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Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Claude A. Keithley / With the economic growth in the last three decades, tourism is becoming bigger business than ever before in China. One of the most popular tourism destinations in China is ancient towns. While the tourism industry encourages economic growth in ancient towns, it brings negative side-effects as well. The purpose of this report is to detect the economic and social sustainability of the tourism industry in Chinese ancient towns, taking Lijiang, Yunnan Province as an example. The report also provides responsive suggestions for the tourism industry in Lijiang in the end. To measure the sustainability of tourism in Lijiang, the report employs a total of 33 indicators in social, cultural, economic and political dimensions and a five-point evaluation system to convert different indicators into a relatively consistent measurable scale. The outcome of the analysis indicates that: 1) tourism in Lijiang is unsustainable in social dimension because of the paramount pressure on land use and the traditional life style caused by overhaul tourist population poured into Lijiang in recent years; 2) tourism in Lijiang has generally played a positive role in local culture’s preservation; 3) the fast-growing economy brought by tourism in Lijiang is potentially unsustainable because of the imbalanced benefit distributions; 4) tourism in Lijiang is almost totally government-oriented and lacks a certain opportunities for public participation. The findings in each aspect of the tourism industry in Lijiang help decision makers understand both strengths and weaknesses of tourism in Lijiang better to make responsive policies and strategies to ensure a more sustainable future.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Architecture / Jason Brody / This report examines the use of bicycling as a transportation alternative to the personal automobile in the United States. It begins with a review of historical trends that caused Americans to move away from bicycling for transportation and choosing to adopt automobiles as the primary mode of transportation. A review of articles, reports, and studies is used to consider the benefits connected with utilitarian cycling and electing to bicycle for transportation. The report focuses on three prominent barriers that affect an individual‟s decision to bicycle: bicycle safety, bicycle consciousness, and bicycle infrastructure. The study discusses how these three obstacles are considerable factors affecting bicycling. The study also discusses a number of exemplary solutions for overcoming these barriers that have been implemented in bicycle-friendly cities in the United States. An analysis of plans and policies for the bicycle-friendly cities of Portland, Oregon and Davis, California is used to determine what historical actions have led to a more complete bicycle network in these two cities which have elected to promote bicycling. An in-depth evaluation of Boulder, Colorado, provides insight for specific plans that have been adopted and strategies that have proven to be successful in improving bicycling for transportation. The report attempts to demonstrate that bicycling can be made a viable means of transportation in United States‟ communities by adopting comprehensive plans and policies that address the challenges of bicycle safety, bicycle consciousness, and bicycle infrastructure simultaneously.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / John W. Keller / In the 2009-2010 academic year at the Kansas City Design Center, four students undertook a design project seeking to transform an underutilized traffic median into a usable urban public space. The space, known as “Triangle Park,” is located at Avenida Cesar E. Chavez (West 23rd Street), West Pennsylvania Avenue, and Southwest Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri. This report describes the existing site conditions and challenges to creating an inviting public space. The report explains how the students arrived at the finalized design using precedent studies, multiple design iterations, and community input from the Westside and Crossroads neighborhood stakeholders. The finalized design focuses on providing connectivity between people, the site, and the city as a whole. Opportunities for connection are offered by improved pedestrian circulation and a comfortable, well-defined outdoor space. Three major structural interventions are proposed: an illuminated overhead canopy beneath the Interstate-35 overpass provides shelter for pedestrians; a raised walking path enhances an already prominent pedestrian route; and a wooden deck provides opportunities for sitting and lingering. The ability of the design to meet the community’s stated needs and to serve as a social public space is evaluated to determine the likelihood of positive and worthwhile project outcomes.

