Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-07, Section: B, page: 4054. Adviser: Benjamin C. Amick. Includes bibliographical references.

Hospitals are regarded as some of the most important structures in society due to the service that they provide. Knowing this, governments spend large amounts of money on these facilities. Also, codes of design require to provide them more reserve capacity than that for conventional structures. However, large damages (such as collapses and permanent or temporary interruptions of their functionality) have still been observed in hospitals during strong earthquakes. Unfortunately, it is precisely after this type of event that their service is in high demand and failure in providing that service could lead to further disastrous or fatal consequences. Therefore, the use of protective technologies, combined with rational procedures of design, would help to reduce damage and probable losses of functionality in hospital structures. In this thesis, a procedure for seismic design of structures equipped with a type of protective technology, namely, buckling-restrained braces (BRBs), is proposed. Then, the results of experimental and numerical studies are presented to understand the benefits of using BRBs in structures. This study highlights that BRBs are very effective to dissipate seismic energy and can act as structural fuses, i.e. disposable devices that may be replaced after an earthquake without interruptions in the functionality of the structure. One of the advantages of the proposed procedure is that it takes into account explicitly the characteristics and contributions of both, the main structure and the BRBs. It is based on the assumption that a structure protected with BRBs can rationally be represented by a dual SDOF system whose parts yield at different displacement levels. Other advantages include: 1) better control of the displacement demands on the structure; 2) achievement of the fuse concept beforehand; and 3) rapid assessment of the probabilistic performance of the structure. The experimental studies consisted of testing steel and concrete models, with and without BRBs, on a shaking table. In addition to calibrate and validate the proposed method of design, the tests have helped to find that, due to BRBs: 1) the damping ratio is increased significantly; and 2) the dynamic response, to ground motions characteristic of the lakebed zone of Mexico City, is reduced in terms of lateral displacements, inter-storey drifts, floor velocities and floor accelerations. The numerical studies are: 1) a study of the response of typical hospitals improved with BRBs; 2) a study of residual displacements in conventional and dual systems; and 3) evaluation of the economic benefits of using BRBs in structures. On these studies, hypothetical hospitals located in the lakebed zone of Mexico City were considered. The results show that the use of BRBs is very beneficial in medium- and low-rise buildings, while adverse effects may be observed in high-rise structures.

Durant la première décennie du XXIe siècle, le centre historique de Mexico a cessé de perdre ses habitants, amorçant un mouvement de revalorisation économique et symbolique dont on commence à peine à mesurer l’importance. Cette thèse retrace la formation de ce haut lieu patrimonial pour mieux appréhender la singularité du processus de gentrification qui s’y déploie. Deux postulats sont mis à l’épreuve.D’abord, il est stipulé que la gentrification s’inscrit dans un continuum historique qui détermine la division sociale de l’espace urbain. On constate en effet que les “pionniers urbains” prennent place en des lieux spécifiques, en particulier le long des foyers “civilisateurs” établis depuis la période coloniale, où l’on retrouve actuellement une offre immobilière adaptée aux aspirations et aux besoins sécuritaires des nouveaux habitants.Ensuite, la gentrification n’est pas le produit d’acteurs individuels mais elle implique des conflits d’intérêts entre des acteurs collectifs. Nourrie par de nombreux témoignages, cette recherche interroge le rôle que les élites politiques et économiques entendent attribuer au noyau historique de la capitale mexicaine ; elle expose la participation ambigüe des classes intermédiaires ainsi que les différentes formes de résistance exprimées par les populations exclues du projet urbain. Enfin, afin d’évaluer la prétendue pluralité du projet de “revitalisation”, reprenant les débats autour de l’aménagement participatif, elle offre une description détaillée des différents mécanismes de patrimonialisation et de gestion sociale établis par le gouvernement local en guise de neutraliser les conflits inhérents au processus de gentrification. / During the first decade of the 21st Century, the depopulation of the historical downtown of Mexico City ceased, giving way to a process of economic and symbolic revalorization. The causes and consequences of this process have not been fully identified. This thesis reviews the origins of this important patrimonial site, and attempts to analyze the territories currently undergoing processes of gentrification, based on the following postulates:First, it stipulates that gentrification takes place as part of a historical continuum that determines the social organization of urban space. In fact, this research shows that those who are “pioneers” tend to appropriate specific places, which are usually former “civilization” nuclei established during the colony. There as well, real estate offers aimed at these new groups of the population, more demanding in terms of safety and urban comfort, cluster.Secondly, it establishes that gentrification is not produced by isolated actors, but rather implies conflicts of interest between diverse collective actors. Sustained by a diversity of testimonies, this thesis examines the character that economic and political elites sought to imprint upon a fundamental territory for the Mexican capital; it also explores the ambiguous participation of the middle classes and depicts the different forms of resistance set in motion by those excluded from this new city project. Finally, it offers a detailed overview of the mechanisms of patrimonialization and social management established by the Federal District’s Government, in their attempt to neutralize the conflicts inherent to the gentrification process. / Durante la primera década del siglo XXI, el Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México dejó de despoblarse, dando paso a un proceso de revalorización económica y simbólica cuyas causas y consecuencias no han sido plenamente identificadas. La tesis abarca los orígenes de este importante sitio patrimonial y pretende analizar los territorios actuales de la gentrificación a partir de los postulados siguientes.Primero, se estipula que la gentrificación se desenvuelve dentro de un continuo histórico que determina la división social del espacio urbano. De hecho, la investigación arroja que los “pioneros” tienden a apropiarse lugares específicos, que suelen ser los antiguos núcleos “civilizatorios“ establecidos durante la colonia. Allí se concentra también la oferta inmobiliaria dirigida hacia estos nuevos grupos de población, más exigentes en términos de seguridad y de confort urbano.En segundo lugar, se establece que la gentrificación no es el producto de actores aislados sino que implica conflictos de intereses entre diversos actores colectivos. Nutrida con testimonios diversos, esta tesis examina el carácter que las élites económicas y políticas quisieran imprimir sobre un territorio medular para la capital mexicana; expone además la participación ambigua de las clases medias y retrata las diferentes formas de resistencia puestas en marcha por los sectores excluidos del nuevo proyecto de ciudad. Con el fin de evaluar la pluralidad del proyecto “revitalizador” del Centro Histórico, y retomando discusiones en torno al ordenamiento territorial participativo, la tesis ofrece un panorama detallado de los mecanismos de patrimonialización y de gestión social, establecidos por el gobierno del Distrito Federal en su intento por neutralizar los conflictos inherentes al proceso de gentrificación.

