<p>In the first paper, s<em>ense of place</em> (SoP) is used to evaluate immigrant experiences in three small to medium-sized Canadian cites: Hamilton, ON; Saskatoon, SK; and, Charlottetown, PEI. First, quantitative analysis is used to compare <em>SoP</em> amongst immigrant and Canadian-born respondents in the three cities. Ordered logistic regression determined four significant predictors of <em>SoP</em>: income; age; neighbourhood length of residence and, city of residence. Despite an observed difference in evaluations of <em>SoP</em> between immigrants and Canadian-born individuals, regression analysis did not identify immigrant status as a significant predictor of <em>SoP</em>.</p> <p>The second paper employs a mixed-methods strategy to examine individual perceptions of air quality and sense of place amongst Canadian-born and immigrant women in Northeast Hamilton. Furthermore, the study aims to determine the influence of sense of place on local environmental perceptions. Qualitative focus group discussions suggest that Canadian-born women may be more aware, knowledgeable and concerned about large-scale air quality issues; however, the tension between economic and environmental needs hinders their sense of control. Quantitative survey results suggest that Canadian-born residents have a higher absolute value of sense of place than immigrants. Bringing together the qualitative and quantitative data suggests that sense of place may inform environmental perceptions.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

This case study focused on the Neshoba County Fair, located outside of Philadelphia, Mississippi, to investigate the role of design elements that foster a sense of community within the built environment. The fairground is unique because it exhibits two developed areas that portray different approaches to design: one that is sensitive to the landscape and one that is less respectful of original development practices. This research utilized a mailed survey, distributed to cabin owners within the fairground boundary. The survey examined whether cabin owners of the fair relate the sense of community with the elements in their built environment, as well as their perceptions of the fairgrounds. The results of this research indicate that cabin owners would prefer to be close to the areas of activity. Findings further indicate that how the individual elements are integrated into the built environment is what promotes sense of community, not the elements themselves.

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"Creative Thinking about the future requires tension -- the tension of holding both the need and the possible in our awareness at the same time." Milenko Matanovic Constructing concrete open channels can provide a quick, efficient solution to help prevent an area from flash floods and water accumulation. However, such a solution does not take into consideration the increased land needs for housing and public open spaces, in addition to missing the opportunity for benefitting from rainwater and reusing the municipal water of cities in greening sustainable stormwater channels. The United Nations (2014) reported that 54% of the world's population is living in urban areas, and it is predicted to increase to 66% by 2050. Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia already struggles from both lack of open spaces while consuming spaces in constructing concrete open channels, only made worse by the rapid growth of population and urbanism. Although the rate of precipitation in arid regions is low, studies and evidence show that even in arid regions turning the majority of urban areas into impervious surfaces is restrictive and the result of doing so is devastating. This thesis aims to find an environmental alternative solution for an open drainage channel designed to function as a stormwater management facility as well as a central green finger for Jeddah City. It will take into consideration international and regional precedent design and future development of green channel case studies, to provide efficient design recommendations to planners and designers, who aim to redevelop constructed or proposed stormwater channels using sustainable green infrastructure practices to improve a city's livability. / Master of Landscape Architecture

The conversion of grasslands to woodlands is an ecosystem transformation that threatens grassland biodiversity, the provision of important ecosystem services, and the sustainability of rural livelihoods. A global phenomenon, woody plant encroachment (WPE) has been particularly problematic in the Southern Great Plains of the United States where the actions of private landowners are integral to sustaining grasslands. Increased diversity in landowners’ motivations for owning land have shifted the social landscape of rural areas necessitating a better understanding of landowners’ perspectives about WPE and their subsequent management actions. Towards this purpose, I employed a mail survey to private landowners in the Edwards Plateau of Texas, Central Great Plains of Oklahoma, and Flint Hills of Kansas to investigate landowner perceptions and management responses to WPE. First, I assessed landowners’ acceptance of WPE as a function of how they relate to their land (i.e., sense of place), their beliefs about the positive and negative consequences of woody plants, and their perceived threat of grassland conversion. Then, I examined the drivers of landowners’ goal intentions to manage woody plants and their current use of five adaptive management practices that prevent WPE. My results demonstrate that landowners vary in their sensitivity to WPE based on how they feel connected to their land. This was true even though most landowners had low acceptance thresholds for WPE, believed it led to numerous negative outcomes, and perceived it as increasingly threatening at greater levels of encroachment. Most landowners wanted to control or remove woody plants and were actively engaged in management practices to do so. These findings address uncertainties about landowners’ acceptance of WPE and grassland conservation actions and provide broad implications for how people perceive and respond to ecosystem transformation. / Master of Science / Around the world, grasslands are converting to tree and shrub woodlands at an unprecedented rate. This transformation profoundly reduces habitat available for grassland plants and animals and diminishes many ecosystem services that people and rural communities rely on. This loss of grasslands has been especially far-reaching throughout the Southern Great Plains of the United States. Because most of this region is privately owned, the management actions of landowners play a crucial role in preventing or allowing this conversion to continue. Recent shifts in land ownership motivations expanding beyond traditional agricultural production have created increased uncertainty about how private landowners view and react to this change. To investigate how landowners perceive and respond to this woody plant encroachment (WPE) phenomenon, I conducted a mail survey of landowners in the Edwards Plateau of Texas, the Central Great Plains of Oklahoma, and the Flint Hills of Kansas. Using sense of place, landowners’ beliefs about the potential positive and negative consequences of woody plants, and their perceptions of how threatening grassland conversion is, I assessed the thresholds at which landowners’ do or do not accept WPE. Then, I examined how acceptance of WPE relates to landowners’ management goals and current use of management practices to control or reduce woody plants. I found that most landowners believed that woody plants had many negative consequences and perceived increasing levels of threat at greater levels of encroachment. This related to low levels of acceptance for woody plants in grasslands. However, landowners’ threat perceptions and acceptance of WPE varied based on their sense of place. Finally, most landowners wanted to control or remove woody plants and were actively engaged in management practices to do so. My results provide critical information regarding how current landowners’ view and respond to grassland conversion and offer broad implications for how people perceive and respond to large-scale environmental change.

