Master of Science / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Stephanie Rolley / Small group creative practice has the potential to set the conditions necessary to develop or strengthen community networks, as a form of social capital, in a disempowered, traumatized community. Traumatized communities require the process of building social capital to begin at an earlier point than in other communities and by addressing the background of trauma first. Case studies of three programs present the opportunity to inform the design of future development work with disempowered, traumatized communities like those of many women in countries engaged in armed conflict. The case studies examined are a government founded shelter for abused women; a localized project to teach agricultural skills; and a project to teach women artistic skills as a therapeutic exercise to build trust levels necessary to increase networks. Social capital provided perspective for examining the bonds between individuals and groups and how they affect individuals’ access to resources. Framed by a literature review, the case studies synthesized literature and first hand experiences and knowledge. A question protocol was used to query the case studies in order to identify best practices. The literature review demonstrated that the most reliable indicators of social capital are trust and association and suggests accepted indicators for each. By querying the case studies, it was determined that best practices for a project designed to build social capital in disempowered, traumatized communities include stipulations on the size of groups, how time is scheduled for informal interaction, identifying indicators of trust, and how conditions for group outcomes were met. This study found that, with an intentional design focus on group outcomes, as well as with attention to other best practices, creative practice is a viable method to increase the levels of trust necessary to set conditions for further development of social capital in the identified communities.

<p> This dissertation explores the interface between reflecting on ideals and the action or physical transformation that occurs in the world. Rephrased as a question: What are the appropriate and necessary epistemological pre-requisites for scholars that will increase the likelihood that their praxis succeeds in transforming society away from capitalism towards something that does a better job of assuring social justice? This question is good to organize around but makes for a poor research question because its answer is near infinitely debatable. My research questions then, come down to the following: In what ways can a researcher participate in a deliberate cultural intervention through the utilization of technological systems? What makes these interventions successful and what makes them fail? How does a researcher &ldquo;step back&rdquo; from such a project and draw out lessons for future interventions?</p><p> In service of answering these questions I have developed three &ldquo;sense-making tools&rdquo; to work through this difficult position. A sense-making tool is an epistemological framework that comes short of a theory of causation and instead prioritizes a change in perspective on the part of the individual engaging in praxis.</p><p> Those three tools are 1) capitalism is an emergent phenomenon, 2) recursivity is an epistemology that prioritizes organized complexity over rationalized efficiency, and 3) once decoupled from its main usage in reference to the Internet, the term &ldquo;online&rdquo; is a useful means of describing and understanding humans&rsquo; relationships to networks of communication and economic exchange. These three sense-making tools are applied to two case studies, an open source condom vending machine and a mesh Wi-Fi network. Both projects employed an &ldquo;inverted critical technical practice&rdquo; methodology that brought together engineering&rsquo;s tacit ways of knowing and critical theory&rsquo;s analytic tools to foster a symbiotic working relationship between the two. I fortify this experimental approach with some classic interview and participant observation techniques to ensure sufficient data collection. Taken together, this work tells a story about the importance of thinking deeply about what we as researchers bring to our field sites, both metaphorically and literally.</p><p> By evaluating my own projects and sharing what worked and what didn&rsquo;t I aim to increase the likelihood of achieving successful projects in the future. I have prioritized understanding my case studies and subject position in terms of how to do better work in the future, not necessarily painting a perfect picture of how the world works or even should work.</p>

<p> This paper utilizes survey data to compare several non-survey methods of modeling the economic impacts of biofuels plants. It examines differences in the input coefficients derived from the survey versus the trade coefficients generated through the non-survey methods. It finds that of the three non-survey methods examined, the Swenson (2006) scenario input coefficients most closely represent those found in the survey based on the performance of the non-survey scenario input coefficients in a variety of statistical tests. Further, it examines the economic impacts (multipliers) generated by these scenarios compared to those generated from the survey. Based upon statistical tests of the multipliers, the Swenson scenario&rsquo;s estimated impacts most closely represent the impacts derived from the survey.</p><p>

