Through the historical analysis of a public housing project built in Greenbelt, Maryland in 1937, this dissertation investigates how federal housing policies attempted to impose middle-class gender roles and relations on members of the working-class as a central means to alleviate class tensions heightened during the Great Depression. Informed by recent developments in Women's History and the Social History of Architecture, this project examines how attempts to rehabilitate working-class families and communities necessitated removing them from cities and imposing paradigmatic gender norms. A new form of housing and town-planning became a critical means to achieve these ends. This federal housing project in Greenbelt has long been celebrated as the first successful example of federal support for progressive urban planning. The planners of Greenbelt drew from existing progressive ideologies that understood decentralized communities, or suburbs, as the answer to the decay and squalor of urban centers. Viewing Greenbelt solely in terms of its progressive legacy is limiting, however, unless that legacy is investigated using class, race, and gender analysis. With the planning, design, and administration of the new community in Greenbelt, New Deal planners envisioned a new form of architecture, town-planning and administration that would provide a social and physical environment conducive to the formation of viable, stable, working-class families. These planners assumed that if working-class residents adopted the gender relations that were normative in the middle-class, long term problems of poverty and social disorder would disappear. The built environment of Greenbelt, contemporary photographs, and federal administrative records provide significant evidence to study the relationship between "class rehabilitation" and gender norms. This project offers a new approach to understanding the New Deal housing policies and the construction of a domestic ideal.

This dissertation examines the spatial and public health dimensions of class relationships, social control, and state power in Mexico City during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It focuses specifically on the process of urban planning and public works that the Bourbon state undertook during the late colonial period, and considers the variety of reasons and justifications given for the projects themselves. City leaders pointed to the environmental and health benefits that would go along with improved sanitation, new drainage systems and paving of city streets, the expansion of the public water supply, the renovation of city markets, and new bathhouse regulations. Elites, however, viewed these improvements as a way to gain leverage over the plebeian classes. Elites viewed the urban poor as the root of many of the environmental problems the viceregal capital faced, and considered common practices among the popular classes, such as the indiscriminate dumping of garbage and waste, defecating and urinating in public, loitering, washing clothes and other personal items in public fountains, and public nudity as a threat to civic order and safety. Elites feared that this type of activity would also transgress into other types of disorder, namely criminal activity. These behaviors also represented to elites the uncivilized nature of the urban masses, challenging the cultural norms upon which elites based their social superiority. This "polluting" behavior also reflected badly on the state, illustrating their lack of political control over city residents, and undermining its legitimacy. In the end, the programs instituted did little to alleviate many of the environmental problems of Mexico City: the scope of programs was limited, focusing on the city center at the expense of the surrounding poorer barrios where improvements were most needed; enforcement of legislation passed to change many plebeian habits was lackluster at best; and funding for the projects was clearly insufficient.

Forty-seven sites along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon National Park were presented to observers at the University of Arizona in one of four different presentation methodologies. The representational validity of the presentation methods for quantification of scenic beauty of locations was assessed by means of comparison among the presentation conditions. Results indicate that in heterogeneous landscapes, such as the Grand Canyon, independent ratings of individual photographs from a common location can not simply be averaged to find the overall rating of the location as a whole. In addition, when assessing the scenic beauty of locations that are constrained by a linear feature (Colorado River), the order of presentation is an important variable to consider in conjunction with the mode of presentation.

Colonia Solana neighborhood in Tucson, Arizona was designed in 1928 by landscape architect Stephen Child. The use of native plants and topography as the basis for the site plan was unusual in 1928, and also has applicability today as the basis for an ecologically sound, self-sustaining landscape. Factors influencing Tucson's early development were examined as the background of this subdivision. Thus Colonia Solana neighborhood, the last work known to have been designed by Child prior to his death in 1936, became the starting point for inqueries into the life and other works of the landscape architect. It was discovered that Stephen Child (1866-1936) was not only a landscape architect, and one of the early advocates for the use of native plants; he was also a charter member of the American City Planning Institute in 1917. His works in Boston, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and Tucson were documented.

Of the many aspects which influence Third World urban systems, the historical role of large metropolitan areas as the centers of political and economic power is particularly important. In this detailed study of the evolution and development of Peru's urban system, the complex interactions among social, economic, historical, and political forces will be demonstrated as they affect urban primacy. In spite of the considerable growth of secondary cities in Peru since 1940, Lima remains the dominant city in the urban hierarchy of Peru. Nevertheless, the data presented here indicates that urban primacy in Peru peaked in 1961 and has declined since then. Although it still exists, the pattern of primacy in Peru is currently less conspicuous than in previous years. The growth of population and the expansion of economic activities in coastal cities have been particularly important in building a more balanced urban system in Peru.

