<p>This research and methodology develop a set of statistical measurements to evaluate sustainability &mdash; in terms of desired high urban density, walkability for community amenity and convenience for everyday life &mdash; at the level of urban design for the cities of Chicago, USA and Taipei, Taiwan. The method, based upon GIS (Geographical Information System) technology, is used at this spatial level and for this type of academic study for the first time. The research analyzes and compares the percentage of each city's population living within the "Quarter Mile Radius Sphere of Influence" (QMSI) for three classes of community amenities: parks, public elementary schools, and subway stations. The new and unique statistical data obtained in this thesis show a great disparity between the two cities. </p><p> 1. Chicago has 31.98% of its population living within the QMSI of public elementary schools. Taipei has 49.64% of its population living within the QMSI of public elementary schools. </p><p> 2. For subway stations, Chicago has only 8.09% of its population living in the QMSI, while Taipei has 25.99%. </p><p> 3. For urban parks, Chicago has 44.06% of its population living in the QMSI, while Taipei has 88.80%. </p><p> Further, based upon comparison, this research also discovers that the "sweet spot" areas &mdash; intersection of the QMSIs of all three community amenities &mdash; are mostly distributed along subway lines. With this indication, the research visualizes and supports the objective of improved public transit and walkability as key factors for sustainability in urban design in this case. The research also demonstrates the usefulness of GIS technology's new application in urban design studies for the future. The research shows that this new method has applicability for academic studies in other urban contexts, and for future international urban design and planning. </p>

<p> Older adults are particularly vulnerable to poorly designed environments. The built environment and its perceptions can potentially support or discourage this growing cohort to engage in outdoor activities. Municipalities can uniquely promote physical activity for this targeted population through their planning and design processes. This research explored neighborhood perceptions of older adults and how differing perceptions influence their decision to walk. The results confirm that neighborhood perceptions vary across participants. Older adults from rural, suburban, and urban communities report significantly different perceptions. Perceptions also vary by socio-demographic characteristics. While walking activity does not significantly differ across neighborhood types, some environmental perceptions are associated with specific walking behaviors. These relationships also vary by neighborhood type and socio-demographic variables. Interviews with older women confirm the presence of physical, personal, social, and temporal barriers and motivators to walking. The focus on environmental perceptions in this research offers policy makers, urban planners, engineers, public works officials, and public health providers with findings and recommendations that specifically address walking in older adults, a growing population uniquely affected by the environment.</p>

<p> This research is a case study analysis of Downtown Project, a corporate-led redevelopment endeavor currently taking place in downtown Las Vegas. Through private money and public partnerships, Internet retailer Zappos has relocated its headquarters to a neighborhood previously characterized by economic instability, and is actively constructing a concentrated "creative class" community of tech startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses. By examining Downtown Project, this research seeks to analyze the ways in which corporate-led redevelopment plays a powerful role in the local growth machine, asking who benefits, at what potential costs, and whose interests are served in downtown redevelopment projects. This research situates Downtown Project within the current economic context of Las Vegas, one of the cities hit the hardest by the recession and foreclosure crisis, in addition to placing this endeavor within the historical context of Las Vegas development and the city's "tradition of invention." This research also provides analysis of how this particular development is both similar to and different from other notable U.S. examples of corporate-led redevelopment. This case study draws from physical observations, maps, media coverage, census tract information, financial records, and a series of interviews in order to critically examine the key players and prominent narratives of this ambitious attempt at community building, and ask questions about the social justice and equitable development aspects of such a project.</p>

<p> Given the exponentially complex set of urban governance processes that are implicated when issues such as economic redevelopment, transportation, and jobs are concerned, it is misleading to believe that local actors immediately recognize and are able to articulate their interests with respect to these processes. My "actors" are "hybrid" progressive-issue social movement organizations (SMOs) that consciously attempt to bridge both cognitive and material divides among diverse coalition members from union, community, faith-based and service-based organizations. This study focuses on how ideas reduce uncertainty, act as coalition-building resources, empower agents to contest existing institutions, act as resources of new institutions and finally coordinate agents' expectations, thereby reproducing institutional stability. I examine how these SMOs are reshaping ideas, interests and institutions on the urban scale in efforts to reclaim and recast the responsibility and role of local institutions in mitigating the effects of global capital. The re-emergence of interest in organizations in urban sociology is being driven in no small part by the rise in sophistication of non-profit actors (e.g., think tanks, community-based organizations, advocacy organizations) and of the strategies and tactics used to influence political and policy issues, as well as the proliferation of institutional "access points" as Allard correctly points out on the state and local levels. </p><p> The hybrid progressive organizations that I examine are products of the structuration process that has been ongoing for decades, whereby conservative-oriented policy and advocacy organizations have been dominant on the state level, consistently producing a policy climate not only conducive to investment and business outcomes, but also aggressively pursuing an anti-union, slashing social-services strategy as part of a particular vision of what it means to create a "business friendly" regulatory environment in a state. Therefore, I have also identified three other factors that appear in tandem with progressive, hybrid organizations based on the state or regional level: 1) networked leadership development, 2) resource coordination and 3) deliberate state/regional-level strategies around coalition building, legislative advocacy and leadership development. </p>

