Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture / Stephanie A. Rolley / The location and type of future development around a light rail transit station has the ability to affect its success of failure. Not only should the location of the future light rail line be carefully considered, but the locations of stops will greatly affect future development of the surrounding areas. The implementation of a light rail system has been proposed for downtown Kansas City as a solution to link its many attractions which are currently spread throughout the metro area. Although the proposal has not been passed by voters, the concept has generated a great deal of interest and brought up challenges Kansas City would need to address such as funding, alignment, space requirements and impacts on future development. The success of such a large scale, public project would require significant amounts of coordination and planning between many people. By using the current proposed alignment and studying seven stations located in the core of downtown Kansas City, the station which would require a station district plan the most could be determined. From there, through inventory and analysis of the surrounding area, guidelines would be written to put parameters on future development occurring as a result of light rail implementation. Planning a transit station district in this way would allow the planner to create a unified district, without confining designers to a singular approach. By completing a comprehensive development plan containing design policies and regulations which outline the desired development, this neighborhood can become a dynamic transit district with a mix of retail, commercial and residential development to support a high quality of lifestyle with access to a wide variety of amenities close to downtown Kansas City.

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

published_or_final_version / Urban Design / Master / Master of Urban Design

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Biodiversity decline has continued at a rapid pace in New Zealand in the past 15 years (OECD 2007), in spite of specific provisions for biodiversity conservation under the Resource Management Act 1991 (Froude 1997, Bellingham 2004). This thesis has examined problems with biodiversity conservation implementation in district plans, that arise from planners not making full use of the available factual base for district planning, a lack of monitoring in New Zealand’s RMA planning, and failures by ecologists and planners to properly understand and communicate information for effective district planning. A critique of the policy and plan framework for biodiversity conservation in the Auckland Region and case studies in Rodney District and Waitakere City show there are strong provisions for biodiversity conservation in these plans that support the implementation of biodiversity conservation through district planning. There was a moderate to high level of internal compatibility in the planning framework, apart from a policy conflict between urban growth and infrastructure development versus the protection of natural values and amenity. Although the biodiversity factual base available for the Rodney District and Waitakere City district plans for district planning was sound, but it wasn’t often used to provide appropriate or sufficient information for district planning. This was hampered by the poor state of the environment monitoring, and no process for monitoring the effects that resource consents and permitted activities were having on biodiversity condition. This was exemplified by the discovery that the Rodney District Plan’s incentive-based regime for biodiversity conservation had failed to arrest the loss of 2.5% per annum of indigenous forest cover from 1977-1998. This went undetected through a lack of plan monitoring. In Waitakere City, district plan rules led to the indigenous vegetation cover on private land increasing by 0.5% per annum during the same period, and this was undetected by the council also. District planning will continue to fail to achieve biodiversity conservation unless changes significant occur in planning practice, policy development and plan implementation.

Biodiversity decline has continued at a rapid pace in New Zealand in the past 15 years (OECD 2007), in spite of specific provisions for biodiversity conservation under the Resource Management Act 1991 (Froude 1997, Bellingham 2004). This thesis has examined problems with biodiversity conservation implementation in district plans, that arise from planners not making full use of the available factual base for district planning, a lack of monitoring in New Zealand’s RMA planning, and failures by ecologists and planners to properly understand and communicate information for effective district planning. A critique of the policy and plan framework for biodiversity conservation in the Auckland Region and case studies in Rodney District and Waitakere City show there are strong provisions for biodiversity conservation in these plans that support the implementation of biodiversity conservation through district planning. There was a moderate to high level of internal compatibility in the planning framework, apart from a policy conflict between urban growth and infrastructure development versus the protection of natural values and amenity. Although the biodiversity factual base available for the Rodney District and Waitakere City district plans for district planning was sound, but it wasn’t often used to provide appropriate or sufficient information for district planning. This was hampered by the poor state of the environment monitoring, and no process for monitoring the effects that resource consents and permitted activities were having on biodiversity condition. This was exemplified by the discovery that the Rodney District Plan’s incentive-based regime for biodiversity conservation had failed to arrest the loss of 2.5% per annum of indigenous forest cover from 1977-1998. This went undetected through a lack of plan monitoring. In Waitakere City, district plan rules led to the indigenous vegetation cover on private land increasing by 0.5% per annum during the same period, and this was undetected by the council also. District planning will continue to fail to achieve biodiversity conservation unless changes significant occur in planning practice, policy development and plan implementation.

