Globally urbanisation impacts on 88% of amphibian species and is recognised as a major cause for the observed amphibian declines. This is as result of habitat fragmentation, alteration in habitat morphology and degradation of habitat quality. The interference of anthropogenic noise on anuran communication and the impacts thereof on their breeding success has become a major research focus in recent conservation studies. . However, within the African continent very little research has been conducted on the effects of urbanisation on anuran habitat and the acoustic environment, which is the main focus of this study. The thesis is structured as follows: CHAPTER ONE provides an introduction to the field of urban ecology and relates it to amphibian conservation. The chapter reviews the far reaching and diverse effects of urbanisation on frog populations reported in literature across the world and also supply a broad introduction to the succeeding chapters. It also briefly summarises evidence from literature on the positive contributions brought about by the developed world. Following the vast negative impacts of urbanisation, the importance of amphibians is briefly discussed to motivate their conservation in urban environments, before concluding with a motivation for the need for urban ecological research on amphibians in South Africa. CHAPTER TWO addresses the distribution of amphibian communities across an urban-rural gradient in the city of Potchefstroom and assesses the habitat determinants explaining distribution at both local (pond) and landscape scales. Four surveys conducted spanned the breeding seasons of all species occurring in this region and included three different sampling techniques to detect fish and anuran larvae species. Seven micro-habitat and seven landscape variables were included to evaluate determinants of habitat use among local species and species richness. Using Bayesian modelling, aquatic vegetation, predatory fish and pond size was found to be major determinants shaping species richness on a local scale, whereas surface area of urban central business district had only a slightly negative correlation with species richness on a landscape scale. This is a pioneer study for documenting effects of urbanisation on amphibian communities along an urban-rural gradient in Africa. CHAPTER THREE evaluates the extent of the influence of aircraft acoustic noise on the calling behaviour of the critically endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frog, Hyperolius pickersgilli. Literature documenting the effects of airplane noise on anuran calling activity is very limited and this study aimed not only to contribute to existing knowledge, but also to provide the first study of its kind within South Africa. Effects on five call properties of H. pickersgilli were determined using passive and directional recording equipment at two sites, reflecting presence and absence of aircraft flybys. Results showed an increase in calling rate of H. pickersgilli during aircraft flybys. Hyperolius pickersgilli was found to call throughout the night until just before sunrise. The calling behaviour, frequency structure and call sound pressure level of H. pickersgilli suggest that this species is prone to be effected by continuous anthropogenic noise. However, the lack of flights between midnight and sunrise provides a period of no disturbance for the frogs. Future studies on the effects of change in calling behaviour should be supported by playback studies at quiet sites and connected to breeding success to determine if these effects are detrimental to the survival of this critically endangered species. CHAPTER FOUR focussed on the Western Leopard Toad, Amietophrynus pantherinus and was divided into two major parts. One component focussed on the migration of this species across roads and aimed to firstly quantify the number of individuals migrating over a 500 m stretch of road using a drift fence system operated by public volunteers. The drift fence proved very successful, with no roadkill observed during the time it was in place. This study also stressed that large numbers of toads (average of 20.47% of 2 384 toads over six breeding seasons) are still being killed on the urban and suburban roads. Road patrol statistics collected by volunteers are biased in the sense that it is prone to human error, but when a drift fence is constructed, bias is excluded and space for human error limited. The study also provided road sensitivity areas analysed using geographic information systems to create digital buffer zones of 250 m, 500 m and 1 000 m around selected breeding sites. Secondly the study aimed to evaluate the use of data collected by these citizens occupying a volunteering role in the toad’s conservation. The second part of this study was directed towards the acoustic analysis of the call of A. pantherinus. The two main objectives of this component were to 1) evaluate the extent of variation of the call properties in order to 2) assess whether the ambient anthropogenic noise have an effect on these properties. Seven call properties for advertisement calls and four for release calls were analysed. Call properties were found to vary significantly between populations (P<0.05). Although sound pressure level was found to have an effect on variation by using canonical redundancy analysis, variation can also be explained by the geographical isolation of the populations. CHAPTER FIVE provided novel data on the extensive repertoire of Amietia quecketti in terms of its unique calling behaviour. Directional recordings were used to examine the extent of the variation in the two-part call (click-note followed by a whine-note). The whine-note was re-described and four different notes were designated, including the tonal-note, creak-note, pulsatile- / rip-note, and whine-note. Furthermore, the newly assigned whine-note was divided into nine phases that differed in frequency structure. Also, evidence is provided that A. quecketti males call at high frequencies. The