Este trabalho apresentou um método de avaliação para sistemas de transporte público de uma cidade e da região metropolitana à qual ele pertence. No caso específico deste estudo, a cidade selecionada foi Fortaleza. A avaliação foi realizada do ponto de vista retrospectivo (1992, 2000 e 2010) e prospectivo (2014), com o propósito de destacar a importância da abordagem para o planejamento da mobilidade sustentável. A pesquisa foi motivada pelos crescentes problemas de mobilidade enfrentados pela população nos últimos anos. Projetos de ampliação da infraestrutura viária, bem como de criação de novos sistemas de transportes públicos são propostos com frequência, mas estes raramente são totalmente implantados ou executados. A estratégia de avaliação se baseia no Índice de Mobilidade Urbana Sustentável (IMUS), criado por Costa (2008). A estrutura do índice envolve 87 indicadores, que visam refletir diferentes impactos e perspectivas da mobilidade. Como o foco do estudo foi o transporte público, foram calculados apenas os 22 indicadores diretamente ligados ao tema. Os pesos da estrutura hierárquica foram redistribuídos para o índice resultante, que passou a ser chamado de IMUS-TP. O valor do índice foi calculado para cada um dos quatro anos do período de análise, de forma a avaliar os respectivos níveis de mobilidade urbana sustentável. Em geral, os resultados mostraram melhorias nos valores dos indicadores ao longo do tempo. Alguns indicadores, no entanto, apresentaram problemas. Isto produziu efeitos negativos sobre os valores do índice encontrados para Fortaleza (IMUS-TP, igual a 0,463) e para a região metropolitana (IMUS-TP-RMF, igual a 0,407) em 2010. Mesmo considerando todos os projetos previstos para 2014, os valores de IMUS-TP e IMUS-TP-RMF deverão chegar a apenas 0,612 e 0,500, respectivamente. Estes valores não são altos, mas eles certamente mostram melhorias no sistema de transporte público. Algumas das melhorias esperadas são: priorização do transporte público, investimentos na integração dos sistemas de transporte, subsídios públicos para o sistema de transporte metropolitano, mais interação entre os sistemas de transporte urbano e metropolitano, e procedimentos eficazes para a atualização dos bancos de dados. Os valores do índice mostram que estas medidas, embora importantes porque melhorarão as condições de mobilidade na cidade de Fortaleza e na região metropolitana, não resolverão definitivamente o problema. / This study introduces a method for the assessment of the public transportation systems of a single city and also of the metropolitan region it belongs to. In the case of this particular investigation, the selected city was Fortaleza, Brazil. The evaluation was conducted for three periods in the past (i.e., the years 1992, 2000, and 2010), and one in the future, which is the year 2014. The purpose was to highlight the importance of the approach for sustainable mobility planning. The growing mobility problems faced by the population in the recent past have been the motivation for this research. Projects for road infrastructure improvement and for the creation of new public transportation systems are frequently proposed, but rarely built or fully implemented. The evaluation approach is based on the Index of Sustainable Urban Mobility (I_SUM or IMUS, in Portuguese) created by Costa (2008). The index framework involves 87 indicators, which are meant to cover distinct impacts and perspectives of mobility. As the focus of the study was on public transportation, only the 22 indicators directly linked to the subject were calculated. The weights of the hierarchical structure were redistributed to the resulting index, which was then called IMUS-TP. The index value was calculated for each of the four years period of analysis, for assessing the respective levels of sustainable urban mobility. In general, the results showed improvements in the values of the indicators throughout time. Some indicators, however, had problems. This had a negative effect on the index values found for Fortaleza (IMUS-TP, equal to 0.463) and for the metropolitan region (IMUS-TP-RMF, equal to 0.407) in 2010. Even considering all projects proposed for 2014, the values of IMUS-TP and IMUS-TP-RMF are expected to reach only 0.612 and 0.500, respectively. These values are not high, but they certainly show improvements in the public transportation system. Some of the expected improvements are: priorization of public transport, investments in the integration of transport systems, public subsidies to the metropolitan transit system, more interaction between urban and metropolitan transit systems, and effective procedures for the update of databases. The index values show that these measures, although important because they will improve the mobility conditions in the city of Fortaleza and in the metropolitan region, will not be able to definitely solve the problem.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:50:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PATRICIA DA SILVA CORREA.pdf: 5889076 bytes, checksum: a91c3855b67f05d5798fc5abd166fc79 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-07 / Urban parks, sustainable development of the cities signs are spaces for, among other activities, the Environmental Education. There are several existing parks in Goiania and one of the main ones is the Flamboyant Park, which has its appropriate structure for environmental events. However, the progressive drought Sumidouro stream spring, located in the park, which occurs as a result of lowering of the water table; due to the misuse of land by large construction companies, points to a contradiction: a place of preservation and contemplation of nature houses a serious environmental impact. Given this fact, the Environmental Education