Mass tourism is a critical agent of change, with a proven capacity of forging new landscapes and thoroughly modifying the internal structure of a community. Thornbury, a rural settlement located in South-western Ontario, is on the brink of such shift: With the emergence of a new culture of tourism and the introduction of ‘upscale’ resort developments, its physical conditions are rapidly being reconfigured and the character of its social landscape is on the precipice of being irrevocably altered. These luxury vacation facilities occur in a dispersed fashion on the fringe – a condition which has not only initiated a radical modification and decentralization of social and economic activity, but has also resulted in the decline of traditional neighbourhood ties. Likewise, this occurrence has introduced an influx of newcomers who advance an identity and lifestyle clearly distinct from that of Thornbury’s quiet community of rural citizens and retirees. In this context, these newly arrived inhabitants soon become dwellers of “limited liability”– those who reside within a community, but do not identify with it – as Thornbury lacks the infrastructure and amenities to support potential exchanges and direct interest to the qualities of traditional civic life. As such, the thesis will examine the question of: What is the role of architecture in sustaining local identity in an altered social fabric? Or, more specifically, how can social relations in a transformed community be advanced through the use and design of public spaces? The work will attempt to outline the trajectory of urban change and understand the factors that account for present circumstances. The outcome of the research will generate a series of responsive designs that hinge upon the idea of uplifting ordinary landscapes and everyday ruralism. Essentially, the proposed strategy is one in which rurality is integral to the solution: Methods which harness rural assets and refashion them in a progressive manner will be utilized to inspire the formation of a new local culture while establishing an interface between opposing population segments. Overall, this study is intended to serve as a template to be used by communities in Ontario for mitigating the effects of changing rural geographies.

Mass tourism is a critical agent of change, with a proven capacity of forging new landscapes and thoroughly modifying the internal structure of a community. Thornbury, a rural settlement located in South-western Ontario, is on the brink of such shift: With the emergence of a new culture of tourism and the introduction of ‘upscale’ resort developments, its physical conditions are rapidly being reconfigured and the character of its social landscape is on the precipice of being irrevocably altered. These luxury vacation facilities occur in a dispersed fashion on the fringe – a condition which has not only initiated a radical modification and decentralization of social and economic activity, but has also resulted in the decline of traditional neighbourhood ties. Likewise, this occurrence has introduced an influx of newcomers who advance an identity and lifestyle clearly distinct from that of Thornbury’s quiet community of rural citizens and retirees. In this context, these newly arrived inhabitants soon become dwellers of “limited liability”– those who reside within a community, but do not identify with it – as Thornbury lacks the infrastructure and amenities to support potential exchanges and direct interest to the qualities of traditional civic life. As such, the thesis will examine the question of: What is the role of architecture in sustaining local identity in an altered social fabric? Or, more specifically, how can social relations in a transformed community be advanced through the use and design of public spaces? The work will attempt to outline the trajectory of urban change and understand the factors that account for present circumstances. The outcome of the research will generate a series of responsive designs that hinge upon the idea of uplifting ordinary landscapes and everyday ruralism. Essentially, the proposed strategy is one in which rurality is integral to the solution: Methods which harness rural assets and refashion them in a progressive manner will be utilized to inspire the formation of a new local culture while establishing an interface between opposing population segments. Overall, this study is intended to serve as a template to be used by communities in Ontario for mitigating the effects of changing rural geographies.

The success and benefits of community gardens in cities has been documented in the literature. However, do positive aspects of community gardens translate to small towns? The merit of a community garden is in the building of relationships within a community and healthy interactions within the garden. This study looked at the successful elements community gardens offer for the users and the surrounding community in towns with populations of fewer than 50,000. A web-based survey was used to ask questions about community garden’s leadership, members, operation, and community context. Responses to the survey give a look into the setup and operation of gardens in small towns. Results indicate typical standards for a community garden including organizational structure, property ownership, and membership. Additional observations indicate the presence of community elements such as universities, farmers markets, and local agriculture are commonly found where community gardens exist.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The selection of Microcosm was based on its isolation, both geographical and from the technology of the present time. The elements of the town can be exposed clearly due to the relative sparseness of the stimuli operating on it. The purpose of this study is first to present a complete background of the town's history and institutions and the attitudes of its people and second to present guidelines for public relations programs so that any new Town Manager might put forward his efforts in a more successful manner than in the past. The history of the town and its institutions was gathered from libraries, public documents, governmental and private sources. The attitudes of the townspeople relative to the town, its institutions and the selves were studied by eans of depth interviews and questionnaires. These two bodies of data furnish a newcomer to the town with sufficient material so that he can more quickly establish the rapport he needs to become effective. Since no natives are being trained as Town Managers, this paper serves a real need in this respect. Guidelines are presented for conducting public relations programs based on today's generally accepted methods. These are amplified by specific recommendations as to how to conduct these programs in concert with the town's needs and personality. The effects of not considering such methods in the past are demonstrated. Where practical, data is presented in tabular form. A study of the effectiveness of future Town Managers, if they use good public relations methods as compared with past performance, could yield a quantitative assessment of such practice. Also, it is suggested that the background and attitude study be periodically updated so that this work can maintain its effect. / 2031-01-01