success of A. quecketti in urban environments as observed in Chapter 2 is described in terms of this species’ extensive repertoire and unusual frequency structure. CHAPTER SIX provides insight into the effects of atmospheric conditions on the calling behaviour of Amietia quecketti, giving the proximate impact urbanisation has on weather conditions as well as the potential impact human activities can have on climate change on the long term. Calling activity was monitored over a nine-week period together with data from a mobile weather station which logged atmospheric variables every five minutes. Amietia quecketti was found to call most intensely between 00h00 and 03h00 in the morning and was most active in May, June and August. Humidity, temperature and wind velocity were found to have significant effects (P<0.05) on the calling activity of A. quecketti. CHAPTER SEVEN is concerned with the attitudes of people towards frogs in South Africa. The first part of this study assessed the attitudes of people towards frogs in Potchefstroom. Surveys were distributed via the internet as well as manually to reach people with no internet access as well. Attitudes of people of Potchefstroom were mostly positive with more than half of the sampled population of 295 respondents indicating a strong liking in frogs. This study provides evidence that the presence of myths and knowledge can highly affects people’s attitudes towards frogs. The second part of this study focussed on the motivations of volunteers saving Western Leopard Toads from roadkill in Cape Town, South Africa. Volunteers were motivated by a strong value-driven approach to saving toads. CHAPTER EIGHT provides a general discussion and outline on the contributions this study presented and also the new areas where more research is needed within the extent of the field of urban ecology from a South African perspective. / hD (Zoology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Globally urbanisation impacts on 88% of amphibian species and is recognised as a major cause for the observed amphibian declines. This is as result of habitat fragmentation, alteration in habitat morphology and degradation of habitat quality. The interference of anthropogenic noise on anuran communication and the impacts thereof on their breeding success has become a major research focus in recent conservation studies. . However, within the African continent very little research has been conducted on the effects of urbanisation on anuran habitat and the acoustic environment, which is the main focus of this study. The thesis is structured as follows: CHAPTER ONE provides an introduction to the field of urban ecology and relates it to amphibian conservation. The chapter reviews the far reaching and diverse effects of urbanisation on frog populations reported in literature across the world and also supply a broad introduction to the succeeding chapters. It also briefly summarises evidence from literature on the positive contributions brought about by the developed world. Following the vast negative impacts of urbanisation, the importance of amphibians is briefly discussed to motivate their conservation in urban environments, before concluding with a motivation for the need for urban ecological research on amphibians in South Africa. CHAPTER TWO addresses the distribution of amphibian communities across an urban-rural gradient in the city of Potchefstroom and assesses the habitat determinants explaining distribution at both local (pond) and landscape scales. Four surveys conducted spanned the breeding seasons of all species occurring in this region and included three different sampling techniques to detect fish and anuran larvae species. Seven micro-habitat and seven landscape variables were included to evaluate determinants of habitat use among local species and species richness. Using Bayesian modelling, aquatic vegetation, predatory fish and pond size was found to be major determinants shaping species richness on a local scale, whereas surface area of urban central business district had only a slightly negative correlation with species richness on a landscape scale. This is a pioneer study for documenting effects of urbanisation on amphibian communities along an urban-rural gradient in Africa. CHAPTER THREE evaluates the extent of the influence of aircraft acoustic noise on the calling behaviour of the critically endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frog, Hyperolius pickersgilli. Literature documenting the effects of airplane noise on anuran calling activity is very limited and this study aimed not only to contribute to existing knowledge, but also to provide the first study of its kind within South Africa. Effects on five call properties of H. pickersgilli were determined using passive and directional recording equipment at two sites, reflecting presence and absence of aircraft flybys. Results showed an increase in calling rate of H. pickersgilli during aircraft flybys. Hyperolius pickersgilli was found to call throughout the night until just before sunrise. The calling behaviour, frequency structure and call sound pressure level of H. pickersgilli suggest that this species is prone to be effected by continuous anthropogenic noise. However, the lack of flights between midnight and sunrise provides a period of no disturbance for the frogs. Future studies on the effects of change in calling behaviour should be supported by playback studies at quiet sites and connected to breeding success to determine if these effects are detrimental to the survival of this critically endangered species. CHAPTER FOUR focussed on the Western Leopard Toad, Amietophrynus pantherinus and was divided into two major parts. One component focussed on the migration of this species across roads and aimed to firstly quantify the number of individuals migrating over a 500 m stretch of road using a drift fence system operated by public volunteers. The drift fence proved very successful, with no roadkill observed during the time it was in