<p> As the concept of sustainability gains prominence in the U.S., municipal governments have begun adopting official sustainability plans to outline their goals for a sustainable future. However, with an absence of national guidelines or a streamlined definition of sustainability, these plans contain infinitely diverse goals, policies and motivations. One aspect of sustainability which has a diverse array of benefits and challenges is urban green space. This research uses content analysis and coding of municipal sustainability plans to gain insight into how U.S. cities conceptualize urban green space in the forms of parks, tree canopy and urban gardens and in the greater context of sustainability. This thesis specifically looks at the creation of municipal sustainability plans, how cities organize green space, how cities value green spaces, the kinds of green space goals and benchmarks that cities set, and the inclusion of equity in the realm of green spaces. The 20 case study cities have shown green spaces are an important component of sustainability planning and are conceptualized and included in varying and unique ways. The way a plan is created, the people involved or excluded from the plan creation process and the agreements or groups that cities join can impact how cities envision sustainability and how they conceptualize green space within the plan. The concepts of sustainability and green space appear to be best articulated and operationalized in the context of many voices, viewpoints and opinions. In the categorization of green space, this research found that only a few cities had headings specific to green space, but instead associated it primarily with other aspects of the natural environment. This research also found that the language used to describe green space is broad and varied. Standardization or concrete definitions of these terms may make plans more accessible. Cities discussed environmental, economic and social benefits of green spaces in their plans. Overall, cities valued environmental benefits the most and the majority of benefits identified in the plans are anthropocentric in nature. Some of the best practice green space goals identified within the plans were the inclusion of green corridors, native vegetation, increasing the tree canopy, changing zoning codes to include urban agriculture and goals related to equity and access. Overall, both the goal setting and measurement processes of urban green space serve as beneficial ways for cities to achieve their broader sustainability goals. However, these goals cannot be fully realized when their distribution and access are unequal across the city and when decisions are made without the input of local residents. This research found that there is a gulf between equity being mentioned in a plan, and the depth to which it is explored in the context of green space, leaving room for cities to improve their incorporation of equity in their planning for green spaces. This research has shown that cities conceptualize green spaces in a variety of ways and while there are several successes, there is also a lot of room for improvement in both green space planning and sustainability planning.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-02, Section: B, page: 0864. Adviser: Robert A. Herendeen. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 136-145) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: A, page: 4888. Adviser: Geoffrey D. J. Hewings. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-111) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thèses (Ph.D.)--Université de Sherbrooke (Canada) and Université Louis Pasteur (Strasbourg I) (France), 2005. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 1 février 2007). In ProQuest dissertations and theses. Publié aussi en version papier.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Lewis D. Hopkins. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-202) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: A, page: 2779. Adviser: Geoffrey J. D. Hewings. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 175-182) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

This thesis examines the influence of municipal policy visioning initiatives on the transformation of industrial cities into cybercities. The emergence of the cybercity is mapped, and the role of municipal policy visioning initiatives in its development is examined. Two fields guide this research: communication and urban studies. The cybercity concept draws on both fields, and both are necessary to answer the research questions posed: How do municipal policy visioning initiatives influence a city's transformation into a cybercity? Montreal is used as a case study, and document analysis forms the core of the research strategy. Industry profile reports, government statistics and official organization websites provide supporting evidence. The policy visioning document examined supports the development of Montreal as a cybercity only where that development coincides with the city's development as a creative city. Improvements to future municipal policy depend on the inclusion of specific benchmarks that enable the effectiveness of policies to be measured.

Much has been written on postwar suburbs in North America, and their impact on society. What are missing are histories of the housing that exists within these suburbs, and how both the idea behind suburbs, and the realities of the time, had an impact on the design of such housing. For this work, Bramalea, Ontario, was chosen as a case study location to begin exploring suburban housing design. Begun in 1958, Bramalea was unique in that it was designed as Canada's first suburban satellite city, which meant it was planned as a self-sufficient community. Houses in Bramalea were a product of both their location, but also of outside influences. Economic conditions, technological advances, and design trends, all influenced the history and evolution of suburban housing. Popular culture and the changing ideas about the nature of suburbs also played an important role in the houses that were built in Bramalea.

An initial analysis into the present problems which will affect the future growth of the Western Cape resulted in the conclusion that the situation of the Coloured population is the factor most urgently requiring positive planning resolutions. Understanding the area's problems leads one to conclude that the main thrusts must be directed towards increased opportunities for the residents to fulfil their potential, and towards a greater involvement in the decisions made about their future. The arrangement of the thesis was thus developed around the three interrelated notions of administrative structure, human resources and social development, physical and economic resources. An unbound 'process diagram’ is provided in the back cover to facilitate an understanding of the sequence adopted. The administrative and planning activities of various local authorities, particularly the Cape Town City Council, were investigated with respect to the relationship between their actions and the causes of problems on the Flats. The complexity of social problems necessitated a consideration of the concept and the theory of social development. This was defined as the process whereby the individual and/or group is enabled to increasingly participate in and contribute to the growing flow of social transactions over time. By adopting Social Development as the goal for the Cape Flats and developing objectives for its six primary subsystems (housing, education, employment, recreation, community and civic), the subsequent form of the thesis was established.

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