published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

The dissertation explores the roles of buildings in urban social life. Buildings, as both a methodological tool and a research site, are valuable for understanding society. As a method, buildings allow access to various urban contexts. As a research site, the material and the social are integrated, where buildings and society are shown in continual construction. The overarching case shows how a new building type is born in a society and what buildings do, as both materiality and meaning, to help bring about outcomes. The study follows a single building type through history and analytical levels in the city of Santiago, Chile where three empirical studies emerge. The first traces a process of late 19th century urbanization to show the entrance of new residential building types into a city and how the physical and social landscape is reshaped in the process, emphasizing how one urban form emerges and is defined. Intercontinental connections bring new architecture and new language, stabilizing the link between form and name in the city. The resulting spectrum of buildings within the type shows how the diversity of residents shapes material outcomes. As the new buildings become fixed in the urban landscape, so too do social categories. How buildings change definitions both between and within societies, as well as start to take on meanings, is explored. Once definitions and form are established, the following studies explore the roles of the buildings in contemporary urban life. Photos analysis is employed to examine uses of shared space (a patio) in a residential building where buildings are theorized as material structures that contribute to patterned activities. It addresses how the building creates opportunities for observed everyday uses of private collective space. Using published comparison cases demonstrates that practices appear to differ between buildings of the same type when income of residents differs. It is hypothesized that opportunity is created not by the existence of the space per se, but by its gated enclosure, which separates the public street from the private space. The building is understood as a bound that simultaneously fosters interaction and exclusion. In addition, activities in these spaces, over time, contribute to new cultural understandings of the building type, showing how use can generate meaning. The last empirical study examines the reuse of residential buildings for commercial purposes in one neighborhood. The goal is to illuminate roles buildings play in contemporary neighborhood transformations. Rather than understanding transformation through reuse itself, modes of material conversions are examined. The differences between older conversions and newer ones in the area highlight the role of visible characteristics in the newly reused buildings. The material maintenance of residential facades on new conversions locks in the visual of a residential neighborhood, where intended function is built into form, even under commercial reuse. This is valuable in line with a constructed narrative about the place that focuses on the past. The building type under investigation is further redefined as reused buildings take on visual and spatial similarities to housing models from a past era that were not involved in changes in the neighborhood, but appear as if they were. This study relies on participant observation and analysis of marketing materials, as well as other documentary sources.

Den ojämlika dödligheten är en studie av främst hjärt–kärldödlighet avseende perioden 1950–2010 i tvillingstäderna Linköping och Norrköping och konsekvenserna av ojämlikhet. Skillnaderna mellan städerna i dödlighet är stora. Under 1970-talet, då jämlikheten stod i focus, minskade dessa. Efterhand som ekonomisk politik och samhällsvärderingar mera anpassades till en global monetaristisk politik ökade också den ojämlika dödligheten mellan städerna. Stora förändringar ägde rum inom respektive stad när det gäller hjärtdödligheten. Miljonprogramområdena i de båda städerna blev relativt sett fattigare och präglades allt mer av flyktinginvandring, samtidigt som städernas centra gentrifierades, inte minst i Linköping. Skillnaderna i dödlighet mellan ytterområdena och centrum ökade under 1990- och 2000-talen. Detta gäller i större utsträckning i Linköping än i Norrköping. Avhandlingen består av tre delar. I licentiatuppsatsen analyseras städernas utveckling från 1950-talet till 2006. Studien gör också ett försök att spåra orsaker till ohälsoskillnader och för tidig död. Artikel 1 handlar om vad som hände med folkhälsan på vägen från ett högindustriellt till ett postindustriellt samhälle. Ett särskilt focus har varit att studera skillnader i hjärtsjuklighet mellan olika stadsdelar i de bägge tvillingstäderna. I artikel 2 analyseras skillnader i hjärt–kärldödlighet på stadsdelsnivå under perioden 1976 till 2010. / Unequal Mortality is primarily a study of coronary heart disease mortality and its consequences during the period 1950–2010 in the twin cities Linköping and Norrköping. The difference in mortality between the two cities was great. During the 1970s, when there was a focus on equality, these differences declined. As economic policies and social values were adapted to a global monetary policy, inequality in mortality between the two cities increased. Large changes took place in the respective cities as far as mortality in coronary heart disease was concerned. In both cities the low cost housing projects became poorer and were increasingly influenced by the influx of refugees, at the same time that the city centres became gentrified, not least in Linköping. The differences in mortality between the out-lying areas and the city centres increased during the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century. This is true to a greater extent in Linköping than in Norrköping. The dissertation consists of three parts. The licentiate thesis analyses the development of the cities from the 1950s until 2006. The study also attempts to trace the reasons for the differences in health and premature death. Article 1 deals with what happened on the way from a highly industrial to a post-industrial society. It has especially focused on studying the differences in coronary heart disease morbidity among various neighbourhoods in both the twin cities. Article 2 analyses differences in coronary heart disease mortality during the period from 1976 to 2010.