plays an important role in the search for solutions that mitigate or terminate this issue, educating and directing the population for efficient decision-attitude. In this sense, this research aims to analyze how environmental education can be effective in sustainable urban development, even in the most serious cases of environmental impact, using the example of Flamboyant Park. To understand the reasons why this space can be considered an ideal place for environmental education, we used theoretical review seeking to understand their origins, meanings and uses. It was also necessary to conduct research on the meaning, causes and consequences of groundwater drawdown in the Flamboyant Park area. Through history, formation and structure of the Park and also field research made it possible to learn how environmental education is being worked on site. Through interviews with regulars and locals , with authorities and environmental professionals , revealed the importance of this type of education to a satisfactory sustainable urban. / Os parques urbanos, símbolos de desenvolvimento sustentável das cidades, são espaços destinados, dentre outras atividades, à Educação Ambiental. São vários os parques existentes em Goiânia e, um dos principais é o Parque Flamboyant, que tem sua estrutura adequada para eventos ambientais. Porém, a progressiva seca da nascente do córrego Sumidouro, localizada no parque, que ocorre em consequência do rebaixamento do lençol freático; fruto do mau uso do solo pelas grandes construtoras, aponta para uma contradição: um local de preservação e contemplação da natureza abriga um grave impacto ambiental. Diante desse fato, a Educação Ambiental tem papel importante na busca por soluções que amenizem ou cessem este problema, conscientizando e direcionando a população para uma eficiente tomada de atitude. Nesse sentido, essa pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar como a Educação Ambiental pode ser efetiva no desenvolvimento urbano sustentável, até nos casos mais graves de impacto ambiental, tomando como exemplo o Parque Flamboyant. Para entender os motivos pelos quais esse espaço pode ser considerado um local ideal para a Educação Ambiental, utilizou-se revisão teórica buscando entender suas origens, significados e utilidades. Foi necessário também, a realização de pesquisa sobre o significado, causas e consequências do rebaixamento do lençol freático na região do Parque Flamboyant. Por meio da história, formação e estrutura do Parque e, ainda, pesquisa de campo fez-se possível apreender como a Educação Ambiental vem sendo trabalhada no local. Através de entrevistas com frequentadores e moradores da região, com autoridades e profissionais do meio ambiente, revelou-se a importância deste tipo de educação para um desenvolvimento urbano sustentável satisfatório.

Scholars have frequently considered the analysis of sustainable design and performance of the built fabric over the past two decades with regard to diversity, density and accessibility. They fall short of developing a holistic, systematic and objective assessment system for the analysis of the sustainable urban form. Subsequently, there is still a noticeable gap regarding the relationship between these dimensions and the patterns and the layout of built environments in the Middle East in general and in Iraq in particular. Intense and rapid economic development and urbanisation in Northern Iraq has resulted in expansive urban of built environments to accommodate the ever increasing urban population and level of activity in the city of Erbil. Architectural, planning and urban design trends at the intra-urban and neighbourhood levels indicate a state of disharmony and random physical forms that lack frameworks for understanding sustainable urban form in relation to urban patterns and layout. In this context, Accessibility, Connectivity, Compatibility, Diversity, Nodality, Density, Urban Identity, and Adaptability have been considered as analysis criteria to evaluate the sustainability of spatial patterns of urban form. The thesis aims to explore and examine the relationship between urban patterns and sustainable urban form in Erbil city in the context of sustainability through developing a customised but context-based framework for sustainable urban fabric indicators. To accomplish this, five case studies of residential projects with variable states of occupancy, completion, and social profiling have been chosen to investigate the practice of the sustainable urban form indicators. The research adopted a mixed-methodological approach, which combines quantitative and qualitative surveys of users, planners, and decision makers to enhance an understanding of the local perception of urban sustainability. A random sampling process is applied for the quantitative survey when distributing the questionnaires. The successful sample size, which was analysed, was 252 respondents. Using comparative analysis of sustainable urban form indicators in the recent local residential projects, quantitative findings have noticeably indicated significant variation in the effectiveness of indicators' performance, and consequently support the research assumption with statistical evidence that urban patterns have a significant impact on achieving sustainable urban forms in developing countries. The study concludes that the urban pattern indicator framework offers an efficient and rigorous approach that enables a credible assessment of the design strategies and planning decision-making in residential developments to achieve sustainable urban forms. These findings have evident implications for urban planners and policy makers during the design stage. The study has proposed practical planning and design guidelines which aim to enhance the local built environment.

