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Humans have a profound impact on ecosystems, and land-use change constitutes a primary driving force in the loss of biodiversity. Habitat loss and fragmentation are key factors in this process by seriously impeding the habitat availability and movement of species, leading to a significant decrease in population viability. Landscape connectivity management able of crossing administrative and ecological spatial and temporal scales has been identified as one of the most important measures to counteract these negative impacts. The use of graph-theory and network-based landscape-ecological tools has become established as a promising way forward to address these issues. Despite urgent needs to adapt and implement such tools in planning, assessment and decision-making, surprisingly little attention has been paid to developing approaches for their effective practical application. This thesis presents the development of a toolbox with network-based, landscape-ecological methods and graph-theoretic indicators, which can be effectively implemented by practitioners within environmental assessment, physical planning and design, to analyze landscape connectivity. Recent advances in network analysis and landscape ecology are brought together and adapted for practical application, bridging the gap between science and practice. The use of participatory approaches was identified as key to successful development, and several workshops, meetings, interviews, as well as prototype testing of the developed software were conducted throughout the study. Input data and selection of species were based on the experience gained through seven real-world cases, commissioned by different governmental organizations within Stockholm County. The practitioners’ perspectives on effective practical application of the proposed toolbox were then assessed through an interview-study. The respondents anticipated improved communication with other actors in addition to being able to better assess critical ecological structures within the landscape. The toolbox was finally tested in a large-scale network analysis of impacts of the regional development plan (RUFS 2010), leading to important insights on the planning of connectivity in an urbanizing region. / <p>QC 20111125</p>

The Development of Regional Impact (DRI) concept was codified in Florida in the Seventies, as a measure aimed at planning for the tremendous growth and development that the State had ben experiencing. The DRI statutes that were enacted stated that any development of a magnitude in excess of certain size thresholds had to go through the DRI process to be approved.The process involves extensive studies of what the DRI's impacts will be upon the both the natural and man-made environments. Many public agencies are involved in reviewing the developer's assessments of his impacts. When these analyses are completed to the agencies' satisfaction, a Development Order is drafted. It details both the magnitude of development that will be allowed within the DRI, and the mitigation that developer will have to perform to allay his impacts upon the environments.This report examines the DRI process through the analysis of a case study. The DRI chosen for the case study was the Tampa Triangle DRI, a large tract of land located in Hillsborough County near Tampa, Florida. / Department of Urban Planning

There is increasing interest in linking food system policies and land use planning practices to healthier diets and healthier communities. Little is known about the process of regional food system policy making or the impact of planning and policy decisions in shaping community food environments, including healthy retail opportunities. The Region of Waterloo’s (ROW) Regional Official Plan (ROP) was adopted in 2009 and includes a progressive commitment to support the regional food system through actions to facilitate access to healthy, local food. The policies point to the multiple health, environmental, and local economic benefits of a strong and diverse regional food system and include efforts to: protect the Region’s agricultural land; permit a full range of agriculture- and farm-related uses on agricultural land (to support farmer viability); provide a mix of uses, including food destinations, within close proximity to each other; permit temporary farmers’ markets; and support community and rooftop gardens. The purpose of this research was to examine Waterloo Region’s policy and planning environment as a case study for ‘what works’ with respect to potential points of intersection for improving public health goals and addressing other community priorities. This was achieved by obtaining multi-sectoral perspectives on the ROP’s regional food policies, current food system planning practices at the local level, and access to food. The objectives of this research were: (1) to examine the process of food system policy making in Waterloo Region through multi-sectoral perspectives and to identify the key contextual factors, facilitators and barriers at the individual-, organizational- and system-levels; (2) to identify current planning policies and practices that affect the location, promotion and establishment of healthy retail outlets; (3) to describe the role and motivation of new and existing regional food system participants, including the Region’s Public Health (PH) and Planning (RP) Departments and other key food system stakeholders, in contributing to food system change; and (4) to develop a conceptual framework to illustrate the process of food system policy making and features of food system change at the regional level. In-depth, semi-structured interviews (n=47) were conducted with regional decision makers (n=15); regional and local staff experts in public health and planning (n = 16); and regional food system stakeholders (n=16). Food system stakeholders included local food producers, retailers and distributors, and representatives from other levels of government and community interest groups. Participants were recruited primarily through expert and snowball sampling and a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) was established with academic experts and representatives from PH and RP to help guide early stages of recruitment and research. Two interview guides were used and adapted from earlier tobacco policy work in the Region. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim and constructivist grounded theory methods were used to code and identify emerging themes from the data. Key overarching themes and sub-themes related to food system policy making and food system change included: “strategic positioning” and its underlying sub-themes of “aligned agendas”; “issue framing” and “visioning” which emerged as important ways to influence and affect policy and environmental change. The significance of “local and historical context”, “partnerships”, “multi-sectoral participation” and “knowledge transfer” also contributed to an improved understanding of food system change in Waterloo Region. “Legitimacy” was noted to be a concern in the absence of an appropriate mandate to address food system issues however by engaging in “partnerships”, one’s ability to participate ‘legitimately’ in food system change improved. An important finding was that “food access” had different meanings to participants and may reflect the various lenses through which local food system concerns are viewed. A number of key facilitators of food system policy making were identified and included: food system champions; politically astute leaders; a common issue frame; a collaborative partnership between PH and RP; external partnerships with the community; and food- and agriculture policy networks. Several key barriers to food system policy making included: new areas of practice for PH and RP staff; limited capacity to act without committed partners; inter-jurisdictional relations and tensions with municipal planners; and dominant ‘cheap food’ values. Local-level barriers affecting healthy retail access related to gaps in regional food system coordination and legislative planning support and pointed to an important disconnect between the Region’s vision for the regional food system and the current planning realities at the municipal level. Early signs of policy and environmental change to improve access to healthy food can be seen as evidence of PH’s commitment, groundwork and capacity building efforts over the past decade and their strategic alignment with other regional priorities and partners. These findings can be used to support ongoing community planning considerations in Waterloo Region and to inform similar food policy and planning initiatives in other jurisdictions. A G.E.N.E.R.A.T.E. Change Model was developed as an 8-Step guide for multi-sectoral collaboration and policy and environmental change at the regional level. Steps include: (1) ‘grounding the work’ (groundwork); (2) engaging multi-sectoral stakeholders; (3) negotiating positions and partnerships (establishing legitimacy); (4) exchanging knowledge (ideas and policy options); (5) recognizing points of intersection for policy and environmental change options; (6) aligning agendas, establishing a common issue frame, and setting a vision for change; (7) transferring expert knowledge to decision makers; and (8) evaluating policy and environmental change. At a time when there is mounting interest and consideration of possible food policy strategies at federal, provincial and regional-levels in Canada, findings from this research serve as an important example of how multiple cross-sectoral benefits can be achieved through coordinated and collaborative action.

Emerging trends in the re-inhabitation of central cities and government funding of numerous financial incentives have succeeded in making brownfield redevelopment a far more lucrative opportunity for developers over the past decade. However, the redevelopment process itself remains virtually unchanged, maintaining a narrow focus on environmental remediation, site engineering, and short-term market demand. Land use, instead of design, drives the entire process. This approach fails to sustain development and recognize larger redevelopment opportunities based on local and regional context. Despite an increasing amount of public money used to fund incentives, development continues to overlook potential positive externalities presumably to avert risk and increase feasibility. The purpose of this thesis is to re-examine brownfield redevelopment from the perspective of urban design in order to define ways in which design might offer solutions to these shortcomings and play a more critical role in future redevelopments. Using case studies of past redevelopments of former auto plant sites, Landscape Urbanism in brownfield redevelopment, and design proposals for auto plant sites from the GM and Ford closings of 2005-2006, the thesis investigates three primary questions. First, what is the conventional brownfield redevelopment process, to what extent has urban design been involved, and what are the major issues and lessons that can be learned? Secondly, what examples of brownfield redevelopment have integrated urban design to addresses these issues and what are the specific principles that inform design? Finally, how can urban design strategies, based on principles of Landscape Urbanism, lead the redevelopment of brownfield sites?