Biodiversity decline has continued at a rapid pace in New Zealand in the past 15 years (OECD 2007), in spite of specific provisions for biodiversity conservation under the Resource Management Act 1991 (Froude 1997, Bellingham 2004). This thesis has examined problems with biodiversity conservation implementation in district plans, that arise from planners not making full use of the available factual base for district planning, a lack of monitoring in New Zealand’s RMA planning, and failures by ecologists and planners to properly understand and communicate information for effective district planning. A critique of the policy and plan framework for biodiversity conservation in the Auckland Region and case studies in Rodney District and Waitakere City show there are strong provisions for biodiversity conservation in these plans that support the implementation of biodiversity conservation through district planning. There was a moderate to high level of internal compatibility in the planning framework, apart from a policy conflict between urban growth and infrastructure development versus the protection of natural values and amenity. Although the biodiversity factual base available for the Rodney District and Waitakere City district plans for district planning was sound, but it wasn’t often used to provide appropriate or sufficient information for district planning. This was hampered by the poor state of the environment monitoring, and no process for monitoring the effects that resource consents and permitted activities were having on biodiversity condition. This was exemplified by the discovery that the Rodney District Plan’s incentive-based regime for biodiversity conservation had failed to arrest the loss of 2.5% per annum of indigenous forest cover from 1977-1998. This went undetected through a lack of plan monitoring. In Waitakere City, district plan rules led to the indigenous vegetation cover on private land increasing by 0.5% per annum during the same period, and this was undetected by the council also. District planning will continue to fail to achieve biodiversity conservation unless changes significant occur in planning practice, policy development and plan implementation.

Biodiversity decline has continued at a rapid pace in New Zealand in the past 15 years (OECD 2007), in spite of specific provisions for biodiversity conservation under the Resource Management Act 1991 (Froude 1997, Bellingham 2004). This thesis has examined problems with biodiversity conservation implementation in district plans, that arise from planners not making full use of the available factual base for district planning, a lack of monitoring in New Zealand’s RMA planning, and failures by ecologists and planners to properly understand and communicate information for effective district planning. A critique of the policy and plan framework for biodiversity conservation in the Auckland Region and case studies in Rodney District and Waitakere City show there are strong provisions for biodiversity conservation in these plans that support the implementation of biodiversity conservation through district planning. There was a moderate to high level of internal compatibility in the planning framework, apart from a policy conflict between urban growth and infrastructure development versus the protection of natural values and amenity. Although the biodiversity factual base available for the Rodney District and Waitakere City district plans for district planning was sound, but it wasn’t often used to provide appropriate or sufficient information for district planning. This was hampered by the poor state of the environment monitoring, and no process for monitoring the effects that resource consents and permitted activities were having on biodiversity condition. This was exemplified by the discovery that the Rodney District Plan’s incentive-based regime for biodiversity conservation had failed to arrest the loss of 2.5% per annum of indigenous forest cover from 1977-1998. This went undetected through a lack of plan monitoring. In Waitakere City, district plan rules led to the indigenous vegetation cover on private land increasing by 0.5% per annum during the same period, and this was undetected by the council also. District planning will continue to fail to achieve biodiversity conservation unless changes significant occur in planning practice, policy development and plan implementation.

Community-based organizations are considered as one of the major institutions involved in community development apart from the state and non-governmental organizations. The idea of local participation is the one that has resulted into their emergence as participation is considered to be an essential part of human growth. With the advent of democracy in 1994, and the coming in of the HIV and AIDS pandemic in Malawi, there has been a mushrooming of community-based organizations in the country. Now that its over fourteen years since their emergence in Malawi, its high time a study was conducted to establish contributions the community-based organizations are making in the development if the country, identify the challenges they are facing and find possible solutions that can help improve their effectiveness. This thesis presents findings of such a study done in Kasungu district in Malawi. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

Community-based organizations are considered as one of the major institutions involved in community development apart from the state and non-governmental organizations. The idea of local participation is the one that has resulted into their emergence as participation is considered to be an essential part of human growth. With the advent of democracy in 1994, and the coming in of the HIV and AIDS pandemic in Malawi, there has been a mushrooming of community-based organizations in the country. Now that its over fourteen years since their emergence in Malawi, its high time a study was conducted to establish contributions the community-based organizations are making in the development if the country, identify the challenges they are facing and find possible solutions that can help improve their effectiveness. This thesis presents findings of such a study done in Kasungu district in Malawi. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)