The project is a new city hall for the city of Lethbridge, Alberta, intended to replace the current building which was outgrown over twenty years ago, forcing several departments and city council to be housed in separate buildings. Past proposals for a new city hall have been confined to the current location in the Civic Centre, located on the periphery of the central business district. The primary objective of this project, however, was to create a city hall that was a successful public building, functioning not only as a setting for civic functions and ceremonies, but also as a place of everyday gatherings and activities that would contribute to the vitality of the city. For this reason a site was chosen downtown, on a block across from Gait Gardens, a park that at one time was the early coal mining settlement's town square. Once the commercial centre of the city, the blocks around Gait Gardens contain many heritage buildings, including the original city hall building. As retail activity moved to other locations the area and the park went into general decline. The block chosen as the site was cleared in 1965 and is currently occupied by a supermarket and a parking lot. In recent years the City of Lethbridge has made plans to reestablish Gait Gardens as the heart of the downtown area. Part of this strategy includes a radical redesign of the park itself which destroys much of its original formal plan. Locating an important public building, like City Hall, adjacent to the park would be a positive contribution to the revival of the area. City offices wrap around a wind-sheltered courtyard and large interior public space in order to fill up the block and to allow the building to come out to the street. The original twenty-five foot lot lines that ran east-west across the site govern the location and dimensions of major building elements. A tower, housing chimes and wind driven panels, marks the ceremonial entrance facing the park. A restaurant and small retail outlet are located along the west side of the building to support activity outside city hall hours. The southeast corner of Gait Gardens is redesigned to become a public plaza. Its main feature is a square reflecting pool and skating rink that corresponds exactly to the dimensions of the city hall courtyard. The park otherwise retains its original character and layout.

The project is a new city hall for the city of Lethbridge, Alberta, intended to replace the current building which was outgrown over twenty years ago, forcing several departments and city council to be housed in separate buildings. Past proposals for a new city hall have been confined to the current location in the Civic Centre, located on the periphery of the central business district. The primary objective of this project, however, was to create a city hall that was a successful public building, functioning not only as a setting for civic functions and ceremonies, but also as a place of everyday gatherings and activities that would contribute to the vitality of the city. For this reason a site was chosen downtown, on a block across from Gait Gardens, a park that at one time was the early coal mining settlement's town square. Once the commercial centre of the city, the blocks around Gait Gardens contain many heritage buildings, including the original city hall building. As retail activity moved to other locations the area and the park went into general decline. The block chosen as the site was cleared in 1965 and is currently occupied by a supermarket and a parking lot. In recent years the City of Lethbridge has made plans to reestablish Gait Gardens as the heart of the downtown area. Part of this strategy includes a radical redesign of the park itself which destroys much of its original formal plan. Locating an important public building, like City Hall, adjacent to the park would be a positive contribution to the revival of the area. City offices wrap around a wind-sheltered courtyard and large interior public space in order to fill up the block and to allow the building to come out to the street. The original twenty-five foot lot lines that ran east-west across the site govern the location and dimensions of major building elements. A tower, housing chimes and wind driven panels, marks the ceremonial entrance facing the park. A restaurant and small retail outlet are located along the west side of the building to support activity outside city hall hours. The southeast corner of Gait Gardens is redesigned to become a public plaza. Its main feature is a square reflecting pool and skating rink that corresponds exactly to the dimensions of the city hall courtyard. The park otherwise retains its original character and layout. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

The results of an ethnohistorical study of Lethbridge, Alberta led to my questioning current presumptions in the Canadian social inequality literature that social class, income, educational attainment, gender and ethnicity are principal factors in shaping social inequality in Canada. The ethnographic evidence suggests that membership criteria associated with locally-defined, historically-evolved groups mark who has political influence (a specific form of social power), and where the ensuing social inequalities lie in Lethbridge. A theoretical framework describing how historical circumstances lead to the redefinition of which socially-defined characteristics become local status markers is presented as the underlying theoretical orientation of this thesis. The framework does not preclude the possibility that social groups other than those studied in this thesis use social class, occupation, income, education, gender and ethnicity as status characteristics or group membership criteria. The framework is my attempt to clarify the often-unclear relationship among social inequality concepts. A mail-out social survey (N=238) was used to empirically test the hypothesis that Lethbridge group membership is a better predictor than social class, income, educational attainment, gender and/or ethnicity of who has political influence in Lethbridge community decision-making. Data was analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), bivariate correlation, and multiple regression. Mixed levels of support were found for the Lethbridge group hypotheses, with the "fits in" and "local trade/business people" receiving considerable support; North/South/West sider, and religious affiliation receiving some support; and Old-timers receiving no support. In contrast, the only social inequality hypothesis to receive more than minimal support was level of education. It is concluded that status characteristics are more fluid, local and historically negotiated than assumed in the social inequality literature. Suggested directions for future theoretical and empirical work include refinement of the relationships among social inequality variables and further empirical tests of the theoretical framework proposed here.