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-08-19Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:43:35Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 mesquita_mv_dr_rcla.pdf: 3083423 bytes, checksum: 7fa330af93c3069c5c45b2d857c6eb02 (MD5) / O município de Guarulhos, segunda maior cidade em população no Estado de São e pertencente à Região Metropolitana de São Paulo - RMSP vem sofrendo uma ocupação acelerada e desordenada ao longo de décadas. Dividido fisiograficamente em dois macrocompartimentos, separados pela Falha do Rio Jaguarí, Guarulhos possui na sua porção sul uma área já consolidada com terrenos mais apropriados à ocupação e com mais facilidade de acesso a serviços e infraestrtura. As áreas com problemas encontram-se na porção norte do município, que além de serem áreas com presença de declividades acentuadas, são ocupadas irregularmente, carentes em infraestrutura e planejamento do Poder Público. Resultado da pressão de ocupação na porção norte do município foram analisados três microbacias pertencentes aos Bairros Invernada, Fortaleza e Água Azul que possuem ocupações com históricos diferentes resultando ao longo do tempo em degradações ambientais principalmente no que se refere à dinâmica superficial. Para elaboração do Mapa de Degradação Ambiental para as três microbacias foram utilizados: o método de sobreposição de informações do IPT (2004) para as Microbacias Taquara do Reino (Bairro Invernada) e Guaraçau (Bairro Água Azul) e o método de Unidades Básicas de Compartimentação (UBCs) de Vedovello (2000) para a microbacia Lavras (Bairro Fortaleza). Os dados obtidos indicam que as três microbacias sofrem com a degradação ambiental, materializada em problemas de dinâmica superficial como escorregamentos nas regiões declivosas e um grande volume de assoreamentos, principalmente nas planícies aluvionares. A falta de planejamento e de infraestrutura nesses bairros corroboram para um aumento dessa degradação necessitando de cartografia geotécnica que possa auxiliar o Poder Público na melhor forma de uso do solo e a gerenciar os problemas existentes / The municipality of Guarulhos, second large in population, state of São Paulo belongs to the RMSP - Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, has suffered from a disorderly and accelerated occupation during the decades. Fisiogeographically divided in two macro compartments, separated by Jaguari River Fault, Guarulhos has in its South portion a well done consolidated area more appropriate to land occupation resulting in facilities to access services and infrastructure as well. The biggest problems are in the Northern-part that beyond to be areas with an accentuated declivity, are irregularly occupied with no infrastrueture or governmental assistance planning. Due to the occupation stress in the Northern portion were analyzed three micro basins belonging to the Invernada, Fortaleza and Agua Azul Quarters with different historical occupations resulting in a short term in an environmental degradation especially regarding to dynamie surface. To elaborate the three micro basins Environmental Degradation Map were used two methods: overlaping information for the micro basins applied for Taquara do Reino (Invernada Quarter) and Guaraçau (Água Azul quarter) and the Compartimentation Basie Units methods applied to the Lavras micro basin (Fortaleza Quarter). The obtained datas suggest that the three basins suffer with the environmental degradation revealed in dynamic surface problems such as slide, a great volume of silting, mainly of the alluvial plains. The absence of planning and infrastructures in these places assure to an increase of this degradation, requiring geotechnical cartography in order to help the government to go on in a best way to use the land and manage the existing problems

abstract: Large datasets of sub-meter aerial imagery represented as orthophoto mosaics are widely available today, and these data sets may hold a great deal of untapped information. This imagery has a potential to locate several types of features; for example, forests, parking lots, airports, residential areas, or freeways in the imagery. However, the appearances of these things vary based on many things including the time that the image is captured, the sensor settings, processing done to rectify the image, and the geographical and cultural context of the region captured by the image. This thesis explores the use of deep convolutional neural networks to classify land use from very high spatial resolution (VHR), orthorectified, visible band