At its greatest extent, the Roman empire represented one of the largest continuous areas of land to have been ruled by a single central administration in the classical period. While the extent of the empire may be determined from both the extensive body of literary evidence from the Roman world, and also from the physi- cal remains of great public works stretching from Britain to Arabia, the processes by which the Romans were able to apprehend larger spaces remain infrequently studied in modern scholarship. It is often assumed that Roman spatial awareness came from cartographic representations and that the imperial Roman administration must have possessed detailed scale maps of both individual regions and of the empire as a whole. In the first part of the present study, it is demonstrated that Roman spatial understanding may not have relied very extensively on cartography, and that any maps produced in the Roman world were designed to serve very different purposes from those that we might associate with maps today. Instead, it is argued that the extensive construction projects that defined the character of the imperial world would have pro- vided a means by which the larger physical spaces of the empire could be understood. However, as transformations began to occur within the built environment between the late-third and late-sixth centuries, spatial processes would have necessarily started to change. In the second part of the present study, it is suggested that attitudes toward the built environment would have led to changes in the physical arrangement of rural and urban spaces in late antiquity; furthermore the eventual dissolution of the constructed landscape that defined the Roman empire would have resulted in new approaches to the apprehension of larger spaces, approaches in which cartographic expression may have played a more central role.

“Nation building without city building is a senseless exercise” - Tomlinson et al (eds.) 2003: x. What is the nation in the 21st century and how is it represented in the urban built environment? This question underlies an anthropological investigation into the meanings of the Nelson Mandela Bridge project - a simulacrum for the making of a particular Johannesburg experience. The multi-million Rand fantasy of the urban imagineers showcases a post-apartheid inner city revival through the personification of a mayoral dream for a world-class city. The city’s textured socio-cultural and political-economic urbanity, its haphazard mining town origins and the aggressive apartheid urban politics, filter into its post-apartheid urban reconfiguration. The artful juggling of socio-cultural, political and economic elements launches the project as physical and symbolic entry-point into a new urban and historical era – a new urban frontier. The project’s technological innovation and slick excesses mirrors 21st century capitalist thinking – a packaging of local experiences into a marketable landscape commodified for moneyed consumption and participation. The privatisation of public space through modes of urban gentrification elicits elitist urban engagement in a partitioned and generic urban space. The latter conflicts with the project’s official branding as: “[being]‘for the good of all’. This research interrogates the adaptation of international best practices, the machinations of trans-nationalism in setting up urban experiences that contest individual constitutional and democratic rights. Contrasted here are the un-narrated voices of the city’s dark underbelly, the uncertainties of a marginalized majority struggling for a meagre existence in the inner-city in the face of the grand-scale urban regeneration project.

A presente pesquisa analisa os fatores geográficos envolvidos na instalação da fábrica de calçados Grendene na cidade do Crato-CE (1997) e as respectivas transformações urbanas engendradas no ambiente construído e no cotidiano da população do bairro onde a empresa se estabeleceu. A presença de empresas com sede na Região Centro-Sul em estados nordestinos particularmente a dessa empresa calçadista gaúcha, em três municípios do Estado do Ceará (Fortaleza, Sobral e Crato) ocorreu em função das novas estratégias de localização das grandes empresas, da disponibilidade de mão de obra de baixo custo relativo, mas também em função de políticas públicas de incentivos fiscais e benefícios diversos às indústrias intensivas em mão de obra. Nesse contexto, a Grendene instalada no Crato, cidade da Região do Cariri cearense, a 500 km da Região Metropolitana de Fortaleza (RMF), foi resultado de uma política territorial muito específica de desconcentração industrial da Capital e interiorização da industrialização, que se deu num contexto de acirramento da guerra dos lugares no Brasil. Depois da instalação deste novo fixo geográfico no Crato, o lugar se complexificou e ganhou certo dinamismo econômico, participando de uma divisão do trabalho mais ampla (nacional e internacional). Porém, nossa pesquisa identificou também que se mantiveram formas precárias de trabalho e subsistência nessa mesma situação geográfica, formas que podem ser caracterizadas como sendo do circuito inferior da economia urbana. / The present research analyzes the geographic factors involved in the installation of the Grendene footwear factory in the city of Crato-CE (1997) and the respective urban transformations engendered in the built environment and the daily life of the population of the neighborhood where the company was established. The presence of companies based in the Center-South Region in northeastern states particularly that of this footwear company in the state of Ceará (Fortaleza, Sobral and Crato) occurred due to the new location strategies of large companies, availability of relatively low-cost labor, but also in terms of public policies of tax incentives and various benefits to the labor-intensive industries. In this context, Grendene, located in Crato, a city in the Cariri region of Ceará, 500 km from the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza (FMR), was the result of a very specific territorial policy of industrial deconcentration of the capital and internalization of industrialization. context of the war of the places in Brazil. After the installation of this new geographic fixed in Crato, the place became more complex and gained a certain economic dynamism, participating in a broader division of labor (national and international). However, our research has also identified that precarious forms of work and subsistence have been maintained in this same geographical situation, forms that can be characterized as being the \"inferior circuit of the urban economy\".