Tendo em vista que grande parte da população mundial já vive em cidades, pensá-las de forma sustentável pressupõe entender a sua dinâmica, buscando alternativas para questões amplas e complexas que emanam do chamado desenvolvimento sustentável. A sustentabilidade urbana impõe desafios aos governantes e a toda sociedade, no sentido de atender às demandas atuais, prevenindo e mitigando os efeitos negativos gerados como consequência do crescimento econômico. Para tanto, há a necessidade de haver gestão integrada entre órgãos de diferentes setores governamentais e de áreas de políticas distintas bem como a necessidade de reflexão acerca de novas concepções de planejamento e gestão de políticas públicas e na perspectiva do ordenamento territorial para aliar o crescimento econômico, a preservação ambiental e a qualidade de vida da população. Nesse sentido, a presente pesquisa teve como objetivo principal analisar a mudança do sistema social e os efeitos na sustentabilidade urbana da cidade de Rio Grande/RS, a partir da instalação do Polo Naval. Para tanto, buscou-se embasamento nos pressupostos da Sustentabilidade Urbana, na Teoria de Sistemas Sociais e na Teoria do Equilíbrio Pontuado. Assim, foi possível analisar a implantação do Polo Naval na cidade de Rio Grande, identificando os reflexos da (in)sustentabilidade urbana produzida pelo Polo Naval sob a perspectiva da Teoria de Sistemas Sociais, bem como analisar o processo de mudança ocorrido na cidade, relacionando as evidências encontradas à estrutura profunda do sistema social e ao Modelo de Mudança Descontínua, admitindo-se que algumas perturbações são capazes de romper o equilíbrio e provocar diversas mudanças, não necessariamente de forma gradual. No contexto da presente pesquisa, essa pontuação foi associada a instalação do Polo Naval, na cidade de Rio Grande no Rio Grande do Sul. A utilização de mais de uma abordagem teórica se mostrou pertinente na presente pesquisa, tendo em vista a diversidade de elementos e a quantidade de dados a serem analisados fornecidos pelos diversos stakeholders que foram entrevistados. Para cumprir os objetivos desta pesquisa, foi realizada uma pesquisa exploratória de natureza qualitativa e descritiva, em um recorte temporal que compreende anos de 2006-2014. Utilizou-se fontes primárias e secundárias de dados para realizar os levantamentos apontados. Em relação aos dados primários, foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com 39 stakeholders presentes no sistema social de Rio Grande e relacionados direta ou indiretamente com Polo Naval. Os dados coletados foram analisados a partir da metodologia de Análise de Conteúdo e agrupados em categorias de efeitos positivos e negativos na dimensão econômica, ambiental e social. Os efeitos da dimensão política foram analisados a partir do Modelo de Mudança Descontínua e na perspectiva da estrutura profunda dos sistemas sociais. Entre os resultados encontrados, na dimensão econômica, percebeu-se efeitos positivos como aumento do PIB e do PIB per capita, empreendedorismo local aumento na arrecadação de impostos e na receita própria do município, o aumento dos investimentos na Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, no Porto do Rio Grande, em empreendimentos imobiliários residenciais e comerciais, além de incentivos financeiros por parte do governo como forma de fomentar o Arranjo Produtivo Local. Entre os efeitos econômicos negativos, destaca-se o declínio do consumo em períodos sazonais de finalizações de projetos assim como a inflação do setor imobiliário e suas consequências decorrentes do aumento da demanda por imóveis no município de Rio Grande. Entre os efeitos ambientais positivos percebeu-se o desenvolvimento de parcerias e cooperação para monitoramento ambiental do município, o monitoramento ambiental propriamente dito, a melhoria da infraestrutura urbana em termos malha viária e aeroportos. Entre os efeitos ambientais tidos como negativos, estão o desmatamento de áreas verdes para instalação do empreendimento, problemas de governança ambiental que resultam em conflitos entre a gestão ambiental pública e privada, os efeitos negativos previstos nas licenças ambientais e nos estudos de impacto ambiental do empreendimento. Em relação aos efeitos ambientais negativos de caráter urbanístico tem-se o inchaço e adensamento da infraestrutura urbana, a precarização da gestão de resíduos sólidos industriais e urbanos, a coleta de esgoto