multispectral imagery. Recent technological and commercial applications have driven the collection a massive amount of VHR images in the visible red, green, blue (RGB) spectral bands, this work explores the potential for deep learning algorithms to exploit this imagery for automatic land use/ land cover (LULC) classification. The benefits of automatic visible band VHR LULC classifications may include applications such as automatic change detection or mapping. Recent work has shown the potential of Deep Learning approaches for land use classification; however, this thesis improves on the state-of-the-art by applying additional dataset augmenting approaches that are well suited for geospatial data. Furthermore, the generalizability of the classifiers is tested by extensively evaluating the classifiers on unseen datasets and we present the accuracy levels of the classifier in order to show that the results actually generalize beyond the small benchmarks used in training. Deep networks have many parameters, and therefore they are often built with very large sets of labeled data. Suitably large datasets for LULC are not easy to come by, but techniques such as refinement learning allow networks trained for one task to be retrained to perform another recognition task. Contributions of this thesis include demonstrating that deep networks trained for image recognition in one task (ImageNet) can be efficiently transferred to remote sensing applications and perform as well or better than manually crafted classifiers without requiring massive training data sets. This is demonstrated on the UC Merced dataset, where 96% mean accuracy is achieved using a CNN (Convolutional Neural Network) and 5-fold cross validation. These results are further tested on unrelated VHR images at the same resolution as the training set. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Computer Science 2016

abstract: Context – Urbanization can have negative effects on bat habitat use through the loss and isolation of habitat even for volant bats. Yet, how bats respond to the changing landscape composition and configuration of urban environments remains poorly understood. Objective – This study examines the relationship between bat habitat use and landscape pattern across multiple scales in the Phoenix metropolitan region. My research explores how landscape composition and configuration affects bat activity, foraging activity, and species richness (response variables), and the distinct habitats that they use. Methods – I used a multi-scale landscape approach and acoustic monitoring data to create predictive models that identified the key predictor variables across multiple scales within the study area. I selected three scales with the intent of capturing the landscape, home range, and site scales, which may all be relevant for understanding bat habitat use. Results – Overall, class-level metrics and configuration metrics best explained bat habitat use for bat species associated with this urban setting. The extent and extensiveness of water (corresponding to small water bodies and watercourses) were the most important predictor variables across all response variables. Bat activity was predicted to be high in native vegetation remnants, and low in native vegetation at the city periphery. Foraging activity was predicted to be high in fine-scale land cover heterogeneity. Species richness was predicted to be high in golf courses, and low in commercial areas. Bat habitat use was affected by urban landscape pattern mainly at the landscape and site scale. Conclusions – My results suggested in hot arid urban landscapes water is a limiting factor for bats, even in urban landscapes where the availability of water may be greater than in outlying native desert habitat. Golf courses had the highest species richness, and included the detection of the uncommon pocketed free-tailed bat (Nyctinomops femorosaccus). Water cover types had the second highest species richness. Golf courses may serve as important stop-overs or refuges for rare or elusive bats. Urban waterways and golf courses are novel urban cover types that can serve as compliments to urban preserves, and other green spaces for bat conservation. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Biology 2016