The aim of the thesis Development of Smart Cities in the region of Latin America applied on the case of Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro stands on their comparison provided according to application of six axes smart city concept. Both cities provide their individual approach in their formulation and implementation of smart city initiative. According to this comparison this paper will prove that even though that there is not yet a uniform smart city definition there are indicators according to which it is possible to form a general a framework to identify smart cities. This framework will be important to prove several things about smart cities. They will be necessary for the future growth of humanity as cities become more and more important. This will happen by allowing for better functioning of cities and better use of existing resources. These cities will start to operate for their citizens in ways that lessen the impact of the environment while allowing cities to grow across multiple sectors while improving quality of life among a city s residents. This implementation of ITC technologies will prove a rising tide that will lift the city s poor by empowering their economic lives by improving quality of life and giving better access to resources. The comparison of the two cities will also prove that Rio de Janeiro through its many smart initiatives is further along in its path to becoming a smart city than Mexico City. The difference between the two will also prove just how important smart cities are to the region s future. Mexico City s projects have not been as holistic as those taken in Brazil s largest city. Rio de Janeiro s implementation of projects like COR have transformed the city allowing it to become one of the smartest cities in the region and the world. The COR has implemented ITC technologies and initiatives that have transformed every sector of the six-axes approach model.

Le jardinage urbain demeure un objet d'études récent en sciences sociales, mais déjà la littérature sur le sujet semble être divisée en deux positions distinctes : tandis que certain-e-s chercheur-e-s affirment que les initiatives de jardinage sont radicalement progressistes, mobilisant des notions telles que le droit à la ville ou les communs, d'autres ont moins confiance en ces projets, affirmant qu'ils ont tendance à servir un agenda néolibéral. J’affirme que ce débat bénéficie d’une théorisation plus approfondie de la manière dont le politique se déploie dans ces espaces gérés par des citoyen-ne-s. En m'appuyant sur une étude de cas de deux jardins collectifs situés dans l'espace public de Mexico, le Huerto Tlatelolco et le Huerto Roma Verde, je propose d'analyser le potentiel politique des jardins urbains à travers le prisme de la théorie de la démocratie radicale. En examinant à la fois les discours mis en avant par les jardinier-ère-s et leurs pratiques quotidiennes, j'évalue s'ils sont guidés par des principes de contre-hégémonie et de résistance aux structures de domination et s'ils aboutissent à l'établissement de nouvelles formes de relations sociales basées sur la communalité et la relationnalité. J’observe que la réalisation de ces principes de démocratie radicale dépend principalement des intentions des jardinier-ère-s qui ont initié ces projets, et des valeurs sur lesquelles ils et elles s'appuient pour donner forme à leurs initiatives. / Urban gardening remains an incipient object of study in social science, but already the early literature seems to suggest the existence of two distinct positions on the matter : while some researchers argue that gardening initiatives are radically progressive, mobilizing notions such as the right to the city or the commons, others have less faith in these projects, arguing that they tend to serve a neoliberal agenda. This debate, I argue, benefits from further theorizing the way the political unfolds in these citizen-managed spaces. Drawing from a case study of two collective gardens located in the public space of Mexico City, the Huerto Tlatelolco and the Huerto Roma Verde, I suggest analyzing the political potential of urban gardens through the lens of the theory of radical democracy. Looking at both the discourses put forth by the gardeners and their daily practices, I evaluate whether they are guided by principles of counter-hegemony and resistance towards structures of domination and whether they result in the establishment of new forms of social relations based on communality and relationality. I find that the achievement of these principles of radical democracy depends mainly on the intentions of the gardeners who initiated these projects, and on the values on which they rely to give shape to their initiatives.