<p> The research literature describes a positive relationship between seeing plants and human well-being. More rapid recovery from surgery, reduced incidence of neighborhood crime, increased baby birth weight and increased trust of neighborhood merchants are among the benefits attributed to exposure to trees and shrubs. This thesis attempts to find a common explanation for these outcomes. It examines the connection between urban trees and community stress. Each of the above outcomes can be attributed, in part, to stress reduction. The literature indicates that stress reduction is one of the consequences of exposure to plants. Stress levels were measured at the block level in Wilmington Delaware by means of a survey mailed to 1982 residents. Physical conditions were catalogued using an on-site inventory. The survey and inventory demonstrated that the total number of trees on a block has a strong negative relationship with community stress and a positive relationship with self-reported health. The results suggest that moderation of stress is one of the factors that underlies the beneficial consequences of exposure to green vegetation on inner city blocks. This research should prove useful to city planners and urban residents alike. </p>

<p> Pristine landscapes are decreasing throughout the world, and many of Earth's species can no longer survive exclusively in the remaining small and isolated reserves. At the same time, urban landscapes are increasing, and can serve as potential habitat for many wildlife species. Amphibians are facing striking global declines and are particularly impacted by urban development as they often reside in areas attractive for human settlements such as flat, productive lowland areas with abundant fresh water. My dissertation aims to increase understanding of amphibian use of these landscapes and how management and planning can adapt to benefit their persistence. I conducted observational studies of amphibians and associated habitat features in two very difference landscapes and constructed experimental ponds to examine relationships between a native frog, a common pollutant, and common urban wetland plants. One observational study was in Portland, Oregon where formerly abundant wetlands have been destroyed and altered while many have also been restored or created. The other was throughout the relatively understudied urban and agricultural centers of Vietnam where biodiversity and human population growth are high. In both Portland and Vietnam I found that most regionally occurring native amphibians were breeding within city landscapes and in human-constructed water bodies. A common pollutant, nitrate, was strongly negatively associated with amphibians in Portland. In a mesocosm experiment I found that correlated contaminants are likely driving the pattern. In both Portland and Vietnam, presence of aquatic vegetation and amount of surrounding upland habitat were highly influential for native amphibians. Aquatic vegetation can take many forms, and in urban areas is often dominated by introduced species. I conducted experimental ponds studies to examine the relationship between a native frog and common native and introduced aquatic plant species. I found that the frog preferred and performed better in introduced reed canary grass than any other plants offered. This demonstrates that introduced plants are not universally detrimental to native wildlife species, and that management of these plants should consider the potential negative effects of control actions, especially in urban areas where restoration to a former pristine state is unlikely. Urban areas do not have to be devoid of diverse native amphibian communities, and instead should be viewed as potential habitat for conservation and environmental education. Amphibian use of human-constructed ponds, potted ornamental plants, and introduced reed canary grass demonstrates the adaptability of many species and the need for an integrated view of conservation that includes non-pristine areas. Using the information from this dissertation, city planners and managers can maintain and improve human-dominated landscapes to benefit native amphibians and promote their continued coexistence with humans in these areas.</p>

Community gardens have been shown to have positive social, nutritional and educational benefits for their users, and improve the amenity, safety and patronage of the surrounding area. They also tie into wider themes of sustainability and food security. Despite these benefits, urban planners, as the keepers of land and determiners of land use, have had little to do with community gardens. This thesis will explain the benefits of community gardens, and detail planning policies throughout the world that support community gardens. Lastly, recommendations will be made on how the South Australian planning system can better support community gardens. / Honours Thesis

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.