incipiente, as dificuldades na coleta e destinação de resíduos domiciliares, o aumento do consumo de recursos naturais em função das demandas de grandes empreendimentos como o Polo Naval, e as consequências negativas geradas em termos de tráfego urbano em virtude do aumento populacional que ocasiona o aumento do número de veículos e pedestres em circulação. Com relação aos efeitos sociais positivos, destaca-se o aumento do investimento em qualificação e geração de emprego a partir da apropriação da mão de obra local e aumento do poder aquisitivo (renda). Entre os efeitos negativos destacam-se aqueles relacionados à saúde, educação, segurança, mão de obra externa e qualificação profissional, migração e aumento populacional, remoção e transferência de famílias e moradias de áreas industriais, conflitos sociais em termos de choque cultural e xenofobia caracterizada pela convivência com trabalhadores de outras localidades, além da existência de condições sub-humanas de habitação para a população migrante. Os resultados encontrados contribuem com evidências empíricas demonstrando os efeitos positivos e negativos de um empreendimento como o Polo Naval de Rio Grande e suas implicações para o contexto onde está inserido, elucidando qual é a dinâmica do processo de mudança nesse sistema social. Tais efeitos demonstram a (in) sustentabilidade que o empreendimento causa em algumas dimensões e podem auxiliar no processo de diagnóstico para buscar medidas que ajudem a solucionar ou amenizar os efeitos negativos. Além disso, os resultados encontrados neste trabalho também podem contribuir para que gestores públicos e privados, instituições de ensino superior e de pesquisa, possam elaborar estratégias e planos de ações conjuntos na tentativa de mitigar aqueles efeitos econômicos, ambientais, sociais e políticos negativos, assim como potencializar aqueles considerados positivos, equilibrando as dimensões analisadas. Assim, a pesquisa pode se tornar uma base para estudos complementares na tentativa de aprofundar cada uma das dimensões e seus respectivos efeitos, bem como auxiliar na elaboração de um planejamento urbano mais eficaz, que institua políticas públicas condizentes com os problemas decorrentes do Polo Naval. Assim, será possível adotar medidas para equilibrar o crescimento econômico, preservação do meio ambiente e qualidade de vida da população, tendo em vista a necessidade de buscar o desenvolvimento de forma sustentável. / Considering that much of the world's population already lives in cities, thinking sustainably requires understanding the dynamics of cities, seeking alternatives to large and complex issues emanating from the so-called sustainable development. Urban sustainability poses challenges to governments and the whole society in order to meet current demands, preventing and mitigating the negative effects generated because of economic growth. Therefore, there is the need for integrated management between agencies of different government sectors and different policy areas and the need for reflection on new designs for planning and management of public policies in the context of spatial planning, to combine economic growth, environmental preservation and quality of life of the population. In this sense, the present study aimed to analyze the change of the social system and the effects on urban sustainability of the city of Rio Grande / RS, from the installation of the Naval Pole. Therefore, we sought to basement on the assumptions of Urban Sustainability in Theory of Social Systems and the Theory of Punctuated Equilibrium. Thus, it was possible to analyze the implementation of the Naval Pole in the city of Rio Grande, identifying the effects of the urban unsustainability produced by the Naval Pole from the perspective of the Theory of Social Systems, and analyze the process of change occurred in the city, linking the evidence found the deep structure of the social system and Discontinuous Change Model, admitting that some disorders are able to break the balance and cause a number of changes, not necessarily gradually. In the context of this research, this score was associated with installation of the Naval Pole, in the city of Rio Grande in Rio Grande do Sul. The use of more than a theoretical approach proved to be relevant in this study, given the diversity of elements analyzed and the amount of data to be analyzed provided by the various stakeholders who were interviewed. To