To quantify sediment contributions due to urban channel enlargement, 50 study sites were selected on 1st- through 3rd-order streams, in watersheds with varying levels of urbanization, in two Physiographic Regions (Coastal Plain and Piedmont), and in the Coastal Zone Management Area of Virginia. At each site, riffle cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys were conducted to measure the channel morphology. Enlargement ratios for bankfull cross-sectional parameters were calculated to quantify channel change relative to stable streams (from regional curves). Relationships between dependent, channel characteristics and watershed-scale, independent variables were assessed. The main objectives were to: 1) test for differences in the morphological features between Coastal Plain and Piedmont streams; 2) develop relationships between watershed-level, urbanization characteristics and stream morphological features; and, 3) determine if relationships exist between watershed urbanization and channel enlargement ratios to estimate sediment loading from urban streams for use in statewide nonpoint source pollution assessment activities. It was determined that: 1) for a given watershed area, streams in the Piedmont tended to be larger than those in the Coastal Plain Region (for regional curve streams and for project streams); 2) among all project sites and sites in the Piedmont, watershed area was the best indicator of channel morphology, but among the Coastal Plain sites, the number of road crossings over streams was the best indicator of channel morphology; and, 3) few significant relationships between enlargement ratios and watershed urbanization variables existed; however, one commonality observed across all sites was an inverse relationship between watershed area and channel enlargement ratios. / Master of Science