A problem with the city is that urban development, for the last decades, has neglected the human scale. Since capitalism and modernism the focus has shifted towards the modern man, a new rational being separated from nature rather than nature being an ever present part of life. Adopting an architecture where form follows function. Focus is on designing for the market and economy which has generated a culture of consumption and capitalist cities plagued by environmental issues and social inequality and cities are not fulfilling essential needs of a big portion of the people living there. Our culture and cities have ecological ramifications that extend beyond its borders disrupting the very basic needs of human life.  Architecture must be designed for the collective rather than the ego. Rather than the few designing for the many, people should be a part of the making and remaking of the city and society. Design and architecture should rediscover our place in ecosystems and learn from nature how to adapt and be transformable. It should be inclusive, participatory and comprehensive to improve resilience.  Building laboratory explores how design and architecture can become mutalistic by including, teaching and learning from the inhabitants. Constructing by using simple strategies and local material.

Cette thèse étudie les recompositions des colonies populaires périphériques de la zone métropolitaine de Mexico depuis vingt ans. Les liens entre les mobilités spatiales, les espaces de vie des habitants dans des quartiers illégaux à l’origine, et les stratégies de régularisation physique et juridique sont interrogés au regard des évolutions sociales, démographiques et politiques. Le caractère dynamique et divers des colonies populaires a été examiné à travers deux outils conceptuels de l’étude des territorialités urbaines : l’ancrage, point de vue sur les expériences des individus ; la maturation, pour analyser les changements des contextes résidentiels. Les trajectoires de maturation ont été comprises à partir de l’analyse de données sociodémographiques systématiques et d’un travail empirique dans quatre quartiers. Une fois le cadre de travail présenté, les contextes de la maturation ont été observés selon trois entrées : sociale, relative aux mobilités, et politico-juridique. Les trajectoires plurielles de cette maturation ont ensuite été analysées du point de vue de l’ancrage, en tentant de comprendre les chemins ayant conduit à la diversité visible aujourd’hui : il s’est agi de décrire les itinéraires résidentiels des habitants, leurs expériences citadines, en particulier par rapport aux ressources de la proximité, les dynamiques de régularisation foncière et urbanistique dans leur complexité et les évolutions de la division sociale de l’espace. Au final, ces quartiers deviennent de plus en plus hétérogènes et « banals » par rapport au reste de la ville, révélant l’obsolescence d’une lecture unique en termes de pauvreté ou de marginalité juridique. / This doctoral thesis explores the recomposition of colonias populares on the outskirts of the metropolitan area of Mexico-City for twenty years. Links between spatial mobility, living spaces of residents in informal settlements and strategies of physical and legal regularization are enlightened though social, demographic and political evolutions. The dynamic and heterogeneous characteristics of colonias populares was examined through two conceptual tools for the study of urban territoriality: the anchorage, as a point of view on the experiences of people; maturation, in order to analyze changes in residential settings. The trajectories of maturation have been understood from the analysis of systematic demographic data and from empirical work in four areas. Once the framework presented, the contexts of maturation were observed in three inputs: social, mobility, and political. Plural trajectories of this maturation were analyzed from the point of view of the anchorage: we tried to understand the pathways leading to the actual visible diversity. We described the residential routes of inhabitants, their urban experiences, more particularly in relation to the resources of the area, the complex dynamics of land and planning regularization and changes in the social division of space. Finally, these neighborhoods are becoming increasingly heterogeneous and "common" compared to the rest of the city, revealing the obsolescence of a single reading in terms of poverty or legal marginality. / En esta tesis de doctorado, se analiza la recomposición de las colonias populares de la periferia de la Zona Metropolitana de México desde veinte años. Los vínculos entre la movilidad espacial, los espacios de vida de los residentes de los asentamientos irregulares, y las estrategias de regularización legal y física se examinan a la luz de factores sociales, demográficos y políticos. El rasgo dinámico y diverso de las colonias populares se examinó a través de dos herramientas conceptuales para el estudio de la territorialidad urbana: el anclaje, para tener un punto de vista de las experiencias de los individuos; la maduración, para analizar los cambios en entornos residenciales. Las trayectorias de maduración son entendidas a partir del análisis sistemático de los datos demográficos y del trabajo empírico en cuatro grupos de colonias. Después de la presentación del marco de estudio, se observaron los contextos de la maduración con tres entradas: social, sobre la movilidad, y política. Las trayectorias plurales de esta maduración se analizaron desde el punto de vista del anclaje, tratando de entender las vías que conducen a la diversidad visible hoy. Llegamos a describir a las rutas residenciales de los habitantes, sus experiencias urbanas, particularmente en relación con los recursos de la zona, la dinámica compleja de la regularización del suelo y de la planificación, y los cambios en la división social del espacio. Al final, estas colonias son cada vez más heterogéneas y "triviales" en comparación con el resto de la ciudad, dejando al descubierto la obsolescencia de una sola lectura en términos de pobreza o marginalidad.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Full text release at OhioLINK's ETD Center delayed at author's request