accomplish the goals of this research, an exploratory research of qualitative and descriptive nature was carried out between 2006-2014. We used primary and secondary data sources to carry out the surveys indicated. Regarding the primary data were conducted semi-structured interviews with 39 stakeholders present in the social system of Rio Grande and directly or indirectly related to Naval Pole. Data were analyzed from the content analysis methodology and grouped into categories of positive and negative effects on the economic dimension, environmental and social. The effects of the political dimension were analyzed from the Discontinuous Change Model and in view of the deep structure of social systems. Among the results, the economic dimension, perceived positive effects as increased GDP and GDP per capita, local entrepreneurship increase in tax revenues and own the city revenue, increased investment in the Federal University of Rio Grande, port of Rio Grande, in residential and commercial real estate projects, as well as financial incentives from the government in order to foster the Local Productive Arrangement. Among the negative economic effects, there is the decline in consumption in seasonal periods of project completions as well as inflation in the real estate sector and its consequences of increased demand for real estate in the city of Rio Grande. Among the positive environmental effects realized by the development of partnerships and cooperation for environmental monitoring of the municipality, environmental monitoring itself, the improvement of urban infrastructure in terms road and airport network. Among the environmental effects taken as negative, are the deforestation of green areas for the enterprise installation, environmental governance problems that result in conflicts between public and private environmental management, the negative effects provided for in the environmental permits and environmental impact studies of the project . Regarding the negative environmental effects of urban character has swelling and densification of urban infrastructure, the precariousness of industrial and municipal solid waste management, collection of incipient sewage, difficulties in collection and disposal of household waste, increasing consumption of natural resources according to the demands of large enterprises as the Naval Pole, and the negative consequences generated in terms of urban traffic because of the population increase that causes the increase in the number of vehicles and pedestrians on the road. Regarding the positive social effects, the increase stands out investment in skills and employment generation and from the ownership of the local workforce and increased purchasing power (income). Among the negative effects highlight those related to health, education, security, hand external work and professional training, migration and population growth, removal and transfer of families and houses of industrial areas, social conflicts in terms of culture shock and characterized xenophobia by interaction with workers from other locations, besides the existence of sub-human living conditions for the migrant population. The results contribute empirical evidence demonstrating the positive and negative effects of a project like the Polo Naval Rio Grande and its implications for the context in which it operates, elucidating what is the dynamic process of change in this social system. Such effects demonstrate the (in) sustainability that the project because in some dimensions and can assist in the diagnostic process to seek measures to help solve or mitigate the negative effects. In addition, the findings of this study may also contribute to public and private managers, higher education and research institutions, can develop strategies and plans of joint actions in trying to mitigate those economic effects, environmental, social and negative political as well how to leverage those considered positive, balancing the dimensions analyzed. Thus, the search can become a basis for further studies in an attempt to further studies in each of the dimensions and their effects, as well as assist in developing a more effective urban planning, to set public policies consistent with the problems arising out of Polo Naval. Therefore, you can take steps to balance economic growth, environmental protection and people's living quality, considering the need to pursue development in a sustainable manner.