The natural characteristics of protected areas have changed for a variety of reasons through time. Changes in protected area landscapes can occur because of natural and/or cultural processes. Natural processes such as geomorphological disturbance and climatic condition can permanently and/or temporarily change the characteristics of the environment. In addition, changes in human needs, knowledge and activities are the cultural driving forces behind changing characteristics of landscape through time. These changes can be studied both spatially and temporally. Spatially, protected area landscape structures such as shape, size and location with respect to their neighbourhood context can be studied to describe landscape configuration. Temporally, landscape functions such as different geographical locations and land characteristics can be studied to determine the rate of temporal variability in landscape. Any changes in temporal characteristics may lead to changes in spatial characteristics of protected areas and vice versa. This thesis has developed a framework to enhance the landscape ecological planning approach with attention to changes in landscapes of protected areas. Considering landscape ecological concepts, this framework draws upon spatial and temporal characteristics of protected areas. Initially, a basic model of the landscape ecological approach to protected area planning and data requirements for landscape ecological planning was developed according to the concept of landscape ecological planning. In order to examine the model in the real world, the data requirements for landscape ecological planning were implemented using a case study method. The basic list of data required for landscape ecological planning was further developed through the case study approach by highlighting the importance of road metrics in the process of planning. In addition, the case study approach proved that spatial and temporal metrics can be used in the interpretation of spatial configuration and temporal variability of protected areas th rough a quantitative method. The framework was developed for three case studies in Iran and three case studies in Australia. A number of metrics were applied in order to quantify spatial and temporal aspects of the protected areas. A list of spatial and temporal criteria was developed to assist interpretation of area compaction, spatial fragmentation and temporal variability of protected areas. Using the criteria list, a new framework for spatial and temporal evaluation of protected areas has been developed. This can be used to determine spatial and temporal management issues of protected areas at the landscape scale. Then planning scenarios for spatial and temporal issues of protected areas at the landscape scale can be suggested. The developed framework has the potential to be applied to all protected areas even where detailed ecological data and information are not available. In addition, when all data required are available, the developed framework using spatial and temporal metrics has the potential to suggest a flexible zoning plan for protected areas.

Crisis, conflict, and consumption| Case studies of the politics and culture of neoliberalization in urban responses to global economic transformations

<p> The grouping of public buildings into civic centers and cultural centers became an obsession of American city planners at the turn of the twentieth century. Following European and ancient models, and inspired by the World&rsquo;s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and the McMillan Commission plan for the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in 1901, architects sought to create impressive horizontal ensembles of monumental buildings in urban open spaces such as downtown plazas and quasi-suburban parks in direct opposition to the vertical thrust of commercial skyscrapers. Hitherto viewed largely through the narrow stylistic prism of the City Beautiful vs. the city practical movements, the monumental center (as Jane Jacobs termed it) continued to persist beyond the passing of neoclassicism and the rise of high modernism, thriving as an indispensable motif of futurist aspiration in the era of comprehensive and regional planning, as municipalities sought to counteract the decentralizing pull of the automobile, freeway, air travel and suburban sprawl in postwar America. The administrative civic center and arts and educational cultural center (bolstered by that icon of late urban modernity, the medical center) in turn spawned a new hybrid, the center for the performing arts, exemplified by Lincoln Center and the National Cultural Center (the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts), as cities sought to integrate convention, sports, and live performance venues into inner-city urban renewal projects. Through the key case studies of Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Detroit, one-time juggernauts of heavy industry and twenty-first century regions of rust-belt collapse, this study examines the emergence of the ideology of grouping public buildings in urban planning as well as the nineteenth century philology of the keywords civic center and cultural center, terms once actively employed in discourses as diverse as Swiss geography, American anthropology, Social Christianity, the schoolhouse social center movement, and cultural Zionism. It also positions these developments in relation to modern anxieties about the center and its loss, charted by such thinkers as Hans Sedlmayr, Jacques Derrida, and Henri Lefevbre, and considers the contested utopian aspirations of the monumental center as New Jerusalem, Celestial City, and Shining City on a Hill. </p>

