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In recent years there have been many advances in the measurement of urban form. However, there is often a gap between the quantitative and qualitative approach, which can prevent useful policy application- scholars and policy makers often do not speak a similar language. This thesis seeks to answer whether LEED for Neighborhood Development can bridge the gap between the quantitative and qualitative and therefore serve as a useful policy metric for assessing urban form. Does it accurately capture an areas spatial structure and more importantly, is it policy relevant?

The introduction of the private vehicle in urban communities (towns and cities) resulted in numerous urban problems experienced in the developed and developing world. These include, inter alia, economic inefficiency due to traffic congestion; a high mortality rate relevant to vehicle users and non-vehicle users; air & noise pollution and overall poor quality of life for residents. As part of the literature review, it was found that the level of urban problems experienced will intensify and worsen, if sustainable transportation systems were not introduced in urban areas. These predictions were made based on the following three factors: * The increase of the world population – It was predicated that the world population will increase by 2.3 people billion between 2011 and 2050. The total world population is therefore expected to be 9.3 billion in 2050. * The urbanisation rate experienced – It was predicated that the entire world population growth, along with an additional 300 million people, will be absorbed by urban areas between 2011 and 2050. Urban communities will therefore accommodate 6.2 billion people, or 67% of the world population, in 2050. * The level and growth in private vehicle ownership – The developed world consists of a high level of vehicles per 1 000 residents (655 in 2010), but experienced a decline in growth of 0,8% between 2005 and 2010. Contrary to the developed world, the developing world had a low level of vehicle ownership per 1 000 residents (128 in 2010), but experienced an increase of 21.9% between 2005 and 2010. Apart from the above data, the literature review introduced planning theories and international as well as national policies. The three planning theories that were researched each revealed ten principles of sustainable alternative transportation measures for an unsustainable private vehicle orientated urban area. These sustainable measures were used to introduce the option of a sustainable non-motorised transportation system to the demarcated study area. The three planning theories researched were: * The Smart growth theory * New urbanism, and * Pedestrian mall developments. International and national policies were scrutinised to obtain a point-of-view on how different countries, cities, spheres of government and type of documentation addressed non-motorised transportation developments. The examination of the policies also provided insight on how South African spheres of government were addressing non-motorised transportation in South African urban communities, if at all. The international policies include the “Share the road” document compiled by the United Nations in 2010; Mount Rainier Town Centre Urban Renewal Plan (2005) (USA) and Ottawa’s Transport Master Plan (2008) (Canada). The South African policies included the National Non-motorised Transportation Policy (2008); National Transport Master Plan (2011); Northern Cape Provincial Spatial Development Framework (2012) and //Khara Hais Spatial Development Framework (2012) (local municipality). Following the literature review, is an empirical study consisting of 2 sections. Firstly, a pilot study, which consists of international and local examples, was researched. These examples were identified as they consist of vehicle-free areas within the central business district. The success of the vehicle-free developments was measured and the information utilised to guide recommendations for the demarcated study area within the town of Upington (case study). Pilot study examples include Copenhagen, Denmark; Ghent, Belgium; Santa Monica, USA and Cape Town, South Africa. Secondly, a case study was analysed. A study area within the South African town of Upington, Northern Cape Province was demarcated. The status quo of relevant aspects, including but not limited to; the climate, coverage, parking, road hierarchy and transport modes were obtained and analysed. This analysis was conducted in order to establish a) if the study area experienced urban transport related problems and b) if the implementation of a non-motorised transport system will be more sustainable for the general public of Upington, as opposed to the current private-vehicle dependable system. Inputs from Town Planners were also obtained in order to obtain a multi-dimensional point-of-view. In the conclusion of the researched study it was found that a) the planning theories have been successfully implemented in the examples of the pilot studies and therefore these principles could apply to the demarcated study area in Upington. b) International policies addressed non-motorisation developments more comprehensively than the South African policies. Shortages especially existed at the provincial and local spheres of government where implementation should take place. c) Through the analysis of the case study it become evident that the demarcated study area within Upington was