緊張、煩囂的城市生活加上擁擠的環境使都市居民承不同受環境問題的威脅，罹患疾病的風險亦隨之增加，不禁令人懷疑都市是否理想的居住地點，亦令其可持續發展潛力受質疑。不論國界，噪聲污染、壓力大以及認知超負荷 (cognition overload) 等都是都市居民所面對的問題，但要解決問題談何容易，尤其是這些問題都受都市密集的設計而變得更複雜，因此一個可以讓人逃避噪音和放鬆心情的地方就更顯重要。不同的研究都指出靜謐的環境，無論是在鄉郊或是都市，都可以提供以上的功能以及其他的好處 (Mayor of London, 2004; Pheasant et al., 2008, 2009a, 2009b, 2010; Environmental Protection UK, 2009)。雖然不少學者都認為靜謐環境十分重要，但就香港本地居民如何理解和看待「靜謐」這個概念和「靜謐環境」 (tranquil environments) 卻沒有有系統的研究，因此這項研究可以視為本地靜謐研究 (tranquility research) 的先驅。本研究在 2011 年 12 月至 2012 年 4 月在兩個市區公園進行問卷調查以了解本地居民的認知，研究結果顯示不同地域的人對「靜謐」這個概念有相同和不同的理解和領會，本土的文化會影響靜謐環境的建構。其他重要的研究結果包括：受訪者認為靜謐環境的主要功能讓人放鬆和減輕壓力，其次是逃避噪音污染和精神或心靈需要；九成的受訪者認同靜謐環境乃重要的資產應該得到關注和保護。除此之外，一個安靜的環境並不等同於靜謐的環境，一些有利的因素(例如：聲音、景色、設計或設施)也會令人感覺靜謐，所以靜謐環境並不只在郊外才可以找得到，只要配以適當的設計，都市都可以擁有靜謐空間。這個研究提供了的結果讓人了解靜謐環境的特點、功能和建構，有助保護靜謐空間和為都市設計提供建議。 / Urban livability and sustainability has been questioned as urban dwellers often suffer from various environmental and health problems. Noise pollution, high stress level and cognition overload are universal phenomena and environments allowing people to respite from noise and relax are therefore indispensable. Although various studies ascertained that tranquil spaces, no matter in rural or urban context, are able to serve the abovementioned functions and provide other benefits (Mayor of London, 2004; Pheasant et al., 2008; Watt et al., 2009a, 2009b, 2010; Environmental Protection UK, 2009), how local people of Hong Kong perceive tranquility is not fully understood. This research therefore is a pioneer study to investigate people’s perception on tranquility. Questionnaire surveys were conducted in two urban parks of Hong Kong during December 2010 to April 2011. Some main findings are that concept of tranquility does exist in the local culture and local culture influences its construct; relaxation and reduction of stress is the most important functions of tranquil areas, followed by respite from noise pollution and spiritual function; majority (90%) of the respondents agreed that tranquil areas are important assets that deserve attention and preservation. In addition, tranquil areas are not merely quiet environments but rather areas with presence of favourable sounds, features or facilities and they are not confined to countryside or rural areas neither. With suitable design, tranquil environments can be fabricated in urban context. These provide in-depth understanding of the notion of tranquility in the local context and offer guidelines for the enhancement and design of tranquil spaces and future planning. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Chan, Sze Wing. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-110). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in Chinese. / ABSTRACT --- p.i / 摘要 --- p.ii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.iii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vii / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.viii / CHAPTER ONE / INTRODUCTION / Chapter 1.1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Research background --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Research objectives --- p.6 / Chapter 1.4 --- Research significance --- p.6 / Chapter 1.5 --- Thesis outline --- p.6 / CHAPTER TWO / LITERATURE REVIEW / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.8 / Chapter 2.2 --- Noise problems in urban living space --- p.9 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Sound and noise --- p.9 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Causes of noise pollution and difficulties in elimination in urban living space --- p.11 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Health problems posed by noise pollution in urban living environment --- p.15 / Chapter 2.3 --- Tranquility and tranquil environments --- p.16 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Relationship between tranquility, preference and danger --- p.16 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Mapping of tranquility --- p.19 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Tranquility rating tool --- p.21 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Benefits of tranquility in urban living space --- p.25 / Chapter 2.4 --- Knowledge gaps --- p.28 / CHAPTER THREE / METHODOLOGY / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.32 / Chapter 3.2 --- Research framework --- p.32 / Chapter 3.3 --- Research design --- p.33 / Chapter 3.4 --- Research methodology --- p.34 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Pilot study --- p.35 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Pilot study questionnaire design --- p.36 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- Social survey --- p.37 / Chapter 3.4.4 --- Site selection --- p.38 / Chapter 3.4.5 --- Social survey questionnaire design --- p.42 / Chapter 3.4.6 --- Data analysis --- p.42 / CHAPTER FOUR / RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.43 / Chapter 4.2 --- Pilot study results --- p.43 / Chapter 4.3 --- Social survey results --- p.48 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Characterization of tranquil environments --- p.50 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Characterization of non-tranquil environments --- p.57 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Descriptors of tranquil environments --- p.62 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- Importance of tranquil environments --- p.66 / Chapter 4.3.5 --- Functions of tranquility --- p.70 / Chapter 4.3.6 --- Factors promoting or detracting from tranquility --- p.77 / Chapter 4.3.7 --- Location of tranquil and non-tranquil environments --- p.79 / CHAPTER FIVE / IMPLICATIONS OF TRANQUIL ENVIRONMENTS / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.84 / Chapter 5.2 --- Implications of tranquil environments --- p.84 / Chapter 5.3 --- Measures to manage and protect tranquil areas --- p.86 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Instruments monitoring tranquil environments --- p.87 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Environmental objectives addressing tranquil environments --- p.88 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- Researching and networking --- p.90 / CHAPTER SIX / CONCLUSION / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.91 / Chapter 6.2 --- Summary of findings --- p.91 / Chapter 6.3 --- Limitations of the research --- p.95 / Chapter 6.4 --- Recommendations for further research --- p.96 / REFERENCES --- p.98 / Appendices --- p.112

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published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

