O trabalho que se segue pretende debater uma área determinada da cidade, a região norte do município de São Paulo, a partir de dois arcabouços conceituais diversos e complementares: da forma ou morfologia urbana, e o sistema de espaços livres. Dando ênfase à compreensão de uma realidade material, a cidade, a partir de sua observação, montou-se um percurso que partiu dos conceitos básicos desses dois campos disciplinares. Em seguida, fez-se uma aproximação à cidade contemporânea, focando as últimas duas décadas no Brasil e no mundo, de forma a permitir a apreensão dos fenômenos que constituem a área de estudo. Após essa preparação, desenvolve-se um estudo de caso, dividido em três partes: o Casario, compreendendo os tecidos urbanos que configuram a região; os tipos edificados, olhando para as formas mais comuns de edificação; e o sistema de espaços livres, mostrando as características dos espaços livres. Finalmente, são lançados algumas hipóteses interpretativas sobre os fenômenos que permitem a constituição das periferias urbanos, sobretudo em seus aspectos morfológicos. / This work intends to debate São Paulo\'s northern area, from two diverse and complementary conceptual frames: the urban form, and the open spaces system. Initially, we summarize the basic concepts of these two disciplinary fields, and after that, we make an approach to the contemporary city, focusing the last two decades in Brazil and the world, in a way to allow the apprehension of the phenomena that constitute the area. After that, we develop the case study, divided in three parts: the Urban Form, understanding the urban fabrics that configure the region; the built typology, looking at the most usual construction forms; and the open spaces system, showing the characteristics of the open spaces. Finally, some hypotheses are thrown, trying to explain the phenomena that allow the constitution of the urban peripheries, over all in its morphological aspects.

Este trabalho analisa o processo de formação e produção do espaço urbano da Favela Nova Jaguaré como estudo de caso, procurando compreender como a ocupação informal do território, intimamente relacionada à morfologia de relevo, e as ações e propostas institucionais para a área, constituíram o espaço urbano em questão. Avalia-se a estrutura urbana resultante, entendendo-a como a base de um patrimônio físico, econômico e cultural desta população a partir da qual deve-se intervir. Evidencia-se suas deficiências, conflitos e potencialidades, indicando elementos, relações e operações estabelecidas pela população favelada sobre o meio físico natural e os elementos construídos, que possam subsidiar futuras intervenções em núcleos precários situados em encostas. Delineia-se o papel do espaço livre público, nas suas diversas escalas, como fundamental para estruturar as transformações necessárias para a reconciliação da favela ao suporte natural e a sua integração à cidade como um todo. / This dissertation analyzes the process of formation and production of urban space of the Nova Jaguaré favela. It tries to understand as informal occupation of territory , closely related to contour morphology, and institutional actions and proposals for the area have produced the studied urban space. It examines the resulting urban form, understanding it as the base of physical, economic and cultural realms of this population from which one must start for any intervention. Its deficiencies, conflicts and potentialities are addressed, indicating elements, relations and operations established by the slum population on the natural environment and built elements, that can subsidize future interventions in hillsides precarious settlements. The role of the public open space is defined, in its diverse scales, as the basic element to support the necessary transformations for the reconciliation of the favela with the natural environment and its integration with the city as a whole.

