By means of a case study of a small, socially mixed, and ecologically oriented community in South Africa, known as the Lynedoch Eco-Village, this thesis sets out to identify motivations of people from different socio-economic backgrounds for joining such a community, and as a result live a more sustainable life. The case was studied during a minor field study (MFS) in the South African spring of 2015, during which sixteen eco-villagers were interviewed. The study discovers a wide range of motives reported by the respondents; some motives stemming from materialistic concerns and others being of a more idealistic nature. The socio-economic comparison of the respondents´ accounts is analysed using post-material theory and, interestingly, some accounts directly contradict the accounts that this influential theory would predict, with respondents from a lower socio-economic background reporting highly idealistic motives and views.

The students of PLAN 587B Introductory Urban Design Studio, under the instruction of Dr. Maged Senbel, worked in collaboration with developer Wayne Allen to create 3 sustainable designs for the redevelopment of an amalgamated site in the Big Bend area of Burnaby BC adjacent to Willard Park. Concurrently, through a research-based directed study project Jeca Glor-Bell conducted research on green design principles and technologies to aid the design students in achieving a high level of sustainability in design. This book brings together the research on green design principles and application of green technologies with the final designs. The purpose of this effort is to offer a resource for the developer, other urban planning students as well as interested practitioners seeking to apply green design principles and technologies to future sites. The book begins by explaining the green principles and features which have informed and influenced these designs and then presents the three completed site designs. The first site design, Fenwick Village, was created by Jennifer Fix, Bronwyn Jarvis and Chani Joseph. The second design, Willard’s Eco-Village, was created by Brian Gregg, Lang Lang and Sawngjai Manityakul, and finally the Sprout: The City is the Country Design which was created by Kaitlin Kazmierowski, Jeff Deby and Andrew Merrill. Each of these designs sought to combine three elements: the client’s vision, ecological development principles, and green design features. Finally the book includes several appendices with greater detail on the application of green energy technologies, including calculations for the capacity of different green technologies.

No / The programmes follow the experiences of people living in or visiting the community. They range from a school leaver who feels she is learning more at Findhorn than she would at university to an Indian guru who offers himself as the community's new leader and wants to build a temple in the garden. A poignant backdrop to the series is the growing frailty of one of Findhorn¿s founders, 87-year-old Eileen Caddy, and the preparations, both practical and psychological, that community members are making for her death.

The purpose of this study is to develop a sustainable community in a village called Sahmuratli inYozgat, Turkey based on the remarkable case of a Swedish eco-village called Hagaby. TheKerkenes Eco-Center in Sahmuratli village provides the essential baseline for the village toconvert it into a sustainable community in terms of social and economic dimensions ofsustainability. Survey and interview methods were used to collect information about the Eco-Center. The overall outcome of the study is that the the Kerkenes Eco-Center can become asignificant initiative to promote sustainable community development in terms of promotingeconomic welfare and increasing social relationships among the village community throughvarious practices influenced by Hagaby in Uppsala, Sweden.

The three founding fields of sustainability, social equity, economic development and environmentalprotection, strive for opposing goals. The differences of these disciplines are often likely tolead to compromised solutions between their actors, than to any type of holistic sustainable outcome.This reality transcends to the debate of sustainability in tourism. Responses to mass tourism gave wayto forms of tourism such as alternative and sustainable tourism. The latter type of tourism was criticizedfor asking for an unachievable balance between three opposing disciplines.The question at stake asks if creative tourism could be used by actors in local tourism schemesin order to resolve the conflicts between the three goals of sustainability. Given the nature of creativetourism, the latter concept could resolve the conflicts of sustainable development because it wouldhelp to establish beneficial links between the different goals and resources of the actors involved insustainability and in tourism. Creative tourism enables such complementation because it promotes thetourists’ active participation in their destinations’ development schemes and it enables communities tovalorize their local space in creative and complementing ways that preserve their cultural and naturalintegrity. Actors in sustainability and tourism thus avoid the need for compromised outcomes and aremore likely to head towards sustainable development. It is also claimed that a framework combiningthe two sets of theory can be built as theory unfolds.Through qualitative research on the case study of Sólheimar eco-village in Iceland, it is revealedthat creative tourism rather contributes to strengthen existing complementation between goals in sustainability.The overall results establish that creative tourism can be used as a tool to find a way tocreate stronger and more meaningful links between goals in sustainable development. A final frameworkcoupling the two sets of theory is presented.The findings shed light on a few points. Firstly, the focus of actors involved in sustainable developmentshould be on complementing each others’ goals rather than compromising. Sustainability isfound in the interactions between its actors. Conceptualizing sustainability as a form of interactionmakes the concept more accessible to local actors. Moreover, tourists have a responsibility in theprocess of local development when they become participants. It will be the community’s decision howit wants to promote its essence, to what extent it wants to open up to tourists and what role it is willingto let these play in its local development. Further research needs to consider the challenges in sustainabilityand tourism left unelaborated in this work.