There is increasing popularity for greenway projects that utilize stream and river corridors. Benefits encompass many social and environmental values. Although these corridors can accommodate multiple uses, conflicts can occur. Public education may be used to manage these conflicts. Greenway education programs are common, but the role that these programs play is not often well defined. This thesis investigates what role public environmental education is playing in greenway projects today. There are many excellent greenway education programs with good public support. Many elements of these programs are very successful, while other elements need further research and refinement. The success of today's programs are an encouraging indication of the even greater potential of future programs.

This thesis is an examination of National Recreation Areas managed by the National Park Service, the Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. It is exploratory in nature and seeks to illustrate their history, how well they are working today, and prospects for the decade of the 1990's. Included is information about the history, benefits, and trends of federal provision of outdoor recreation opportunities. Also included is a section on planning theory and conceptual frameworks--the concept of Multiple-Use, and the theory of Transactive Planning, as developed by John Friedmann. Managers of thirty-six of thirty-seven existing national recreation areas were interviewed by telephone concerning area attributes, the designation process, public support, enabling legislation, impacts of designation, and management mechanisms. A second research effort consisted of the creation of a computer database that serves as an index to the enabling legislation of all thirty-seven areas.

Recently, sustainable development has been presented as a revision to neoliberalism by emphasizing not just economic factors, but also social and environmental concerns. This revision also maintains the value of promoting negotiation with communities that stand to be affected by initiatives. Yet, given criticisms of current policy, what is the role of non-state actors such as NGOs and local communities in shaping development? This question will be addressed by discussing a current integration project in Central America and Mexico called the Plan Puebla Panama (PPP). Although based on sustainable development, the PPP is criticized on social and environmental grounds and for little public information. By applying Long's actor model to political ecology, I argue that although the development promoted by international institutions has fallen short, civil society has shaped current policy. Moreover, I assert participation and negotiation from civil society is essential in encouraging more equitable and sustainable development.

This study evaluated the success of recently revegetated roadsides in Tucson, Arizona. The primary objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate a sample of revegetated roadsides by assessing site condition and comparing existing vegetation to the original seed mix; and (2) develop recommendations for appropriate revegetation practices for use in Tucson. Density data were collected at 20 locations using belt transects to derive species information such as origin, vegetative life-form, and invasiveness. Results indicated that the study sites had greater proportions of plant material not specified in the original construction documents than specified plant material. Of the specified species, creosote bush, desert senna, and triangle-leaf bursage had the highest rates of establishment while brittlebush, globemallow, shrubby buckwheat, and fourwing saltbush provided the most vegetative cover. Several non-specified species exhibited successful establishment on many study sites, while some species rarely or never appeared in the study area despite frequent specification.

<p> As cities grew throughout the past century, the availability of locally grown food declined, mostly because urban expansion occurred at the expense of adjacent agricultural land. As a result, city dwellers turned to commercial food market systems that import food from distant production areas. Private greenspace, which is one of the largest land cover types in cities, offers the potential for substantial agricultural production. Because urban food production on private land, such as backyards, requires the willing participation of landowners, resident&rsquo;s feelings about and experience with food growing are important to understand.</p><p> This study examined the demographic differences between food growers and non-food growers with respect to their attitudes and perspectives about backyard food growing. The positive associations, the problems and barriers residents encountered, and the resources they needed to begin food gardening, were identified through questionnaires and in-depth interviews administered to study participants in Palm Beach County, Florida, U.S.A. The demographic groups that were most likely to food garden were those in long-term relationships, higher income brackets, those with college education and residents over 50 years old. Incentives and programs focused on producing more from existing gardens may be most appropriate for people in these demographic groups, while other groups will most require basic food growing information. Study participants highly valued intangible benefits of food gardening (e.g., relaxation, feelings of happiness and satisfaction), often more than the provision of food. Most barriers and problems with backyard food growing, such as a lack of space and the need for gardening information, were similar for those who food garden and those who do not.</p><p> Results from this study indicate that traditional agricultural incentives and perspectives must be rethought if they are to be applied in urban settings. The practice of backyard food gardening, which can be a significant part of sustainable urban agriculture, must be viewed and valued beyond the framework of market commodities and economics. By creating incentives and initiatives that reflect the needs and challenges faced by urban growers, urban agriculture will become an integrated part of the community, improving food quantity and quality while enriching residents&rsquo; lives.</p>