Using personal narrative, interviews, and research, this thesis project looks at how the middle-class American home has been transformed, by people like me, into a modem-day public square.

Urbanization, as it transforms natural biotic systems into human-dominated landscapes, is recognized as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity throughout the world. Furthermore, urban dwellers are becoming increasingly disconnected with the natural world. Here I investigate whether residential landscape designs that mimic the natural environment can provide habitat for native birds. First I uncover some of the patterns of bird distribution in residential yards by incorporating habitat features, urbanization measurements and socioeconomic factors with bird monitoring data into a multivariate analysis. The results indicate that native birds associate with neighborhoods with native plants and shrubs, neighborhoods closer to desert tracts, and higher income neighborhoods. Very few bird species associate with low income and predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods. Additional analyses based on social survey data demonstrate that residents notice the varying levels of bird variety in their neighborhood. Second, I address whether perceived habitat quality differs between residential landscape designs by testing foraging decisions at artificial food patches. Birds foraging in yards landscaped with native plants consume fewer resources than birds foraging in exotic landscaped yards. This suggests that alternative food sources are more available in the native landscaped yards, indicating better quality habitat. Third, I investigate the relationship between native bird diversity and neighborhoods with a Homeowner Association (HOA). Neighborhoods with an HOA have higher native bird diversity, perhaps due to an active and enforceable landscape maintenance plan. I suggest an HOA adapt features from the Sustainable Sites Initiative to further improve habitat conditions for native birds and other wildlife. Results from the Dissertation support the implementation of native landscaping in residential yards to help reverse the loss of urban biodiversity. Consequentially, these landscapes will provide positive opportunities for urban dwellers to reconnect with the natural world.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Recent research has uncovered a new phenomenon in some distressed areas, black gentrification. Black gentrification follows the same pattern as mainstream gentrification with one notable exception: In black gentrifying neighborhoods both the poor and working class residents who resided in the neighborhood prior to its “gentrification” and the new residents of greater economic means are black. An additional hallmark of black gentrification that distinguishes it from traditional gentrification is that black gentrifiers in black gentrifying neighborhoods often feel a responsibility or obligation to their lower income black neighbors. Prior to the economic downturn in the United States, some in-town Atlanta neighborhoods were undergoing black gentrification. Amidst the current mortgage foreclosure epidemic facing the U.S., distressed urban areas like the ones under study, which began to gentrify in the last ten to twenty years, can easily fall prey to mortgage fraud and/or further decline. Sustained revitalization efforts require that the neighborhoods maintain a critical density level; therefore, neighborhoods cannot afford to lose more citizens. My dissertation focuses on two historic, black gentrifying in-town Atlanta neighborhoods: the Old Fourth Ward and the West End. The Old Fourth Ward is the location of the birth home of one of Atlanta’s most celebrated sons, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The West End, once a center of black consciousness in the city, now boasts one of the highest mortgage fraud rates in the nation. Revitalization efforts in both communities are in jeopardy. This dissertation explores ways to strengthen social and economic cohesion in these gentrifying black communities. Specifically, I argue that attachment to the neighborhood space (something I term “place affinity”) has the potential to obviate social tensions in gentrifying black communities and bind residents to each other and the social space they all occupy.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Oregon, 2003. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-121).

With protective gates and guard booths restricting access to their entrances, master-planned gated communities have become a dominant form of suburban development throughout much of the country. Many home builders, developers, and real estate companies promote gated communities as a developmental step towards the creation of a real-life utopia. However, many academics, like Karina Landman and Martin Schonteich (2002), argue that their existence simply marks a new chapter in the fragmentation and polarization of societies all across the world. This study used a mixed methods approach to analyze the demographic makeup of individuals living in gated communities in New Tampa, Florida, as well as the different socio-economic motivations and perceptions which residents had regarding life within their respective community. The research questions for this study were grounded in the latest academic research and social theory surrounding gated communities, particularly the works of Setha Low (2003) and Theresa Caldeira (2000). The three gated communities investigated in this study were Arbor Greene, Hunter's Green, and Grand Hampton. Using demographic data obtained from structured questionnaires, this study found that these three communities were socio-economically homogenous with a large percentage of residents: (1) having a high median income; (2) being Caucasian; and (3) being married. Using data obtained from semi-structured interviews, this study found that the desire for security and the desire to maintain property values were the two most important considerations for residents when deciding to move into Arbor Greene, Hunter's Green, and Grand Hampton. Additionally, for most informants, the perceptions of social practices and conditions in the three gated communities within the study area coincided with the desires and needs that these residents originally had when deciding to move into their respective community. As Geography is the study of uneven social relations and spatial structures, these findings were used to fill gaps of knowledge which existed prior to this study with respect to gated communities in the Tampa Bay area, as well as to provide the discipline of geography with a more comprehensive understanding of how these communities in Tampa affect the conceptualization, negotiation, and access to space.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wyoming, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Apr. 12, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-98).