<p>Syftet med denna uppsats är att ge en bild av den livsstil som boende i en ekoby har. Detta har gjorts genom en analys med en teoretisk modell innehållande värden, attityder och handlingar. Två informanter har intervjuats för att ge förståelse för hur värden och handlingar stämmer överens och om det finns genomförda handlingar som inte bottnar i grundläggande värden. Resultatet visar att beslutet att bo i en ekoby är väl genomtänkt och grundas på viktiga värden. Strävan efter att leva ett enkelt liv är det centrala, vilket kopplas ihop med global rättvisa. Även frihet, både i form av fysiskt utrymme och vad gäller möjlighet att bestämma över sin vardag, är viktigt. Vidare betonas den gemenskap som livet i ekobyn ger. Handlingar som grundas på materiella värden, som konsumtion, hög boendestandard och att arbeta heltid, prioriteras inte. Det är varken möjligheten att leva ett miljövänligt eller hälsosamt liv som är de främsta motiven till valet att bo i en ekoby. Informanterna har ett väl sammanvävt värdesystem. I stort sett alla handlingar motiveras av grundläggande värden.</p> / <p>The purpose of the thesis is to describe the lifestyle of people living in an eco village. A theoretical model containing values, attitudes and actions has been used for the analysis. Two informants have been interviewed to create an understanding for how values and actions are corresponding and if there are any actions that have been carried out which aren’t based upon fundamental values. The result shows that the decision to live in an eco village is well considered and is based upon important values. The ambition to live a simple life is essential and is connected to global justice. Freedom is also important, both in the sense of physical space and also the possibility to control everyday life. Further, the fellowship that the life in the eco village gives is emphasized. Actions that are based upon material values, like consumption, a high standard of living and a full-time job aren’t given priority. It’s neither the opportunity to live an environmental-friendly nor a healthy life which are the premier reasons for the decision to live in an eco village. The informants have a well-connected value system. Almost all the actions are based upon fundamental values.</p>

Syftet med denna uppsats är att ge en bild av den livsstil som boende i en ekoby har. Detta har gjorts genom en analys med en teoretisk modell innehållande värden, attityder och handlingar. Två informanter har intervjuats för att ge förståelse för hur värden och handlingar stämmer överens och om det finns genomförda handlingar som inte bottnar i grundläggande värden. Resultatet visar att beslutet att bo i en ekoby är väl genomtänkt och grundas på viktiga värden. Strävan efter att leva ett enkelt liv är det centrala, vilket kopplas ihop med global rättvisa. Även frihet, både i form av fysiskt utrymme och vad gäller möjlighet att bestämma över sin vardag, är viktigt. Vidare betonas den gemenskap som livet i ekobyn ger. Handlingar som grundas på materiella värden, som konsumtion, hög boendestandard och att arbeta heltid, prioriteras inte. Det är varken möjligheten att leva ett miljövänligt eller hälsosamt liv som är de främsta motiven till valet att bo i en ekoby. Informanterna har ett väl sammanvävt värdesystem. I stort sett alla handlingar motiveras av grundläggande värden. / The purpose of the thesis is to describe the lifestyle of people living in an eco village. A theoretical model containing values, attitudes and actions has been used for the analysis. Two informants have been interviewed to create an understanding for how values and actions are corresponding and if there are any actions that have been carried out which aren’t based upon fundamental values. The result shows that the decision to live in an eco village is well considered and is based upon important values. The ambition to live a simple life is essential and is connected to global justice. Freedom is also important, both in the sense of physical space and also the possibility to control everyday life. Further, the fellowship that the life in the eco village gives is emphasized. Actions that are based upon material values, like consumption, a high standard of living and a full-time job aren’t given priority. It’s neither the opportunity to live an environmental-friendly nor a healthy life which are the premier reasons for the decision to live in an eco village. The informants have a well-connected value system. Almost all the actions are based upon fundamental values.