The results of an ethnohistorical study of Lethbridge, Alberta led to my questioning current presumptions in the Canadian social inequality literature that social class, income, educational attainment, gender and ethnicity are principal factors in shaping social inequality in Canada. The ethnographic evidence suggests that membership criteria associated with locally-defined, historically-evolved groups mark who has political influence (a specific form of social power), and where the ensuing social inequalities lie in Lethbridge. A theoretical framework describing how historical circumstances lead to the redefinition of which socially-defined characteristics become local status markers is presented as the underlying theoretical orientation of this thesis. The framework does not preclude the possibility that social groups other than those studied in this thesis use social class, occupation, income, education, gender and ethnicity as status characteristics or group membership criteria. The framework is my attempt to clarify the often-unclear relationship among social inequality concepts. A mail-out social survey (N=238) was used to empirically test the hypothesis that Lethbridge group membership is a better predictor than social class, income, educational attainment, gender and/or ethnicity of who has political influence in Lethbridge community decision-making. Data was analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), bivariate correlation, and multiple regression. Mixed levels of support were found for the Lethbridge group hypotheses, with the "fits in" and "local trade/business people" receiving considerable support; North/South/West sider, and religious affiliation receiving some support; and Old-timers receiving no support. In contrast, the only social inequality hypothesis to receive more than minimal support was level of education. It is concluded that status characteristics are more fluid, local and historically negotiated than assumed in the social inequality literature. Suggested directions for future theoretical and empirical work include refinement of the relationships among social inequality variables and further empirical tests of the theoretical framework proposed here. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

Irrigation rates in excess of plant evapotranspiration requirements have been identified as a major contributor to the development of raised water tables in the City of Lethbridge. These high water tables have created problems such as coulee slope instability, basement flooding and structural instability. This study characterized water table conditions in Lakeview subdivision, an area that experiences basement flooding. Soil texture data from this subdivision is used to address speculation that geologic controls contribute to high water tables in the city of Lethbridge, Linear regression analysis comparing mean sand and clay fractions to mean water table depth revealed that variations in soil texture have no statistical relationship to variations in water table depth. Glacio-lacustrine sediments underlie Lakeview subdivision while tills predominate in the Varsity Village area. Lakeview subdivision is also approximately 20 years older than Varsity Village and the two are compared to gain some understanding of how water tables develop over time. Comparison of mean water table depths in irrigated and non-irrigated land cover classes in both Varsity Village and Lakeview revealed a significant difference in Varsity Village whilc Lakeview showed no statistical difference. Finally, a water scheduling program is developed to decrease or reduce the build-up of water tables and alleviate some of the problems that result. / x, 169 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm

For deciduous trees, the growth season becomes progressively shorter with increasing latitude or elevation. To overcome the challenge of sufficient growth and development within the limited interval, deciduous trees may have adapted with increased physiological capacity. To test this ‘latitudinal compensation’ theory, I investigated the growth, foliar morphology, and some foliar biochemical and gas exchange characteristics of narrowleaf cottonwoods originating from the full range of its distribution. This study was carried out in a common garden at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, near the northern limit of the species’ distribution. Across 167 genotypes from 9 populations representing the full 16º latitudinal range, heights and stem diameters were associated negatively (p<0.1) with the latitude of origin, while foliar morphological characteristics of blade width and leaf mass tended to be positively associated with latitude (p<0.1), and leaf mass per area (LMA) was positively associated (p<0.05). Foliar chlorophyll (chl) and nitrogen (N) content were also significantly associated with latitude, and carbon isotope composition (δ13C) was positively correlated with chl and N. With a more intensive analysis for a subset of three populations from near the southern middle, and northern limits of the distribution, these same patterns were confirmed and additionally, stomatal ratio was higher in the leaves for the northern population. Subsequently, the light-saturated photosynthetic capacity (Amax) was higher in genotypes from the northern population. I conclude that increased foliar morphological and biochemical characteristics of narrowleaf cottonwoods contribute to increased photosynthetic capacity for northern populations, providing evidence for latitudinal compensation in a deciduous tree from the northern hemisphere. / ix, 91 leaves ; 29 cm

In subhumid to arid climates throughout the world, recharge to groundwater in urban areas is often found to be higher than pre-urbanization rates, despite an increased percentage of impermeable surfaces. Groundwater recharge in the city of Lethbridge is substantially higher than recharge rates prior to urbanization, resulting in the formation of perched water table conditions. High perched water table conditions, typically at depths between one and 2.5 metres, have created problems for the City and University of Lethbridge, including the increased occurrence of slope failures along nearby coulees. This study estimates of the volume of excess water available for groundwater recharge through the practices of urban turfgrass irrigation, and water storage. Between May and September, 1990-1996 irrigation was applied far above evapotranspiration demands, resulting in large volumes of water available for groundwater recharge in the Varsity Village subdivision of the City of Lethbridge. The relationship between the amount of water applied and the development of perched water table systems was strong enough that equations between inputs and water table depth could be derived, and used to predict water table elevation. / xiii, 190 leaves : ill., maps ; 28 cm.

