A better understanding of people’s attitudes to housing is fundamental to attracting new residents and retaining those who already live in or close to the central city. As such, this study operating in a Canadian context adopts Hägerstrand’s model for the process of innovation diffusion. The study draws on the findings of an online survey and interviews with city planners in both Edmonton and Winnipeg to explore the demand and supply dimensions of city-center living and attitudes towards different types of housing and neighbourhood design. The study shows that the central area in Winnipeg and Edmonton are at different stages regarding housing. Prospective home owners who are interested in housing in the central area share a number of environmental attitudes. These attitudes were related to the care for recycling, the importance for eating organic food, the use of public transportation, volunteering in non-profit organization to help the community and the interest in attending cultural activities. Based on the results of the study, it can be expected that housing types such as apartments, townhouses and even loft housing can be more common in the future and especially in Winnipeg since apartments and townhouses are already common in Edmonton.

This practicum examines the role of secondary dwelling units (secondary suites), as employed by the City of Edmonton, in the implementation of affordable housing policy. It seeks to understand the context in which the City‘s secondary dwelling unit program was developed, the various components of the program, and the impacts of the program. A review of the literature on this topic, a review of key City documents, a review of permit and grant allocation data, a key informant interview, as well as a survey of targeted neighbourhood residents were used to inform this study. Results from the study suggest that while that the program has made a significant contribution to the creation of affordable housing stock in the city and is generally supported by residents, details of the program may not be well understood by the public. Finally, possible future directions for the program and for research are suggested.

A better understanding of people’s attitudes to housing is fundamental to attracting new residents and retaining those who already live in or close to the central city. As such, this study operating in a Canadian context adopts Hägerstrand’s model for the process of innovation diffusion. The study draws on the findings of an online survey and interviews with city planners in both Edmonton and Winnipeg to explore the demand and supply dimensions of city-center living and attitudes towards different types of housing and neighbourhood design. The study shows that the central area in Winnipeg and Edmonton are at different stages regarding housing. Prospective home owners who are interested in housing in the central area share a number of environmental attitudes. These attitudes were related to the care for recycling, the importance for eating organic food, the use of public transportation, volunteering in non-profit organization to help the community and the interest in attending cultural activities. Based on the results of the study, it can be expected that housing types such as apartments, townhouses and even loft housing can be more common in the future and especially in Winnipeg since apartments and townhouses are already common in Edmonton.

This practicum examines the role of secondary dwelling units (secondary suites), as employed by the City of Edmonton, in the implementation of affordable housing policy. It seeks to understand the context in which the City‘s secondary dwelling unit program was developed, the various components of the program, and the impacts of the program. A review of the literature on this topic, a review of key City documents, a review of permit and grant allocation data, a key informant interview, as well as a survey of targeted neighbourhood residents were used to inform this study. Results from the study suggest that while that the program has made a significant contribution to the creation of affordable housing stock in the city and is generally supported by residents, details of the program may not be well understood by the public. Finally, possible future directions for the program and for research are suggested.

Thesis (M.C.S.)--Regent College, 1988. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [139]-145).

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-173).

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-173).