Space is different from place, as space becomes place when endowed with meaning and values. Space is therefore not a neutral backdrop for people’s lives, but intertwined with their daily lives. Before attempting to create place, the particular space first has to be understood. Place-making (transformation from space to place) refers to the empowering process during which inhabitants of a setting tend to represent, renovate and upgrade their physical surroundings. This process includes the views and opinions of direct site users in terms of decision-making. This participatory process relates to an open, accountable process during which individuals and groups can exchange views and influence decision-making processes. In previous bureaucratic, top-down planning practices (‘Blueprint’ planning theory) the involvement of participants within decision making was limited. Therefore, a communicative turn towards a ‘bottom-up’ process was needed, including affected role-players by communicating and negotiating any developmental decisions. Planning is an important change agent in addressing social and economic inequality by means of inclusive planning processes, especially in South Africa with its recent transition to democracy and post-apartheid reconstruction aims. There is currently an emphasis on the need to examine particular ways in which practices of participation in development play out in concrete situations. Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a research method that proactively aims to develop equal distribution of power in terms of decision making by embracing values such as empowerment, social justice and equity, collaborative relationships, mutual learning and respect towards diverse opinions. Constant reflection and self-reflection within a participatory informed study is used to benefit the decision making process to create change. Change implies the promotion of the physical and positive social transformation. This research describes how PAR is used as a method in the place-making process to create change in a community that had previously been subjected to forced removals. The research context includes an existing open space (previously utilised as a dumping site) in Ikageng, Potchefstroom, South Africa, and surrounding land owners who interact with the site daily. A qualitative research approach was appropriate in this case as the research was carried out in a natural context where no extraneous influences occur and the research focused on obtaining in-depth understanding of a process rather than focusing on presenting evidence in quantifiable terms. While the planning procedure followed included numerous phases - Focus group 1, Focus group 2, Collaborative Design Workshop and Focus group3 (see Annexure B for Focus group questions) - the primary aim of this dissertation is to explore the process of place-making in planning by using PAR. Secondary aims include: (i) the understanding of the concept of place-making, (ii) giving an overview of theoretical paradigms in planning, (iii) to develop guidelines for using PAR in a planning process, and (iv) to develop planning guidelines for the process of place-making. Findings reveal that experienced change can be described as threefold. Levels of change included: (i) the physical level (Transforming the space physically (beautification and upgrade)), (ii) the social level (Transforming the community socially), and (iii) the psychological level (Transforming the community psychologically). During the experiencing of change, PAR values were unlocked progressively by the place-making process, which included empowerment, collaborative relationships and mutual learning. In later stages of the research, the PAR values of respect towards diversity and social justice and equity were revealed. Based on the above, the study offers planning recommendations by means of the development of guidelines for a place-making process. These guidelines (as informed by PAR), refer to (i) Phase 1 - Gaining community entrance, (ii) Phase 2 - Conceptualising the space, (iii) Phase 3 - Establishing partnerships, (iv) Phase 4 - Transforming space to place, (v) Phase 5 - Implementation and, (vi) Phase 6 - Monitoring/Reflection. When following these recommended guidelines with regard to a place-making process, research challenges should be taken into consideration. These challenges relate to the time-consuming nature of place-making, as well as the necessary flexibility regarding the context of the research. Furthermore, financial resources should be seen as important when attempting to transform space into place. Therefore, these planning recommendations should be seen as a guideline and not a fixed master-plan. / MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Space is different from place, as space becomes place when endowed with meaning and values. Space is therefore not a neutral backdrop for people’s lives, but intertwined with their daily lives. Before attempting to create place, the particular space first has to be understood. Place-making (transformation from space to place) refers to the empowering process during which inhabitants of a setting tend to represent, renovate and upgrade their physical surroundings. This process includes the views and opinions of direct site users in terms of decision-making. This participatory process relates to an open, accountable process during which individuals and groups can exchange views and influence decision-making processes. In previous bureaucratic, top-down planning practices (‘Blueprint’ planning theory) the involvement of participants within decision making was limited. Therefore, a communicative turn towards a ‘bottom-up’ process was needed, including affected role-players by communicating and negotiating any developmental decisions. Planning is an important change agent in addressing social and economic inequality by means of inclusive planning processes, especially in South Africa with its recent transition to democracy and post-apartheid reconstruction aims. There is currently an emphasis on the need to examine particular ways in which practices of participation in development play out in concrete situations. Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a research method that proactively aims to develop equal distribution of power in terms of decision making by embracing values such as empowerment, social justice and equity, collaborative relationships, mutual learning and respect towards diverse opinions. Constant reflection and self-reflection within a participatory informed study is used to benefit the decision making process to create change. Change implies the promotion of the physical and positive social transformation. This research describes how PAR is used as a method in the place-making process to create change in a community that had previously been subjected to forced removals. The research context includes an existing open space (previously utilised as a dumping site) in Ikageng, Potchefstroom, South Africa, and surrounding land owners who interact with the site daily. A qualitative research approach was appropriate in this case as the research was carried out in a natural context where no extraneous influences occur and the research focused on obtaining in-depth understanding of a process rather than focusing on presenting evidence in quantifiable terms. While the planning procedure followed included numerous phases - Focus group 1, Focus group 2, Collaborative Design Workshop and Focus group3 (see Annexure B for Focus group questions) - the primary aim of this dissertation is to explore the process of place-making in planning by using PAR. Secondary aims include: (i) the understanding of the concept of place-making, (ii) giving an overview of theoretical paradigms in planning, (iii) to develop guidelines for using PAR in a planning process, and (iv) to develop planning guidelines for the process of place-making. Findings reveal that experienced change can be described as threefold. Levels of change included: (i) the physical level (Transforming the space physically (beautification and upgrade)), (ii) the social level (Transforming the community socially), and (iii) the psychological level (Transforming the community psychologically). During the experiencing of change, PAR values were unlocked progressively by the place-making process, which included empowerment, collaborative relationships and mutual learning. In later stages of the research, the PAR values of respect towards diversity and social justice and equity were revealed. Based on the above, the study offers planning recommendations by means of the development of guidelines for a place-making process. These guidelines (as informed by PAR), refer to (i) Phase 1 - Gaining community entrance, (ii) Phase 2 - Conceptualising the space, (iii) Phase 3 - Establishing partnerships, (iv) Phase 4 - Transforming space to place, (v) Phase 5 - Implementation and, (vi) Phase 6 - Monitoring/Reflection. When following these recommended guidelines with regard to a place-making process, research challenges should be taken into consideration. These challenges relate to the time-consuming nature of place-making, as well as the necessary flexibility regarding the context of the research. Furthermore, financial resources should be seen as important when attempting to transform space into place. Therefore, these planning recommendations should be seen as a guideline and not a fixed master-plan. / MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / John W. Keller / The purpose of this report is to identify the role of transportation linkages in facilitating economic development in Portland, Maine, and the surrounding region, beginning with the city’s 19th century maritime economy. In the process, this study demonstrates how the evolution of Portland’s economy, from early mercantile capitalism, through the industrial and post-industrial eras, was greatly shaped by a succession of transportation developments, engineered by city leaders. Research reveals that these achievements were coordinated through both public sector planning and private sector entrepreneurship, to cultivate comparative advantages for the city. Evidence of this implicit collaboration is apparent in the growth of new economic sectors to support local shipping, rail, freight, and eventually commercial airline service. As a result of these efforts, Portland maintains a status as a regional economic gateway that is disproportionate to its modest population of fewer than 70,000 residents. In support of this argument, this report will also present relevant historical anecdotes to provide context for the growth of the city and broader region as a whole, from colonization through globalization. As part of the city’s economic history, this discussion demands an examination of the macroeconomic forces that contributed to the rise and fall of the local maritime industries, manufacturing, and the 21st century service sector economy. Additionally, this report will discuss the impact of major global events, including war, recession, and the telecommunication revolution, all of which have precipitated major socio-economic changes across the United States. The report concludes by offering insight into Portland’s future, with specific respect to the 2008 economic crisis and the resulting impact on the local real estate and financial markets. Despite an economic climate that threatens the viability of small cities across the United States, Portland’s history of resilience provides hope for a prosperous future. In light of the city’s modern economic trajectory, the ability to a chart a new course will rely upon progressive leadership that can capitalize on the region’s natural geographic resources. These future developments will, no doubt, parallel a new wave of investment in local infrastructure and transportation linkages.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / William P. Winslow III / Access to water has always been a critical and often times conflicted issue along Colorado's Front Range. With current and projected population growth in the state of Colorado it can be expected that the importance of the issue will only increase. In order to control future conflicts and costs, communities throughout Colorado have started to update and implement water conservation programs to address demand and delivery issues. A water demand category that has been commonly targeted by community water conservation programs is the designed urban landscape. This study explores the effectiveness of landscape water regulations in urban, landscaped open space as tools for water conservation. The study examines the effectiveness of landscape regulations using three landscape regulations in the city of Colorado Springs. The three landscape regulations represent city and development landscape regulations and guidelines implemented before and after 1998. The effectiveness of the three regulations is measured from the results of four evaluations (regulation composition, landscape design, landscape installation and maintenance, and landscape water use) that represent the steps necessary for the development and maintenance of water efficient landscapes. The tool of measure in the four evaluations is the application and enforcement of the research based Xeriscape principles in the codes, policies, and guidelines found in the three landscape regulations. The results indicated that regulation changes that occurred in the City Landscape Code and Policy Manual in the late 1990's effectively created water conserving landscape regulations. The post 1998 landscape regulations used a diverse combination of water-wise principles that were not only suggested by the codes, policies, and guidelines but also enforced through inspections and submittals. The diversity of water-wise principles in the regulations and the balance of citations and enforcement were the major elements that reduced water use and increased conservation in the evaluated landscape tracts.