place. This study also stressed that large numbers of toads (average of 20.47% of 2 384 toads over six breeding seasons) are still being killed on the urban and suburban roads. Road patrol statistics collected by volunteers are biased in the sense that it is prone to human error, but when a drift fence is constructed, bias is excluded and space for human error limited. The study also provided road sensitivity areas analysed using geographic information systems to create digital buffer zones of 250 m, 500 m and 1 000 m around selected breeding sites. Secondly the study aimed to evaluate the use of data collected by these citizens occupying a volunteering role in the toad’s conservation. The second part of this study was directed towards the acoustic analysis of the call of A. pantherinus. The two main objectives of this component were to 1) evaluate the extent of variation of the call properties in order to 2) assess whether the ambient anthropogenic noise have an effect on these properties. Seven call properties for advertisement calls and four for release calls were analysed. Call properties were found to vary significantly between populations (P<0.05). Although sound pressure level was found to have an effect on variation by using canonical redundancy analysis, variation can also be explained by the geographical isolation of the populations. CHAPTER FIVE provided novel data on the extensive repertoire of Amietia quecketti in terms of its unique calling behaviour. Directional recordings were used to examine the extent of the variation in the two-part call (click-note followed by a whine-note). The whine-note was re-described and four different notes were designated, including the tonal-note, creak-note, pulsatile- / rip-note, and whine-note. Furthermore, the newly assigned whine-note was divided into nine phases that differed in frequency structure. Also, evidence is provided that A. quecketti males call at high frequencies. The success of A. quecketti in urban environments as observed in Chapter 2 is described in terms of this species’ extensive repertoire and unusual frequency structure. CHAPTER SIX provides insight into the effects of atmospheric conditions on the calling behaviour of Amietia quecketti, giving the proximate impact urbanisation has on weather conditions as well as the potential impact human activities can have on climate change on the long term. Calling activity was monitored over a nine-week period together with data from a mobile weather station which logged atmospheric variables every five minutes. Amietia quecketti was found to call most intensely between 00h00 and 03h00 in the morning and was most active in May, June and August. Humidity, temperature and wind velocity were found to have significant effects (P<0.05) on the calling activity of A. quecketti. CHAPTER SEVEN is concerned with the attitudes of people towards frogs in South Africa. The first part of this study assessed the attitudes of people towards frogs in Potchefstroom. Surveys were distributed via the internet as well as manually to reach people with no internet access as well. Attitudes of people of Potchefstroom were mostly positive with more than half of the sampled population of 295 respondents indicating a strong liking in frogs. This study provides evidence that the presence of myths and knowledge can highly affects people’s attitudes towards frogs. The second part of this study focussed on the motivations of volunteers saving Western Leopard Toads from roadkill in Cape Town, South Africa. Volunteers were motivated by a strong value-driven approach to saving toads. CHAPTER EIGHT provides a general discussion and outline on the contributions this study presented and also the new areas where more research is needed within the extent of the field of urban ecology from a South African perspective. / hD (Zoology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Quantifying the impacts of restoration on coastal waterways is crucial to understanding their effectiveness. Here, I look at the impacts of multiple restoration projects on urban waterways within the city limits of New Orleans, LA, with an emphasis on the response of fishes. First I report the effects of two projects designed to improve exchange down estuary on the hydrologic characteristics of Bayou St. John (BSJ). Within BSJ, flow is dominated by subtidal wind driven processes. Removal of an outdated flood control structure did not appear to alter exchange in BSJ, but removal combined with sector gate openings did. I also refined a three dimensional hydrodynamic model of this system to have accurate predictions of velocity and elevation. Temperature and salinity were difficult to constrain with this model. Solutions of this model were used to compare flow metrics, along with linearly interpolated temperature, and other variables to Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) activity and movement patterns. Relationships between Red Drum activity and velocity suggested a response to subtidal, wind driven flow. Overall, high Sedentariness, a measure of inactivity, was found suggesting high levels of site fidelity. Higher mean Sedentariness during the night was also found. I also used a pseudo-BACI design to analyze the fish assemblage response to removal of an outdated flood control structure and the impacts of sector gate openings on fish guild species richness in BSJ. Limited differences were found when comparing fish assemblages before and after removal, but these differences were likely due to a decrease in salinity not restoration efforts. No significant differences in Freshwater or Estuarine fish guild species richness was observed for any of the control or impact sites. Marine fish species richness was found to be higher immediately following sector gate openings at the site closest to the structure, suggesting an initial pulse of young marine organisms is provided via these events. The findings here can be used to optimize management of exchange flow in coastal impounded waterways.