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Delivering improved water services in small towns in low-income countries encompasses particular challenges. Often considered too large to be effectively community managed , small towns may also be too small, with too limited economies, to benefit from utility style professionalism and economies of scale. The most recent paradigm, that financially sustainable water services will be best achieved through the Demand Responsive Approach , has been complemented in Ghana, the focus of this study, through the development of a variety of management models, community, local government, national utility and private providers, to deliver DRA. Taking advantage of this unusual situation, in having a wide range of different functioning models in one country at the same time, this research has sought to investigate these management models with respect to effectiveness, equity, financial sustainability and efficiency of services delivery. However, the context in which all of these models operate relates to consumers effective demand, key to delivering a demand responsive approach. A second objective, necessary to validate any results relating to management models, has therefore been to investigate households actual demand for improved and alternative sources of water. Data for the research was gathered from examples of the four management models in use in Ghana, from eight small towns spread across the length and breadth of the country. The methodology incorporated key-informant interviews, user observations, household surveys and an analysis of relevant documents of operators and policy makers. The fieldwork was undertaken in two separate periods, designed to ensure that any effects of dry and wet season variations, which influence water supply delivery as well as demand, were adequately captured. The research found that none of the management models in use in small towns in Ghana could be considered to be significantly more effective than any other; overall, households demonstrated a limited demand for water supply with even this demand distributed among a number of sources, both formal, improved and alternative, traditional sources; this demand was not so much a function of affordability, rather a clear choice as to where to use limited resources mobile phone access absorbing three times the amount spent on water. Whilst certain management characteristics were found to make a difference, leadership in particular, no one model was able to influence the overarching water source effect, that is the cost of formal supply (surface water costing approximately three times more than ground water), relative to access to alternative, free supplies in the context of limited overall demand for water.

Rural towns often do not see community developments geared towards creating public spaces for multi-cultural experiences, the arts and recreation. Instead small towns are more exposed to commercial properties coming in and out the area. Introducing public spaces that offer various community activities and events will benefit people’s human and social capital. Human capital meaning skills and knowledge. Social capital meaning advantages and skills that come from interpersonal engagements (Anderson, 2004). Community centers designed for the unique needs of small towns can house programming to introduce new and rewarding opportunities for community engagement and personal development. Existing buildings within the community hold the potential to serve as community centers and adaptable interior spaces can add to a variety of programming options. The problem is the lack of community development geared towards creating public spaces for multi-cultural experiences, the arts and recreation. Small towns have limited exposure to diverse activities, events, skills sets and knowledge, along with limited spaces to support such. However older public building within small towns exist that are not being occupied or utilized to serve the community. People within small towns therefore are often restricted from acquiring a broad range of experiences and skills. To address this problem, evaluation of the current community state is necessary. This will reveal what opportunities are present and which are missing in terms of community engagement. Interviews, focus groups, and surveys are methods to gain information from the inhabitants of small towns. A diverse selection of participations will allow information to be more reflective of a wide range of ages groups, racial groups, and economic gr2wwoups. I plan to reach out to local schools for the students and staff member for participants in interviews, focus groups and electronic surveys. Examination of unoccupied buildings in small towns will reveal what facilities are available to house a potential community center. From that also assess if the interior spaces could incorporate adaptable design systems. Altogether this research will support the importance of community art centers in rural areas that offer adaptive reuse of historical building. In addition expose how the design of these building and programming show seek to support the unique needs of small towns.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / John W. Keller / Rural communities are a vital part of America; they account for two-thirds of the land in the U.S. and are home to about one in every nine Americans. Throughout history, our country has been shaped by their presence and social, economic, and cultural influence (Flora et al., 2004). For over the past half century however, communities in rural America have been declining in size and population; in nearly 70% of the counties of the Great Plains, there are fewer people residing there today than there were in 1950. Furthermore, over the last half of the 20th century, residents living on farms in America have dropped by two-thirds (Mayer, 1993). These statistics indicate a drastic pattern of population loss among small town communities and farms throughout rural America, which is devastating because they [towns] ultimately depend on population to contribute to their industries, businesses, and local services in order to function and survive (Wood, 2008). Understanding the causes of rural decline is important in the field of planning; nevertheless, identifying statistical relationships and spatial patterns associated with rural decline is just as important. This research report is both an overview on rural decline, and a comparative analysis of rural decline amongst Kansas counties. The objective of this research report is to identify characteristics, patterns, and trends associated with rural decline, and to rank Kansas counties according to a list of variables which represent those characteristics for analytical purposes. The ultimate goal is to explain any spatial phenomenon associated with the variables and Kansas counties, as well as identify specific counties in Kansas most devastated by factors associated with rural decline. In order to determine which counties are most devastated by factors associated with rural decline, a numerical comprehensive comparative analysis will be conducted; the results of the analysis will serve as a side-by-side measure of rural decline among Kansas counties. It will also serve as the template for conducting the simulation and modeling research; ArcGIS 9.3.1 will be utilized in order display the characteristics, patterns, and trends of rural decline spatially among Kansas counties. The final maps will help serve to derive final conclusions on rural decline in Kansas.

