially, this management is performed by householders discretionarily and can be influenced by demographic, perceptual, environmental, and socio-economic factors. Furthermore, householder attitudes towards conjoining domestic gardens may also influence the practicality of this approach. Therefore, this research explores what impact the extent to which householders undertake biodiversity favourable garden management has on the practicality of the collective management approach and how this is influenced by the aforementioned factors. In addition, it explores how this practicality is influenced by householder attitudes to conjoining domestic gardens. Lastly, it investigates how the collaborative undertaking of biodiversity favourable garden management by neighbouring householders could be encouraged, taking into consideration the constraints associated with current projects which promote such management. A survey was used to explore the prevalence of biodiversity favourable garden management, the influences on this management, and attitudes towards conjoining domestic gardens. This was conducted with an online semi-structured questionnaire which was distributed to householders using the social-networking site, Facebook. In addition, a bio-indicator approach was used to analyse the impact of general domestic garden management on biodiversity and birds were selected as a bio-indicator. Accordingly, respondents to the survey were also required to identify which bird species visit their domestic gardens. Seventeen elite interviews were also conducted with representatives from a range of organisations operating domestic garden projects, participants in such projects, and academics with expertise in domestic garden management, in order to explore the constraints associated with current domestic garden projects. The survey yielded 276 responses and provided support to the practicality of the collective management approach. In particular, it indicated that householders commonly undertake biodiversity favourable garden management, by predominantly providing food for birds and planting vegetation, and 60% of householders are willing to conjoin domestic gardens. However, the survey also highlighted that biodiversity favourable garden management is impeded by a number of factors. These included small domestic gardens, which particularly limit vegetation planting, and can be commonplace in urban environments. In addition, householders commonly nullify the benefits afforded by undertaking this management by covering domestic gardens with hard surface and lawns, which eliminate space for vegetation. Moreover, strong desires to retain ownership and privacy of domestic gardens precipitate the unwillingness of a significant proportion of householders to conjoin domestic gardens. This therefore challenges the practicality of the collective management approach. The results from the elite interviews indicated that householders lack commitment to current domestic garden projects, which are constrained by difficulties acquiring sufficient funding. These issues could also be pertinent to approaches which are developed to encourage the collaborative undertaking of biodiversity favourable garden management, further rendering the collective management approach impractical. The practicality of the collective management approach could be enhanced by modifying the design of new housing in a manner which is favourable to biodiversity and which ensures a minimal domestic garden size. In addition, including domestic gardens in green infrastructure strategies could further enhance this practicality. Furthermore, amending planning policy to regulate the covering of domestic gardens with hard surface and lawns more stringently could reduce the prevalence of these features. Householder commitment to approaches which encourage the collaborative undertaking of biodiversity favourable garden management could be promoted by providing feedback regarding the contribution this makes to increasing biodiversity at large spatial scales. Moreover, greater funding for these approaches could be acquired by also focusing on promoting the provision of ecosystem services. Finally, householder collaboration could be encouraged by accommodating desires for ownership and privatisation of domestic gardens. This could be respectively achieved by permitting flexibility regarding the biodiversity favourable garden management undertaken and separating conjoined domestic gardens with hedgerows.

Problem - Ponava is an area with relatively large areas of brownfield sites. Ponava should be territory with clearly defined texture blocks, mixed functions , high proportion of total housing and urban character. The area solved in this work was selected as most suitable for the creation of the initiation core, ie core starting as development of the whole territory. Uncertainty about the future, including needs to be in 5, 10, 20 years doing the classic urban planning dysfunctional method of working with the territory. Solution - My urban concept seeks to provide sufficient flexibility in terms of use of buildings and open spaces. It is particularly advantageous because it can hold more small investors, who can work independently. Each part of the territory may work alone, just under the current situation and needs of society. The concept is simple division of the area in a regular rectangular network by the same part of the individual and their subsequent filling. Placing buildings is chessboard, thus ensuring their adequate sun and at the same time easy permeability of territory in all directions. The spaces between buildings have in the outer parts character of living square with a strong influence of the adjacent street. Inside these areas is the interspace quiet and mainly serves the local population.

