The increasing pressures on the global eco-system have reached a critical stage. Cities are the center of most pressures on the biosphere and the contribution to unsustainability. Examined critically, the Sustainable Initiatives addressing urban challenges tend to act independently from each other. This situation is called the Silo-Effect, which is the state of isolation of Sustainability Initiatives in the city arena. The Silo-Effect results in a situation where the Initiatives‘ use of time, energy, and resources is not optimal, therefore creating less effective impact towards urban sustainability. The purpose of this research is to suggest solutions to the Silo-Effect by asking the question, What are the components needed to support the cohesion of Sustainable Initiatives across silos in the city? The methodology of grounded theory inspired the data collection and analysis process of thirteen interviews with professionals from the field. Results confirmed the existence of the Silo-Effect and revealed the main components supporting Cohesion Across Silos. Emerging insights include the need to 1) create Supportive Structures that will maximize the abundant social, human, cultural and economic capitals of practitioners, provide a shared space, and support collaboration, coordination and communications efforts between Initiatives, 2) create new models of local governance and funding systems that support cohesion, and 3) focus experimentation on the neighborhood scale to minimize complexity.

Plus de la moitié de la population mondiale vit dans les villes et cette proportion ne cesse d’augmenter. Afin de rendre nos villes existantes plus durables, de générer de nouvelles formes d’installation et d'apporter des modifications en plus, l'utilisation des installations actuelles devraient être plus efficace ainsi. Un espace urbain, à différentes échelles –un immeuble, un îlot, un quartier ou une ville entière- a une fonction définie, qui est limitée à certaines heures de la journée, les jours du mois ou les mois de l'année. Par exemple, les places de stationnement d'un immeuble possèdent de nombreux espaces libres pendant les heures de travail, tandis que l'aire de stationnement d'un bureau a des zones libres en dehors des heures ouvrables et aussi les jours fériés. Ces espaces pourraient être ravivés avec d'autres fonctions pendant leurs heures de ralenti. D'autre part, les espaces avec des usages privés ou semi-privés pourraient également être attribués à une représentation publique. Par exemple, les cours des écoles peuvent être ouvertes au public pendant les vacances scolaires et temporairement utilisées comme un espace communal partagé. L'objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier les possibilités de faire revivre les espaces publics et semi-publics pour d'autres fonctions que leur fonction principale, pendant leurs heures creuses, afin d’en faire des espaces partagés multifonctionnels. Pour cet objectif, l’identification et la compréhension du fonctionnement de ces espaces, leurs fonctions actuelles et potentielles, et enfin leurs utilisations possibles sont d'une importance primordiale. Il est impératif de déterminer l’ensemble des possibilités d’usage, mais aussi les limites de tels espaces, d’envisager les restrictions juridiques, réglementaires et/ou culturelles, au regard des besoins des utilisateurs potentiels ou des acteurs locaux. Environ 80 cas ont été analysés qui sont spontanément utilisé comme un espace multifonctionnel ou qui ont le potentiel d'être l'un d'entre eux. 30 critères ont été sélectionnés pour l'étude et l'analyse des espaces urbains multifonctionnels. Le résultat final est un ensemble de critères recommandés à prendre en considération pour changer un espace monofonctionnel à l'un multifonctionnel. Ces critères nous conduisaient à l'information qui doit être recueillie dans le but de créer une base de données SIG. Nous concluons par une discussion sur les capacités des SIG pour atteindre les objectifs dans ce domaine et de la façon d'améliorer ses fonctions. / More than half of the world population lives in cities and this proportion is increasing. In order to welcome new populations avoiding urban sprawl, to make our existing cities more sustainable, besides generating new facilities and making changes, the use of current facilities should be more efficient as well. To satisfy these goals, new opportunities have to be found to strengthen the urban sustainability. The multifunctionality of urban spaces might be an efficient concept to (re)design cities and to propose new urban planning rules. The aim of our research is studying the possibilities of reviving public, semi-public and private spaces, for functions other than their main destination and during their idle hours, to consider them as multi-functional shared urban spaces. Different types of relation between function(s) of space and time have been studied. It has been tried to clarify the definition of “multifunctional space” in architecture and urban design based on definitions of the concepts in agriculture and landscape. About 80 cases have been analyzed which are spontaneously used as a multifunctional space or which have the potential to be one. 30 criteria have been selected for studying and analyzing multifunctional urban spaces. The final result is the criteria recommended to take into account while transforming a mono-functional space to a multifunctional one. These criteria would lead us to the information that must be gathered in order to create a GIS data-base customized for this purpose. This research is concluded with a discussion of the capacities of GIS software in the way to improve the operation of an urban space through the multifunctionality.