A presente tese se baseia no estudo das rochas ornamentais e de revestimento em relação aos seus aspectos de alterabilidade que irá influenciar diretamente no aumento da adição do gás radioativo radônio no interior de um ambiente com o passar do tempo de uso, fato devido as interações com o meio de onde é instalado a rocha, como exemplo da sua manutenção e limpeza, que implicará no seu padrão estético e na qualidade do ar do ambiente interior. Temas como a qualidade do ar interior relacionado a qualidade de vida do usuário, a radioatividade natural, o perigo do gás radiotivo radônio no interior do ambiente e as rochas ornamentais como composição e uso na arquitetura são apresentados para embasamento da Tese e auxiliando no entendimento dos ensaios realizados. Para isso, cinco rochas ornamentais foram escolhidas e realizados ensaios de alterabilidade química, ensaios tecnológicos de caraterização e ensaios de caracterização radiométrica a fim de prever o comportamento de uma dada rocha em seu ambiente ao ser aplicado na arquitetura. O ataque do ácido HCl nas rochas diminuiu sua resistência e aumentou a quantidade de radônio exalado relacionado diretamente ao aumento direto na porosidade, aumentando também a eficiência de exalação da rocha. O ataque do álcali KOH apesar de diminuir a resistência da rocha, interferiu na porosidade e diminuindo assim a quantidade de radônio exalado em alguns casos. Isso demonstra que mesmo conhecendo o material e a sua contribuição na adição do Rn no interior do ambiente, com o passar do tempo a rocha irá aumentar sua exalação quando não conservadas podendo aumentar o nível de radônio acumulado no ambiente. Com isso, a tese realça a importância de conhecer o material que irá compor o interior do ambiente afim de prevenir futuros danos à saúde da edificação e dos usuários, facilitando assim o entendimento desses materiais e como interfere na qualidade do ambiente construído. / This thesis is based on the study of dimension stone in relation to aspects of changeability which will directly influence the increased addition of radon radioactive gas within an environment over time of use, a fact due to interactions with the environment where it is installed rock, as an example of its maintenance and cleaning, which will result in its aesthetic standard and quality of indoor air environment. Topics such as the quality of the related indoor air to the user\'s quality of life, natural radioactivity, the danger of radiotivo radon gas into the atmosphere and dimension stone as composition and use in architecture are presented to foundation this Thesis and aiding in the understanding of tests. For this, five ornamental stones were chosen and performed chemical tests changeability, technological characterization of assays and radiometric characterization tests to predict the behavior of a given rock in your environment to be applied in architecture. The attack of the HCl acid in the rocks decreased its strength and increased the amount of exhaled radon related directly to the direct increase in porosity, also increasing exhalation efficiency of the rock. The attack KOH alkali spite of reducing the resistance of the rock, and interfere with the porosity thereby decreasing the amount of radon vented in some cases. This shows that even knowing the material and its contribution to the addition of Rn into the environment, with the passage of time the rock will increase your exhalation when not maintained can increase the level of accumulated radon in the environment. Thus, the thesis highlights the importance of knowing the material that will form the inside of the environment in order to prevent further damage to the health of the building and users, thus facilitating the understanding of these materials and how it interferes in the quality of the built environment.