This study represents a community needs assessment conducted for Trans.lation Vickery Meadow, a community-based organization in a North Dallas community, Vickery Meadow. Vickery Meadow is a community where refugee resettlement agencies place incoming clients, and therefore, there is a focus on immigrants and refugees in this study. Using theoretical conceptions of development, immigration policy, and the refugee resettlement process, this project measured residential perceptions of Vickery Meadow, the operations of Trans.lation Vickery Meadow, and overall community needs. Also included are perceptions of Trans.lation Vickery Meadow members concerning community needs and the operations of Trans.lation. Recommendations are made based upon research and conclusions from fieldwork.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

L’évolution de l’aménagement urbain s’oriente actuellement vers la démarche du développement durable. C’est à travers les projets à l’échelle locale – les quartiers durables –que sont initiées et appliquées les politiques des collectivités en la matière. Le nombre croissant et la diversité de ces opérations reflètent toutefois un manque d’études sur l’approche et le processus d’élaboration propre à cette échelle du quartier ainsi que la question de l’adaptation de la démarche dans chaque contexte urbain. A partir de ce constat, nous avons défini le sujet central de notre recherche comme le croisement et l’intégration de la notion de la durabilité dans la complexité des contextes locaux.Notre approche s’appuie sur un regard transversal et croisé des thématiques interdisciplinaires du développement durable en insérant les questionnements propres à la conduite des projets architecturaux et urbains. Notre principal objectif est de contribuer à une base de réflexion synthétique pour l’aide à la décision et la programmation des projets de quartiers, avec le cas d’étude de la ville d’Hanoï. Nous mettons en place une approche systémique sous forme de grilles d’analyse multicritères génériques pour l’évaluation des projets de quartiers durables. Nous proposons des recommandations et des préconisations par une analyse croisée des expériences européennes du domaine, en vue d’une démarche opérationnelle de l’élaboration des quartiers durables. Il s’agit d’un travail de référence permettant d’actualiser et d’enrichir les connaissances sur les dispositifs architecturaux et urbains durables adaptés aux contextes des villes des pays émergents comme le Vietnam. / The evolution of urban development is moving towards the sustainable development approach. It is through projects at the local scale - sustainable neighborhoods - that community policies on this matter are initiated and implemented. The increasing number and diversity of these operations reflect however a lack of studies on the approach and the development process specific to the scale of neighborhood, as well as the question of adaptation of the approach to each urban context. Based on this observation, we defined the central subject of our research as the crossing and integration of the concept of sustainability in the complexity of local contexts.Our approach is based on a transverse and crossed look on interdisciplinary themes of sustainable development, by crossing questions specific to architectural and urban projects management. Our main objective is to contribute to a synthetic base of reflection for decision-support for district planning, based on the case study of Hanoi City.We implement a systemic approach in the form of generic multi-criteria analysis grids for the evaluation of sustainable neighborhoods projects. We propose recommendations by a crossed analysis of European experiences in the field, in view of an operational approach to the development of sustainable neighborhoods. This is a reference work allowing updating and deepening knowledge on architectural and urban sustainable features, adapted to the contexts of cities in emerging countries like Vietnam.

This study draws on census data and geographic information systems (GIS) to investigate the relationship between light rail transit (LRT) infrastructure development and gentrification in Portland, Oregon. While recent research using comprehensive measures of neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) supports a potentially causal link between transit development and gentrification, research into the effects of transit on property values alone tends to dominate the discourse. This study therefore seeks to build on previous research to develop an index measure of neighborhood SES and SES change based on measures of education, occupation, and income, using census data from 1980-2010. This multifaceted measure of neighborhood SES is analyzed in relation to LRT access using correlation, OLS regression, and GIS hot spot and choropleth mapping. Findings: Throughout the study period, low SES neighborhoods largely disappeared from the City of Portland, while low-income households were gradually priced out. Simultaneously, the easternmost suburb of Gresham became more highly concentrated in low SES neighborhoods. No definitive relationship between LRT and SES is found along the Eastside Blue or Westside Blue Lines, but strong evidence is found supporting a positive effect of Yellow Line MAX development on the rapid gentrification of North Portland from 2000-2010. Regressions run on neighborhoods along the Yellow Line indicate that SES change was greatest for those that began the decade with large Black populations, low rents, and close proximity to stations. Findings are discussed through the theoretical framework of the urban growth machine, which suggests the differential relationship between LRT and neighborhood SES relates to the distinct values of different parts of the region for the pursuit of general growth goals.