Increasingly, we are faced with the finite nature of space in the urban context. We struggle with a desire to preserve ties to the past and our need to create spaces that are relevant to current circumstances and contemporary social and cultural ideas. This thesis explores the possibilities of an approach to design which embraces both change and continuity, adding a new chapter to the legacy of a given place. An understanding of history as a process of development running continuously from past to present, rather than as a series of specific moments in time, provides a broader view of the ways in which the past is connected to the present. The inclusion of change as part of the past opens the way for new changes which continue the process of development. An exploration of Richmond, Virginia's Monroe Park, leading to a proposed redesign of the park, provides a case study for this approach. A combination of historical research, analysis of current circumstances, and design investigations culminates in a proposed design for Monroe Park which provides continuity with the past, embraces the present, and presents possibilities for the future. / Master of Landscape Architecture

Minimal research has examined the interrelationship between motivation, place attachment, and the need to belong in a residential camping environment. The purpose of this study was to better understand the role of place attachment and the need to belong in facilitating 4-H Camp Graham campers and counselors interest in returning to residential 4-H summer camp year after year. All participants included in this study were at least 18 years of age, graduated from high school, former 4-H members, and attended 4-H camp for at least two consecutive years. Three camping clusters participated in focus group interviews for a total of 21 participants. A fourth camping cluster and participants unable to attend their designated focus group, were invited complete an online survey. Overall, campers and counselors were primarily motivated to return to camp each year due to the relationships, memories, and sense of belonging formed at camp. While nature and location played a role in the camp experience by providing a secluded environment free from outside influence, these attachments were secondary. Attachment to camp grew over time and participants valued the camp experience highly and tended to choose camp friendships and the camp experience over other opportunities. Longevity at camp influenced the strength of attachment. This research suggests that intentionality in these areas of staff training and program planning are critical to camper and counselor connection to camp. Additionally, this research provides tangible evidence that points to the value of sharing the residential camping experience with potential funders and parents. / Master of Science in Life Sciences

Under 1970-talet ökade intresset för att bevara gamla industrier började uppstå, sedan dess har omfattande ändringar skett i hur dessa industrier värderas som kulturellt arv. Den här studien syftar till att undersöka vilka utmaningar som följer med att bevara det industriella kulturarv som finns i Kopparlunden i Västerås. Studien syftar även till att belysa hur Västerås kommun har arbetat med utvecklingen av Kopparlunden och vilka åtgärder som gjorts för att kulturvärdet som finns i industrierna inte ska förvanskas. De begrepp som utgjort det teoretiska ramverket är:plats, platskänsla och platsidentitet. För att besvara syftet och frågeställningarna har en dokumentanalys och kvalitativa intervjuer med tjänstemän i Västerås kommun gjorts. Resultatet visar på att det finns svårigheter med att bevara de gamla industrierna samtidigt som de får ett nytt användningsområde i form av bostäder och lokaler exempelvis. Västerås kommun har tagit detta i beaktning och arbetat efter gestaltningsprinciper som ska tillgodose detta. / During the 1970s, increased interest in preserving old industries began to emerge, since then extensive changes have taken place in how these industries are valued as cultural heritage. This study aims to investigate the challenges that come with preserving the industrial cultural heritage found in Kopparlunden in Västerås. The study also aims to highlight how the municipality of Västerås has worked with the development of Kopparlunden and what measures have been taken to ensure that the cultural value found in the industries is not distorted. The concepts that made up the theoretical framework are: place, sense of place and place identity. To answer the purpose and questions, a documentanalysis and qualitative interviews with municipal workers in Västerås municipality have been conducted. The result shows that there are difficulties in preserving the old industries while they get a new area of use in the form of housing and premises, for example.

This thesis, A Place of Worship, began with particular ideas for the architectural programme. A site was sought in which green design could be implemented for passive solar and water usage. It became apparent that a more important understanding was to be gained: How does an architect touch a site that already has amazing beauty and spiritual voice? Through this work, the answers to this question were lived-out. / Master of Architecture

The Finnafjörður harbour project rests on the idea that shipping routes in the Arctic will become navigable in the following decades. Located on the northeast corner of Iceland, the place is considered a suitable location for a trans-shipment harbour in the future to service Arctic marine traffic. The project would have considerable societal, natural, and economic consequences on the local community, which counts little more than 500 residents. The aim of this thesis is to explore residents’ attitudes towards the Finnafjörður harbour project in relation to sense of place and place based memories by asking how different views and attitudes of Langanesbyggð’s residents towards the Finnafjörður harbour project relate to changes in their sense of place, and how memories of a place form part of resident’s attitudes towards the project. The thesis employs a qualitative research strategy where semi-structured in-depth interviews are conducted with eleven residents of Langanesbyggð. The findings demonstrate different attitudes towards the project, which relate to changes in both the social and the physical environment. Furthermore, the role of memory is significant in shaping residents’ attitudes towards the project. The thesis addresses the voices of local communities, which have been largely neglected in Arctic studies to this day.