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<p>I argue in this dissertation that aestheticizing urban landscapes represents an effort to create humane public environments in disenfranchised inner-city spaces, and turns these environments into culturally valued sites of pilgrimage. Specifically, I focus on James Street North, a neighbourhood undergoing artistic renewal in the post-industrial city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Based on two years of ethnographic fieldwork in the arts scene on James Street North, my thesis claims that artistic activities serve as an ordinary, everyday material response to the perceived and real challenges of poverty, crime and decay in downtown Hamilton. Aesthetic elaboration is a generative and tangible expression by arts stakeholders of their intangible hopes, desires, and dreams for the city. People’s hope, desires and dreams, however, are not all the same. Debates about the space use on James Street North generally take the form of pro-city revitalization versus anti-gentrification. These responses, I argue, are ultimately tied to, and concerned with, larger questions about the authenticity of place. Further, the authenticity of place is tied to a nostalgic yearning for a past that is symbolically associated with ‘country’ ideals of a close-knit community and a place of respite and renewal away from the ‘city.’ The aestheticization of this particular urban landscape, that was repeatedly imagined, reinforced, and performed during my fieldwork, is an attempt to humanize and democratize the street and the city rather than dehumanize and colonize it. Further, the street itself, in becoming tied to the hopes and desires of people, has taken on an almost sacred quality. As such, James Street North, as a destination to which people journey, and as a place in which both personal and social transformation occurs, is likened to a site of secular pilgrimage.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis explores the transformative potential of eco-cultural tourism in revitalizing post-industrial cities, with a focus on the network of towns along the Ohio River in West Virginia. The research seeks to understand the multifaceted impacts of tourism on urban development, social infrastructure, and economic growth in small towns. The core concept is to create a tapestry of connectivity along the river, celebrating the region's natural beauty and promoting shared experiences and community cohesion. The proposed initiative envisions a Master Plan featuring a well-integrated network that connects cities along the Ohio River. This network includes walking and biking trails, ATV routes, camping areas, water activities like kayaking and motorboating, accommodations, restaurants, local shops, and a dedicated rail corridor for travel. The proposed development primarily targets Parkersburg, a small city in Wood County, West Virginia, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha Rivers. The second phase of the project focuses on two critical sites within Parkersburg, essential for implementing the revitalization plan. Parkersburg is envisioned as the catalyst and starting point for the entire network, positioning it as the epicenter of urban regeneration and community development. Overall, the thesis investigates the potential benefits and challenges of implementing a comprehensive tourism-driven urban revitalization strategy. Through an interdisciplinary approach to planning and design, it examines the ecological, cultural, tourism, and environmental impacts on development, envisioning a sustainable future where West Virginia's post-industrial cities prosper as interconnected nodes. / Master of Science / Discover the transformative power of eco-cultural tourism in breathing new life into West Virginia's post-industrial cities. This research delves into the intricate impacts of tourism on urban development, social fabric, and economic resurgence in suburban areas, focusing on the picturesque towns lining the Ohio River. Imagine a meticulously planned network seamlessly connecting these towns through a myriad of experiences: tranquil water trails, adventurous ATV paths, historic rail lines, and scenic biking routes. This master plan not only celebrates the region's natural splendor but also cultivates a sense of community and shared heritage. At its heart lies Parkersburg, strategically positioned to spearhead this revitalization effort. As a nexus for urban renewal and communal growth, Parkersburg is poised to serve as the gateway to a vibrant tourism destination, breathing vitality into once-dwindling local economies. Through interdisciplinary analysis, this thesis explores the numerous benefits and challenges of implementing such a comprehensive tourism-driven strategy. By envisioning a future where West Virginia's post-industrial cities thrive as interconnected hubs along culturally enriched eco-trails, it paves the way for sustainable growth and shared prosperity.

Inner-city neighborhoods are being recognized for their potential to contribute visually, economically, and culturally to the urban core. Efforts to revitalize these neighborhoods will need to address the economic, cultural, and social structure of the neighborhood. Resident groups, in particular long-time and newer residents, will likely be affected by the cultural changes that inevitably accompany revitalization. This project explores the processes of community life and place attachment, and their role in fostering healthy communities. Residents, depending on their length of time in the neighborhood, will be at different stages of these processes. Design and planning may support community life and place attachment by understanding this continuum and providing for the processes that engender them. This project began with a review of literature on the subject of inner-city neighborhoods, gentrification, community life, and place attachment. From this literature design and planning criteria were extracted. These criteria were then applied to the Belmont-Fallon neighborhood in Roanoke, Virginia, and were evaluated based on the conditions of the neighborhood and levels of attachment of long-time and newer residents. Design implications were developed that may support the process of place attachment within this community. These implications were then illustrated and tested through design. / Master of Landscape Architecture

Within the context of the contribution that urban infill development makes to urban wholeness, this thesis examines three specific sites in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina. The thesis tests the impact upon these sites of certain environmental design theories and principles developed primarily during the twentieth century. Subsequently, it examines what effect the infilling of these sites has upon the urban wholeness of the surrounding city. / Master of Science

The Main Street Four Point Approach to commercial revitalization has been applied successfully in thousands of communities across the U.S. Starting in 1995, citywide coordinated programs began applying the balanced points of organization, design, economic restructuring and promotion to urban environments. This thesis focuses on the opportunities and challenges present in five citywide Main Street programs in Boston, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Orlando and Portland through quantitative inquiry and interviews with program administrators. This thesis discusses density, capacity, volunteerism, vernacular culture, and politics as emergent themes of the urban application of the Main Street Approach and recommends expanding the breadth of definition and flexibility of each of the Four Points as to be more applicable and successful in the citywide context.

Diploma thesis deal with the issue revitalization of water stream. Assessment and design of revitalization is done for watercourse Osoblaha, situated in the cadastral territory Osoblaha nad Studnice by Osoblaha. In diploma thesis were designed several of revitalization measures such as stone backfill, willow fence, groyne, casting willow cuttings to supplement the vegetation on river‘s banks, fish shelter and wirestone baskets (gabions). In the given section was designed pool and also was there designed boulder slip, which will replace present downflow step. After designing was made hydrotechnical calculations to demostrate preservation runoff conditions of present stream condition.