O processamento dos requisitos é um processo que visa o atendimento dos requisitos dos envolvidos em um projeto. Especificamente em projetos de ambientes construídos, é importante devido à natureza complexa, iterativa e ao grande número de envolvidos. Apesar de ser um tema explorado há muitas décadas, o processamento de requisitos ainda é pouco conhecido pelos profissionais da área, e seus problemas e dificuldades são essencialmente associados à falta de procedimentos estruturados e à pouca adequação das ferramentas de suporte. Esta tese objetiva trazer contribuições para a implementação de melhorias no processamento dos requisitos de projetos de ambientes construídos, a partir das percepções dos profissionais que desenvolvem tais projetos. Para tanto, este objetivo geral foi subdividido em quatro objetivos específicos: (i) propor uma caracterização das etapas e uma definição dos conceitos-chave relacionados ao processamento dos requisitos em projetos de ambientes construídos; (ii) verificar quais são as técnicas e ferramentas mais utilizadas tacitamente pelos profissionais para processar requisitos, bem como o interesse dos mesmos em utilizar técnicas e ferramentas mais sofisticadas; (iii) investigar a eficiência das técnicas e ferramentas utilizadas tacitamente para processar requisitos sob a ótica dos profissionais, bem como identificar quais são as principais dificuldades que enfrentam; e (iv) propor e testar preliminarmente soluções para sanar as lacunas identificadas nas etapas de priorização de requisitos e definição de soluções de projeto. A pesquisa foi estruturada no formato de 5 artigos científicos. O primeiro e o segundo, visam atender ao objetivo (i), através de uma revisão sistemática e da proposta de um mapa cognitivo, respectivamente. O terceiro e o quarto artigos exploram através de um estudo de caso exploratório e de uma survey, respectivamente, as práticas tácitas de processamento de requisitos e as dificuldades dos profissionais, atendendo assim aos objetivos (ii) e (iii). O quinto artigo apresenta a aplicação de dois métodos matemáticos como alternativas para atender ao objetivo específico (iv). Como resultados, foi possível realizar uma caracterização do processamento de requisitos, além de apontar caminhos para as melhorias através do diagnóstico das práticas já existentes, das dificuldades dos profissionais e da proposta de novas ferramentas. A principal conclusão é de que o sucesso na implementação de melhorias, tanto através do melhoramento de técnicas que já são utilizadas na rotina dos profissionais, como de ferramentas mais complexas, depende da prévia compreensão das dificuldades no ambiente onde os projetos são desenvolvidos, e do investimento na capacitação das pessoas. / The requirements processing is a process aimed at meeting the stakeholder’s requirements. Specifically in building design, it is important due to the complex and iterative nature, and to the large number of stakeholders. Despite being studied for decades, the requirements processing is still little known by practitioners, and their problems and difficulties are mainly associated with the lack of structured procedures and little adequacy of support tools. This thesis aims to bring contributions to the implementation of improvements in the requirements processing in building design, from the perceptions of the professionals who develop such projects. Therefore, this general objective was subdivided into four specific objectives: (i) to propose a characterization of the steps and a definition of the key concepts related to the requirements processing in building design; (ii) to verify what are the techniques and tools most commonly used by professionals to process requirements, as well as the interest of those in the use of more sophisticated techniques and tools; (iii) to investigate the efficiency of the techniques and tools used to process tacitly requirements from the perspective of the practitioners, as well as identify what are the main problems they face; and (iv) to propose and test preliminary solutions to remedy the difficulties identified in the prioritization of requirements and the definition of design solutions. The thesis was structured in 5 scientific articles. The first and the second, aim to meet the objective (i) through a systematic review and a proposal of a cognitive map, respectively. The third and fourth articles explore, through an exploratory case study and a survey, respectively, the tacit practices of processing requirements and the difficulties of professionals, thus meeting the objectives (ii) and (iii). The fifth article presents the application of two methods as alternatives to meet the objective (iv). As a result, it was possible to make a characterization of the requirements processing in building design, and to indicate a way for improvements through the diagnosis of existing practices, the difficulties of practitioners and the new tools proposed. The main conclusion is that the successful implementation of improvements, both by improving techniques that are already used in the routine of professionals, as more complex tools depends on the prior understanding of the difficulties in the environment where the projects are developed, and investment in training people.