This thesis contributes to our understanding of the impacts of political, social and economic dynamics of contemporary “free-market cities” on indigenous people that leave their traditional territories to settle on Latin American metropolises. The thesis examines the case of indigenous Shipibo migrants from the Amazon that have occupied in Lima, Peru a landfill site owned by the municipal government, and developed there a shantytown. The analyzes of the case sheds light on the innovative strategies that the Shipibo resort to in order to survive in the absence of formal jobs and social programs, and even despite recurrent threats to their social and cultural rights. Through the production of traditional handicraft, they collectively become ethnic entrepreneurs and enter the vast urban informal economy. Beside its interesting consequences for local politics and gender relations, this ethnic economic practice also becomes a way of group making and community building. After prolonged waits –during which the state appeared intermittently and with ambiguous messages–, the Shipibo finally face they most dreaded fear: eviction. Upon confronting this situation, and lacking the clientelistic networks in which Andean migrant peasants could count on in past decades, the Shipibo utilize a innovative repertoire of contained contention to appeal to the leftist municipal authority and thus articulate functional alliances with the goal of gaining land tenure. / text

Land reforms, with the majority bordering on full scale revision of tenure rules have become a recurrent theme in the agenda of most African states since attaining political independence. For southern Africa, and a number of former colonies where the white settler populations acting in concert with the colonial administrations dispossessed the majority of the native populations of their land, the reforms have taken the form of restitution and redistribution of land. Unlike these types of reforms in southern African and because the Bechuanaland Protectorate was not a settler colony, Botswana has framed its land tenure and land use reforms with an eye on the problems associated with common property management. My dissertation evaluates the effects of Botswana's land reforms on social transformations in Kweneng District by carefully investigating their impacts on households' livelihood strategies, kinship ties, and social balance of power on one hand, and the implications of these transformations for urbanization on the other.While acknowledging the good intentions of the government as encapsulated in the objectives of the reform policies, it is my contention that several areas which were never taken into account during the formulation of these policies have been adversely impacted. Unfortunately, the unintended consequences have overshadowed the targeted ends of the reforms. These results are visible in the contemporary family and kinship structure, the chieftaincy institution, livelihood systems in livestock and arable agriculture, administration of justice, and the phenomenon of urbanization.

Human activities have dramatically altered the functioning of ecosystems through the ages. Urbanization illustrates the effect of anthropogenic activity by the transformation of natural areas to ecologically disturbed regions (development of towns, cities and settlements). The growing need for urban employment in South Africa has led to an increase in the number of informal settlements on the periphery of urban areas. These settlements result in fragmentation and sprawling of cities, which intensifies strain on the natural environment. Fragmentation in urban regions then leads to the formation of 'patches' of land which exhibit different disturbance levels and are generally typified as either urban, suburban or rural areas. These land use types may be ecologically studied along an urbanization gradient, with the intention of obtaining meaningful comparisons. An urbanization gradient contains an urban landscape which consists of a densely built and developed core surrounded by an area of decreasing development and increasing 'naturalness'. The use of urbanization gradients has been proven world-wide as a useful tool for the study of changes in ecological patterns and processes across landscapes. This approach has been used to examine many different impacts of urbanization, namely on invertebrate communities, bird community composition and plant community composition. Using biological indicators to determine the degree of anthropogenic impact on the environment has proven effective in past studies. These indicators can be used to monitor ecological change following habitat disturbance, identify changing trends over time, provide early warning systems of degradation and diagnose the cause of existing problems. Several authors have supported the use of arthropods as suitable indicators of disturbance. The aim of this study was to determine what impact disturbance, due to urbanization, may have had on the diversity and abundances of epigeal (surface roaming) arthropods (focussing on ants, beetles and spiders) following an urbanization gradient approach. In addition, plant and soil data were combined with the arthropod analysis for each site studied, in order to obtain a better picture of how arthropod community composition would change in relation to these factors. The ant group were the numerically dominant group of the arthropods studied, although the beetles did have the highest number of species captured. Spiders were caught in low abundances, but were also represented by a high number of species. Dramatic decreasing trends were observed with respect to the ant abundances and diversity from rural to the more urbanized sites. Quite the opposite, seemed to occur with the beetles and spiders, who were dominant in species and numbers in the urbanized areas. This trend may be explained on account of the occurrence of generalists and opportunistic beetle and spider species, which seem to thrive in these heterogenous urban habitats. When considering environmental components, percentage bare-ground and sand concentration seemed to be the determining factors in the rural sites, around which the ant group aggregated. Sandy habitats with patches of bare-ground provide more favourable micro-habitats for the ant species to roam and scavenge in, and are advantageous for nest building. Clay concentration and abundance of fruit seemed to assist in providing favourable habitats for the opportunistic and generalist beetle species, in the urbanized areas. High clay concentrations in the urban areas provided ideal conditions for abundant organic covering which would favour saprophagous (feed on decaying organic matter) beetle species and support diverse prey for the predatory beetle and spider species to feed on. Abundance of fruit may have attracted numerous herbivorous beetles (frugivorous beetles). Urbanization seemed to have a more pronounced effect on ant diversity and abundances in comparison to the beetles and spiders, and therefore recommended for future utilization as a suitable "Bio-indicator" group for further local disturbance studies. / Thesis (M. Environmental Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The urban environment has attracted much scientific attention as it stands at the core of environmental changes caused by the growing human population. The responses of bird communities to urbanization have been especially frequently studied. Despite the intensive research, there are several unresolved questions resonating in the field of urban ecology of birds: i) Are cities ordinary components of the original environment with the same macroecological bird diversity patterns as can be observed in the surrounding environment or do they have some specific impacts on native avifaunas? ii) Which traits are characteristic for species being able to persist in cities and for those avoiding urban areas? iii) How does the impact of the most important factors influencing urban bird communities - area, habitat heterogeneity and spatial position - change with spatial scale? Towards answering these questions, data on breeding bird communities were extracted from 41 European urban bird atlases, avifaunas of regions in which cities are embedded were retrieved from the EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds. Finer scale bird community data were obtained from the atlas of Prague and by point counts conducted in Prague. Data on bird traits were collated from published resources and additional environmental and...