burdened by private vehicle orientated transport problems. However, the analysis also indicated that the study area has the potential to make a successful transition from being dependable on unsustainable private vehicles to sustainable non-motorised transportation. Finally, tailor-made recommendations (based on information derived from planning theories, policies, pilot study and case study) were made for the study area situated within Upington. These recommendations include the phased development of a pedestrian-only area, the development of parking garages (outside the pedestrian area), which are linked to the pedestrian-only area and the development of a public transportation system by means of busses. / MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The introduction of the private vehicle in urban communities (towns and cities) resulted in numerous urban problems experienced in the developed and developing world. These include, inter alia, economic inefficiency due to traffic congestion; a high mortality rate relevant to vehicle users and non-vehicle users; air & noise pollution and overall poor quality of life for residents. As part of the literature review, it was found that the level of urban problems experienced will intensify and worsen, if sustainable transportation systems were not introduced in urban areas. These predictions were made based on the following three factors: * The increase of the world population – It was predicated that the world population will increase by 2.3 people billion between 2011 and 2050. The total world population is therefore expected to be 9.3 billion in 2050. * The urbanisation rate experienced – It was predicated that the entire world population growth, along with an additional 300 million people, will be absorbed by urban areas between 2011 and 2050. Urban communities will therefore accommodate 6.2 billion people, or 67% of the world population, in 2050. * The level and growth in private vehicle ownership – The developed world consists of a high level of vehicles per 1 000 residents (655 in 2010), but experienced a decline in growth of 0,8% between 2005 and 2010. Contrary to the developed world, the developing world had a low level of vehicle ownership per 1 000 residents (128 in 2010), but experienced an increase of 21.9% between 2005 and 2010. Apart from the above data, the literature review introduced planning theories and international as well as national policies. The three planning theories that were researched each revealed ten principles of sustainable alternative transportation measures for an unsustainable private vehicle orientated urban area. These sustainable measures were used to introduce the option of a sustainable non-motorised transportation system to the demarcated study area. The three planning theories researched were: * The Smart growth theory * New urbanism, and * Pedestrian mall developments. International and national policies were scrutinised to obtain a point-of-view on how different countries, cities, spheres of government and type of documentation addressed non-motorised transportation developments. The examination of the policies also provided insight on how South African spheres of government were addressing non-motorised transportation in South African urban communities, if at all. The international policies include the “Share the road” document compiled by the United Nations in 2010; Mount Rainier Town Centre Urban Renewal Plan (2005) (USA) and Ottawa’s Transport Master Plan (2008) (Canada). The South African policies included the National Non-motorised Transportation Policy (2008); National Transport Master Plan (2011); Northern Cape Provincial Spatial Development Framework (2012) and //Khara Hais Spatial Development Framework (2012) (local municipality). Following the literature review, is an empirical study consisting of 2 sections. Firstly, a pilot study, which consists of international and local examples, was researched. These examples were identified as they consist of vehicle-free areas within the central business district. The success of the vehicle-free developments was measured and the information utilised to guide recommendations for the demarcated study area within the town of Upington (case study). Pilot study examples include Copenhagen, Denmark; Ghent, Belgium; Santa Monica, USA and Cape Town, South Africa. Secondly, a case study was analysed. A study area within the South African town of Upington, Northern Cape Province was demarcated. The status quo of relevant aspects, including but not limited to; the climate, coverage, parking, road hierarchy and transport modes were obtained and analysed. This analysis was conducted in order to establish a) if the study area experienced urban transport related problems and b) if the implementation of a non-motorised transport system will be more sustainable for the general public of Upington, as opposed to the current private-vehicle dependable system. Inputs from Town Planners were also obtained in order to obtain a multi-dimensional point-of-view. In the conclusion of the researched study it was found that a) the planning theories have been successfully implemented in the examples of the pilot studies and therefore these principles could apply to the demarcated study area in Upington. b) International policies addressed non-motorisation developments more comprehensively than the South African policies. Shortages especially existed at the provincial and local spheres of government where