A presente pesquisa parte do problema que o crescimento e o adensamento urbano são inevitáveis e que vêm causando diversos danos ao meio natural e à qualidade ambiental das cidades. Diante disso, visando minimizar os impactos gerados pelo processo de urbanização, com base na idéia de que o adensamento urbano pode ser positivo para a construção de cidades mais sustentáveis, o trabalho parte da necessidade da inserção da camada meio ambiente no processo de projeto urbano. Além disso, todas as outras camadas (usos, estoque construído, redes de infraestrutura, etc) também devem ser analisadas sob o enfoque ambiental. Para isso, o trabalho apresenta como objetivo geral a elaboração de um método para inserção de fatores ambientais relacionados ao adensamento e a forma urbana no processo de projeto. Esta pesquisa foi desenvolvida em três distintos momentos: um primeiro de fundamentação teórica e construção de conceitos; um segundo momento de análise e avaliação de projetos urbanos contemporâneos sob os aspectos da sustentabilidade ambiental e; um terceiro momento de síntese e proposição da incorporação de parte da camada meio ambiente no processo de projeto urbano. Durante o desenvolvimento da pesquisa, verificou-se que, de fato, os projetos que apresentaram uma preocupação explícita com as questões ambientais, por parte dos projetistas, obtiveram melhores resultados, na avaliação com relação à sustentabilidade urbana, como, por exemplo, os ecobairros presentes na Europa. Além disso, foi concluído que não existem soluções únicas, cada sitio e cada projeto necessita de medidas específicas relacionadas às suas características próprias. Da mesma maneira que não existe um método de projeto universal, já que esse é definido diante dos problemas e potencialidades apresentados. Porém são necessárias a definição e adoção de parâmetros e regras que orientem o processo de projeto que visa à sustentabilidade ambiental, atendimento às exigências humanas e produzindo espaços urbanos de qualidade com o mínimo impacto ao meio natural. / This research is based on the assumption that urban growth and densification are inevitable and have been causing damage to the natural environment and the environmental quality of cities. With the objective of minimize the impacts caused by the urbanization processes and assuming that urban densification can be positive to the achievement of more sustainable cities, the research introduces the environmental layer in the process of developing urban projects. Furthermore, all the other fundamental layers (use, building stock, infrastructure, etc) should also be accessed through the environmental perspective. In order to do that, the general objective of this work is the definition of a method for the insertion of environmental factors related to the densification and urban form in the design process of the built environment. This research was carried out in three phases: the first one is about the formulation of the theoretical background including the definition of key concepts; a second phase of analysis of contemporary urban projects approaching environmental and sustainable aspects and; the third phase of synthesis and proposition to include a key part of the environmental layer in the design process of the built environment. During the development of the research, it was verified that the case study projects which express a clear concern with environmental issues from the designers perspective got better overall results in the assessment of urban sustainability, such as the eco-neighborhoods in Europe. Besides, it was concluded that there are no unique solutions, each place and project needs specific measures related to its own features. In the same token, there is not one unique method or universal project, once this is defined by the local problems, challenges and potentialities. However, it is necessary the definition and adoption of design rules which can direct the design process towards environmental sustainability, peoples expectations and urban spaces with quality and the reduced environmental impact.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Brent Chamberlain / Landmarks are universal components of human urbanization. We are a species driven to mark the land with symbolic structures and craft meaning in our built environments. From ancient wonders such as Stonehenge to modern icons like the St. Louis Arch, we have been designing landmarks since the dawn of civilization. Cities, towns, and neighborhoods incorporate landmarks as elements of cultural expression and tools for navigation. Individuals use landmarks as reference points to create an internal cognitive map, permitting more efficient navigation throughout a city and contributing to a heightened sense of place. To aid in research regarding the role of landmarks on cognitive maps and place-identity, we have designed a novel testing paradigm in which subjects wear a virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD) and traverse a hypothetical urban environment using a gaming controller. The virtual environment (VE) features a gridded street network measuring 5x5 blocks and guides subjects along a fixed route through residential, park, commercial and industrial districts. Along this fixed route, subjects are exposed to ten distinct landmarks. After navigating the VE, subjects are tasked with delineating their perceived route, landmark locations, and district boundaries through map drawing tasks on grid paper as well as a scene recognition task. The most significant finding revealed landmark configuration accuracy to be highly correlated with performance on the route recall and moderately correlated with performance on the scene recognition task. This suggests that, regardless of the landmark type, individuals who more precisely recalled landmark locations also navigated the route and identified scenes more accurately. Landscape and urban planners can leverage these findings to advocate for the strategic inclusion of landmarks throughout an urban fabric, which we term Landmark Configuration Plans (LCP).

Este trabalho apresenta uma investigação das questões que envolvem a forma urbana na cidade de Juiz de Fora e suas transformações na virada do século XIX para o XX. Partimos do processo de urbanização - entendido como processo social -, e da ferrovia como elemento que não apenas compõe essa forma, mas que a modifica a partir das dinâmicas que dela se originam, como a implantação de estações, construções ferroviárias e indústrias. Também são abordadas as discussões advindas do pensamento higienista, medidas de saneamento que perpassam desde a infraestrutura urbana até os problemas de moradia, situações em que podemos analisar a postura do poder público através da organização administrativa que se altera com o fim do Império e início da República até a chamada Revolução de 1930. / This work presents an investigation of the questions that involve the urban form of the city of Juiz de Fora and its transformations at the turn of the XIX century to XX. We start from the urbanization process - understood as a social process -, and from the railroad as an element that not only composes this form, but which modifies it from the dynamics that originate from it, such as the implantation of stations, railway constructions and industries. We also discuss questions of hygienist thinking, sanitation measures ranging from urban infrastructure to housing problems, situations in which we can analyze the posture of public power through administrative organization that changes with the end of the Empire and the beginning of the Republican period until the considered Revolution of 1930.