Published Article / This article presents the results of a business survey conducted in the Great Karoo town of Graaff-Reinet. The survey solicited the views of business owners on a range of economic issues. The findings also draw on a number of in-depth Midlands-Karoo studies, carried out in the early 1970s, in order to add nuance to the prevailing understanding of the factors that influence local economic development (LED) in small towns. It is argued that LED is a multi-facetted phenomenon. It requires a holistic approach that recognises its inherent complexity, involving factors such as local leadership, diversification, the local skills base, in-migration, corporate investment, and entrepreneurship.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T17:31:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Karim_Borges_dos_Santos.pdf: 2409511 bytes, checksum: bba9142e367f08d189dc6ad3f4a35318 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-12-16 / The studies on the urban network in Brazil are gaining prominence especially in recent decades when there was the intensification of urbanization in this country and the outbreak of the industrialization. Process that resulted in a geographic area organization ruled by a clear hierarchy of urban centers based on the concentration of activities in some centers at the detriment of others. The territorial division of the pertinent labor to the capitalism development in Brazil resulted in the need of the productive role restructuring of cities in recent decades. Therefore, it was verified an urban network reconfiguration becoming it the most complex to the interpretation. The process of production concentration in major centers has been increasing in the following decades to 1970, however the small towns were redefining their roles in quest to reintegrate itself into the regional urban network with productive activities that maintenance the population. Whence arises a new insertion of these small towns in the Territorial Division of Labor, seeking new skills and appreciation of the local potentiality against the trend of global homogenization productive. Given this inherent perspective to the Brazilian territory, it is important to us understand, even that it is based in a spatial snip, the small towns dynamics in Brazilian territory, as well as some of yours productive activities. This article presents discussions regarding the economic dynamics of small towns that pertains the urban network of Pato Branco PR. Deal with the social formation in the cities constitution and the urban network configuration studied. Moreover, there are issues relating to productive activities studied in these small towns and the local development factors. It discusses the changes in the urban network configuration toward of the restructuring national economic and the importance of local productive activities for it productive inclusion. / Os estudos referentes à rede urbana no Brasil vêm ganhando destaque especialmente nas últimas décadas quando se verificou a intensificação da urbanização nesse país e o surto industrializante. Processo esse que resultou em uma organização do espaço geográfico pautado em uma hierarquia nítida de centros urbanos baseada na concentração de atividades em alguns centros em detrimento de outros. A divisão territorial do trabalho pertinente ao desenvolvimento do capitalismo no Brasil resultou na necessidade de reestruturação dos papéis produtivos das cidades nas últimas décadas. Verificou-se por isso uma reconfiguração da rede urbana tornando-a mais complexa de interpretação. O processo de concentração produtiva em centros maiores foi se acentuando nas décadas seguintes a 1970, contudo as pequenas cidades foram redefinindo seus papeis na busca de reinserir-se na rede urbana regional com atividades produtivas que dessem sustentação a população. Daí surge uma nova inserção dessas pequenas cidades na Divisão Territorial do Trabalho, buscando novas especializações e valorização das potencialidades locais frente à tendência de homogeneização produtiva global. Diante dessa perspectiva inerente ao território brasileiro, importa-nos entender, ainda que baseados em um pequeno recorte espacial, a dinâmicas das pequenas cidades no território brasileiro, bem como algumas de suas atividades produtivas. O presente trabalho traz discussões referentes à dinâmica econômica das pequenas cidades que compõem a rede urbana de Pato Branco PR. Trata da formação social na constituição das cidades e a configuração da rede urbana estudada. Além disso, estão presentes questões referentes às atividades produtivas nessas pequenas cidades e os fatores de desenvolvimento local. Discute as mudanças na configuração da rede urbana diante do contexto de reestruturação econômica nacional a da importância das atividades produtivas locais para a inserção produtiva na mesma.