While many observers recognize the significance of the city size distribution topic, the resolution of several apparent inconsistencies in the body of literature has not yet been achieved. This may explain why geographers, sociologists, demographers, historians, economists, and planners essentially tend to describe intercity patterns, are biased toward ad hoc interpretations, and are prone to making intuitive statements in their research. The primary purpose of this thesis is to evolve a more consistent methodological viewpoint within the community size topic. Efforts are made to unite analytical statements resting upon a common premise, to qualify, in this light, the approaches prevalent in empirical research, and to relate theory and empiricism by adopting a flexible explanatory framework. The discussion necessarily involves a critique of existing arguments and certain extensions that, we can devise from those arguments. While there is considerable attention directed to presenting empirical methodologies, no original data analysis is included. Contending that the notions should be bound together within a systems framework, we naturally devote initial emphasis to the features of central place systems as outlined in the partial equilibrium theory of Christaller (1966) and Losch (1954). We place particular stress upon the Christaller model, the simpler and apparently more realistic of the two approaches. A major thrust of the paper is an integration of several city size models, all of which display a Christallarian hierarchy. The simplest models are shown to be special cases of a more general formulation given by Dacey (1966). Besides, we illustrate to what degree the characteristic property (that is, the constant proportionality factor) of the most elementary model (Beckmann, 1958) may be considered a limit of empirical generalization. Using the hierarchial concept, we also provide some rather novel views on the relation between community economic base and the distribution theme. It is felt that this subtopic may be useful in bridging the intra-and interurban scales. The widely expounded rank-size rule, essentially a consequence of empirical research, is then formally attached to the hierarchical models. At this stage our arguments become increasingly rigorous in order to qualify certain intuitive notions that seem accepted in the literature. The idea of hierarchical sets is crudely developed to complement the uni-hierarchy arguments. The basic conclusion here is that existing city size models hardly explain the rank-size phenomenon butt that the two notions cannot be considered totally incompatible. Empirical research methodologies are stressed as another fundamental subtopic. We suggest certain avenues along which empirical efforts must be strengthened before either (i) rigorous inductive generalizations or (ii) firm theory substantiation become more realizable. Particular attention is given to delimitation of the study area (and, therefore to the scale problem), the comparison of frequency curves, and the value of inferences we can make using rather crude statistical tools. At this stage we introduce other skew distributions that are genetically similar to the rank-size curve. Furthermore, the stochastic models that seemingly account for these distributions are taken to complement the deterministic theory mentioned above. Here we support the central place argument as the only existing source of models that explicate those factors inducing spatial differentiation of economic activities and, as a consequence, urban populations. Finally, we pursue the idea of growth within the interurban structure. At this time, however, discussion is certainly exploratory and so is limited to developing notions concerning the interrelations of growth variables (population, income, etc.) and hierarchal structure in the broadest sense. Within this analytic framework we can suggest only the most general factors that may be associated with low degrees of primacy (a quality of interurban structure that we view as a deviation from a characteristic skew distribution). This particular subtopic promises to be an exciting research theme in its own right as investigators move from equilibrium to dynamic modelling. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

This research discusses urban vulnerability to environmental change in Dawei, Myanmar through the analysis of the exposure and sensitivity of urban systems. The scope of this research attempts to encompass the complexity of multi-scalar relationships between the exposure and sensitivity of urban systems and wider supporting ecological systems to climatic and non-climatic shocks and stresses. Moreover, this research aims to bridge systems and people-centred approaches by considering the existing sensitivity of vulnerable populations living in Dawei through the use of two case studies. Specifically, an urban livelihoods approach was used to consider the entitlements, priorities, and capacities of households to cope with shocks and stress given existing challenges. The analysis of findings have been presented according to nested scales, beginning with the macro-level in the consideration of the exposure of urban socio-ecological systems; the meso-level through the analysis of the differential exposure and sensitivity of two communities living in Dawei in light of access to urban infrastructure and services; and lastly, the micro-level through the analysis of household sensitivity through the application of a livelihoods approach.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether newcomers to a large urban area, could be of special assistance to the planner. In order to discover whether newcomers could be of special use in the planning process, it was necessary to determine if newcomers' opinions of the city differed from those of longterm residents. For if they did, then the planner might be able to derive from the newcomers fresh insight into the planning problems posed by his city. Hence three hypotheses were formulated: I. Newer residents' opinions regarding the quality of their neighbourhood's services and facilities vary significantly from those of longterm residents. II. Newer residents' community participation varies significantly from that of longterm residents. III. Newer residents' views on the quality of neighbourhood services and facilities and the extent of their community participation vary significantly according to the size and location of their former residence. These hypotheses were tested by means of a questionnaire orally administered to a random sample of 108 residents of the Kitsilano area of Vancouver. On the basis of the answers obtained, each of the hypotheses was submitted to the statistical scrutiny of multiple discriminant analysis, multiple regression analysis, and percentage comparisons. Newer residents were found to have different opinions from long-term residents on the quality of their neighbourhood's services and facilities and to participate less in community activities. Within the newcomer ranks former location was an important distinguishing variable. Thus all three hypotheses were substantiated by the results of this study as well as by some earlier research findings. Hence it was concluded that residence length differences alone, were significant enough to devise some way of consulting newcomers as one aid to the urban planning process. The planner can potentially make use of the newcomers' previous experience and unencumbered perceptions to gain fresh insight into the planning problems posed by his city. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This thesis examines the deeply layered genre of crime and detective fiction together with academic texts dealing, broadly, with urban geography. These apparently separated writings are read together and against one another in order to reveal answers to important questions of how the city is organized and arranged in its texts. In particular, this thesis analyzes certain structures in place in forms of textual representation, structures which have deep implications for the writing of the city. Edgar Allan Poe's Dupin stories appear alongside Michael Dibdin's Aurelio Zen novels, and Christopher Prendergast's study of Paris in the nineteenth century. Walter Mosley's series of Los Angeles mysteries are discussed in the context of particularly prominent academic representations of L.A. Reading such a diverse collection of texts together and against one another is a deliberate tactic, intended to draw out the similar structures in place in very different forms of writing. Those structures are the critical issue here, specifically with regard to the need for examinations of the city that consider not merely which components of the city appear in texts about the city, but also how the city appears in text. How the city appears in text has a good deal to do with the demands exercised by the medium of representation, and a key concern here is to draw out the need for doing away with an often unquestioned separation between places—cities—and their texts. Instead what is studied and ultimately proposed here is a focus on the intersection between subject and textual structure, and how that intersection actively produces the city. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

