This project involved the adaptive reuse of Maw Garage at 112 King Street. The building was transformed into an interpretive centre for Winnipeg’s Exchange District. As museums are faced with challenges of being relevant in today’s context, museum planners have started to shift their attention toward new approaches for the design of these environments. The purpose of this project was to investigate the evolving nature of the museum, and to determine how its role in society could be modified to better accommodate its audience’s needs. Society’s understanding of heritage in regard to the way we interpret, relate to, and connect with objects, each other, and environments has changed. A thorough review of literature resulted in a broad understanding of post-museum, constructivist learning, and public space theories. Combined with knowledge gained from the analysis of three precedents and programming, these theories enabled the development of a contemporary museum that challenges stereotypical ideas of the museum. This design proposal illustrates one possible way in which post-museum, constructivist learning, and public space theories could be used to design a new museum. Although the solution presented here is specific to Winnipeg’s Exchange District and the Heritage Winnipeg client, conceivably, the same theories could be used to design interpretive centres elsewhere in North America.

This project involved the adaptive reuse of Maw Garage at 112 King Street. The building was transformed into an interpretive centre for Winnipeg’s Exchange District. As museums are faced with challenges of being relevant in today’s context, museum planners have started to shift their attention toward new approaches for the design of these environments. The purpose of this project was to investigate the evolving nature of the museum, and to determine how its role in society could be modified to better accommodate its audience’s needs. Society’s understanding of heritage in regard to the way we interpret, relate to, and connect with objects, each other, and environments has changed. A thorough review of literature resulted in a broad understanding of post-museum, constructivist learning, and public space theories. Combined with knowledge gained from the analysis of three precedents and programming, these theories enabled the development of a contemporary museum that challenges stereotypical ideas of the museum. This design proposal illustrates one possible way in which post-museum, constructivist learning, and public space theories could be used to design a new museum. Although the solution presented here is specific to Winnipeg’s Exchange District and the Heritage Winnipeg client, conceivably, the same theories could be used to design interpretive centres elsewhere in North America.

Šiame darbe teorinį galios diskurso pagrindą sudaro keturi prancūzų tradicijos teoretikai – M. Foucault, P. Bourdieu, M. de Certeau ir J. Baudrillard. Remiantis jų darbais yra analizuojami skirtingi aspektai, kurie sudaro galios cirkuliacijos sistemą šiuolaikiniuose miestuose. Esminį vaidmenį šioje sistemoje vaidina galios tarpininkai, kurie leidžia galiai sklisti nepriklausomai nuo to, ar yra tiesioginis ryšys tarp galios šaltinio ir kasdienio veikėjo. Darbo tikslas yra apibrėžti, kas būdinga galios tarpininkams, kurie lemia galios santykius šiuolaikinių miestų viešosiose erdvėse. Tam, visų pirma buvo išanalizuoti svarbiausi aspektai iš M. Foucault disciplinuojančios galios, P. Bourdieu laukų teorijos, M. de Certeau kasdienio gyvenimo praktikų, J. Baurillard simuliacijų ir daiktų bei individų santykio koncepcijų. Remiantis teorinės analizės rezultatais, sudarytas galios cirkuliacijos modelis, atsižvelgiant į tai, kad jis turi būti pritaikomas empiriškai nagrinėti galios santykiams miestų viešosiose erdvėse. Empirinę darbo dalį sudarė dviejų etapų kokybinis tyrimas. Pirmame etape buvo taikoma fotodokumentacija ir užfiksuoto vaizdo analizė, kurios rezultatas – 732 fotografijos, o antrajame – atlikta 16 pusiau struktūruotų interviu. Medžiaga buvo renkama dviejuose miestuose – Berlyne ir Vilniuje. Tyrimo rezultatai atspindėjo išryškintus galios tarpininkų aspektus ir leido pamatyti, kaip jie atsispindi tikrovėje – dviejų skirtingų miestų viešosiose erdvėse. Teorinė analizė ir... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The theoretical groundwork of power discourse used in this paper is based on the works of four French authors: M. Foucault, P. Bourdieu, M. de Certeau and J. Baudrillard. The different aspects that these authors explore in their search for the meaning of power enable one to look at different aspects in a system of power relations: power itself, which emanates from a power source and reaches everyday agents by means of a power mediator. As the separation of the power source from the everyday agents that it strives to influence increases predominantly, the power mediator plays a crucial role, as it enables power to dissipate without direct contact between the two acting parts of the power equation. The aim of this paper is to define what characterizes the power mediators that influence power relations in contemporary urban public space. In order to achieve this aim, first of all the main theoretical aspects were analyzed from M. Foucault's concept of disciplinary power, P. Bourdieu's field theory, M. de Certeau's practice of everyday life and J. Baudrillard's simulations. A theoretical analysis of the aforementioned allows for constructing a model of power circulation in a form which may later be applied to further research power relations in urban public space. Qualitative research was conducted in two stages in Berlin and Vilnius. The first stage used photographic documentation as the primary method for data gathering. 732 photographs were made and analyzed. During the second... [to full text]