Thesis (D.Phil. (Town and Regional Planning)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Background: Urban form is a contributor to physical inactivity, which is a problem around the world. The association between urban form and physical activity is not fully understood, in part because improved methodologies of assessing urban form are necessary. This thesis consists of four studies that examined the association between urban form and physical activity in Edmonton, Alberta, using Geographic Information Systems. The research goals of this thesis were: (1) to compare two objective methods of assessing urban form walkability; (2) to examine the association between objective and subjective urban form measures and physical activity; and (3) to compare self-reported physical activity of individuals living in high and low walkability neighborhoods. Methods: Study 1 addressed Goal 1 and focused on objectively measuring urban form walkability based on public health and architectural (space syntax) measures. Study 2 addressed Goal 2 and focused on urban form association with self-reported physical activity. Study 3 addressed Goals 2 and 3 and focused on urban form association with self-reported walking. Study 4 addressed Goal 3 and involved an observational study of the pedestrian, cyclist, and vehicular movement in four neighbourhoods stratified by walkability and socio-economic status (SES). Results: Study 1 revealed agreement between public health and space syntax measures of assessing urban form. Study 2 revealed that only the objective environment was associated with physical activity. Study 3 revealed that only the perceived environment was associated with walking. Study 3 also revealed that walking as recommended was not different for individuals living in environments objectively assessed as higher versus lower in walkability. Study 4 revealed that observed pedestrian movement was higher in volume in neighbourhoods objectively assessed as higher in walkability. Cyclist movement was lower in volume in the neighbourhood classified as lower in walkability and in SES than in the other three neighbourhoods. Vehicular movement was no different in volume in the four neighbourhoods. Conclusion: Both objective and subjective urban form influence physical activity. A common Social Ecological Models - Space Syntax framework would enable a better understanding of urban form influences on physical activity.

Second homes have been rapidly increasing throughout the world, especially in high amenity landscapes due to increasing mobility, greater leisure time after retirements and development of transportation means. Second home development in Turkey has been accelerated in the Mediterranean and Aegean coastal resorts especially after the 1980s. Fascination of rural environments, low cost of living and accommodation for holiday, considering second homes as investments and future permanent homes after retirements, and less stressful way of living in such coastal towns attract domestic and foreign tourists to buy second homes in amenity rich coastal areas of Turkey. This has been led to second home invasion and construction pressure on amenity rich landscapes, protected lands, countryside and natural environments. This thesis aims to investigate the challenges of coastal resort towns regarding second-home developments.

Aim of this thesis is to explain the role of property relations in the production of urban form. It is assumed that urban form is produced not only as a physical setting but also as a concrete and relatively fixed manifestation of property relations. In this respect, urban form should be considered in a relational conception of space. The study departs from the proposition that property relations are the main determinants of the formation of urban space, and private property constitutes the generator of the dynamics and contradictions of urban formation, through a continuous process of fragmentation. For this reason, in the control of urban formation, property rights are the basic element that city planners have to face. Therefore, this study presents a comprehensive framework that integrates the categories of urban morphology with a structural analysis of urban formation process. As the essential unit of capitalist city, &ldquo / production of the parcel as a commodity&rdquo / is elaborated as the core of urban formation process. In this framework, morphogenesis of Yenisehir&ndash / Ankara is analyzed in order to understand its historical transformation with reference to the context of property relations. Its morphological layers are depicted as a product of the contradictory relation between urban planning and property relations. It is seen that the morphogenesis of Yenisehir includes three distinct layers of formation, which are characterized by the gradual domination of commodity production in the formation process of urban space.

Property rights within historical urban contexts, an important aspect when considering how inhabitants create an urban pattern from an urban context, being starting point of living, using, building, designing and forming the built environment. Property rights can refer not only to the physical forms, socio-cultural structures, administrative issues, and political and economic conditions of the urban context, but also their way of defining an order between the context and its inhabitance, investigates the combination of tangible and intangible values and their continuity in an urban context, which has emerged as an important issue in urban conservation studies. While urban conservation studies have sought rational solutions to investigating the combination of tangible and intangible values and its hidden values in the historical urban context, the thesis is to focus to research the relationship between ownership and the physical urban context so as to define the tangible and intangible values of human experiences within the urban context. The city of Antakya (Antioch) has been selected as the case study of this thesis as not only a crucial empirical case owing to its rich historical, multi-cultural historic urban core, but also due to the fact that the current historical urban form was affected and formed under Islamic ownership norms, and later developed under Ottoman land tenures. Additionally, as archive documents such as title deeds have been translated into Turkish, and the cadastral plans of the urban form have been prepared during the French Mandate Period, they can be viewed as sources of reliable information on ownership norms for every single property unit, which is a key asset when attempting to decode the physical urban structure and reveal the hidden salience of the city. Fundamentally, this research clarifies that ownership has the means of affecting something that lies beyond the existence, beyond the apparent, beyond the known and beyond the man-made settlement boundaries that define elusive historical urban forms. The Antakya case reveals clearly that property rights have major implications when attempting to understand the formation and persistence of every single component of an urban form / and accordingly, these aspects deserve greater consideration in urban conservation when attempting to make holistic assessments.