La durabilité urbaine est un sujet de préoccupation contemporain qui a émergé à la fin du 20ème siècle suite à la prise de conscience internationale d'un contexte environnemental et social se dégradant. Les éco-quartiers ou quartiers durables sont une solution proposée pour proposer à une échelle adéquate de nouveaux principes d'aménagements adaptés aux nouveaux enjeux de société.Cette thèse aborde la question de la durabilité urbaine dans les territoires tropicaux, à l'échelle des quartiers. Dans une première partie le débat sur le concept général de durabilité urbaine issu d'Europe du Nord est posé. Il permet de replacer les conditions d'émergence de l'urbanisme durable vis-à-vis de son prédécesseur l'urbanisme moderne. Les principes généraux du concept sont décrits et les sujets qui rassemblent ou séparent la communauté scientifique à ce sujet sont présentés. Dans une seconde partie, le parti de se focaliser sur un éco-quartier adapté au climat local et favorisant le développement de la végétation et d'un mode de vie en extérieur est pris. Des pistes de solutions de conceptions urbaines tropicales sont proposées. Nous créons un outil d'évaluation de durabilité urbaine des éco-quartiers dans ce contexte tropical. Composé de 50 indicateurs séparés en trois axes majeurs considérant les spécificités du terrain tropical, il permet de dresser un portrait global du niveau de durabilité urbaine vis-à-vis de trois niveaux de durabilité : de Base, Performant, Très Performant. Une troisième partie de la thèse, permet d'appliquer cette grille sur le quartier de Ravine Blanche, situé sous un climat tropical humide à La Réunion (Océan Indien), ceci, vis-à-vis des critères de durabilité urbaine. Il s'avère que le quartier passe d'un niveau Non Durable à un niveau de durabilité de Base après rénovation urbaine. Cette thèse permet d'observer l'avancée de la prise en compte du concept de durabilité urbaine dans un territoire tropical humide avec des épisodes de sécheresse. Elle propose aux monteurs de projets souhaitant intégrer le concept de durabilité urbaine, des pistes validées par des principes scientifiques et/ou émanant de praticiens expérimentant depuis plusieurs années les principes de conceptions urbaines et architecturales douces adaptées aux territoires tropicaux. / The urban sustainability is a contemporary preoccupation, because of the international environnemental & social events which take place at the end of the 20th century. Sustainable neighbourhoods are solutions proposed to take in account the new societal stakes into the urban sphere. The intervention scales seems to be adequate to test new conceptions solutions. This phd tried to describe how the concept is adapted into tropical field. In a first part we propose to describe the general concept of sustainability, its emergence conditions, its majors principles and the subjects that gathered or drove apart the scientific community. In a second part we present some specificities of tropical cities, we propose conceptions principles adapted to the climate. We create a tool to evaluate urban sustainability in tropical neigbourhoods. Composed of fifty urban indicators separated into three majors axis, this tool allows to evaluate the durability nivel of urban projects at a quarter scale. We propose three nivel of performance to evaluate durability: Basis, Performant, Very Performant. In a third part of the document, we apply the tool on Ravine Blanche quarter, located into a humide tropical climate, in Reunion island (Indian Ocean). According to the results, thanks to sustainable project of renovation applied on the quarter, Ravine Blanche reaches a Basis level of durability.This phd, allows to evaluate in tropical territories how the concepters take in account the sustainability, comparing to the general concept. It proposes to the urban concepters adapted solutions to deal with the hot climate.