Com o crescimento da população em áreas urbanas, o transporte coletivo assume um importante papel nos deslocamentos diários nas cidades brasileiras. No entanto, o grande volume de pessoas no entorno desses sistemas podem resultar em pontos críticos de segurança viária. Recentemente, as pesquisas sobre melhorias na segurança viária estão se direcionando para a investigação da relação entre o ambiente construído - isto é, padrões de uso do solo; desenho urbano; e sistemas de transporte - e acidentalidade. Porém, a relação entre os sistemas de transporte coletivo por ônibus e o ambiente construído ainda é pouco explorada. O ponto mais crítico em segurança identificado na literatura em sistemas de transporte coletivo são as estações de embarque e desembarque. Assim, esta dissertação tem como objetivo verificar a existência de relação entre elementos do ambiente construído com a ocorrência e severidade de acidentes viários no entorno de pontos de parada em sistemas prioritários para ônibus. Para isso, aplicou-se os modelos de regressão Binomial Negativo (NB), na análise de frequência de acidentes, e os modelos Logit Ordenado (OL) e Logit Multinomial (MNL), para a análise de severidade. No modelo de frequência de acidentes totais, identificou-se duas variáveis significativas e, no modelo estimado para atropelamentos, três variáveis. O modelo de severidade resultou em 19 variáveis significativas para acidentes totais e oito variáveis significativas para atropelamentos. As variáveis referentes ao envolvimento de motocicletas, automóveis, presença de interseção e uso diversificado do solo foram as mais recorrentes. O estudo possibilitou também avaliar as diferenças e vantagens entre os modelos ordenados e os não-ordenados. O modelo Logit Multinomial teve ajustes levemente melhores do que o Logit Ordenado. Ressalta-se, entretanto, que o ajuste do modelo não deve ser o único critério a se considerar na escolha de modelos para o estudo de severidade de acidentes. / Public transport has played an important role in daily commutes in Brazilian cities as population grows in urban areas. However, high volumes of pedestrians near those systems may result in critical safety issues. Recent studies on road safety improvements have sought for evidence on the relationship between built environment - land use patterns; urban design; and transportation systems - and traffic safety. Nevertheless, the relationship between traffic safety at bus priority systems and the built environment is still incipient. According to studies, the most critical safety issues related to public transport are the stations for boarding and alighting. Thus, this thesis aims to verify the relationship between built environment and incidence and severity of traffic crashes in the surroundings of bus priority systems. To do so, we applied Negative Binomial regression models (NB) for the frequency analysis, and the Ordered Logit (OL) and Multinomial Logit (MNL) models for severity analysis. NB models resulted in two significant variables for traffic crashes in general and three variables for pedestrian crashes. The severity model resulted in 19 significant variables overall crashes and eight significant variables for pedestrian crashes. Variables related to the involvement of motorcycles, automobiles, intersections and mixed land use were significant in majority of model estimations. The results allowed to evaluate the goodness of fit between ordered and unordered models. MNL had a slightly better adjustments compared to OL. Goodness of fit, however, should not be the only criterion for selecting a model to assess crash severity.

Design quality work has sought to identify the impact of building design on users during the last 25 years. However, it has rarely considered the role that social context plays in this relationship, an issue that dovetails with the emerging concept of "social value". To drive learning in design, the social value of buildings requires measurement and dissemination, yet existing post-occupancy methodologies have focused on technical building performance rather than user experience. A shift in evaluative focus is needed. The social value of buildings is conceptualised as the mutual interaction between physical building design, active building users and the dynamic social relations that exist within the community of building users. This research has investigated the effective measurement of the social value of buildings and its potential influence on learning in design and commissioning processes, through the critical application of a social impact methodology called Social Return on Investment (SROI). Three case buildings were selected from the nonclinical healthcare sector with differing levels of user-centred design to trial SROI and develop a framework for its application to the built environment. SROI is designed to quantify complex social outcomes, identified through qualitative stakeholder engagement, and generate a transferable metric in the form of a monetised return-on-investment ratio. A methodological account is given of the challenges faced when applying it to the case buildings and the modifications required as a result, representing a unique information source about applied social value research in buildings. However, the effectiveness of SROI at measuring the social value of buildings is questioned due to the process of simplification required to turn qualitative user narratives into monetised data. Its potential utility as a decision-making tool in the built environment is investigated through engagement with design and commissioning professionals. The findings suggest that SROI has limited utility in design-related decisions, but considerable potential as a high level investment tool to inform funding and commissioning decisions. Due to the accessibility of its methodology and transferability of its results, SROI is well-placed as a tool for end user clients, commissioners and investors, as much as design experts. SROI represents a development in lay (e)valuation practices in the built environment, with broader implications for user-centred learning in the context of the growing wellbeing agenda.