Le jardinage urbain demeure un objet d'études récent en sciences sociales, mais déjà la littérature sur le sujet semble être divisée en deux positions distinctes : tandis que certain-e-s chercheur-e-s affirment que les initiatives de jardinage sont radicalement progressistes, mobilisant des notions telles que le droit à la ville ou les communs, d'autres ont moins confiance en ces projets, affirmant qu'ils ont tendance à servir un agenda néolibéral. J’affirme que ce débat bénéficie d’une théorisation plus approfondie de la manière dont le politique se déploie dans ces espaces gérés par des citoyen-ne-s. En m'appuyant sur une étude de cas de deux jardins collectifs situés dans l'espace public de Mexico, le Huerto Tlatelolco et le Huerto Roma Verde, je propose d'analyser le potentiel politique des jardins urbains à travers le prisme de la théorie de la démocratie radicale. En examinant à la fois les discours mis en avant par les jardinier-ère-s et leurs pratiques quotidiennes, j'évalue s'ils sont guidés par des principes de contre-hégémonie et de résistance aux structures de domination et s'ils aboutissent à l'établissement de nouvelles formes de relations sociales basées sur la communalité et la relationnalité. J’observe que la réalisation de ces principes de démocratie radicale dépend principalement des intentions des jardinier-ère-s qui ont initié ces projets, et des valeurs sur lesquelles ils et elles s'appuient pour donner forme à leurs initiatives. / Urban gardening remains an incipient object of study in social science, but already the early literature seems to suggest the existence of two distinct positions on the matter : while some researchers argue that gardening initiatives are radically progressive, mobilizing notions such as the right to the city or the commons, others have less faith in these projects, arguing that they tend to serve a neoliberal agenda. This debate, I argue, benefits from further theorizing the way the political unfolds in these citizen-managed spaces. Drawing from a case study of two collective gardens located in the public space of Mexico City, the Huerto Tlatelolco and the Huerto Roma Verde, I suggest analyzing the political potential of urban gardens through the lens of the theory of radical democracy. Looking at both the discourses put forth by the gardeners and their daily practices, I evaluate whether they are guided by principles of counter-hegemony and resistance towards structures of domination and whether they result in the establishment of new forms of social relations based on communality and relationality. I find that the achievement of these principles of radical democracy depends mainly on the intentions of the gardeners who initiated these projects, and on the values on which they rely to give shape to their initiatives.

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Master of Science / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Candice A. Shoemaker / Professionals in health promotion are starting to look at gardening as a strategy for health behavior change. This popular leisure time activity provides access to physical activity and fresh fruits and vegetables for consumption, two behaviors consistently recommended for optimum physical health. Coupled with a lifestyle low in sedentary behavior these behaviors can offset the health risks of the prevailing trends of overweight and obesity. Spending time outdoors is associated with higher levels of physical activity, while screen based behaviors are associated with unhealthy eating. No studies to date have looked at the health behaviors of gardeners, or the effects it may have on their family’s health behaviors. The purpose of this report is to examine, through descriptive research, the health behaviors of gardening and non-gardening parents and their fourth or fifth grade child. Surveys were administered to a convenience sample of 366 fourth and fifth grade students and their guardians within a school district in Riley County, Kansas. The survey assessed the physical health behaviors mentioned above; comparisons were made according to parental classification of gardener (n=189) or non-gardener (n=177). Significant association was found with gardening classification and adult self-reports of the number of days and amount of time respondents participated in moderate to vigorous physical activity. The median days per week parents reported participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity was 3 for non-gardeners, and 4 for gardeners and was influenced by gender. Eighty-seven percent of gardeners compared to 59.3% of non-gardeners reported meeting the current physical activity recommendation of 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity activity.

Photocopy of typescript. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1984 P74 / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1985 D69 / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1985 M667 / Master of Science