It has been historically assumed that most of the uncertainty associated with the aerosol indirect effect on climate can be attributed to the unpredictability of updrafts. We assess the sensitivity of cloud droplet number density to realistic variations in aerosol chemical properties and to variable updraft velocities using a 1-dimensional cloud parcel model. The results suggest that aerosol chemical variability may be as important to the aerosol indirect effect as the effect of unresolved cloud dynamics, especially in polluted environments. We next used a continuous flow streamwise thermal gradient Cloud Condesnation Nuclei counter (CCNc) to study the water-uptake properties of the ambient aerosol, by exposing an aerosol sample to a controlled water vapor supersaturation and counting the resulting number of droplets. The heat transfer properties and droplet growth within the CCNc were first modeled and experimentally characterized. We describe results from the MIRAGE field campaign at a ground-based site during March, 2006. Size-resolved CCN activation spectra and hygroscopic growth factor distributions of the ambient aerosol in Mexico City were obtained, and an analytical technique was developed to quantify a probability distribution of solute volume fractions for the CCN, as well as the aerosol mixing-state. The CCN were shown to be much less CCN active than ammonium sulfate, with water uptake properties more consistent with low molecular weight organic compounds. We also describe results from the GoMACCS field study, an airborne field campaign in Houston, Texas during August-September, 2006. GoMACCS tested our ability to predict CCN for highly polluted conditions with limited chemical information. Assuming the particles were composed purely of ammonium sulfate, CCN closure was obtained with a 10% overprediction bias on average for CCN concentrations ranging from less than 100 cm-3 to over 10,000 cm-3, but with on average 50% variability. Assuming measured concentrations of organics to be internally mixed and insoluble tended to reduce the overprediction bias for less polluted conditions, but led to underprediction bias in the most polluted conditions. Comparing the two campaigns, it is clear that the chemistry of the particles plays an important role in our ability to predict CCN concentrations.

Begun in Berlin, completed in exile in Paris, and premiered on both sides of the Atlantic, Kurt Weill's Symphony No. 2 sets up the symphony circa 1933 as both resolutely international and messily interdisciplinary, and spotlights how fundamentally a transnational approach is needed in order more comprehensively to understand both the genre and the localised political and social issues shaping symphonic discourse at this time. Taking the issues raised by Weill's symphony as a starting point, and borrowing fine-grained, historically synchronic approaches from year studies, this thesis examines the symphonic genre in 1933 through four other case-study works composed or premiered in that year. I thus position the symphony as a site of cultural exchange between and within the major contexts traversed by Weill and his work: Berlin, Paris, and a messier U.S. East-Coast nexus that centres on New York and Boston, via Mexico City, looking in detail at Hans Pfitzner's Symphony in C-sharp minor, Roy Harris's Symphony 1933, Aaron Copland's Short Symphony, and Arthur Honegger's Mouvement Symphonique nr. 3. The Germanic genre has long been associated with nationalism, monumentality, and power display, wedded to Germanic Enlightenment philosophical discourses about universalised selfhood and its relationship to society. 1933, the year in which Hitler took power and the Great Depression reached its peak, was politically and economically fraught, concentrating social questions that intersect with symphonic issues about power, selfhood, space, and mass audiences. It is also a neglected year within symphonic surveys. The thesis combines archival work and hermeneutic perspectives to foreground those social and political discourses historically associated with the genre. I argue for the significance of their differing legacies in co-existent contexts, for the complicity of the genre in establishing and perpetuating political and colonial hegemonies, and for the urgency of rethinking the symphony as an international phenomenon.