<p> This research is a case study analysis of Downtown Project, a corporate-led redevelopment endeavor currently taking place in downtown Las Vegas. Through private money and public partnerships, Internet retailer Zappos has relocated its headquarters to a neighborhood previously characterized by economic instability, and is actively constructing a concentrated "creative class" community of tech startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses. By examining Downtown Project, this research seeks to analyze the ways in which corporate-led redevelopment plays a powerful role in the local growth machine, asking who benefits, at what potential costs, and whose interests are served in downtown redevelopment projects. This research situates Downtown Project within the current economic context of Las Vegas, one of the cities hit the hardest by the recession and foreclosure crisis, in addition to placing this endeavor within the historical context of Las Vegas development and the city's "tradition of invention." This research also provides analysis of how this particular development is both similar to and different from other notable U.S. examples of corporate-led redevelopment. This case study draws from physical observations, maps, media coverage, census tract information, financial records, and a series of interviews in order to critically examine the key players and prominent narratives of this ambitious attempt at community building, and ask questions about the social justice and equitable development aspects of such a project.</p>

<p> Current economic development policy is unevenly effective across Appalachia. At the root of this policy is the annual determination of County Economic Status, a metric intended to measure performance in relation to the rest of the nation. This designation, calculated from income, unemployment and poverty data, is deeply flawed. Understanding how public investment and economic accessibility interact can yield improved results when implementing development policies and funding initiatives aimed at the region. Failure to recognize the assets and challenges unique to the region, coupled with an imperfect understanding of the regional interactions between local economies, have led to mis-targeted programs and unsatisfactory results. </p><p> A comprehensive examination of how public and private facilities interact to improve the overall well-being of a region in terms of the spatial patterns of accessibility and investment can increase understanding of the role of public investment in Appalachia, and improve program targeting. An economic accessibility model is generated and evaluated at the community level, and evaluated in conjunction with public investment practices, to uncover important information about the effectiveness of development efforts and the evolution of economic regions.</p>

<p> Small farms and ranches are extremely important to local economies and food systems. Yet, small farms and ranches are known to struggle financially. A review of the literature and this research project revealed agritourism is a promising practice that can improve the viability and financial stability of small farms and ranches. Five farmers were interviewed in a qualitative study that used a modified gap analysis to reveal the knowledge, motivation, and organizational (KMO) influences impacting agritourism participation. The findings are summarized with recommendations to further improve this promising practice, as well as ideas for future research and a plan to implement and evaluate an agritourism program that could change how farmers approach this promising practice.</p><p>

<p> Tribal governments&rsquo; capacity to implement land use controls within their Nations is limited by the United States Constitution and federal law; however, tribal governments have inherent sovereignty to protect, guide, and govern the lands under their jurisdiction to protect and enhance the safety, health, and welfare of their members.</p><p> The aim of this thesis was to investigate and identify (1) the extent to which tribal Nations have sovereignty over their lands and authority to regulate land use within their jurisdiction and (2) the present status and extent to which Native American tribal governments use their sovereignty over land use development concerning oil and natural gas development within their jurisdiction.</p><p> The study was qualitative in nature and focused on a comprehensive archival review and a one-case case study. Constitutional law, federal Indian law, environmental law, and tribal law were considered. The thesis first examines the results of the archival review, which demonstrates that tribes, while limited by federal law, have sovereignty and authority to control land use within their territories.</p><p> The Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation were also examined. The Tribes were chosen based on location, level of oil and natural gas production, and accessibility of information. The most current information available was used for the study. The data for the study was obtained from the Internet. The research suggests that tribes are implementing land use controls and participating in land use and comprehensive planning; however, they are not doing so to the extent of their sovereignty.</p><p> This study demonstrates that tribal governments do indeed have authority over their lands and resources and cannot fully take advantage of their sovereignty without practicing self-governance over their natural, built, and human environments. Questions remain regarding the reasons that tribal governments are not implementing land use controls and engaging in land use planning to the extent of their sovereignty. Further research is needed to understand the reasons that tribal organizations are not taking full advantage of the existing sovereignty of their lands and resources.</p>