The question of the meaning of Heritage has evolved for more than two hundred years. Calls for a common understanding of Heritage have developed extensively in the last four decades leading to the incorporation of diverse practices in its management. This shift in management could be perceived in a positive sense as adaptive and progressive or alternatively in a negative sense as extensive and opportunistic. The factors influencing the practice and theory of Heritage management keep increasing under these layers, leading to the inclusion of various other fields. This leads to the underlying importance of Heritage being defined as a multi-disciplinary field. The study identifies that there is a lack of coherent understanding among experts and locals on how buildings of historical importance can be listed and managed in a participatory manner. There is a need for a platform for direct communication between stakeholders involved in the management of these buildings of local historical importance. Recently, with the introduction of Localism Act 2011, National Planning Policy Framework 2012, Enterprise and regulatory Reform Act 2013, the gaps and the issues identified at the beginning of this research in 2009 are corroborated. These acts and guidance were introduced to streamline the planning system and in relation to this research will help in having a linear process in Heritage management. It supports the idea of Big Society where more power is given to citizens and helps in moving towards a participatory approach to planning. Through decentralisation, as the government gives power back to the people, it is important to understand that each stakeholder has an important role to play in any development. Hence stakeholder collaboration is the key to success of any project. The aims of this research are: to understand the decision-making processes in the management of historic buildings in London and to propose a conceptual framework to assist in participatory decision-making. This will aid the Heritage Partnership Agreements (HPA) proposed by the UK government. The literature review explores the concepts of Heritage management, Heritage production model, decision-making, participatory planning and community engagement and a conceptual framework is developed. Two case studies from London, The Brunswick and Brixton Market, are conducted for data collection. Rigorous data collection and analysis using NVivo is employed. Research findings from these exploratory studies confirm that there is a need for a common platform for stakeholder interaction and participatory planning; and different stakeholders have different priorities leading to the need of a shared vision. There exists a gap between communities’ desired management of the building and the stakeholders’ expectation. This study generates new knowledge about the needs for attaining stakeholder engagement in the management of Heritage. This study also offers a methodological contribution that could be applied to a similar study on Heritage in different cities and countries.

This thesis examines within the institutional framework settings how the concept of Sustainable and Responsible Property Investment (SRPI) has developed and to the extent SRPI has been adopted in a developing country, namely Malaysia. The question of Sustainable and Responsible Property Investment (SRPI) interpretation is important in this context given that developing countries represent the most rapidly expanding economies and most lucrative markets for property investment. Specifically the thesis examines the understandings of SRPI and the concept link with SRI, and the drivers and barriers to SRPI practice. Specifically, the thesis investigates how particular Malaysian Property Investment organisations (MPIOs) have interpreted the concept of SRPI, and whether the overall concept of SRPI has taken similar or different form than the practice in developed market. The study used a mixed-method approach. It uses triangulation of data collection methods and multiple techniques including content analysis and Delphi technique. The study used a modified institutional framework to aid in explaining, interpreting and understanding the divergence/convergence of SRPI in the developing country context. Content analysis of selected public listed property investment organisations in Malaysia i.e. real estate investment trusts (REITS), property companies and institutional investor reports from 2008 to 2011 proceeded through line-by-line analysis and coding according to inductively generated categories. The results from content analysis revealed a narrow representation of SRPI in the MPIOs reports. Despite the requirement by the Bursa Malaysia to report on CSR and sustainability activities, there were minimal disclosures on environmental and social impacts caused by their property management and investment activities, on most reports shows emphasis of MPIO’s on philanthropic activities. The Delphi study aims to explore, examine and build on the views of experts and influential people in SRPI. It was also felt necessary to combine local expertise and experts from developed countries. Overall, SRPI in Malaysia takes different form than SRPI in countries where is SRPI mainstreamed. The study points in the direction of SRPI “cross-vergence”, whereby global convergence and local divergence forces are interacting synergistically. The National and Cultural religious value in particular are two strong elements supporting the drivers of divergence of SRPI. Through the rigorous exploration this thesis contributes to the further understanding of sustainable and responsible investment and the drivers. The proposed framework has provided the principles, whereas the empirical work translated the principles into practice. The results of the thesis contribute to the literature by providing new evidence on the drivers of SRPI in emerging market. These findings would be of use to property investors and other actors in the industry, including fund manager.