Many actors are taking advantage of the flexible barriers to entry of the tourist industry to engage in the production of varied forms of tourism closely related to their lifestyle, professional and communal ambitions. With the increased popularity of forms of tourism bringing the guest close to the host, it becomes relevant to ask questions related to lived experiences and close encounters in tourism scholarship. This is a moral conviction that the plurality of human experiences and critical reflexivity matter in the conception of tourist spaces and their management. In this thesis, I look for new ways to conceptually embed local people in their living spaces by approaching forms of tourism displaying non-economic elements as phenomena that create new and complex relations imbued with various implications. Tourism geography highlights the negotiated and fragmented nature of tourism, and its performative and embodied character. I apply relational geography to apprehend the multiple relations that make up local spaces and identities. With its post-structural character, relational geography uncovers voices once neglected in research, and proposes new ways of being in the world. My two qualitative case studies reflect my interest in exploring the northern European context. Firstly, I investigate craft-artists on Bornholm, Denmark and their relation to the tourist season. I do this through interviews and narrative analysis. My second case study, a focused ethnography at Sólheimar eco-village, Iceland, centres on the management of host and guest interactions.  In terms of spatial formation, results show that local actors have the agency to form networks and redefine their identities in the wake of tourism development. They form a hybrid space by fulfilling goals related to their lifestyle, livelihood and professional ambitions simultaneously. Moreover, mundane practices are presented as an integral part of a tourist landscape. In terms of management, results show that the various spatial complexities faced by communities exacerbate host and guest relations. This will require a commitment from local coordinators and managers to promote a reflexive and critical exchange during these close encounters. I ultimately argue for the imagination of tourist spaces as living spaces, where I conceptualize tourism as a mundane, yet complex, material and social experience for those living in tourist spaces. I propose two new discursive anchors that reflect the metaphor of the living space: dwelling in the tourist landscape, and sincere encounters. I contend that researching living spaces finds its moral grounds in its openness to the various ways local people dwell and encounter during tourism, and to the diverse ways researchers make sense of these practices, and of their own.

