Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / LaBarbara J. Wigfall / Historically downtown St. Joseph was a vibrant urban center where many people came for entertainment and shopping (Bunkowski, 2010). With the rise of the automobile in the 1950’s and 60’s, the city has become largely focused around auto-oriented development. The downtown has been separated from the Missouri River with the construction of Interstate 229 and rail lines, limiting access to the riverfront. Overtime, some of the sites have become contaminated and are now designated as brownfields. Redevelopment of downtown St. Joseph can help solve these problems, and help position the city for future development. By restructuring existing buildings and planning for future infill, as well as incorporating green space into the design of the area, the downtown can once again be a vibrant, vital area of the city. The redevelopment of downtown St. Joseph will focus around creating walkable mixed-use urban fabric that attracts people to the city’s core. Downtown St. Joseph will once again become an important economic and social center for the city. New mixed use development in the downtown will provide places for new businesses and residences in the city. Enhanced connections to the surrounding areas will increase access to the downtown and parks in the area. Improvements to the downtown will make the area a vital part of St. Joseph.

This paper presents an examination of the use of urban entertainment centers as a catalyst for downtown revitalization. To provide context, the examination begins with an overview of the history of downtown in America, the reasons for its decline, and past attempts at renewal and revitalization. The discussion of urban entertainment centers includes a definition of the trend and the issues surrounding their use and success or failure. Two cities, Baltimore and Denver, are presented as examples of the urban entertainment center trend in America. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Chapter 1 introduces the research topic by examining the current health of the American church. After establishing that the majority of American churches today are indeed unhealthy, a case is made for the need to develop a revitalization strategy to improve the health of these churches. This chapter argues that the apostle Paul was interested in church health and pinpointed three sets of factors which he consistently addressed in his work with churches. Chapter 2 begins by recognizing that Paul used both a proactive and a reactive approach to church health in his work with New Testament churches. The chapter then examines the role Paul played in assisting churches, highlighting attributes which can and cannot be reproduced by revitalization agents today. Chapter 3 is a study of contextual factors which affect the health of the local church. After defining and explaining contextual factors, the chapter examines Paul's strategy for dealing with these factors that threatened the health of the churches with whom he worked. Chapter 4 addresses institutional factors which also contribute to the health of the local church. In this chapter, the concept of institutional factors is defined and explained. The chapter then examines Paul's letters to understand his strategy for addressing institutional factors to improve church health. Chapter 5 then focuses on spiritual factors which are also influential in regard to matters of church health. This chapter reveals that, unlike contextual and institutional factors that church leaders and consultants commonly address today, spiritual factors are often ignored. This chapter extracts Paul's strategy for addressing spiritual factors. Chapter 6 seeks to answer the practical research question of this study: how might a Pauline approach to improving church health be applied today? This chapter emphasizes the need for revitalization agents and church leaders to evaluate their approaches through a biblical lens as they work to improve church health and increase effectiveness.

Societal changes have changed the function and presence of downtowns over the years and a variety of strategies have been implemented in an effort to revitalize downtown cores. One of the most recent strategies employed has been using urban catalysts, such as stadiums and markets, to stimulate downtown revitalization. The primary purpose of this strategy is to create catalysts for further development and investment. This study examines the role the John Labatt Centre (JLC, a recent arena) and Covent Garden Market (a farmers market with a large range of permanent food retailing facilities) play in revitalizing Downtown London, Ontario. Within the last decade the City of London invested millions of dollars into rebuilding the Covent Garden Market and constructing the John Labatt Centre in the heart of London’s downtown. The purpose of this research is to determine whether these venues act as catalysts for new development, and thus assess their spin-off effects. Data was collected by reviewing planning legislation, administering a survey to local business owners and interviewing key stakeholders. Findings show that the impact of the JLC and Market is unevenly distributed. The results provide insight on differences based on business type, and geographical location. Planning implications derived from the London, Ontario case study show that continued commitment from the public and politicians is the most important factor in downtown revitalization. Implementing urban catalysts helps to anchor downtown districts, by providing a destination. However, this strategy needs to be applied in conjunction with innovative ideas, such as a Main Street program and incentive programs (façade improvements, waiving development charges on residential buildings) that instill confidence in the private sector.

Historically, community gardens have served to provide food during wartime or periods of economic depression. Today, in addition to fresh and healthy produce, community gardens provide many other economical, social and environmental benefits. Many industrial cities have suffered severe damage to their economic base and lost at least 20 percent of their residents since half a century ago. Shrinking cities have become an issue that challenges the conventional planning orthodoxies assuming a constant-growth reality that no longer existed. There is a general understanding of how urban agriculture can benefit participants, neighborhoods, and communities. However, there are not many studies that particularly focus on urban agriculture and its association with stabilizing and revitalizing neighborhoods in shrinking cities. The purpose of this article is to understand the motivations and justifications of establishing urban agriculture in shrinking cities and how urban agriculture is perceived as economic and social tools for revitalizing the neighborhoods and reshaping the cityscapes through comparative case studies of Detroit and Cleveland. / text

Societal changes have changed the function and presence of downtowns over the years and a variety of strategies have been implemented in an effort to revitalize downtown cores. One of the most recent strategies employed has been using urban catalysts, such as stadiums and markets, to stimulate downtown revitalization. The primary purpose of this strategy is to create catalysts for further development and investment. This study examines the role the John Labatt Centre (JLC, a recent arena) and Covent Garden Market (a farmers market with a large range of permanent food retailing facilities) play in revitalizing Downtown London, Ontario. Within the last decade the City of London invested millions of dollars into rebuilding the Covent Garden Market and constructing the John Labatt Centre in the heart of London’s downtown. The purpose of this research is to determine whether these venues act as catalysts for new development, and thus assess their spin-off effects. Data was collected by reviewing planning legislation, administering a survey to local business owners and interviewing key stakeholders. Findings show that the impact of the JLC and Market is unevenly distributed. The results provide insight on differences based on business type, and geographical location. Planning implications derived from the London, Ontario case study show that continued commitment from the public and politicians is the most important factor in downtown revitalization. Implementing urban catalysts helps to anchor downtown districts, by providing a destination. However, this strategy needs to be applied in conjunction with innovative ideas, such as a Main Street program and incentive programs (façade improvements, waiving development charges on residential buildings) that instill confidence in the private sector.

0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

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The diploma thesis evaluates the current state of the physical environment of the housing estates in Česká Lípa. It is focused on the process revitalization of the blocks of flats and public areas and clarifies the mechanisms of differentiation of individual housing estates from this point of view and the role of actors. The work combines quantitative and qualitative research methods. The theoretical part deals with the causes of revitalization and the factors that affect it, as well as the history of housing estates construction, especially in the Czech Republic and in major countries in Europe. The empirical part of the work is devoted to mapping the current state of the physical environment and the revitalization projects of housing estates at the level of individual prefabricated houses and public spaces. Relevant data that can have an effect on the revitalization process (history of construction of prefabricated housing estates in Česká Lípa, development and current state of ownership structure of houses, data on the structure of population and housing stock) are identified. The diploma thesis also uses information from the structured interviews with representatives of the main actors of development. It proved to be a decisive influence of the type of ownership on the successful...