As more in-depth research is carried out in global warming, greenhouse gases and relevant fields, scholars are no longer satisfied with the achievements they have gained in investigating the operating mechanism of greenhouse gases; they want to develop more complex and challenging measures to reduce the impact of human behaviours on the environment and further achieve sustainable development based on the harmony bewteen man and nature. The transport sector, in most countries, has been identified as one of the major sources of the greenhouse gases, second to the industrial and energy sectors, giving rise to the assertion that a proper understanding of the CO[sub]2 emission mechanism in the transport sector, would be helpful to policy makers and urban designers with regard to reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases. However, the concept and related studies of CO[sub]2 emission reduction are not yet completed, leading to an absence of a systematic understanding on the CO[sub]2 emissions from small-scale transport system in towns and small regions. Typically when trying to analyse the preference of commuters over transport modes, the increasing number of variables substantially complicates the model; further, an insufficiently clear logic among variables makes the model more complex and existing models do not address the problem clearly. To make a significant contribution to current knowledge, this study has developed a model, covering small-scale regions with full consideration of human activities, which adopts the concept of the grey system. The grey system enables researchers to use historical data to repair data records in the case of constraints and faults in the records. In addition, the model also uses the artificial network algorithm, which functions as a self-improving algorithm, provided that sufficient preliminary data are available. With resort to the self-learning ability and the fuzzy calculating function of the algorithm, the model could simulate and predict the decision making of commuters in order to infer the CO[sub]2 emissions in a small-scale region. Kingston-upon-Thames in the UK is the basis in this model which collects and analyses related data from the transport network in the area. The predictive outcome of the model is found to be consistent with the outcome from a survey conducted by the local council, supported by the UK government. Compared with traditional models, this model can use sporadic data as the basis of the analysis to ensure the accuracy of prediction while substantially reducing costs. In addition, it can build a distinctive data blueprint for specific research questions, satisfy the demand of practitioners and strategists and policy makers, and describe local transport networks with specific travel goals (such as a tourist bus). Moreover, this model is highly adaptable and developed in line with different research needs (policy making, transport system planning, travel behaviour simulation, etc.) in different target groups and regions. This study also summarizes the limitations of the model in its final section while specifying the future direction required to achieve further reduction in CO[sub]2 emissions from transport networks.

Following the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act, a persistent policy of urban containment has been pursued throughout rural areas of the United Kingdom. In spite of growing evidence that the effects of containment are incompatible with key aspects of public policy towards housing, agriculture and the environment, there is little sign that government agencies are considering the possibility of a serious policy re-think. This thesis represents the first attempt to analyse the continued commitment to this core of the British land use planning system from the perspective of public choice theory. The thesis begins with an outline of the institutional focus of public choice analysis, considering the fundamental questions of 'market failure', 'government failure' and the theoretical case for state intervention in the market for land. Having examined the evolving context of urban containment in the post-war period, the thesis proceeds to apply key elements of public choice to decision-making incentives in the planning system. The empirical analysis commences with an account of interest group behaviour on the 'demand side' of the political system. A subsequent section turns to the 'supply side', examining bureaucratic incentive structures and the role of regulatory agencies in the management of land use change. A still further section considers the role of legislative incentives on the 'supply side'. Finally, the empirical analysis concludes with a case study of a major planning dispute. The evidence presented suggests that a combination of institutional incentives on both the 'demand' and 'supply' sides of the 'political market' has led to the continual growth of restrictive land use regulation at the expense of a diffuse and unorganized mass of urban taxpayers and consumers. The thesis concludes by outlining a possible institutional alternative based on private property rights, which might help to avoid these undesirable elements of the British planning system.

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Stakeholder involvement in securing service standards, priorities and effectiveness was made a requirement of the Local Government Act 1999, England and Wales. This legislation built upon the 1998 White Paper, Modern Local Government in Touch with the People which formed part of the incoming 1997 Labour government's key principles as described in the Labour Party's 1997 Manifesto. This agenda replaced the implicit 'lowest price principle' of the Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) legislation of the outgoing Conservative administration. Stakeholder theory and practice is central to this change agenda. Furthermore, it was applied to public service management without adaptation to the complexity and nature of the governance of local authorities. This research examines 3 case studies of local authorities to explore whether and how the implementation and impact of the necessity for local authorities to identify, consult with and involve stakeholders in setting standards has been enacted. It considers the impact of these requirements on stakeholder theory, stakeholders, political and managerial relationships. The literature review critiques stakeholder theory as described by Freeman (1984) and particular aspects of stakeholder management: engagement (Arnstein, 1969); salience (Mitchell, Agle and Wood, 1997); normative and instrumental behaviours (Donaldson and Preston, 1995); and moral enlightenment (Kohlberg, 1981). Government agencies explicitly or implicitly advocated those constructs for their usefulness when planning for and consulting stakeholders. The conclusion is that stakeholder theory as described is insensitive to the complexity of local authorities' political, managerial and stakeholders' agendas. Furthermore, that it requires further development to ensure that it is relevant to the nature and the style of local authorities' responsibilities. It establishes that the distinction between consulting and engaging with stakeholders is fraught with confusion. Finally, the relationship between power, legitimacy and urgency of stakeholder claims results in political and managerial pragmatism and is consistent with those aspects of stakeholder theory described by Mitchell, Agle and Wood, (1997). This research identified issues of managerial concern. Of particular importance is the different use and understanding of language by stakeholders, managers and politicians. This is an under-reported aspect of Freeman (1984). Furthermore, the contribution of unrepresentative stakeholders in shaping council policy challenges the democratic process and is of concern to senior managers and politicians. This in turn undermines the requirement for stakeholder inclusiveness and involvement. Finally, it is established that policy at the point of implementation is often a result of local contextual adaptation, 'bricolage', on the part of the manager. The research makes a distinct contribution by identifying 'how' and 'why' stakeholder theory is too insensitive for direct useful application to local authorities. It finds that policy advice from government agencies concerning stakeholder consultation for best value has mostly been ignored, although many themes identified in the theory and advice were identified in the data collected. Finally, this research has provided the first empirical data on this subject and increases understanding of 'how' and 'why' stakeholder consultation has been undertaken in the parks and greenspace sector. In so doing, it contributes to an understanding of practice in action and the amending of behaviour that constitute implementation of strategic stakeholder theory and managerial policy, thereby creating an agenda for future research.

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