Mänskligheten står inför en framtid med klimatförändringar och utmaningar i form av återkommande värmeböljor, ökad nederbörd, urbanisering samt minskad biologisk mångfald. Det blir allt mer attraktivt att bosätta sig i städer och i kombination med befolkningsökningen sker det en snabb global urbanisering. Detta leder till hög exploateringshastighet i våra städer då andelen hårdgjorda ytor ökar och andelen gröna ytor minskar. Vid byggandet av fastigheter tillkommer en stor mängd outnyttjade ytor, ofta i form av mörka tak. Dessa är inte bara outnyttjade ytor på dyr tomtmark utan skapar ytterligare problem kopplade till urbanisering i form av bland annat minskat albedo. Närhet till grönska gör att människor mår både fysiskt och psykiskt bättre vilket avspeglar sig i en högre betalningsvilja för bostäder i närhet till grönska. Privatpersoner samt fastighetsägare vill gärna profilera sig som hållbara då hållbarhet på senare tid kommit att bli en identitetsskapande “statusmarkör”. Hållbara bostäder kan därmed vara en säljande faktor. Grönska på taken är i sig inget nytt påfund men har senaste åren fått en renässans i Sverige då det visat sig kunna ge fördelar såsom tillgång till grönska för de boende, dagvattenhantering, minskad värmeöeffekt och bättre luftkvalitet. Syftet med studien har varit att undersöka hur ett av Europas mest omfattande stadsutvecklingsprojekt, Norra Djurgårdsstaden i Stockholm, arbetar med hållbar urban utveckling genom gröna tak. De gröna taken kan generera en mängd ekonomiska, ekologiska och sociala fördelar i städer. I studien används urban hållbarhetsteori samt ett egenkonstruerat analysramverk baserat på avsnittet tidigare forskning och teori. Genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys samt semistrukturerade intervjuer har det framkommit i denna studie att den sociala dimensionen av hållbar stadsutveckling utifrån gröna tak i Norra Djurgårdsstaden överskuggas av de två andra aspekterna; ekonomiskt och ekologiskt. Detta trots att hållbarhetsarbetet med Norra Djurgårdsstaden tagit med alla tre aspekter inom hållbar utveckling; ekonomiskt, ekologiskt och socialt i beaktande när det kommer till planering av stadsdelen. / Humanity is today facing a future with climate change and challenges in the form of periodic heatwaves, increased rainfall and reduced biodiversity. The urbanization processes are driven by expanded population growth and it’s becoming more attractive to live in the cities. This causes the dimension of hard surfaces to increase and consequently the proportion of green spaces sinks. In the construction of housing, a large amount of unused space is added in form of dark areas on roofs. These are not only unused areas on expensive land but create additional problems linked to urbanization in the form of decreased albedo. Furthermore, citizens' willingness to pay has been shown to rise with closeness to green surfaces which can provide recreational and health benefits. Private individuals and property owners would like to profile themselves as sustainable, as the term “sustainability” recently has become an identity-created “status marker”. Sustainable housing can therefore also be a selling factor. Green roofs are not a new invention but have had a renaissance over the years as it has proven to provide the availability to green surfaces for the citizens, stormwater management, heat island effect, and provide healthier air quality. The aim of the study was to examine how the district Norra Djurgårdsstaden in Stockholm, Sweden works with sustainable urban development through green roofs. In this study we have used urban sustainability theory as the green roofs can generate a wealth of economic, ecological and social benefits in urban areas. We have also used our own constructed analysis framework based on previous research and urban sustainability theory. By doing a qualitative content analysis, as well as semi-structured interviews, it has appeared that the social dimension of urban sustainable development in Norra Djurgårdsstaden is overshadowed by the two other aspects; the economic and the ecological. Although the sustainability work in Norra Djurgårdsstaden has taken all three aspects; economic, ecological and social into account when it comes to planning of the district, the social aspect is often neglected.