This thesis explores the customs and traditions surrounding death and memorialization in the history of Lethbridge, paying particular attention to the public "face" of the practices as observed in newspaper death notices, obituaries, in-memoriams, undertaker advertisements, gravestones and cemeteries. It places Lethbridge rituals within the context of the general paterns of western culture, and others, as described by anthropology, history, archaeology, and art history. Its intent is to understand the effects of certain external influences on the realms of personal choice and individuality, and to observe the extent to which these influences have had an impact on what was once deeply personal family matter. / viii, 197 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.

Despite the number of studies conducted regarding violence amongst youth, there is still much to be learned. The present study was designed in an attempt to better understand the nature of delinquent adolescent behaviour. The main objectives of this study are as follows: to understand the pattern and distribution of delinquent behaviour, including violence, vandalism, and theft among Lethbridge, Alberta's high school population, to identify possible factors that may play a role in one's likelihood of engaging in such behaviours, and finally, to contribute to Micheal Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi's (G&H) 'General Theory of Crime' (1990) by reconceptuahzing the concept of self-control. The present study includes 182 youth from two Lethbridge public high schools. Of the 182 respondents, 84 are female, and 98 are male. The youth involved in this study range from 15 to 19 years of age. Through the use of a questionnaire, a number of key variables are addressed. These variables are: empathy, impulse control, social bonds, and their relationship with violence, theft, and vandalism. The results of this study show that empathy and impulse control are significant predictors of violence and vandalism, while impulsive behaviour was found to be the only statistically significant predictor of theft among the variables included in the multiple regression analysis. Although social bonds were hypothesized to be a major predictor of all three delinquent behaviours included in this study, the results did not support such an assumption. It is suggested that perhaps the concept of social bonds was inadequately measured for use in this study. Future research using a better measure of social bonds, may find it to be a significant predictor of violence, vandalism, and theft. / vii, 100 leaves ; 29 cm.

This thesis examines the relationship between religious style and social class in the City of Lethbridge, Alberta, Numerous theoretical and empirical studies have associated religious characteristics and social characteristics, but the discrepant findings of some of these studies prompted a fresh approach to the problem through focussing on religious style, defined in terms of worship-ritual, and social class, defined in terms of occupational prestige and measured by a socio-economic index. In order to tackle the problem posed by this study it was decided to undertake an empirical investigation of the class structure and religious style of a sample of churches in Lethbridge. Twenty-seven local churches formed the sample; this was representative of the forty-two churches in the city. Social differences are manifest in Lethbridge, and if social class is defined in terms of occupational prestige and measured by a socio-economic index (SEI), then class differences are also manifest. Such differences were found to exist in: (a) the general population (b) the church population. Samples of the general population and church population were differentiated along class lines and differences between the two distributions were apparent; upper and middle class members of the community are over represented in the local churches. Class structure of the churches was determined by drawing a sample of members from each church involved, ascertaining their occupations, and allocating a SEI based on these occupations. A mean index was computed for each of the churches which were then ranked according to their SEI and classified as upper, middle, or lower class. Religious style, defined in terms of worship-ritual, which is one of the dimensions of the traditional church-sect typology, was determined through participant observation as a result of which the churches were classified as formal, semi-formal, or informal. The relationship between religious style and social class was determined by calculating the weighted average mean SEI score for each of the "formality" categories, and additionally by using gamma as a simple measure of association. The relationship is curvi-linear. An additional analysis of the data points to the predominantly middle-to-upper class structure of local churches and gives indication of an inverse relationship between class and style. Theory relates religious characteristics and social characteristics in terms of the church-sect typology which, since its formulation by Weber and Troeltsch, has been developed by numerous scholars and has stimulated a variety of empirical studies. Discrepancies between studies based on the typology and those based on poll data appear to be due, in part, to different definitions of the concept "church-type." Although the relationships between style and class disclosed by this study do not precisely conform to the patterns of relating assumed by the church-sect typology, the discrepancies are not deemed to be serious bearing in mind the "ideal-type" character of that typology. If formal-style churches may be identified with church-type, informal with sect-type, and semi-formal with developed denominations, then the findings here generally support the relationships posited by the traditional typology, although the "fit" is not exact. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate