Thesis (PhD (Civil Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In South Africa, wind constitutes the most critical environmental loading affecting the design of the built environment. The wind climatic information, which is currently incorporated in structural design standards, is based on the analysis of records from a limited number of wind recording stations, mainly located in large cities, and was done several decades ago. In view of the size and the climatological diversity of South Africa, this information cannot be deemed to be adequate. Therefore, the incorporation of welldistributed and updated information on wind climate is essential. The present study endeavoured to address this issue. A strong wind climatology was developed with the use of observed climate data, with the most significant result that a mixed strong wind climate is prevalent in the greater part of South Africa. Statistical approaches to estimate extreme wind speeds were investigated with applicable wind data, with the optimum approach guided by the unique climatological environment and the statistical properties of the utilised data set: For the wind gust analysis the Peak-Over-Threshold method with the exponential distribution is recommended, while in a mixed strong wind climate the “mixed climate” approach is preferred. For the analysis of the hourly mean wind speeds the choice is between the Gumbel distribution and the mixed climate approach, depending on the strong wind climate. The estimation and incorporation of environmental correction factors to the measured wind speeds were necessary as the surroundings of most weather stations did not correspond to the reference Terrain Category. For some of the weather stations it was impossible to compensate for the inadequate exposure and surrounding complex topography, so that a reduced number of weather stations were available for the strong wind analyses. The values estimated for the design wind speeds, adjusted for the short lengths of data records, as well as techniques developed to guide the spatial interpolation of the quantiles, were utilised to develop updated maps of the regional design wind speeds. A comparative study between the results of this study, and that of the previous study on which the current loading code in South Africa is based, indicates that the present study should produce more reliable quantile estimations. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Wind vorm die mees kritieke omgewingslading wat die ontwerp van die beboude omgewing in Suid-Afrika beïnvloed. Die windklimaat-inligting wat tans gebruik word in die ontwerp spesifikasies is gebaseer op die statistiese analiese van veskeie dekades gelede op ‘n beperkte aantal windmeting-stasies, hoofsaaklik gesentreer in groot stede. Indien die grootte sowel as die klimatologiese diversiteit van Suid-Afrika in ag geneem word kan hierdie inligting nie as voldoende gereken word nie. Die gebruik van heelwat beter verspreide en opgedateerde inligting oor die windklimaat is daarom noodsaaklik en die studie poog om hierdie leemte aan te spreek. ‘n Sterk-wind klimatologie van Suid-Afrika is ontwikkel deur die gebruik van waargenome klimaatdata, met die mees betekenisvolle bevinding dat ‘n gemengde sterk-wind klimaat in die grootste gedeelte van Suid-Afrika heers. Statistiese benaderings om ekstreme winde te beraam is ondersoek met die beskikbare winddata, met die optimale benadering wat sal afhang van die klimatologiese omgewing van die weerstasie en die statistiese eienskappe van die betrokke windrekord: Vir die wind-stoot analieses word die “Piek-Oor-Drumpel” metode met die eksponensïele verdeling aanbeveel, behalwe in ‘n gemengde sterkwind klimaat waar die “gemengde klimaat” benadering gebruik word. Vir die analiese van die uurlikse gemiddelde winde is die keuse tussen die Gumbel verdeling en die gemengde klimaat benadering, afhangende van die sterk-wind klimaat. Die skatting en toepassing van omgewingskorreksiefaktore vir die windspoed was nodig, aangesien die omgewings waarin die meeste weerstasies is nie ooreenkom met die verwysings Terrein Kategorie nie. Vir sommige weerstasies was dit onmoontlik om vir die onvoldoende blootstelling te vergoed, met die gevolg dat minder stasies beskikbaar was vir die sterk wind analiese. Die geskatte waardes vir die ontwerp-windsnelhede, asook tegnieke ontwikkel vir ruimtelike interpolasie, is gebruik vir die ontwikkeling van kaarte van die omgewings-ontwerpsnelhede, na verstellings van die waardes om te vergoed vir die kort data rekords wat gebruik is. ‘n Kritiese vergelykingstudie wat gedoen is tussen die resultate van die huidige studie, en die vorige waarop die huidige laskodes vir Suid-Afrika gebaseer is, dui aan dat die huidige studie betroubaarder skattings van die kwantiele behoort op te lewer.

Outdoor water use by single-family residences in the desert city of Tucson, Arizona is investigated as a multi-scaled coupled human-environment system, using remotely sensed images, GIS data, household water use records and survey responses. Like many desert cities, Tucson's municipal water system faces stresses at multiple spatial and temporal scales: rising demand, limited supplies, competition for distant resources and the likelihood of shortages due to regional climate change. Though the need for demand management is recognized, conflict between the long-term regional scale of the ecosystem that sustains Tucson's water supply and the short-term, local scale of the municipal utility results in a "lack of fit", shown here as the inability to reduce consumption to sustainable levels.While direct regulation of outdoor water use has not been successful, geographic research suggests that modification of the built environment, the focus of the three studies comprising this dissertation, holds promise as a demand management strategy. The first study is a spatial analysis of survey responses on outdoor water use practices during a drought. Next, the potential for substituting common amenities (irrigated landscapes and swimming pools) for private ones is investigated. Residential use was found to be sensitive to park proximity, greenness (proxied by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), size and presence of a park pool. Most small parks were net water savers; large parks offered the opportunity to substitute reclaimed water for potable supplies.The last study correlates long-term Landsat-based vegetation and water use trends and integrates these with a spatial analysis of kinetic temperatures. Findings indicate that despite reduced water use, Tucson became greener over the 1995 - 2008 period. This effect is attributed to a pulse of vegetation establishment in response to a shift in the El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) around 1976 and to irrigation prior to the study period. I conclude that although the coupled human-environment system of Tucson's municipal water supply and use practices is complex, there are scale-dependent competitive advantages to be gained through thoughtful modification of the built environment.

The “graying” of the population is proceeding rapidly, and the prevalence of people living with dementia is rising. Dementia is a syndrome due to the disease of the brain, which is characterized by a progressive, global deterioration in the intellect including memory, learning, orientation, language, comprehension, and judgment. This entails an increased need for assistance with daily tasks. In most cases, family members perform the caregiving role. However, providing care and support for someone with dementia is associated with an enormous emotional, physical, and social stress. Therefore, it is necessary for caregivers to take periods of rest regularly and to take care of their own health. In Germany, assisted vacations have been established as an important type of potential support for family caregivers. They go on a vacation together with their care recipient. During their stay, professionals and volunteers assist with the care and, as a result, relieve the family caregivers. Unfortunately, few vacation accommodations meet the specific needs of the target group. Especially, a proper design of the physical environment can positively affect functionality, behavior, and well-being among people with dementia and, thus, also benefit the caregivers. Former research on designing dementia-friendly environments has been heterogenic, and little is known about how to design the built environment for people with dementia outside nursing homes. The purpose of this paper is to explore ways of designing holiday accommodations for people with dementia and their family caregivers. The methods used were, first, a literature review on design and family caregiving for people with dementia. This aimed at identifying dementia-friendly physical features and at determining dementia caregivers’ characteristics. Second, a case study of existing holiday homes was carried out to detect strengths and weaknesses of their built environments. In combination, caregiver’s demands on the design of the built environment were assessed through qualitative interviews with caregivers. Consequently, design criteria were developed through a synthesis of the result of the previous steps. Finally, the resulting design criteria were transferred into a concept for a prototypical holiday accommodation. Results suggest that a holiday accommodation, which meets the demands of the target group on the built environment, has to be barrier-free and dementia-friendly designed; has to offer situational orientation cues; and provides space for activities, communication, and retreat. This paper represents a first approach of exploring ways to design dementia-friendly holiday homes. There is a need to further examine the resulting ideas.