The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Optical Line Scan (OLS) instruments collect data from an altitude of approximately 830km above the surface of the Earth. The night light data from these instruments has been shown to correlate by lit area with national level Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and to correlate with GDP at the State level by total radiance value. Very strong correlation is found between the night light data at a new, larger scale, the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) within the state of Florida. Additional statistical analysis was performed to determine which industries within each MSA explain the greatest amount of variance in the night light data. Industrial variables exhibited strong multi-collinearity. It is therefore impossible to determine which industries explain the greatest variance in the night light image data. / by Dolores Jane Forbes. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:44:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RUY CHAVES BOZZA JUNIOR.pdf: 2029295 bytes, checksum: 0404373bf719fe40153a9c9cbea62744 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-01-30 / This study was accomplished in six urban parks (Flamboyant, Areião, Bosque dos Buritis, Mutirama, Botafogo and Vaca Brava) of Goiânia city, Goiás State. Two questions intend to be answered: i) are the Meliponini community similar in the parks urban sampled? ii) which among the considered environmental variables (two physiochemical: air temperature, air relative humidity of the air; two related to the beehives: type of used substrate and location in the arboreal stratum) influence the Meliponini assemblages? Two samplings were accomplished in each park being one in the low waters period (August 2008) and other in the high waters (November 2008). In each park, they were delimited ten transects of 100x20m, where the visual location of beehives was accomplished, collected the biological material and measured the environmental variables. It was collected 11 species of Meliponini. The most abundant species were Nannotrigona testaceicornis (24% of total abundance), Tetragonisca angustula (21%) and Scaptotrigona postica (19%). The Bosque dos Buritis Park displayed elevated richness values (9) and specific number of species (NEE = 2.4), whereas the Areião and Vaca Brava parks presented the lowest richness and NEE values (1.9 and 1.6, respectively). The analysis of Morisita-Horn indicates that the Meliponini community of the Areião Park are similar to these of the other parks sampled, except Mutirama Park. The result of the co-inertia analysis performed considering the Meliponini community and the substrate was significant (p = 0.007; 99.04% of the total inertia explained). The substrate preferred by Meliponini for the construction of beehives is trees of the Leguminosae and Apocynaceae family. Preference is observed by hollow spaces of trees, as well as for heights < 5 m for internal beehives and between 15 to 20 m for external ones. The natural conditions allied to anthropogenic activities seem to influence the composition and structure of Meliponini community. / Este estudo foi realizado em seis parques urbanos (Flamboyant, Areião, Bosque dos Buritis, Mutirama, Botafogo e Vaca Brava) da cidade de Goiânia, Estado de Goiás. Duas perguntas pretendem ser respondidas: i) as comunidades de Meliponini são semelhantes nos parques urbanos amostrados? ii) quais entre as variáveis ambientais consideradas (duas físico-químicas: temperatura do ar, umidade relativa do ar; duas relacionadas às colméias: tipo de substrato usado e localização no estrato arbóreo) influenciam as comunidades de Meliponini? Duas amostragens foram realizadas em cada parque sendo uma no período da seca (agosto 2008) e outra na chuva (novembro 2008). Em cada parque foram delimitados dez transectos de 100x20m, onde foi realizada a localização visual de colméias, coletado o material biológico e medida as variáveis ambientais. Foram coletadas 11 espécies de Meliponini. As espécies mais abundantes foram Nannotrigona testaceicornis (24% de abundância total), Tetragonisca angustula (21%) e Scaptotrigona postica (19%). O Parque Bosque dos Buritis exibiu valores elevados de riqueza (9) e número efetivo de espécies (NEE = 2,4), enquanto que os parques Areião e Vaca Brava apresentaram os mais baixos valores de riqueza e NEE (1,9 e 1,6, respectivamente). A análise de Morisita-Horn indica que as comunidades de Meliponini do parque Areião são semelhantes aos outros parques amostrados, exceto o parque Mutirama. O resultado da análise de co-inercia executado, considerando a comunidade de Meliponini e o substrato, foi significativo (p = 0.007, explicaram 99,04% da inércia total). O substrato preferido por Meliponini para a construção de colméias são árvores da família Leguminosae e Apocynaceae. Preferência é observada por ocos em árvores, como também para alturas entre 0 a 5 m para colméias internas e 15 a 20 m para externas. As condições naturais aliadas a atividades antrópicas parecem influenciar a composição e estrutura das comunidades de Meliponini.