Este estudo tem por objetivo analisar a visão de pesquisadores e decisores brasileiros, sobre diferentes temas relacionados à mobilidade urbana sustentável. Os dados analisados, parcialmente definidos em grupos focais e coletados por questionários online, são referentes a uma amostra de 2863 profissionais de diversas áreas. Foram identificados respondentes em 676 cidades, de todos os estados e do Distrito Federal. Os tópicos abordados indicam que pedestres e ciclistas estão interessados tanto em ações voltadas para melhoria da infraestrutura dos modos não motorizados, quanto em medidas políticas para reduzir o espaço dos modos motorizados. Em uma análise geral, ficou evidente a diferença de posicionamento para os temas centrais avaliados (economia, engenharia, modos não motorizados, planejamento urbano e sustentabilidade). Os respondentes concordaram mais com os julgamentos que favoreciam medidas para melhores condições de mobilidade urbana. A sentença que representou o discurso sobre planejamento urbano recebeu o maior grau de concordância. A partir destas considerações, fica evidente que os respondentes estão conscientes para uma mudança de paradigma no planejamento de transportes. Para a avaliação em relação à aplicação de investimentos a diferentes tipos de infraestrutura, foi observada uma tendência em favorecer pedestres, ciclistas e o transporte público. Nas análises das questões divididas em grupos, foram observadas divergências de opinião principalmente para os respondentes que indicaram conhecer detalhadamente o texto da Lei da Mobilidade, reforçando a importância dessas diretrizes para a promoção dos modos de transporte sustentáveis. / This study aimed at analyzing the vision of Brazilian researchers and decision makers on different themes related to sustainable urban mobility. The data analyzed, partially defined in focus groups and collected by online questionnaires, refer to a sample of 2863 professionals from different areas. Respondents were identified in 676 cities, from all states and the Federal District. The topics covered indicate that pedestrians and cyclists are interested both in actions aimed at improving the infrastructure of non- motorized modes and in policies to reduce the space of motorized modes. In a general analysis, the difference in position was evident for the central themes evaluated (economy, engineering, non-motorized modes, urban planning and sustainability). The respondents agreed more with the judgments that favored measures for better conditions of urban mobility. The sentence that represented the discourse on urban planning received the highest degree of agreement. From these considerations, it is evident that respondents are aware of a paradigm change in transportation planning. For the evaluation regarding the implementation of investments to different types of infrastructure, there was a tendency to favor pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. In the analysis of the questions divided into groups, differences of opinion were observed mainly for the respondents who indicated to know in detail the text of the Law of Mobility, reinforcing the importance of these guidelines for the promotion of sustainable transport modes.

Syftet med föreliggande studie är att analysera hur begreppet social hållbar stadsutveckling fylls med innehåll inom en lokal stadsplaneringskontext. I de södra delarna av Norrköping arbetar nu anställda vid kommunens stadsplaneringskontor med att skapa en ny stadsdel, som givits namnet Kneippen syd. Ambitionen är att skapa en socialt hållbar stadsdel. Empirisk data är hämtad genom sex kvalitativa intervjuer, observationer vid platsen för Kneippen syd, och efter deltagande vid fyra seminarier med stadsutveckling som övergripande tema. Resultaten från studien visar att återkommande teman vad gäller socialt hållbar stadsutveckling utgjordes av visionen om en blandad stad med stärkta samband inom staden. De bakomliggande motiven till dessa teman grundar sig i förståelsen av staden som segregerad. Modernistisk stadsplanering bestående av rumsligt separerade stadsdelar framställs som en orsak till varför staden är segregerad. I planerna för Kneippen syd betonas motsatsen till modernistisk stadsplanering som lösningen på problemet med den segregerade staden då blandning beträffande boendeformer, service och fritidsaktiviteter betonas. Skapandet av denna nya stadsdel framstod i hög utsträckning som grundad på definitioner och konstruerade bilder av hur staden bör vara. Detta föranleder ett behov av att reflektera över frågan varför specifika definitioner och bilder av staden väljs framför andra och vilka bilder som väljs bort i denna process. / The purpose of this study is to analyze how the term socially sustainable development is conceptualized within a local city planning context. In the southern parts of Norrköping employees within the municipality’s city planning office are working on the creation of a new neighborhood, given the name Kneippen syd. The aim is to create a socially sustainable neighborhood. The empirical data for this study is collected through six qualitative interviews, observations at the planned location for Kneippen syd and after attendance at four seminars with urban development as the main themes. The results of this study show that the reoccurring themes of socially sustainable development are consisting of visions of an urban mixture and improved connections within the city. The motives behind the themes have its foundation in the understanding of the city as segregated. Modernistic city planning consisting of spatially separated neighborhoods are understood as part of the cause to why segregation within the city is existing. In the plans of Kneippen syd the opposite characteristics of modernistic urban planning are found as the solution to the problems with the segregated city, were mixture in housing, services and recreation opportunities are emphasized. To a large extent the creation of this new urban area are based on definitions and constructed images of how the city should. This raises the need to reflect upon the question why certain definitions and images are chosen instead of others and what images of the city that are neglected in this process.