The concept of space goes well beyond just buildings and infrastructure; it can represent feelings of attachment and belonging, it can interact with us and generate meaning. The built environment is not just the “backdrop” of our lives, but rather it plays a major role in them. In the state of California prisons have become a prominent element of our communal landscape, now housing 2.4 million Americans today. This paper explores prisons as a rich site of analysis in terms of how our built environment affects our daily lives. In order to delve into this analysis, I will explore sport-based programming in the prison context and how these programs can create alternative spaces to foster social capital and improve the relationship between the individual and his or her surroundings. In order to bring these theories to life, I conducted a case study through the Prison Education Project at The California Rehabilitation Center to explore the efficacy of academic soccer-based programs within this context specifically.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been viewed as a critical factor influencing students' academic achievement, ability to work, and potential to succeed. Previous research has shown that students with high EI perform better academically than those with low EI, as well as being better equipped for their professional careers. However, despite the acknowledged importance of EI, little work has explored the construct within the context of built environment education and relatively little is known about how built environment curricula should be designed to enhance EI. This research explores the EI levels of built environment undergraduates and its relationship to their specific programmes, and investigates the types of pedagogic interventions which appear to influence EI in a positive way. This research adopts a multimethodological research design and a mixed methods approach, involving a combination of both quantitative and qualitative datasets to explore students' experiences and learning enhancements. These include a questionnaire survey of 420 respondents, a secondary examination of built environment programmes, interviews with construction professionals and 45 in-depth interviews with placement students and other undergraduates. The results reveal that the existing built environment education inhibits students' EI development, but that EI is shown to increase during industrial placements. The results also reveal that EI development differs by the types of programme taken, with students studying on Civil Engineering and Architectural Engineering & Design Management programmes showing a propensity for higher EI scores in comparison with those studying on a Commercial Management & Quantity Surveying programme. An analysis of the modular content of programmes, together with the mode of teaching, learning and assessment used, reveals the types of pedagogic intervention which can enhance EI development. Group work and student-centred learning in particular were found to have a positive effect on EI development. These findings form the basis of recommendations for how current built environment education can be enhanced in a way to develop students' EI. It is suggested that a better understanding of students' EI levels and the ability of such programmes to influence students' EI may help to produce graduates better able to meet the future requirements of the construction industry.

Helgo Zettervall (1831–1907) was one of Sweden’s principal architects and design talents. He was professionally active for 40 years, from the late 1850s to the mid-1890s – a period of intensive building activity in Sweden. For the first twenty years of his career, he had his practice in Lund, and in the subsequent twenty years he lived in Stockholm as head of Sweden’s state authority for public buildings. Zettervall was very productive. His portfolio contains 281 projects, of which 160 were executed, ranging from large cathedral restorations with thousands of detailed drawings and large public buildings to porch extensions and smaller residences. This dissertation highlights Zettervall’s works by putting them in a context and by analysing their qualitative aspects. Carried out as a historiographical case study, the framework for the dissertation is the architectural monograph. The individual architectural projects are the core of the presentation, assembling and making archive material readily accessible, and the method is leaning towards that of an oeuvre complète raisonné. The method includes three distinct approaches: a factual accounting of documents and drawings, a context-setting frame story that provides the conditions, and an architectural analysis. Zettervall belonged to the first generation of architects who could receive a well-planned and broad training in Sweden. All of this training took place against a backdrop of what a specific assignment demanded in terms of responsiveness and understanding. Zettervall developed a special talent for utilizing new construction methods and materials. Each assignment was a challenge to investigate new design principles and new spatial ideas. The investigation shows that every project was unique for Zettervall, and that his various solutions depended on the specific situation, regarding site and program. Zettervall was a distinct pragmatic. Every assignment had its unique conditions, and thus had a unique solution. / <p>QC 20170511</p>

“[that] which does not change does not endure” – Henri Bergson Numbers only quantify the development Qatar is experiencing. In Doha, the city is a physical manifestation of these changes. The general approach to development follows a ‘tear down, build new’ model. Potential value is lost in what is discarded, despite necessity and convenience. This study addresses the topic by dispelling the assumed need to destroy in order to build. In doing so, it examines existing vernacular spaces that are often overlooked. The main application is analyzed through agents of space, such as buildings and the urban environment with varied outcomes. The study introduces and encourages an alternative narrative to the existing approach through transformative principles of preservation. It addresses the core concepts of temporality and permanence by negotiating what to retain and/or what to alter. Consequently, trace plays a major role as a process of honoring and embracing the past by materializing it. Incorporating novel elements allow for a shift in perception to occur. Value becomes a method of enriching and elevating a topic, idea, artifact, material, function, or experience.

Prevailing city design in many countries has created sedentary societies that depend on automobile use. Consequently, architects, urban designers, and land planners have developed new urban design theories, which have been incorporated into the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) certification system. The LEED-ND includes design elements that improve human well-being by facilitating walking and biking, a concept known as walkability. Despite these positive developments, relevant research findings from other fields of study have not been fully integrated into the LEED-ND. According to Zuniga-Teran (2015), relevant walkability research findings from multiple disciplines were organized into a walkability framework (WF) that organizes design elements related to physical activity into nine categories, namely, connectivity, land use, density, traffic safety, surveillance, parking, experience, greenspace, and community. In this study, we analyze walkability in the LEED-ND through the lens of the nine WF categories. Through quantitative and qualitative analyses, we identify gaps and strengths in the LEED-ND and propose potential enhancements to this certification system that reflects what is known about enhancing walkability more comprehensively through neighborhood design analysis. This work seeks to facilitate the translation of research into practice, which can ultimately lead to more active and healthier societies. (C) 2016 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.

Master of Public Health / Department of Kinesiology / Andrew T. Kaczynski / Background: Parks are key community assets for promoting physical activity, especially in low income areas where other accessible, low cost resources may not be available. However, some evidence suggests these integral resources are not equitably distributed. The primary purpose of this study was to examine disparities in park availability, features, and quality across socioeconomically and racially diverse census tracts (CTs) in Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO). Methods: All parks in KCMO were mapped using GIS shape files provided by the City of KCMO. Park features and quality were determined via on-site audits using the Community Park Audit Tool. Data from the American Community Survey were used to designate all 174 CTs within KCMO as either low, medium, or high income and percent minority. MANCOVA was used to analyze differences in park availability, features, and quality across income and race/ethnicity tertiles. Results: Low income CTs contained significantly more parks (M=1.46) than medium (M=1.25) or high (M=1.00) income CTs, but also had more quality concerns (e.g., vandalism) per park. High income CTs contained more playgrounds per park (M=.69) than low (M=.62) and medium (M=.52) income tracts. There were more basketball courts per park in high minority CTs (M=.59) than low (M=.13) or medium (M=.30) minority CTs, and more trails per park in low (M=.60) and medium (M=.55) minority CTs than high (M=.39) minority CTs. Finally, there were more sidewalks around parks in low (M=.87) and high (M=.74) income CTs than medium (M=.61) income CTs. Conclusions: This study adds to an important body of literature examining income and racial disparities in access to active living environments. Park availability was greater in low income areas, but several key park characteristics were less common in low income or high minority areas. Future research should consider the quality of park facilities and amenities and the composition of neighborhoods around parks, as well as how disparities in access to park environments are associated with physical activity and health outcomes. Public health and parks and recreation researchers and practitioners should work together to examine policies that contribute to and that might rectify disparities in access to safe and attractive parks and open spaces.

This research investigates the uses and perceptions of the population of the East Carrollton Area in New Orleans so as to evaluate the possible outcomes of urban design intervention and policy changes. Using GIS, field notes, structured interviews and a population survey, this research evaluates how much the built environment influences the uses of the neighborhood open space. Subsequently, it evaluates how the neighborhood open space is perceived as a place as opposed to a transportation infrastructure. Overall, the built environment affects the experience of the residents when they perform leisure activities in the neighborhood open space. Major deterrents to functional use and active transportation are related to social factors and the social environment. The neighborhood open space is largely perceived as an asset by the residents. It can be a valid replacement for urban parks when the population cannot access them.