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:44:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARISA COSTA AMARAL.pdf: 773961 bytes, checksum: dfcabdded4e00e37b5bc9623c3cabcfc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-02-27 / The occupation of land by the urban population has caused a reduction in vegetation cover. This expansion affects that are particularly fertile soil and rich, especially in Areas of Permanent Preservation (APPs). The relevance of the issues of population and sustainable cities is vital to the process of urban planning and environmental. The Brazilian environmental law demonstrates standards and criteria with regard to occupation of environmentally protected areas within the city. However, these laws are not being met regularly by states and municipalities, especially with regard to protection of water sources and water resources. This Dissertation aims to show the environmental problems in such areas as a result of irregular occupation of land that should be closely monitored by governmental agencies. The city can regulate activities that affect the community of its territory. The power of control of municipal buildings stems from the Federal Constitution, with grants power to direct city to promote the development of their territory to plan, monitor and the partial occupation of urban land. As a public policies in the area of environmental management, are the instruments of political control and, in addition to urban ecology involving the interaction between society and its landscape. This integration should coexist in interdisciplinary to be more sustainable. To plan a city, there must be an understanding of the relationships between citizens, agents regulators, government officials and entrepreneurs. / A ocupação do solo pela população urbana ocasiona redução na cobertura vegetal. Essa expansão afeta sobremaneira solos que são férteis e ricos, principalmente em Áreas de Preservação Permanente (APPs). A relevância dos aspectos demográficos e de cidades sustentáveis é primordial para o processo de planejamento urbano e ambiental. A legislação ambiental brasileira demonstra normas e critérios com relação a ocupação de áreas ambientalmente protegidas no âmbito das cidades. No entanto, essas leis não estão sendo cumpridas regularmente pelos Estados e Municípios, principalmente no que diz respeito à proteção dos mananciais e recursos hídricos. A presente Dissertação procura demonstrar os agravos ambientais nessas áreas em decorrência da ocupação irregular do solo, as quais deveriam ser rigorosamente fiscalizadas pelo Poder Público. O Município pode regulamentar as atividades que afetam a coletividade de seu território. O poder municipal de controle das edificações decorre da Constituição Federal de 1988, que outorga competência direta ao Município para promover o ordenamento de seu território, para planejar, controlar e parcelar a ocupação do solo urbano. Como solução para elaboração de políticas públicas na área de gestão ambiental, surgem os instrumentos de política e controle, além da ecologia urbana que envolve a interação entre a sociedade e sua paisagem. Essa integração deve coexistir de forma interdisciplinar para ser mais sustentável. Para se planejar uma cidade, deve existir uma compreensão das relações entre cidadãos, agentes reguladores, governantes e empreendedores.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-12-15T11:38:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Thiago Machado Balbi.pdf: 7418099 bytes, checksum: a529379db9c3e6816181f5f00a08ea8e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-12-15T11:38:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Thiago Machado Balbi.pdf: 7418099 bytes, checksum: a529379db9c3e6816181f5f00a08ea8e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-06 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / The so-called residual spaces are the “voids” and “leftovers” of buildings that the cities accumulate as a result of their continuous process of construction and reconstruction. They usually are spatialities without any pre-established use and, therefore, inconvenient and hard to solve. On the other hand, they are constantly appropriated by users, once they configure “available” for a multitude of other uses that can unexpectedly arise in the everyday-life. This contingency inherent to the residual spaces is the horizon of the present research, which proposes a revision in the meaning of this expression. Assuming that the cities places are, like any