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Shenzhen is the fastest growing magacity in China, and one that is always young. It attracts workers with a large number of jobs in high-tech zones, but the lack of housing and the banning of illegal urban villages also reduces the possibilities for workers to settle. The governmental planning of the high-tech zone attempts to address the spatial separation of work and life in future. On this basis, this project aims to reshape the urban spatial relationship and achieve a better quality of urban settlement, from a human perspective, using urban mobility and green accessibility. This project focuses on three aspects of urban spatial relationships:1. Increase in housing supply and coexistence with work space;2. Increased transport diversity, reshaping the urban street hierarchy;3. An east-west axis and integrated green network dominated by green accessibility.

Kristianstad is a city of 41.000 inhabitants in southern Sweden. Once a fort on an island in the river of Helge Å, parts of the river and surrounding lakes were lowered or removed as the city expanded. This has caused parts of Kristianstad to have the lowest point in Sweden, -2,32 meters below ocean level. The surrounding river has an important role as it creates a wetland ecosystem called Vattenriket that surrounds the city. This area is recognised as a biosphere reserve of international importance. Water is currently held at bay with help of embankments, but the city experiences recurring floods during years of high water levels. The threat that the water poses is expected to increase by the end of the century due to rising sea levels.  How can a city combat flooding through use of urban design in relation to local ecosystems in an era of rising water levels? This project is about how a city in an exposed position could deal with water, ecosystems services and sustainable development in a changing climate with care towards the surrounding wetland, to use it as a major tool in how to tackle the challenges ahead.

By investigating Yanjiao and Beijing sub-centre, on both sides of the Chaobai River, it reveals that today more than 40% of the population in Yanjiao travels to and from Beijing for work.  Because of the inequities of political and administrative systems, as well as massive and uncontrolled urbanization, Yanjiao is losing its identity gradually.  Comparing Yanjiao with Beijing Sub-centre on the urban configuration, building typology, topography, and hydrology, the conclusion is that there are: 1) traditional small-scale allays and buildings, 2) significant unidirectional commuter flow to Beijing, and 3) the Chaobai River is not only the administrative boundary but also the development boundary between the two cities. To optimize this situation, three different levels of planning and design have been made:1.Regional planning: To improve the sustainable development situation of Yanjiao through inter-regional synergistic development, while creating more equal urban spaces with a water-based landscape structure. 2.Urban Design: By extracting the traditional urban morphology, local lifestyles, three primary interventions have been created for the design part. Through these three interfaces, the site links the surrounding urban space with a good spatial transition.3.Detailed design: Intervention and feeling of spatial qualities are shown through the rendering of the three interfaces.

vi ABSTRACT Rebuilding Urban Place: Negotiating Individuality and Belonging New London, CT September 2013 PETER R. WEBSTER B.S.,TUFTS UNIVERSITY M.ARCH, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS, AMHERST Directed by: Professor Kathleen Lugosch The aim of this thesis is to test an approach for reconnecting ourselves with the urban fabric. By recognising the damage of urban renewal as more than simple blight but rather one that undermines our sense of place, we begin to appreciate the depth of the wound. It is not a matter of reconstructing what was taken away, but rather a process of rehabilitation. Re-establishing a viable sense of place requires the intertwining of both spatial form and social engagement. The project makes use of a parking lot located between the main street and a disruptive artery that forms a rift in the urban fabric. A spatial reorganization mediates the automotive scale of the rift and re-establishes a human one. A local organization, Hygienic Art, is poised to engage the rift with a new performing art center. Interactivity between the site and the client is reflected outward across the block and inward through the building. The center’s performance and service areas are designed to facilitate participatory events, which support the social interactions of the organisation and the extended community. This thesis examines how scale and materiality can nurture the individual and group experience, and how this might be tested at the scale of the city, street, organisation, event, parcel, and building.