The idea for this project is to design an eco-village on a property in Glimåkra in Skåne of southern Sweden, which is owned by the municipality of Östra Göinge. All of the designs in this eco-village would be built with materials that will benefit the environment and the people living there. This community would also have low energy consumption and will achieve the Miljöbyggnad Gold certification. Initially, a few eco-villages in Sweden were studied and reviewed in order to get more experience in the subject and to find inspiration. Three different types of housing units were chosen to be compared to one another to determine the two most efficient candidates.  Two townhouses, two duplexes, and two villas were designed. One of each type was a simple and square compact design while the other was a more aesthetic shaped design. While reviewing the energy consumption calculations, the aesthetically designed duplex and the aesthetically designed townhouse proved to consume smaller amounts of energy than the remaining building designs. These two designs consumed smaller amounts of energy to heat the buildings and provided additional space for solar cells. The compact duplex design ended up being the only design to be able to achieve the Miljöbyggnad Gold certification, but the energy consumption of the building did not compete with the aforementioned designs. The exterior materials to be used were chosen because of their low ecological impact and how well they blend with the surroundings. The comparisons of three different types of buildings with two different designs of each helps highlight the many factors that affect the efficiency and sustainability of a building. After studying and comparing many real-world examples of energy efficient housing with these theoretical designs, the aesthetically designed duplex and townhouse will be the best performing floor plans for the eco-village in Glimåkra, Skåne. / Detta examensarbete har gått ut på att planera en ekoby i Skåne. En situationsplan innehållande radhus och parhus har tagits fram med diverse vägar, grönska och gemensamma byggnader. Arbetets övergripande syfte är att uppmärksamma ekobyar och dess miljövänliga ekohus. Det är beräkningar, modellering, extern och intern handledning samt diskussioner kring energi, miljöbyggnad och estetik som genomsyrat arbetet. För att nå ett resultat dras kopplingar från tidigare forskning och publiceringar med detta arbete. Litteraturstudien innehåller certifieringssystemet Miljöbyggnad, där betygskriterierna för Guld är det som arbetet har strävat mot för byggnaderna som modellerades. I Miljöbyggnad finns även nivåerna Brons och Silver, men om någon av indikatorerna ger nivå Brons är det inte möjligt att uppnå Guld som slutgiltig nivå. En av två studerade fasadmaterial valdes till byggnaderna i ekobyn och trä valdes på grund av dess fördelar och användningsgrad i området. Den uppvärmningskälla som studerades var pelletspanna och vid valet av elkälla genomfördes en kritisk granskning av solceller samt en mer grundläggande faktainsamling av direktverkande el. Genom platsbesök, ritningar och kartor samt diskussion och revidering modellerades två utformningar av parhus, radhus och villa. Det blev tre kompakta byggnader och tre mer estetiskt utformade och dessa modellerades i Autodesk Revit. Beräkningar genomfördes både manuellt och digitalt och hjälpmedel som formler, tabeller och antagna värden användes. Parhus Estetisk och Radhus Estetisk valdes ut för att placeras i ekobyn. Dessa valdes ut på grund av dess energiförbrukning, antal bostäder och dess estetik. Parhus Estetisk på 113m² och Radhus Estetisk på 114m² hade en total energianvändning per år på 10 500 kWh respektive 10 100 kWh, där ingår uppvärmning, tappvarmvatten och hushållsel. Det får plats 20 bostäder och 80 personer för den valda situationsplanen. Utifrån beräkning och simulering resulterade parhuset och radhuset i den slutgiltiga nivån Silver. Slutsatserna av detta arbete var att det var svårare än tänkt att uppfylla betygskriterierna för Guld i certifieringen Miljöbyggnad, endast Parhus Kompakt nådde nivån Guld. De valda byggnaderna i ekobyn var de bästa alternativen och en övergripande slutsats var att arbetet blev mer som ett förarbete som måste tas vid och utvecklas.

<p>This thesis presents a general description of approaches to energy efficient building development under Chinese contexts. The purpose of the work is to discuss how Chinese building development can be approved from an energy saving perspective.</p><p>Building development is a complicated process that relates to many stakeholders’ interests. The developed countries have studied in this field extensively for several decades. Generally, the approaches to energy saving can be set at three levels: administration, construction industry and architectural design. More new strict codes for energy efficient buildings are being issued for enforcement. At the same time, many research institutes have developed Building Environmental Assessment (BEA) methods, where energy efficiency is an important factor in the models. Various technical solutions for energy efficiency are developed as well.</p><p>The administrative approaches are not the main objective discussed in the thesis, though the importance of them is undeniable. BEA systems are not only assessment methods, but also market-based stimulating approaches for sustainability of construction market. Technical methods have been developed for a long period. Passive House and Low Exergy (LowEx) Systems are two representative examples in European countries.</p><p>All of these approaches are relatively unfamiliar to Chinese architects and developers, let alone their effect and applicability. The thesis tries to analyse this situation and their applicability within Chinese context.</p><p>In China to a certain project, the importance of technical issues is relatively recognized. However, a few successful individual cases in technique can not change the reality that most of new building development has failed in energy efficiency in China. This is a serious situation when China is in an enormous expansion phase in building new houses. The thesis tries to discuss the reasons for this phenomenon. One reason could be that the stakeholders in the developing process are not aware of the importance of collaboration which is the only method to get “Both Win” according to Game theory. The thesis discusses a paradigm to replace two traditional linear paradigms in building developing process. Architects should act as coordinators of different stakeholders rather than technical supporters.</p><p>The thesis tries to discuss the propositional route of developing energy efficient buildings. Technical approaches are basic research, which presents the concepts that have been proved realizable; BEA encourages developers to develop more energy efficient buildings for economic benefit, which will make good demonstrations for whole market; national laws and policies are final approaches, which ensure that every project will have good performance of energy efficiency. When the old standardization and legislation are finished, a new cycle will begin with more advanced techniques.</p><p>China government has started the progress to enhance energy efficiency. However, this process will be tough and slow. The thesis discusses Chinese special conditions and the problems that cry out for solution in the future.</p>