Using methods derived from post occupancy evaluation and ethnography, the visual and physical environmental characteristics of eighteen daycare centres were studied and inventorized. The attitudes, perceptions and ideologies of the directors and staffs to these learning environments and arts activities were also ascertained. The centres were located in Edmonton, Alberta, and both private and public centres were studied. The children attending these centres came from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds. The characteristics were recorded in an informal manner, through field notes, photographs and a pre-coded checklist which rated the quality of the items. From this, three subcategories of quality were derived; standard, below standard and above standard. The descriptive data indicated that the majority of the components of the centres constitute a standard quality, that centres have hard, institutional like qualities and that adult standards predominate. Analysis of 38 questionnaires returned from the directors and staff of the centres and evidence from the data and descriptive material, revealed there was a significant lack of knowledge or concern for the child's intrinsic needs, and the role of the visual and physical environment in learning. Their concern within the the learning environment was primarily for the physical aspects and changes to those aspects and arts activities were made according to adult standards. Apparent in the data was an adult product oriented approach to arts activities. What is recommended in this study is the need for early childhood educators to recognize the importance of the visual and physical environment to learning, and the role arts activities play in the total development of a pre-school child. Further recommendations include the investigation of training programmes for day care personnel, and the development of, through co-operation with arts educators, artists and architects, environmental alternatives for learning. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Adequate and appropriate means of mobility are essential for the psychological and physical well-being of elderly persons. Elderly persons who live in urban regions encounter barriers to their mobility which are unique to them as group. Physical, psychological, and financial factors interact with urban form and the organization of public transportation to constrain access to usual private and public modes of transportation. As a result, many of the urban elderly cannot walk, drive, ride as a passenger, or ride on public transportation to important destinations. The demand for transportation by the urban elderly will be influenced by the following trends: - the aging of urban populations, - the growth of the frail elderly (persons over 75 years of age), - de-institutionalization, - suburbanization, - improving health and income status of elderly persons. The continuation of these trends will challenge planners to design transportation systems which are effective and efficient, and at the same time satisfactory to the elderly. There are three types of possible solutions to the mobility problems of an increasing number of urban elderly persons: - land-use planning, - the design traffic systems to accommodate elderly drivers, - the design of public transportation systems. Planners do not have the necessary instruments to implement effective land use solutions. Accommodating an increase in the number of elderly drivers conflicts with social goals to increase public transportation use by all age groups. The thesis argues the most effective solutions for overcoming elderly mobility problems are based on the design of public transportation systems. There are two public transportation solutions for assisting elderly persons with mobility problems. The first is making conventional public transportation more accessible. The second is expanding specialized transportation which is the focus of this thesis. Three policy issues have dominated the history of specialized transportation in North America. The first policy issue is whether public resources for assisting the transportation handicapped should be allocated to accessible conventional public transportation, or allocated to expanding specialized transportation. This is a debate as to which public transportation solution is the most effective for overcoming elderly mobility problems. The other two policy issues relate specifically to the design of specialized transportation. The second policy issue is what level of centralization provides the most effective and satisfactory service. The third policy issue is what are the appropriate roles of the public, non-profit, and for-profit sectors in the management and delivery of service. A particular specialized transportation system can be described by how the three policy issues have been resolved in the urban region this system serves. A specialized transportation system can be evaluated by indicators of efficiency, effectiveness, and elderly satisfaction. These descriptive and evaluative indicators are used to examine and compare specialized transportation in Greater Vancouver, Metropolitan Toronto, and the City of Edmonton. Four recommendations, based on the comparative examination, are made as to how specialized transportation in Greater Vancouver can be made more effective, efficient, and satisfactory to the elderly. These recommendations are: - further allocations of public resources to assist the transportation handicapped should be directed at specialized transportation; - greater use of telecommunications and computer technology to increase the effectiveness of scheduling and dispatching trips; - implement a block grant program to assist in the establishment of community based transportation alternatives; - implement a user side subsidy program as soon as possible; / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Between fall 2009 and fall 2010 I conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 19 young-adult women and men of mixed race in Edmonton, Alberta. A prominent theme that emerged was being asked the question ‘what are you?’. I position the ‘moment’ of being questioned as a manifestation of the external gaze. People of mixed race are subject to questioning because they do not fit within dominant racial binaries: they exceed the limited horizon of possible narratives of racial discourse and are socially identified as ambivalent (Anzaldua 1987). Within the literature on the ‘racial gaze,’ it is often positioned as something that fixes (Fanon 1967). However, the very ambivalence people of mixed race pose to the gaze allows them to negotiate it. The narratives of my respondents demonstrate that the inability of the social gaze to ‘fix’ them opens up the possibility of making identity through negotiating the gaze in multiple ways.