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This paper investigates how transit-oriented development can protect and enhance community sustainability. This study explores literature on community capacity, social capital, and neighborhood change to generate a definition of community sustainability appropriate for urban neighborhoods in transition. It then looks at current models proposed in the literature for assessing transit-oriented development (TOD), and finds little of relevance for the concerns of social sustainability. The study then draws sustainability indicators from other social science literature and assesses their usefulness for transit-oriented development. Finally, it develops a set of indicators appropriate for measuring the performance of TOD in protecting or enhancing community sustainability in these neighborhoods. These indicators can be used as a starting point for agencies and local groups to develop outcome-oriented measures of success for the local sustainability of future transit-oriented developments. / text

Despite the close proximity to downtown, East Austin is one of the more underprivileged and under-developed communities in the city of Austin, Texas. A lack of access exacerbates the lack of resources of the poor. It is essential to identify the current accessibility of urban facilities for East Austin’s residents in order to understand how the location of key support services serves to maintain East Austin’s underprivileged and under-developed status. The objectives of this study are 1) to evaluate the accessibility of residents in East Austin neighborhoods to urban facilities using spatial data analysis in geographical information systems (GIS), 2) to compare accessibility in East Austin with other Austin communities, including West Austin and North Austin, and, finally, this study will allow me to measure whether the more underprivileged populations of East Austin do indeed have equal access to urban facilities and, if not, to identify which neighborhoods in East Austin offer the best access. In shortly, I can see that many public owned facilities, such as Sports and Recreational, Educational, Health, and some of Community Service facilities are relatively dispersed in poor neighborhoods in the City of Austin. It should be noted that public authorities have made deliberate choices to distribute facilities in poorer neighborhoods. / text

The social and neurosciences are moving toward a conceptualization of the psychological construct of sense of place in relation with spatial cognition, place imageability, and meaning. To help advance progress, this dissertation proposes a conceptual framework of sense of place that includes variables of spatial navigational strategy (i.e., egocentric and allocentric) and place imageability using notions of edges, paths, landmarks, districts, nodes. Three studies using different methods tested the proposed framework. Study 1 used a questionnaire and an interview-based protocol analysis to examine whether navigational strategy associated with participants’ levels of sense of place for recalled urban neighbourhoods. Preliminary work investigating whether sense of place and spatial navigation varied with place imageability was also done using qualitative analyses. Participants used more egocentric and allocentric strategies during cognitive map navigation when sense of place was stronger compared to when they recalled places for which they felt weak or neutral levels of sense of place. Seven categories were revealed from participants’ qualitative descriptions of urban place visualizations after completing three sense of place scales (i.e., home-sense, compactness, environment, safety, vibrancy, design, and aesthetics) and differed depending on sense of place condition. Study 2 enabled participants to articulate recollections of settings for which they felt different strengths of sense of place via a cognitive mapping task. Results reinforced the notion that individuals who experience a strong level of sense of place for an urban environment also recall more of the physical features that make it imageable. Existing literature was confirmed by this study’s results that paths and landmarks are integral to urban place imageability. Study 3 gathered information about community members’ current representations of their urban neighbourhood. Results supported hypotheses based on results of Studies 1 and 2. Nodes, edges, and landmarks were found to be particularly meaningful to residents’ spatial understanding of their neighbourhood. The fact that more allocentric strategies than egocentric strategies were used in each of the three place imageability conditions (compared to non-significant differences in sense of place conditions in Study 1) highlights compelling future research questions concerning the three variables of the proposed conceptual framework of sense of place. Similar to Study 1, qualitative analyses in Study 3 revealed paths as the predominant meaningful place imageable feature noted by residents. Thematic information about the features in each area reported to have meaning for residents indicate the categories of environment, aesthetics, and design as most prevalent. As a whole, this dissertation can inform future environmental psychology research, as well as the practices of urban planners, as they consider spatial navigation and place imageable attributes in relation to the psychological construct of sense of place in urban environments. Planners and researchers alike may benefit from this dissertation as they respond to human spatial needs while facilitating a sense of attachment and identity toward, and compatibility with, city spaces. Finally, findings may assist social scientists in clarifying how sense of place develops in urban neighbourhoods, and how it is experienced over time. / Graduate

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Seventy five percent of older adults are affected by multiple chronic diseases. Consuming a high quality diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein assists with chronic disease prevention and management. Healthful food availability is a major determinant of individual eating behaviors. The purpose of the current study was to describe the types, variety, and density of food outlets and to estimate access to a high quality diet for older adults in an urban setting. The Community Nutrition Environment Evaluation Data System (C-NEEDS) survey and restaurant menus were used to determine availability of healthful food in thirteen neighborhoods in Springfield, Massachusetts. A "Dietary Guidelines for Americans Adherence Index Food Environment" (DGAIFE) algorithm was created to estimate access to a high quality diet based on the stores and restaurants within the study area. Environmental characteristics that are recognized as facilitators or barriers to a high quality diet were added to the DGAIFE algorithm to calculate a "Dietary Guidelines for Americans Adherence Index Food Environment plus Environmental Characteristics" (DGAIFEC) score. The DGAIFE and DGAIFEC score ranges for all study areas were 1.53-2.25 and 1.38-2.50, respectively (possible range 1.00 higher to 5.00 lower access). Access to a high quality diet is within reach but not equal across the thirteen study areas. The findings can be used by Registered Dietitians to guide clients to make healthful food choices in urban neighborhoods and provides information to improve public health policy to increase access to healthful foods.

ABSTRACT Much of the research on Black males in education focuses on their underachievement, low graduation rates, and below average standardized test scores. At the same time, researchers often view urban neighborhoods where African Americans live from a deficit perspective. The present study aims to uncover how Black male high school students make use of neighborhood-based capital to succeed in school and explore how Black churches influence their academic trajectory. Drawing on Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth Model as a framework, the strengths-based qualitative study takes place in an urban neighborhood located in a mid-sized Northeastern city. Geographic Information System (GIS) technology is employed to provide context for the study and pinpoint the residential locations of participants. Based on interviews and participant observations in a variety of contextual settings, participants identified ten neighborhood-based resources, including recreation centers, parks, and churches. They also describe their neighborhood level experiences and make clear how they leverage social, aspirational, family, and navigational capital. The findings from the study shed light on their educational and social realities and suggest that urban neighborhoods can be places of possibility. Implications discuss strategies that educators, administrators, and churches can employ to increase the academic engagement and performance of Black male students. / Urban Education