Les transformations économiques et sociales des sociétés anciennement industrielles ont contribué à la métamorphose des centres anciens de nombreuses villes. Des mouvements centripètes de capitaux et de population, se sont initiés et intensifiés ces dernières décennies. La périphérie des villes autrefois si attractive n’est plus le lieu privilégié d’un type de population qui lui préfère les centres anciens. Il s’agit de la gentrification. Barcelone et plus récemment Marseille n’ont pas échappé à cette dynamique. En s’appuyant sur des travaux pluridisciplinaires, cette thèse se propose tout d’abord de rappeler les définitions du processus, puis d’en saisir les étapes et les modalités sur le terrain. Or, cette étude nous amène à comprendre la gentrification comme un aspect de la métropolisation, dans ses dimensions économique, urbanistique, sociale, politique et culturelle. Depuis les années 1990, quels sont les indices nous permettant d’affirmer qu’un « retour en ville » est en marche ? Une approche quantitative basée sur un important corpus statistique et la confrontation de ces résultats statistiques à des données plus qualitatives nous permettent de répondre à cette question, tout en révélant une réalité idiosyncratique qui interroge la théorie. Enfin, les modes et les rythmes de développement d’un processus qui ne se limite plus aux quartiers anciens et centraux mais qui par capillarité se répand dans les faubourgs laissent apparaître, dans ces deux villes nord-méditerranéennes, non pas un processus de gentrification mais des processus différenciés. / Economic and social changes of old industrial societies have contributed to the transformation of the downtown of many cities. The centripetal flow of capital and population has initiated and intensified in recent decades. The suburbs of cities, initially so attractive, seems to decline for a new type of population who prefers the downtown way of life. This is gentrification. Barcelona, and most recently Marseille, have not escaped this dynamic. Firstly, based on interdisciplinary works, this thesis proposes to record the definition of the process and to grasp the steps and procedures in the field. However, this study leads us to understand the gentrification as an aspect of metropolization, in its economic, urban, social, political and cultural dimensions. Since the 1990s, what have the changes been, that allow us to affirm that "a back to the city" is running? A quantitative approach based on an extensive statistical corpus and the confrontation of these statistical results of the qualitative data, we can answer this question, while revealing an idiosyncratic reality that questions the theory. Finally, the modes and rates of development of a process that is no longer confined to the old and central areas but spreads by capillary action in the inner-suburbs, demonstrates in both north -Mediterranean cities, that there is not one process of gentrification but differentiated processes.