implementation should take place. c) Through the analysis of the case study it become evident that the demarcated study area within Upington was burdened by private vehicle orientated transport problems. However, the analysis also indicated that the study area has the potential to make a successful transition from being dependable on unsustainable private vehicles to sustainable non-motorised transportation. Finally, tailor-made recommendations (based on information derived from planning theories, policies, pilot study and case study) were made for the study area situated within Upington. These recommendations include the phased development of a pedestrian-only area, the development of parking garages (outside the pedestrian area), which are linked to the pedestrian-only area and the development of a public transportation system by means of busses. / MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This study focuses on how spatial circumstances affect property owners’ preference toward sustainable urban development, in the form of three-essays. In the first essay, property owners’ preference toward the concept of compact development is identified. Compact development is an increasingly popular concept that includes multiple aspects, such as mixed land use, high density, and pedestrian/transit-friendly options. Previous hedonic literature on the comprehensive effect of compact development is limited. Also, spatial dependence in the data, something likely endemic to compact development, has not yet been thoroughly addressed. This study uses a spatial fixed-effect model, a spatial-autoregressive model with auto-regressive disturbances (SARAR), and a spatial fixed-effect SARAR model to determine the price effect of “compactness” in a major U.S. metropolitan area. By analyzing of 47,000 sales records in Fulton County over a decade, this study indicates that home buyers prefer to have smaller, more diffuse greenspace nearby, rather than a large, concentrated greenspace at a longer walking distance. High parcel density and diverse land use is consistently disvalued, and the premium on accessing public transportation is not identified among all models. No specific trend over time has been observed, despite the recession starting in 2008. Finally, a comprehensive index of compactness shows relatively high willingness-to-pay for compact development. The second essay tests the spatial spillover of signaling within the pursuit of LEED certification. The benefit of pursuing green building certification mainly comes from two aspects: the cost-effectiveness from energy efficiency and the signaling consideration, including the premium on property values, benefits from a better reputation, morality values, or purely pride. By analyzing all new constructions that received LEED certification from 2000 to 2012 (LEED-NC v2.0 to v2.2) in the U.S., this study tries to identify the size of the signaling effects, and spillover of signaling, as building owners pursue LEED certification. The results show that the signaling effect affects decision making in pursuing LEED certification, especially at scores around thresholds. The size of signaling effects differs among different owner types and different certificate levels. For the Gold level or below, government and non-profit-organization owners value signaling more than do profit-seeking firms. At the Platinum level, there is no significant difference among owner types. This study also finds that the signaling effect clusters spatially for government and profit-seeking firms. Finally, the results show that the cluster of signaling is independent from the cluster of LEED buildings, indicating that mechanisms behind the cluster of signaling are different from those of LEED constructions. The third essay tests the distance effect on the support for Atlanta BeltLine. Atlanta BeltLine, a large urban redevelopment project currently underway in the center of Atlanta, transforms 22 miles of historical railroad corridors into parks, trails, pedestrian-friendly transit areas, and affordable housing. This study aims to determine the distance effect on the support of Atlanta BeltLine and whether the implement of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) affects the support. The contributions of this exercise are twofold. First, it demonstrates the risks and remedies to missing spatial data by solving the technical problem of missing precise spatial location values. Second, it tests underlying reasons why distance can help explain the level of support that Atlanta BeltLine has received, with striking implications for theories like the Homevoter hypothesis. Survey data used in this study was conducted in summer 2009, about three years after the declaration of the project. The support by both homeowners and renters significantly declines as distance from the BeltLine increases. However, when residents’ tendency to use BeltLine parks and transits is entered as a variable, the distance effect disappears. By indicating that the distance effect comes from homeowners’ and renters’ the accessibility to BeltLine amenities, the result rejects the homevoter hypothesis, which holds that property value increment is the main mechanism behind support. The results also show that whether or not a homeowner or renter is a parent in City of Atlanta affects a person’s support of the BeltLine. These results lead to the conclusion that the concern of TIF affecting future school quality hampers the support of the project.