Climate change has caused severe vulnerabilities for the global food production system and alternative agriculture methods are needed as a solution. Urban agriculture (UA) can be a sustainable solution, making the global food system more resilient and increasing the global food security. Using available empty rooftops to implement green roofs for food production can be a solution to challenges faced by urban agriculture, such as unavailability of land and proper amount of sunlight. The aim of this thesis is to explore the potential of green roofs in Uppsala city, looking into the food production capacity and the energy conservation benefits for buildings having a green roof. With the help of GIS software, 745 flat roofs with a total available area of 877408 m2, were considered feasible for implementing green roofs. Upon calculations based on yields obtained from other studies, the results revealed that the annual vegetable production on potential green roofs in Uppsala city is 23550 T of tomato, 48 T of cabbage and 96 T of chilli. On comparing the tomato production with the amount of tomato consumed annually by the population of Uppsala city, the data reveals that less than 10 % of the estimated production can meet the annual demand.Upon investigating the thermal insulation effects of green sedum roof on a building in Uppsala city, the thesis reveals that annually, 824 kWh or .824 MWh can be saved, providing a monetary benefit of SEK 543. The results point out that, on implementation of green sedum roofs on 100 buildings, about 82 MWh amount of energy can be conserved, thus reducing the overall consumption of fuels such as peat and oil and reducing the emissions of green house gases. Green roofs in comparison with conventional roofs can also act as a heat sink to keep the building cooler during warmer summers, thus reducing the demand for artificial cooling. Keywords: Sustainable Development, Urban Sustainability, Food Security, Energy Security, Resilience, Urban Agriculture, Green Roof, Thermal Insulation, Energy Conservation, Climate Change.

The work towards global sustainable development is growing increasingly complex. Cities and the local urban scale have been acknowledged as important arenas towards sustainability; as they are actors contributing to high climate impacts and contain nebulous circumstances surrounding social orders due to rapid urbanisation. In response to the elaborate difficulties of achieving urban sustainability, Marc Wolfram (2016) conceptualised a framework for urban transformative capacity aimed at analysing and creating capacity for development. By applying relational ontology to a case study of Vallastaden, a newly built neighbourhood in Linköping Sweden this thesis has deepened the understanding of transformative capacity on a local scale. This was accomplished by scrutinising the planning and built environment of Vallastaden in the case study by applying semi-structured interviews, qualitative content analysis and a survey as data collecting methodologies.  The findings of the case study show that Vallastaden has been planned with care by focusing on the human scale and putting emphasis on building meaningful places and aiming to create social sustainability through many shared premises in the neighbourhood. The following six out of ten components of the framework for urban transformative capacity were made visible in the empirical data; (1) transformative leadership, (2) inclusive and multi-form governance, (3) empowered communities of practice, (4) system awareness and memory, (5) reflexivity and social learning and (6) urban sustainability foresight. Furthermore, the most prominent findings display the relations between the agency component (1-3), that the project of Vallastaden contributes to capacity development through social learning and a heterogeneous interdependence of relations between the shared premises and residents.