No description available.

Policy rhetoric and the media portray Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a means to social and economic empowerment. The ubiquitous presence of mobile telephony and proliferation of digital networks imply a critical role for these technologies in overcoming the tyrannies and constraints of space. Academic literature draws from a range of disciplines but fails to address the significance of new technologies for African-, and South African cities. Debates on technologies and urban spaces reflect a Northern bias and case literature that dwells on the developmental aspects of ICT do not engage with the broader significance with regards to urban change in African cities. This research addresses these gaps by examining the metropolitan and local transformative qualities of ICT in a South African city, Durban. Three cases were selected. The first examined the city of Durban as place and policy space. Geographic data was used to analyse distribution of technology access. Perusal of policy documentation and newspaper articles together with open-ended interviews informed the analysis of ICT policy and discourse in relation to access. The second case tracked a process by which web sites were developed for 8 community organisations in marginalised places in Durban. This was an action research project where participant observation, interviews and focus groups were methods used to collect data. The third case was concerned with the ways in which technology is used by informal traders active in the city. Photography, interviews and focus groups comprised the methods used in this instance. Actor-network theory was used in all three cases in the analysis of the field work, uncovering material and human actors, network stabilisation processes and agency in determining the transformative potential of ICT at city and local scales. The distribution of ICT access in Durban was found to follow a spatial trajectory resembling historical patterns of investment and resource distribution. The inclusion of ICT policy on the municipal agenda has deepened the complexity of the local governance terrain. Digital Durban may be promoted as developmental but its transformative qualities are limited; its goals are aligned with the needs and agendas of a broad range of actors, not necessarily in support of inclusion. Network relations are determined by aligned strategic agendas as actors are enrolled into the actor-network through translation. A failed web development process showed that translation processes are core to stabilising network relations. Work with informal traders indicated that appropriation of technology is informed by livelihood strategies. Innovation is enabled when translation extends to appropriation. More in-depth research is needed on how technology is moulded and appropriated to suit livelihoods. Throughout the research the spatial dimensions of the relationship between ICT and networks were considered. The network spaces that emerge from actor relations do not correspond with the physical spaces usually considered in policy. Future work on these contradictions is necessary in order to provide insights into how more meaningful public intervention can be enabled; the true spaces of transformation.