According to the State of the Nation’s Housing (Harvard, 2005) more than one in five homebuyers is a single woman and twice as many unmarried women as unmarried men are buying homes. Notably unmarried women make up more than one-third of the growth in real estate ownership since 1994. The purpose of this study was to examine this cultural phenomenon. Utilizing an interpretative qualitative paradigm, in-depth interviews, social identity and reason action theories, this research explored the social, psychological, and symbolic meanings single, never-married, women in their 30s and 40s attributed to home buying as well as the design and purchasing behaviors they displayed. In an effort to create and refine the questionnaire for this research, a five participant pilot study was conducted in southwestern Virginia. The main body of this work consisted of 12 in-depth interviews and included six participants from southwestern Virginia, five participants from northern Virginia and one from western Pennsylvania. The average age of the participants was 39.5 years, with a range of 29 – 48 years. In total, 21 themes emerged in this study: 18 were strongly supported and mentioned by at least 50%, or six of the twelve, dissertation participants, while three received moderate support and were discussed by at least 25%, or three of the twelve, respondents. The themes were further divided into the following categories: behavioral themes which answer the question of the how women approach the buying process; behavioral themes which answer the question of what women buy, psychological themes which answer the question of why single women buy; social themes which promote a sense of security or stability; and social themes which promote a sense of isolation. The findings of this study can be used to enhance the residential construction industry and to assist housing professionals who routinely interact with female homebuyers. In addition, these findings suggest the continued need for home-buyer education and further research. / Ph. D.

Flooding is a global challenge that has plagued mankind throughout history, affecting over 164 million people worldwide in 2007 alone. As the frequency of flooding increases in England and Wales coupled with an increase in the number of properties at risk of flooding and the attendant huge (insured) economic costs of flooding, the services received by homeowners during flood damage repair works, have not been spared criticism, Both the Welsh Consumer Council report and the Warwickshire Trading Standards report raised serious questions about the level of service in insurance claims for the repair of flood-damaged domestic property. This research project was therefore aimed at investigating the level of service quality and determinants of homeowners’ satisfaction in England and Wales with respect to flood damage repair works during insurance claims. A comprehensive literature review was conducted on customers’ needs, satisfaction and service quality, flooding and related issues, and the repair of flood damaged domestic property, in order to set the framework for the research and shape the development of the research questions/hypotheses. The study employed a two-phased sequential mixed methods approach, commencing with 20 in-depth interviews with homeowners, repairers, insurers and loss adjusters. Findings from the initial exploratory study (and from the literature review) informed the development of a questionnaire instrument, which incorporated elements of SERVQUAL, the generic service quality measurement instrument. Survey data were collected for the quantitative phase of the study from a sample of 126 homeowners, which was then analysed to test the hypotheses put forward in the study. The data did not yield a set of reliable and interpretable factors of service quality from the three service quality scales used to measure homeowners’ perceptions of the performance of insurers, loss adjusters and contractors. However, of the three key service providers, the contractor’s performance was the best predictor of homeowners’ overall satisfaction during flood damage reinstatement claims, accounting for seven times the combined unique contribution of insurance and loss adjusting firms. In addition, satisfaction levels were significantly different for homeowners whose claims for repair works were completed within six months compared to those repairs exceeded twelve months. The thesis concludes with implications of the findings for practice as well as recommendations for further research. It is argued that knowledge of the determinants of homeowners’ satisfaction with services during the repair of flood damaged property, is beneficial not only to insurers, loss adjusters and repairers but to homeowners as well.