Derrière l’apparent consensus de l’application du registre de la durabilité à la ville, notre recherche contribue à analyser, dans une perspective critique, ce que recouvre la locution de ville durable dans le champ de l’urbanisme. Nos investigations reposent tout d’abord sur l’étude des modalités d’émergence de l’expression, conjuguée à l’examen du traitement dont la notion fait l’objet dans la littérature scientifique et professionnelle. Nourrie du rapport dressé entre méditerranéité et pensée complexe (MORIN 1999), l’approche est ensuite incarnée au sein d’une ville méditerranéenne : Marseille. Elle se fonde alors sur l’analyse des représentations que les acteurs en charge de la fabrique urbaine se font de la ville durable, éclairant ainsi ce qui fonde leurs actions dans ce domaine. L’enjeu réside enfin dans la mise en regard de l’ensemble avec les conséquences matérielles, socio-spatiales et vécues des productions effectives. Celle-ci s'opère à travers un cheminement exploratoire sensible ponctué d’observations et de récits d’habitants, au sein d’un secteur dont les principes de réalisation sont rattachés à l’idée de ville durable. Notre parcours de thèse montre ainsi comment, exogène aux sphères de l’urbanisme, la notion de ville durable ne constitue pas un cadre suffisamment émancipateur et robuste pour permettre aux acteurs du champ de parvenir à un renouvellement des savoirs ni de s’affranchir des contraintes et tendances lourdes qui pèsent sur la fabrique urbaine. Il propose, ce faisant, une démarche écologique permettant d’explorer ce/ceux sur quoi/qui pourraient reposer la ou plutôt les durabilités urbaines et comment. / Whilst there seems to be a consensus on the feasibility of applying sustainability thinking to town and city development, our research contributes to the critical understanding of the notion of a sustainable city within the field of urban planning. We will begin with a study of the modalities of the emergence of this term, combining it with an analysis of the ways in which the notion is used in professional and scientific literature. Following on from the correspondence drawn between "méditerranéité" and complex thinking (MORIN 1999), our approach will then be embodied in the heart of a Mediterranean city : Marseille. Considering the mental pictures conjured up by the notion of sustainable city, we thus analyse the ways in which the elements of meaning previously highlighted are being used or not, interpreted, or even diverted, and how they influence decisions and actions. As the object of our work is the relationship between these and their material, socio-spatial and experiential impact, we then go on to conduct a sensitive exploration using observations and stories told by local residents within a sector in which actualisation principles are relating to the idea of sustainable city. This research shows, in the end, how the notion of sustainable city, which is exogenous to the domain of urban planning, does not offer a sufficiently emancipating or robust framework to allow the development of new “knowledge and know-how” or to outweigh the constraints and forceful trends that hinder the development of the town. This leads us to propose an "ecological" approach to explore what and whose contributions urban sustainability or rather sustainabilities might be built upon.

O Urbanismo Ecológico surge como uma forma de reconciliar a paisagem com a ocupação urbana, pautado pelas potencialidades e limitações dos recursos naturais. As áreas verdes não exercem a função somente do embelezamento e da melhoria da qualidade visual e ambiental, elas se transformam em verdadeiros artefatos de engenharia e elementos de uma infraestrutura verde de alto desempenho. A arborização viária ganha força e escala ao conectar fragmentos de florestas urbanas e áreas verdes dispersas no tecido urbano. Os resultados da pesquisa mudam o olhar sobre a várzea dos rios. Renegadas na cidade contemporânea, no Urbanismo Ecológico, as planícies fluviais se tornam elementos estruturais e conectores da malha urbana e de grande valor. A tese parte da hipótese de que é possível implantar o Urbanismo Ecológico em São Paulo através da execução de um processo amplo e ferramentas que vão de políticas públicas, ações da iniciativa privada e envolvimento comunitário, tendo como consequência a melhoria da qualidade ambiental e de vida urbana. A pesquisa foca em Itaquera, bairro impactado pela implantação de grandes equipamentos urbanos pertencentes ao polo institucional e que abriga o novo estádio de futebol do clube Corinthians, para realização de jogos da Copa do Mundo de 2014. Através de levantamentos de campo, mapeamentos e análise de estudos de caso nos Estados Unidos e na África do Sul, identifica-se a clara oportunidade de transformação no entorno da arena a partir da aplicação de princípios ecológicos. Por fim, a pesquisa apresenta uma proposta de Urbanismo Ecológico para o entorno da Arena Corinthians, a partir de suas potencialidades locais, suas áreas verdes, sua hidrografia e a sua nova dinâmica decorrente de novos investimentos públicos e privados. / Ecological Urbanism has emerged as a way to reconcile the landscape with urban occupation, ruled by the potentialities and limitations of natural resources. Green áreas do not function only beautifying and improving the visual and environmental quality, they become true engineering artifacts and elements of a high performance green infrastructure. The street tree system gains strength and scale while connecting fragments of urban forests and green areas scattered in the urban fabric. The research results change the look on the river floodplains. Segregated in the contemporary city, under Ecological Urbanism principles, floodplains become structural elements and links of the urban fabric adding great value. The thesis presents the hypothesis that it is possible to implement the Ecological Urbanism in São Paulo through the implementation of a comprehensive process and tools ranging from public policies, private sector actions and community engagement resulting on the improvement of environmental quality and urban life. The research focuses on Itaquera neighborhood impacted by the implementation of large urban facilities part of an institutional hub and home to the new soccer stadium of Corinthians club that will host World Cup 2014 games. Through field surveys, mapping and analysis of case studies in the United States and in South Africa is possible to identify a clear opportunity for transformation in the vicinity of the arena based on ecological principles. At last, the research presents an Ecological Urbanism proposal for the surroundings of the Arena Corinthians taking advantage of its local potentiality, green areas, hydrograph and new dynamic as a result of new public and private investments.