[pt] A mobilidade urbana faz parte de um complexo sistema de infraestrutura, provocando problemas insustentáveis tais como congestionamento, poluição sonora, poluição atmosférica em áreas densamente urbanizadas, como centros urbanos, e resulta em prejuízos no conforto ambiental urbano. Na busca de uma sustentabilidade urbana, ações favoráveis são necessárias à mobilidade urbana e o conceito de mobilidade ativa surge a favor da priorização do deslocamento das pessoas através de meios de transportes não motorizados. Nesse contexto, leva ao objetivo da dissertação, que no atual cenário da mobilidade urbana nas vias do bairro de São José, na cidade do Recife, é identificar medidas para melhorar as condições de acessibilidade e de conforto ambiental urbano para o incentivo da mobilidade ativa. Tais vias pertencem ao Sítio Histórico da cidade, no conjunto de Zonas Especiais de Patrimônio Histórico-Cultural (ZEPH). Através do levantamento de campo, a metodologia aplicada tende a identificar as ameaças e oportunidades para incentivar a mobilidade ativa observando as condições de acessibilidade nos quesitos de rota acessível, as condições de conforto ambiental urbano referentes aos índices de ruídos, emissões de material particulado e conforto térmico, expondo os dados qualitativos e quantitativos obtidos. A pesquisa busca apresentar a mobilidade ativa como uma ação sustentável favorável à redução dos impactos socioeconômicos, ambientais e nas possíveis melhorias da acessibilidade para caminhabilidade nas vias históricas do bairro de São José, priorizando o pedestre e incentivando a mudança de comportamento do seu deslocamento diário, além de usufruir o bairro como ambiente patrimonial e cultural. / [en] Urban mobility is part of a complex infrastructure system, causing unsustainable problems such as congestion, noise pollution, air pollution in densely urbanized areas, such as urban centers, and results in damage to urban environmental comfort. In the search for urban sustainability, favorable actions are necessary for urban mobility and the concept of active mobility emerges in favor of prioritizing the displacement of people through non-motorized means of transport. In this context, it leads to the aim of the dissertation, which in the current scenario of urban mobility on the streets of the São José neighborhood, in the city of Recife, is to identify measures to improve accessibility conditions and urban environmental comfort to encourage active mobility. Such roads belong to the Historic Site of the city, in the set of Special Zones of Historical-Cultural Heritage (ZEPH). Through the field survey, the applied methodology tends to identify the threats and opportunities to encourage active mobility, observing the conditions of accessibility in terms of an accessible route, the conditions of urban environmental comfort related to noise rates, emissions of particulate matter and comfort thermal, exposing the qualitative and quantitative data obtained. The research seeks to present active mobility as a sustainable action that favors the reduction of socioeconomic and environmental impacts and possible improvements in accessibility for walkability in the historic streets of the São José neighborhood, prioritizing pedestrians and encouraging a change in their daily commute behavior, in addition to enjoying the neighborhood as a heritage and cultural environment.

No description available.

Improvements for environmental monitoring and assessment were achieved to advance our understanding of sea-land interactions and nutrient cycling in a coastal bay.; The comprehensive assessment techniques for monitoring of water quality of a coastal bay can be diversified via an extensive investigation of the spatiotemporal nutrient patterns and the associated eco-hydrological trends in a coastal urban region. With this work, it is intended to thoroughly investigate the spatiotemporal nutrient patterns and associated eco-hydrological trends via a two part inquiry of the watershed and its adjacent coastal bay. The findings show that the onset of drought lags the crest of the evapotranspiration and precipitation curve during each year of drought. During the transition year, ET and precipitation appears to start to shift back into the analogous temporal pattern as the 2005 wet year. NDVI shows a flat receding tail for the September crest in 2005 due to the hurricane impact signifying that the hurricane event in October dampening the severity of the winter dry season in which alludes to relative system memory. The k-means model with 8 clusters is the optimal choice, in which cluster 2 at Lower Tampa Bay had the minimum values of total nitrogen (TN) concentrations, chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentrations, and ocean color values in every season as well as the minimum concentration of total phosphorus (TP) in three consecutive seasons in 2008. Cluster 5, located in Middle Tampa Bay, displayed elevated TN concentrations, ocean color values, and Chl-a concentrations, suggesting that high colored dissolved organic matter values are linked with some nutrient sources. The data presented by the gravity modeling analysis indicate that the Alafia River Basin is the major contributor of nutrients in terms of both TP and TN values in all seasons. Such ecohydrological evaluation can be applied for supporting the LULC management of climatic vulnerable regions as well as further enrich the comprehensive assessment techniques for estimating and examining the multi-temporal impacts and dynamic influence of urban land use and land cover.

No description available.