other artifact, used, reused, and unused, the hypothesis is that any place can be endowed with some “residuality”; in other words, “voids” and “leftovers” do not only characterize the residues of buildings, but variables that destabilize the functional determinations of their uses. The question focuses on how these possible uses – spontaneous and unexpected – make up the “communicational ecology” that weaves relations between the city-user and the cities places; and then, being able to reveal alternatives to a more “lively” city daily, enriched by symbiotics interactions, or a “dead” city daily, parasitized by a merely transmissive communication and, often, coercive. This thesis begins with a reflection about the residue as a link between nature and culture, in order to find manifestations of the “residuality” in the cities places. For the empirical research, a methodological strategy was elaborated combining the experimental practices of the Situationist International and Carlo Ginzburg’s Evidential Paradigm. By mean of this strategy, some places, not all apparently residual spaces, were analyzed. As a theoretical and epistemological foundation, the research is based on authors whose works makes possible to think about “residuality” as a link between nature and culture; such as Vilém Flusser, Michel Serres, Milton Santos, Lucrecia Ferrara, Giorgio Agamben, Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guattari, Gilbert Simondon, among others / São chamados espaços residuais os “vazios” e as “sobras” de edificações que se acumulam pela cidade como resultado do seu contínuo processo de construção e reconstrução. São, normalmente, espacialidades sem uso preestabelecido e, por esse motivo, são inconvenientes e difíceis de solucionar. Por outro lado, são constantemente apropriados por usuários, uma vez que configuram “disponíveis” para uma infinidade de outros usos que podem surgir na imprevisibilidade do cotidiano. Essa contingência inerente aos espaços residuais é o horizonte de investigação da presente pesquisa, que, no entanto, propõe uma revisão no sentido dessa expressão. Partindo do princípio que, os lugares da cidade são, como qualquer artefato, usados, reusados e desusados, é levantada a hipótese de que qualquer lugar pode ser dotado de “residualidade”; isto é, os “vazios” e as “sobras” não caracterizam apenas os resíduos das edificações, mas são variáveis que desestabilizam as determinações funcionais dos seus usos. A questão se concentra em saber como esses usos possíveis – espontâneos e imprevistos – compõem a “ecologia comunicacional” que tece as relações entre o usuário e os lugares da cidade; podendo tanto revelar alternativas para um cotidiano citadino mais “vivo”, enriquecido por interações simbiotas, quanto mais “morto”, parasitado por uma comunicação meramente transmissiva e, não raro, coerciva. Parte-se de uma reflexão acerca do papel dos resíduos como elo entre natureza e cultura, a fim de encontrar as manifestações da “residualidade” nos lugares da cidade. Para a pesquisa empírica, foi elaborada uma estratégia metodológica que une as práticas experimentais da Internacional Situacionista e o paradigma indiciário de Carlo Ginzburg. Por meio dessa estratégia, alguns lugares, nem todos aparentemente espaços residuais, foram analisados. Como fundamentação teórica e epistemológica, a pesquisa se baseia em autores cujo pensamento possibilita pensar a residualidade como elo entre natureza e cultura, como Vilém Flusser, Michel Serres, Milton Santos, Lucrécia Ferrara, Giorgio Agamben, Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guattari, Gilbert Simondon, entre outros

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 250-274).

published_or_final_version / Urban Design / Master / Master of Urban Design

Winnipeg is a spatially, culturally, psychologically and visually fragmented city, particularly due to the vehicular-oriented growth which has engendered segmented land-use, dismantled walkable networks and provoked disconnection between culture and nature as well as within nature itself. In particular, the displacement of daily life from the complex web of interrelationships in ecosystems, which are essentially the mechanisms supporting our existence, should be the primary concern of urban design. In order to resolve this critical issue, this practicum will isolate and examine a problematic site while deconstructing fragmentation into specific causes, namely pollution, habitat degradation, placelessness and lack of urban ecological education. Concluding that this condition is ultimately created by our own fragmented thinking, the production of pragmatic solutions which continually evoke further fragmentation, I present a series of solutions to these challenges in the form of a landscape architectural design proposal for the City of Winnipeg.