Após o fim da Segunda Guerra Mundial, teve início um processo de aumento da utilização dos automóveis nos grandes centros urbanos que modificou o desenho das cidades e o padrão de deslocamento nesses espaços. Uma das diversas consequências negativas da consolidação do automóvel como principal meio de transporte nas metrópoles foi o aumento do número de acidentes no trânsito, principalmente os que envolviam os usuários de transporte ativo – pedestres e ciclistas. A promoção dos modos de transporte não motorizados, como a bicicleta, é tida como ação complementar para reversão desse processo, porém, para tanto, é necessário melhorar a percepção de segurança sobre o modo cicloviário. A tomada de decisão por parte dos gestores do tráfego acerca das intervenções viárias que melhoram a segurança dos ciclistas carece de entendimento sobre os elementos que influenciam a ocorrência de acidentes envolvendo estes usuários. Desse modo, o trabalho desenvolvido nesta dissertação tem como objetivo a verificação da existência de relação entre os elementos urbanos construídos, os fatores socioeconômicos e outras possíveis fontes de risco com a frequência e severidade dos acidentes cicloviários na cidade de Porto Alegre O processo de investigação utilizou softwares de georreferenciamento para consolidar os dados coletados segundo as unidades de análise definidas. A frequência de acidentes foi modelada através de Modelo de Regressão Binomial Negativo e a severidade de acidentes foi modelada através de Modelo Logit Multinomial. O modelo de frequência de acidentes apresentou duas variáveis significativas. Em seguida, foi gerado um novo modelo de frequência de acidentes a partir da eliminação de possíveis fontes de discrepância dos dados. Os resultados indicaram que este segundo modelo estava melhor ajustado ao cenário estudado. O modelo de severidade de acidentes foi composto por 18 variáveis significativas. Por fim, os elementos que demonstraram maior prevalência sobre a acidentalidade de ciclistas foram a interação com automóveis, a presença de vias arteriais, a proximidade com áreas de interseção e o envolvimento de usuários vulneráveis (jovens e idosos em bicicletas) nos acidentes. / After the end of the World War II, many cities around the world have experienced an increase on car using which changed the way cities were planned and also mobility patterns. That process has generated some problems at urban areas like road accidents increasing, most of them related to active transport modes - pedestrians and cyclers. Non motorized transportation modes fomentation, for example cycling, emerges as an alternative to change this issue. However, before it happens, cyclers need to feel more safe on transit. Understanding the influence of the elements that affect cyclers's safety gives to decision makers and traffic managers a better possibility to make the right decisions on safety improvement. Thus, this thesis aims to verify the relationship between built environment, socialeconomic factors and other risk sources and frequency and severity of traffic crashes involving cyclists in Porto Alegre. By using GIS softwares, the collected data were consolidated according to the defined analysis units. Accident’s frequencies were modeled and the coefficients were estimated by using Negative Binomial Regression Model and the severity of accidents was modeled as a Multinomial Logit Model. The accident frequency model counted with two sginificant variables. Then, a new accident frequency model was estimated from the elimination of possible sources of data discrepancy. Results have shown that the second model fit better on the studied scenario. The accident severity model resulted in 18 significant variables. Finally, the elements that showed highest prevalences on cyclists safety were car interaction, presence of arterial roads, proximity to intersection areas and vulnerable cyclists users (young and old ones cycling) involvement on accidents.

Obesity is currently viewed as one of the most important health concerns in the United States. Researchers have minimally investigated perspectives surrounding obesity within the African-American female population. This lack of research presented a gap in knowledge concerning the perceived social, environmental, and cultural influences of obesity within this population. The research questions asked African-American females about their views toward these influences. This research was guided by tenets of the social cognitive theory and the transtheoretical model for behavioral change. Thirteen African-American females participated in the interviews. The data collected were reviewed and coded using word frequencies and themes. Findings included recurring themes of cultural influences, social disparities, and the lack of access to healthy food sources and health providers. Positive social change could result from this research to help enlighten public health professionals and community planners to understand the perspectives of African-American women's belief systems surrounding obesity. The information delivered by this research could possibly empower the participants to address the issues within their communities with civic leaders and policy makers to create and sustain needed change.

A lack of adequately built environments can negatively affect obesity rates among adolescents. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to determine if there is a relationship between the presence of built environments and childhood obesity among the immigrant population living in Cobb County Georgia. The social ecological model was used to explain how environmental factors may influence behavior. The research questions addressed whether walkability and elements of built environments such as to healthy foods and access to parks and recreational areas of census tracts affect childhood obesity when adjusting for race/ethnicity and immigrant population in Cobb County. Data was collected from government websites. Student enrollment, school ethnicity, and free/reduced lunch data were retrieved from the website, School Digger, which gathered their information from the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Georgia Department of Education data sources. Average BMI data were gathered from the Georgia Department of Education 2016-2017 Georgia fitness assessment report. Data were analyzed using independent t-test, Pearson correlation and 1-way ANCOVA. Findings showed a statistical significance with the existence of farmer's markets and child obesity but no significance among the other built environment variables. The results from this study can help community leaders develop an inclusive plan to reduce the occurrence of obesity in adolescents within the target area.