abstract: Urbanization and woody plant encroachment, with subsequent brush management, are two significant land cover changes that are represented in the southwestern United States. Urban areas continue to grow, and rangelands are undergoing vegetation conversions, either purposely through various rangeland management techniques, or by accident, through inadvertent effects of climate and management. This thesis investigates how areas undergoing land cover conversions in a semiarid region, through urbanization or rangeland management, influences energy, water and carbon fluxes. Specifically, the following scientific questions are addressed: (1) what is the impact of different urban land cover types in Phoenix, AZ on energy and water fluxes?, (2) how does the land cover heterogeneity influence energy, water, and carbon fluxes in a semiarid rangeland undergoing woody plant encroachment?, and (3) what is the impact of brush management on energy, water, and carbon fluxes? The eddy covariance technique is well established to measure energy, water, and carbon fluxes and is used to quantify and compare flux measurements over different land surfaces. Results reveal that in an urban setting, paved surfaces exhibit the largest sensible and lowest latent heat fluxes in an urban environment, while a mesic landscape exhibits the largest latent heat fluxes, due to heavy irrigation. Irrigation impacts flux sensitivity to precipitation input, where latent heat fluxes increase with precipitation in xeric and parking lot landscapes, but do not impact the mesic system. In a semiarid managed rangeland, past management strategies and disturbance histories impact vegetation distribution, particularly the distribution of mesquite trees. At the site with less mesquite coverage, evapotranspiration (ET) is greater, due to greater grass cover. Both sites are generally net sinks of CO2, which is largely dependent on moisture availability, while the site with greater mesquite coverage has more respiration and generally greater gross ecosystem production (GEP). Initial impacts of brush management reveal ET and GEP decrease, due to the absence of mesquite trees. However the impact appears to be minimal by the end of the productive season. Overall, this dissertation advances the understanding of land cover change impacts on surface energy, water, and carbon fluxes in semiarid ecosystems. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering 2017

Submitted by RINGO BENJAMIM VICTOR null (ribeviva@gmail.com) on 2018-01-28T13:57:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Ringo_Biblioteca_UNESP.pdf: 8660357 bytes, checksum: 88b358970243c0069466d7c737200f7e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Santulo Custódio de Medeiros null (asantulo@rc.unesp.br) on 2018-01-29T19:47:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 victor_rb_dr_rcla.pdf: 7468403 bytes, checksum: 11c7a5824b3d781b72ef224003f0a55c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-29T19:47:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 victor_rb_dr_rcla.pdf: 7468403 bytes, checksum: 11c7a5824b3d781b72ef224003f0a55c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-14 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O trabalho objetivou realizar o Levantamento Pedológico e Avaliação da Aptidão Agrícola de Terras da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Maue no Distrito de Angónia em Moçambique, numa área com 4.592,56 ha de cobertura. Para além de uso de técnicas de geoprocessamento, efetuou-se o levantamento de solos em campo, sua descrição morfológica e análises físico-químicas para fins de fertilidade agrícola. De posse dos resultados analíticos, os solos foram classificados à luz da FAO-WRB (2014), identificando-se assim, 10 classes de solos: Vertisol Gleic Eutric; Plinthosol Pisolithic Eutic; Acrisol Eutric Sodic; Cambisol Eutric Haplic1; Ferralsol Sodic Yellow; Gleysol Eutric Haplic; Solonetz Eutric Duric; Cambisol Eutric Haplic2; Solonetz Sodic Eutric; e Ferralsol Yellow-Red Eutric. Os resultados da pesquisa evidenciam que 20% dos solos da bacia são de elevada fertilidade natural (eutróficos), correspondendo à classes de Ferralsol Yellow-Red Eutric e Cambisol Eutric Haplic1. Por sua vez, 80% dos solos, apesar de eutróficos, possuem baixa fertilidade natural, pois, apresentam-se com problemas de sodicidade, o que representa limitação ao desenvolvimento das culturas. Fisicamente, os solos se apresentam com restrições (coesão, adensamento, cimentação de horizontes e endopedregosidade) para as classes de Cambisols e Solonetz. Apesar disso, se prestam à lavoura, mas quando submetidos a correções e manejos visando à melhoria de sua estrutura e fertilidade. A partir da avaliação da aptidão agrícola de terras identificou 5 classes: 1ABC, que compreende terras pertencentes às classes de aptidão boa para