This study aims to demonstrate the critical role of waste management in urban sustainability, promote planners' contribution to proactive and efficient waste management, and facilitate the integration of waste management into mainstream sustainability planning. With anticipated increases in population and associated waste generation, timely and effective waste management highlights one of the most critical challenges of sustainable development, which calls for meeting "the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (WCED, 1987). Waste management in urban areas plays a particularly important role, given that waste generated from urban areas are often exported out of the region for processing and treatment, and the impacts of waste disposal activities may pass on to the other jurisdictions, and even to the next generations. An urban system cannot be sustainable if it requires more resources than it can produce on its own and generates more wastes than the environment can assimilate. The current waste management practice, which focuses on short-term impacts and end-of-pipe solutions, is reactive in nature and inadequate to promote sustainability within urban systems, across jurisdictions, and across generations. Through material flows in and out of urban systems, many potential opportunities exist to reduce waste generation and to minimize the negative impacts on the environment, the economy, and the society. City planners' involvement in waste management, however, has been largely limited to siting waste management facilities. Linking waste management with three important lenses in planning-land use, economic development, and environmental planning, this study investigates the impacts of urban growth on waste management activities, the need of transforming the reactive nature of current waste management, and the challenges and opportunities that planners should address to promote urban systems' self-reliance of material and waste management needs. This study includes three empirical analyses to complement theoretical discussions. First, it connects waste statistics with demographic data, geographic characteristics, and policy instruments at the county level to examine whether waste volume can be decoupled from urban population growth. Second, it examines the life cycle costs of different waste management options and develops a simulation study to seek cost-effective strategies for long-term waste management. Third, it compiles evidence of geographic-specific characteristics related to waste management and demonstrates why waste management policies cannot be one-size-fit-all. This study finds that, with successful implementation of strategic policy design, waste generation and its associated impacts can be decoupled from population and urban growth. Good lessons about waste reduction programs can be learned from different communities. Meanwhile, this study also reveals various challenges facing communities with heterogeneous characteristics, such as housing density, building age, and income. Accordingly, this study discusses the potential opportunities for planners to contribute to community-specific waste management programs, the prospect of transforming waste management practice from a cost burden to a long-term economic development strategy, and the need to incorporate waste management into the sustainable urban planning agenda.

Urban drainage systems are influenced by several future drivers that affect the performance as well as the costs of the systems. The uncertainties associated with future drivers and their impact creates difficulties in designing urban drainage systems sustainably. A review of the different future drivers for urban drainage systems illustrates that no sufficient future predictions for the long operational life spans of the systems are possible. This dissertation contends that to deal with future uncertainties, flexibility in urban drainage systems is necessary. At present, profound insights about defining, measuring, and generating flexible urban drainage systems do not exist. This research systematically approaches these issues. First, a clear definition of flexibility and an approach for the measurement and optimization of flexibility is operationalized. Based on the generic definitions of flexibility used in other disciplines, a definition tailored for urban drainage systems is generated. As such, flexibility in sustainable urban drainage systems is defined as `the ability of urban drainage systems to use their active capacity to act and respond to relevant alterations during operation in a performance-efficient, timely, and cost-effective way'. Next, a method for measuring flexibility is provided based on the developed definition of flexibility including the metrics, 'range of change', 'life-cycle performance' and 'effort of change'. These metrics are integrated into a framework for the measurement of flexibility based on a comparison of performance and effort in different alternative solution with respect to different future states. In addition the metrics are the core components for optimizing flexible design of urban drainage system. The measurement method is successfully applied in two case studies in Tuttle Hill, UK and Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg, Germany. Using the developed definition and method for the measurement of flexibility, this dissertation illustrates that a transfer of the general theoretical background of flexibility to the field of urban drainage is possible. It is currently unclear how the flexible design of urban drainage systems can be executed. Based on a review, this research identifies nine potential principles of flexible design, described by the indicators of modularity, platform design, flexible elements, cost efficiency, decentralized design, real time control, low degree of specialization, scalability, and a combination of these principles. A case study of Hamburg-Boberg is then presented to analyze which of these principles of flexible design can be verified. For each alternative solution in the sample, the indicators for the different potential principles of flexible design as well as the flexibility provided by the design are calculated. Testing is done to determine if there is a significant correlation between the potential principles of flexible design and the measured flexibility using a chi-square-test and F-test. Two principles are verified with a high degree of confidence, 'platform design' and `flexible elements'. The `platform design' principle provides high flexibility, in which urban drainage system elements with high change costs are designed robustly with huge tolerance margins, whereas elements with low change costs are designed with flexibility options. The 'flexible elements' principle aims to include as many component elements as possible, which provides high individual flexibility in the design of the urban drainage system. These design principles and associated static indicators enable a quick screening of huge number alternative solutions and provide guidance for the development and optimization of flexible urban drainage system. Within the framework for optimization of flexibility, the design principles can help identify the most promising alternative solutions for the design of urban drainage systems. The optimization framework includes the following steps: identification of the required flexibility, generation of alternative solutions for the design of urban drainage systems, screening of the most promising alternative solutions, detailed measurement of flexibility provided by the alternative solutions; and selection of optimal solution. Hence out of a sample of different design approaches, the solutions with the highest flexibility could be identified. The successful application of flexible design in three case studies illustrates that the concept provides a suitable strategy for dealing with the challenges associated with future uncertainties. For urban drainage systems, flexible design guarantees high levels of performance in uncertain future states while reducing the effort required to adapt the system to changing future conditions. This study contends that flexibility allows for profound decision making for urban drainage design despite future uncertainties.