Master of Science / Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering / Stacy Hutchinson / Urban areas have traditionally been managed as separate entities from the natural environment. Recently, urban planners have been interested in reconnecting these areas back to the biosphere to capitalize on ecosystem services restoring damaged hydrologic processes. This study focuses on suburban Johnson County, KS (part of the Greater Kansas City area), which has 62 USEPA 303(d) listed “impaired” or “potentially impaired” waterbodies. Previous studies show that watersheds crisscrossed by multiple politically boundaries see increases in water quantity and decreases in water quality. Using a multi-watershed, multi-city spanning entity like a school district, it is investigated how stormwater best management practices (BMPs) employed over a large entity can help undo the negative effects of watershed political fragmentation. BMP modeling includes simulating grassroots and planning policy change movements across three target watersheds using PC-SWMM watershed model. The grassroots simulation models rain barrels at single family homes and an extended dry detention basin (EDDB) at schools. Planning policy simulation models 10% and 20% reductions in impervious roads and parking lots in accordance to EPA Smart Growth practices. Resulting, it was seen that all three of these BMPs saw the greatest improvements from current conditions at low precipitation events. Ranking from least to most effective across the outlet’s average flow, maximum flow, and total volume and supporting watershed infiltration, surface runoff, and surface storage are as follows: rain barrels + EDDB, 10% reduced, and 20% reduced impervious simulations. All three stormwater BMPs help demonstrate how grassroots movements and planning polices changes can positively impact regional waterbodies in this maturely suburbanized region.

Baltimore fait partie des grandes métropoles américaines qui se sont lancées dans le cercle vertueux du développement durable. Traditionnellement acquise aux votes démocrates, constituée d’une majorité d’Afro-Américains appartenant aux classes sociales défavorisées, et portant les profonds stigmates de la crise industrielle et des récessions économiques successives, la ville offre un terreau favorable aux expériences de gestion urbaine intégrant la notion de durabilité. Bien plus, tant du point de vue des caractéristiques économiques et démographiques que de celui de l’héritage marqué de la ségrégation, c’est la dimension sociale du développement durable et la justice environnementale qui sont en jeu. Depuis 2000, la municipalité a initié deux grands projets intégrant le développement durable dans ses dimensions de « sustainability », « livability » et « smart growth », pouvant être regroupées sous l’appellation de « green politics ». L’essentiel de ses efforts porte sur la revitalisation de deux ghettos du centre-ville tombés en complète déshérence, East Baltimore et West Baltimore. Nous concentrerons notre réflexion sur deux exemples précis de « green politics » (la réhabilitation d’une partie du ghetto d’East Baltimore avec le Grand Piano ; la Red Line, ligne de train qui doit relier les deux ghettos et des zones de friches industrielles au quartier des affaires). À partir de ces exemples, nous étudierons les modes de gouvernance mis en place et le rôle joué par les différents acteurs qui y participent (« anchor institutions », grandes fondations, acteurs publics et associations de quartier). Nous nous interrogerons sur l’émergence de formes inédites de citoyenneté façonnées par ces nouveaux modes de participation à l’aménagement urbain durable. Il s’agira de comprendre si le développement durable est conçu au service des habitants du ghetto afin de lutter contre la pauvreté et les injustices sociales et environnementales, ou si, au contraire, la racialisation de ce concept favorise la gentrification, crée de nouvelles formes de ségrégation et aboutit à la fin programmée des ghettos. / Baltimore is part of the big American metropolises committed in a race for sustainable development. Traditionally a democratic stronghold, with a majority of city dwellers who are poor Afro-Americans, and harshly battered by the industrial crisis and the economic recession, Baltimore City is the perfect laboratory for urban planning projects experimenting sustainable development. Furthermore, with regard to its economic and demographic characteristics and the importance of segregation in the city, the social dimension of sustainable development and the issue of environmental justice are at stake. Since 2000, the Mayor and the City Council initiated two ambitious projects integrating the various aspects of sustainable development (« sustainability », « livability » and « smart growth »), which are all belonging to « green politics ». These efforts are focused on East Baltimore and West Baltimore, two huge ghettos surrounding the financial district in the downtown area. The core of our analysis concerns two projects of green politics (the rehabilitation of a part of the East Baltimore ghetto through the Grand Piano; the Red Line, a train connecting the ghettos, some industrial wastelands and the Central Business District). Through these examples, we will put under study the types of urban governance and urban regimes at work, and the role played by the different stakeholders (« anchor institutions », philanthropic foundations, public actors and neighborhood associations). New forms of citizenship may appear with unheard modes of participation to sustainable urban planning. Sustainable development may be an opportunity to improve the living conditions in the ghetto and fight against poverty and social and environmental injustices. The seamy side of the story may be a racialization of sustainable development nourishing gentrification, creating new forms of segregation and bringing about the death of the ghettos.