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The investigation applies the intelligence cycle and researches the degree of Utopian development, as observed at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW), Virginia, utilizing a common business and competitive intelligence tool, known as the SWOT.  The research uncovered numerous aspects apparent at the target, BGW, many of which served to re-classify the theme park development from that of a premier theme park to a themed amusement park.  The research question was concluded on by indicating that there was no apparent sincere or consistent attempt being made to perfect the numerous venues at the park, and that no specific cause or reason was identifiable as to the intentionality or unintentionality of the neglect of the research question, in terms of design intent toward constant improvement, as in Utopian-driven expectations of development. / Master of Landscape Architecture

Gasverket used to be a very important part of the city’s industrial and infrastructural history. Now it is under development just like other several old industrial areas in the city center while new industries are constantly pushed outside the city center limits.  Looking at Gasverket’s (The Gas Factory) history and importance for the city of Stockholm, this thesis questions how we can integrate abandoned infrastructures back into the urban texture while protecting not only the built structure but also the infrastructural character of the area and challenging the definition of what infrastructure can and should be in the 21st century. Inspired by the social working ideologies of churches and/or mosques as places for charity and community, Gasverket aims to create a secular people’s place that redefines the concept of charity by offering job opportunities and educational help to groups of people who are not always included in the labor market. The project contributes to creating inclusive economic growth and equal work opportunities to create sustainable societies. In doing so, it brings back the production of construction materials in the city by reusing several household wastes and creates spaces to strengthen the bonds between individuals and the community.The strategy for dealing with what is left after the old gas work activities is to bring back the dirtiness of the production industry in the city center while integrating it with the current social and economic situations to create a sustainable infrastructural model. As the title suggests, with this project the area will become a place for the “rebirth” of an individual’s role in society, a space for the rebirth of waste materials, a place for a metaphorical rebirth after death, and finally the rebirth of Gasverket.

While academics and policy-makers seek to address historic segregation and its harmful impacts on communities, many such efforts have been unsuccessful. Therefore, this original research examines the role of public parks as potential sites of social and economic integration. These spaces serve as third places, or social spaces where community members regularly visit, similar to their regular visitation of their home and workplaces. In the City of Roanoke, three visited public parks serve as local third places where individuals of different social and economic backgrounds visit for various activities. However, visitors typically only interact with others similar to themselves. The exception appears to be when the third place provides a source of triangulation based in common interests. This form of triangulation is useful in establishing commonality among visitors, thus bridging existing gaps between communities. Said triangulation is successful when the third place provides a physically and socially comfortable environment affected by the space's design, location, and management. These three factors must combine to maintain a careful balance between welcoming visitors of diverse backgrounds, but also establishing a sense of comfort among visitors. Public spaces which achieve this balance realize their potential by becoming equitable third places. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Waterfront space is an essential urban component that protects inner land and functions as an interface between nature and the built and human environments. Researching both theoretical and practical resources could be helpful in determining their prospective roles and benefits. Instead of being used solely as a public space, it should be a site that combines urban and natural environments. The Bund in Shanghai is an ideal location for studying the development of a more sustainable environment and investigating the relationship between urban and natural environments. The current Bund is in response to a row of buildings built during the period of foreign settlement and has weak connections to both the city and the river. As a first step toward reimagining its role and relationship with its surroundings, I investigate the site's design development history, site features, and people's needs. The general design direction is guided by two design principles. First, the proposed Bund is strongly associated with its history, natural environment, and urban context. Thus, the new development is inextricably attached to its location and environment. In addition, the new Bund provides more micro-spaces that people can utilize based on their activities. These spaces are interconnected, but their occupancy by different people does not conflict. The Bund's function and relationship with the urban environment, people, and nature will be redefined through the analysis and design phases. / Master of Science / Cities adjacent to bodies of water, such as the ocean, a river, or a pond, have waterfront space. It protects the city and is also a popular outdoor space. It is essential to understand its roles and functions thoroughly. Exploring and utilizing the potential benefits of waterfront space could create a more enjoyable and sustainable outdoor space for the public and the city. The Bund in Shanghai is ideal for studying the function of urban and natural environments and their relationship. The location would be evaluated and experimented with to create a better public space for the city and its inhabitants. The design development could be used as a waterfront prototype and standard for communities seeking a harmonious environment among the city, nature, and people.