lavouras nos níveis de manejo A, B e C (40,41%); 5SN- corresponde a terras pertencentes à classe de aptidão boa para silvicultura e pastagem natural (24,05%); 4P- terras pertencentes à classe de aptidão boa para pastagem plantada (15,62%); 1(a)BC - terras pertencentes à classe de aptidão boa para a lavoura nos níveis de manejo B e C, e restrita ao nível A (10,23%) e, por último, a classe 6- terras sem aptidão para o uso agrícola (9,69%) da área total. Esta última destina-se a preservação da flora e fauna. Ainda assim, em termos percentuais não reduzem significativamente as terras agricultáveis a região, pois esta se apresenta com considerável potencial de uso, haja vista que 90,31% da cobertura total da área correspondem a áreas aptas para a lavoura. Apesar disso, observa-se que a forma de exploração dos solos em Maue ameaça sua conservação a médio e longo prazo, em virtude da sodicidade destes resultante do uso de adubos e fertilizantes químicos por parte da população, conduzindo, portanto, a salinização dos solos e seus impactos a nível socio-ecológico. Portanto, há profunda necessidade de reverter à situação em prol da sustentabilidade ambiental, caso contrário fará com que se hipotequem as necessidades das futuras gerações pelas relações entre o Homem, solo e a agrobiodiversidade que sustêm a vida daquelas comunidades conduzindo, eventualmente, a erosão, à redução e perda de produtividade dos solos, a fome, pobreza e miséria em lugar do bem-estar de que se desejam. / The objective of this work was to carry out a soil survey and evaluation of the agricultural suitability of the Maue River Basin in the District of Angónia in Mozambique, with 4,592.56 ha. In addition to the use of geoprocessing techniques, soil survey in the field, its morphological description and physical-chemical analyzes were carried out for agricultural fertility purposes. Based on the analytical results, the soils were classified according with to FAO-WRB (2014), thus identifying 10 classes of soils: Vertisol Gleic Eutric; Plinthosol Pisolithic Eutric; Acrisols Eutric Sodic; Cambisol Eutric Haplic1; Ferralsol Sodic Yellow; Gleysol Eutric Haplic; Solonetz Eutric duric; Cambisol Eutric Haplic2; Solonetz Sodic Eutric; and Ferralsol Yellow-Red Eutric. The results of the research show that 20% of the soils of the basin are of high natural fertility (eutrophic), corresponding to the classes of Ferralsol Yellow-Red and Cambisol Eutric Haplic 1. On the other hand, 80% of the soils, although eutrophic, have low natural fertility, therefore, they are faced with problems of sodicity, what represents limitation to the development of the cultures. Physically, the soils present themselves with restrictions (cohesion, densification, cementing of horizons and endopedregosidade) for the classes of Cambisols and Solonetz. Despite this, they lend themselves to farming, but when submitted to corrections and maneuvers aiming at the improvement of its structure and fertility. The appraisal of agricultural landability identified 5 classes: 1ABC, which comprises lands belonging to the good fitness classes for crops at management levels A, B and C (40.41%); 5SN- corresponds to lands belonging to the good fitness class for forestry and natural pasture (24.05%); 4P - lands belonging to good fitness class for planted pasture (15.62%); 1 (a) BC - lands belonging to the good farming class at management levels B and C, restricted to level A (10.23%) and, lastly, class 6 land not suitable for use (9.69%) of the total area. The latter is intended for the preservation of flora and fauna. Nevertheless, in percentage terms they do not significantly reduce the arable land in the region, since it presents considerable potential for use, since 90.31% of the total area coverage corresponds to areas suitable for farming. Despite this, it is observed that the way of exploitation of the soils in Maue threatens its conservation in the medium and long term, due to the sodicity of these resulting from the use of fertilizers and chemical fertilizers by the population, leading, therefore, the salinization of the soils and their socio-ecological impacts. Therefore, there is a deep need to revert to the situation in favor of environmental sustainability, otherwise it will cause the future generations' needs to be mortgaged by the relationships between man, soil and agrobiodiversity that sustain the lives of those communities, eventually leading to erosion, to the reduction and loss of soil productivity, hunger, poverty and misery rather than the desired welfare. / CAPES: 9086-14-5