Sustainable development has created new demands and led to a new way of thinking within the community-planning realm and has grown in use due to the increasing and changing awareness of environmental issues and their connection to growth within communities. As part ofthe Canadian Federal Gas Tax Fund requirement, municipalities must develop an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP). Currently, many municipalities are working towards a sustainable or environmental vision for their community and have developed master plans and policies to implement environmental practices. The issue facing municipalities is how do existing bodies of work support and integrate into the development of an ICSP? The Town of Oakville is used as a case study to investigate the method of reconciling master plans and policies to develop an ICSP. The research methods include a case study, interviews, the analysis ofICSP toolkits and municipal ICSPs. The research identifies successes, limitations, and improvements for the proposed approach.

This study presents a framework for assessing settlement patterns and trends to guide sustainable settlement development planning in South Africa. The rationale for the study is the persistence of multi-faceted interrelated, settlement challenges. At the beginning of the post-apartheid period in 1994, the new democratic government in South Africa adopted progressive policies to promote sustainable human settlements that integrate the various facets of human activity such as transportation, housing and socio-economic facilities. However, unsustainable and inefficient patterns of apartheid era planning persist more than 15 years into the post-apartheid settlements. Compounding this situation are new, unsustainable emerging trends such as the peripheral location of mono-functional low income housing developments in cities. This study argues that the main reason for the persistence of settlement challenges is the absence of comprehensive frameworks for the formulation of sustainable development plans that are informed by substantive theory, best practice and also the dialectical relationship among various settlement facets. It therefore develops a new framework and model for assessing settlement patterns and trends to guide sustainable development plans. The operational method is informed by a new synthetic theory of settlement patterns and trends, application of the theory to international and local patterns of policies and dynamics, empirical synthetic techniques for assessing settlement patterns and trends including the deductive formulation of sustainable development plans in localities, based on these interrelated components of the framework and model. Empirical synthetic techniques for the practical assessment of settlement patterns and trends are based on the translation of key theories and concepts of the synthetic theory into measurables. The synthetic empirical techniques use EThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu Natal province, South Africa as the case study since the municipality contains settlement typologies and systems that are typical of the province. The analysis of EThekwini Metropolitan Municipality revealed that prevailing settlement patterns and trends are not sustainable. On the other hand the municipality‟s development plans are not responsive to the heterogeneous socio-economic characteristics of the population in different settlement typologies including Local Economic Development (LED) potentials in the nodes in different functional regions of the municipality. On these grounds, the research study proposes alternative sustainable settlement development plans for EThekwini Municipality. The thesis recommends a dialectical deductive formulation of development plans based on the new framework of assessing settlement patterns and trends developed by this research. As such socio-economic investment priorities must be informed by the potential of economic growth in different town centres and functional regions all the same being responsive to social, economic and physical characteristics of the population. Pro-growth and pro-poor LED strategies should also be adopted, depending on the nature and extent of heterogeneity in the factors of production in the different town centres and settlement typologies they serve. Therefore, sustainable development plans can be achieved in South Africa if this new framework and model is adopted to guide future settlement patterns and trends. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011