The issue of downtown revitalization has been much studied over the past several decades. However, much of the existing knowledge base pertains to our largest urban centres. This leaves a significant information gap with regards to mid-size cities. As a result, past renewal attempts in these cities have often been scaled down versions of what has worked in larger cities. In most cases, this has resulted in detrimental rather than reviving effects. The current trend in cities of all sizes is the implementation of Creative City Theory. This thesis seeks to study this trend and its specific relevance to the mid-size city. The scope of research will then build on the current theory by exploring the effects of well-designed public spaces and their ability to not only unleash the creative spirit but to revitalize the post-industrial mid-size city downtown. This information will then be applied to a design study for Hamilton, Ontario where failed renewal attempts have crippled the city’s downtown. The design will concentrate on Jackson Square (formerly known as Civic Square), a superblock within the very centre of downtown Hamilton. Through a redesign of Jackson Square, the thesis proposes to create a place that not only fosters creativity, but is once again meaningful and significant to Hamilton citizens. While the application of research to Hamilton is specific, the goal is to produce a body of work with principles that can be applied to any number of mid-size cities across the post-industrial world.

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.

This thesis investigates the relationship between access to public gathering spaces and self-reported health with indicators of community life as the intervening variables. This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the access to public space and self-rated health status in multicultural communities. A survey of 785 randomly-selected households was conducted across four low-income Toronto neighbourhoods. The investigation is framed by the 'production of healthy public space' model, which conceptualizes the pathways between the lived experience of space and health as impacting an individual’s likelihood of establishing place attachment. The results support the hypothesis that there is a relationship between the lived dimension of space and health. Mental health appears to be the outcome most affected by indicators of place attachment. Several of the aforementioned relationships were found more commonly in the densest of the four neighbourhoods and variations were found between foreign- and Canadian-born subpopulations.

How are homeless individuals, who have no access to private space yet still have the same needs of dwelling as the rest of us, regarded when they exercise their right to dwell? This question guided my research of Edmontons Tent City, which emerged during the summer of 2007. Interviews with twenty-two individuals, including with encampment residents, service providers, and state officials, informed a broader understanding of why the encampment emerged at the time that it did; how Edmontons public spaces accommodate the homeless; and, how Tent City shaped municipal and provincial policy on housing and homelessness. Homeless campers saw Tent City as home, while state management focused on excluding homeless campers from the downtown public space to restore order to the streets of Edmonton, as well as their positive public image. Tent City constituted a claim by homeless campers to occupy public space and be represented as part of the public but hitherto this has been met with increased strategies of dispersement and exclusion rather than with an expansion of citizenship rights. I argue that Tent City illuminates the states preoccupation with regulating the visibility of homeless individuals rather than focusing on the dwelling needs of homeless campers.

This thesis investigates the extent to which human rights law may be used to challenge the forced eviction of people who live in public space under public space laws. The specific case study is the operation of Darwin City Council By-law 103, which bans camping, or adults sleeping in a public place between sunset and sunrise. The by-law is used to criminalise or forcibly evict people who live in public space in Darwin in the Northern Territory. Darwin has the highest proportionate number of homeless people of any capital city in Australia. Indigenous people are significantly over-represented. The thesis charts recent legislative changes across Australia to demonstrate that public space laws, such as Darwin City Council By-law 103, continue to be popular public policy responses to law and order concerns. This legal regulation is being undertaken without ensuring compliance with international human rights standards. There has been a marked increase in Australia of the use of available domestic and international human rights tools to raise concerns about the enforcement of these laws against people living in public space. Through a review of secondary sources, the thesis establishes that some 15 human rights have been identified as potentially engaged by such enforcement but Australian jurisprudence has yet to emerge. The thesis selects the human right to privacy, family and home for detailed analysis. It interrogates available evidence from Darwin, international and comparative jurisprudence and secondary sources to determine whether the forced eviction of people living in public space under Darwin City Council By-law 103 may be found to violate the right to respect for privacy, family and home in a particular case. The study aims to make a specific contribution to growing endeavours to promote the human rights of people who are homeless, including people who live in public space. Its detailed analysis is designed to support a human rights litigation strategy at both domestic and international level, in order to challenge the extent to which people living in public space are subjected to criminalisation and forced eviction when they have nowhere else to live.

No description available.

Thesis (M.Arch.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-94). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.