The emergence of a complex and highly urbanized industrial society has inspired great study of urbanization and urban phenomena by social scientists. Unfortunately, most social scientists study urbanology within the relatively narrow confines of their particular disciplines. Sociologists concentrate on urban phenomena arising out of human-group relationships, while political scientists concentrate on units of urban government and intergovernmental relations. Likewise, economists study urbanology from a market perspective while geographers tend to concentrate on urban location theory and historians are concerned about the history of urbanization. Moreover, urban planners and research specialists are principally practitioners who receive and attempt to apply the resulting fragments of theory to their professional practices. There has been altogether too little cross-tell between the academic disciplines, and thus little advancement toward a wholistic theory of urbanology. On the other hand, there have been some productive efforts to apply theories from one discipline to the study of another discipline--notably, group theory from sociology and elements of marginal ism from economics are being applied to aspects of political science. But this is on a somewhat ethereal level with only marginal integration across disciplines. Some of the hybrid results of this kind of academic cross-pollination have only recently been applied in any meaningful way to urbanology. The point is that progress toward a more wholistic theory of urbanology seems all too slow under the circumstances. The major contention of this work is that some progress toward such a wholistic theory might be made by integrating institutional economic theory and elements of the more orthodox economic theory with aspects of pluralist theory from political science and relating the resulting whole in an urban context.

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Submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master of Science in Development Planning degree in the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted for any other degree at any other university. / Researchers, in the past, have found that the development of satellite cities has reduced the strain upon the infrastructure of the parent cities. These developments have had negative side effects as well, with urban sprawl proving to not only be an infrastructural challenge, but an environmental problem as well. One of the major critiques that has been levelled against urban sprawl is that it contributes towards pollution by encouraging long commutes and traffic congestion. These negative effects have been factored into the decision-making processes of residents in these areas, as they usually own at least one car that allows them to commute freely between their homes and the metropolitan centre. However, their lifestyle changes also affect another demographic, namely the workers who service these areas. The impact that the distance from the metropolitan area has on their physical, emotional and economic wellbeing has yet to be fully understood. Therefore, the purpose of the research report was to investigate and unpack the experiences and working conditions of domestic workers in Waterfall Estate. This included a representation of the sociological profile of the domestic workers in terms of their class, gender and employment history as well as an understanding of the different ways that the workers access and utilize the same space. The report also shed some light on their experiences, working conditions, relationship with employers and responses to the challenges faced by these individuals, contributing towards contemporary literature regarding the evolution of domestic service in exclusionary communities. The effects of commuting from the periphery to the city affect all who dwell within Exclusionary Upscale Communities, both upper class residents and workers alike. In addition to the socio-economic impact, power dynamics between the employers and workers provide an additional layer of complexity to the workers experiences. The research utilized both qualitative interviews with 5 workers, as well as the distribution of 31 surveys to workers in the area to not only gain a deeper understanding of the forces at play but also to get a sense of what the collective worker experience was. It was found that the domestic workers were heavily reliant on transit nodes such as taxi ranks in order to commute to the estate. In addition to this most of the domestic workers were found to be paying the cost of diverted care resulting in strenuous relationships with their families, resulting in cases where other family members had to care for their children and a negative outlook on the profession and their fulfillment of their roles as mothers. / MT 2018

This study was designed to measure the perception of Southwest Michigan residents' perception of the Northern Cities Shift, and compare it to the perceptions of Southeast Michigan residents. Participants, recruited from the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo areas, were asked to complete a dialect boundary map of the United States in order to discern perceptions of American English dialects and accents and determine the dialect or accent that they most associate with the state of Michigan. Participants were also asked to listen to and judge the personality traits of seven different North American speakers. The results of this study indicate that Southwest Michigan residents may subconsciously be able to detect the NCS in speech, though they were mostly unable to correctly identify the NCS as a characteristic of Michigan speech. Further research with a larger pool of participants could provide more accurate measurements as to the perception of Michigan residents towards the Northern Cities Shift.

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No description available.