The initiatives of open space conservation, as outlined in the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, have been implemented through the purchase of nearly 65 thousand acres by Pima County. This land abuts sections of grazing leases held by state and federal agencies, forming largely unfragmented landscapes surrounding the city's urban core. Much of the outlying acreage is rural historic working ranches, now managed as open space conservation preserves. Ranches are landscapes of low-intensity impact, where the archaeological record of centuries of human land use is well preserved. Much of the land, however, remains relatively unstudied. To refine spatial predictions of archaeologically sensitive areas in southern Pima County, I use multivariate logistic regression to develop predictive models of probable archaeological site locations for three time periods at Rancho Seco as a case study. Results suggest portions Rancho Seco might contain additional Preceramic and Historic cultural resources but additional data collection is needed.

Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone / This case study examined the potential of creating collaborative co-working spaces at the University of Arizona. Through qualitative research on the effectiveness of co-working spaces already in place at three different universities across the nation, this study identified key features that could successfully be implemented at the University of Arizona. These features were a co-working space built around a student organization centered on collaboration and innovation. The latest in technological resources to aid in project execution and learning. Lastly, a partnership with a local makerspace providing students of all backgrounds and interests to collaboratively work on building physical items in a space they might not have had previous access to. While research was limited to university affiliated websites and articles on co-working spaces, scholarly articles on this specific subject where not found to further back conclusive findings and recommendations.

Increasingly, it is understood that in order to realize healthy cities the urban environment must include viable and accessible open space. In order for urban planning and development agencies to ensure the presence of open space within cities, it is necessary to understand what constitutes ‘quality’ open space and the impediments to its creation. The focus of this thesis is to further understand the issues surrounding planning and management of open space in the Msunduzi Municipality in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A case study of the Camps Drift Waterfront Project, a local open space area that is currently being developed, is investigated through both key informant interviews with relevant stakeholders and through a comprehensive survey of written information. The thesis reveals a further understanding of how open space is planned locally, the issues surrounding creating quality and accessible open space and the key areas for further research. Finally, this thesis highlights how the case study of Msunduzi can broaden the debates and concepts in open space theory and planning. / Thesis (Master, Environmental Studies) -- Queen's University, 2008-08-29 16:19:29.922

The extensive literature on public open space illustrates that it is of great importance to the quality of life. This is particularly true in Syria where public open spaces play a critical role in the urban structure of cities and in the inhabitant’s daily existence. There is published evidence that improving the quality of public open spaces requires a comprehensive analysis of these spaces in order to be able to evaluate their quality. This thesis is concerned with investigating and evaluating public open spaces in Hama, Syria both in terms of the quality of the spaces themselves and the process of creating and managing these spaces in order to offer suggestions for improving the quality of life in Hama through improving the quality of its spaces. The research strategy, the social spatial approach, involves understanding the investigative context as: (a) a social phenomenon, by exploring the residents’ perceptions, professionals’ perceptions and users’ behaviour, (b) a spatial phenomenon, by exploring the physical and spatial structure of Hama. The research adopts a case study method choosing three parks as examples for their distinctive features, and a range of different qualitative and quantitative techniques are applied systematically to these parks and their wider context. These techniques comprised: a questionnaire survey with residents in Hama; observation and behavioural mapping in the parks; semi-structured interviews with professionals involved in the design and management process; land use and urban form surveys; space syntax applied at micro and macro scale; and a desk-top study of documents. The findings of the evaluation illustrate that the qualities of the three selected parks could be enhanced. In addition, they show the there is scope for a participatory process of design and management to ensure that the final delivery of new parks and the development of existing ones meet the users’ expectations. The research draws a number of conclusions, which are developed into a set of general recommendations. Two of the key suggestions are (a) the provision of good quality public facilities which meet residents’ needs in the parks (b) the provision of training programmes by Hama City Council for those involved in the development and delivery process of public open spaces. Both are vital if the quality of the public open spaces is to be improved.

This Master thesis aims to increase the work performance and satisfaction of employees of a law firm that provides its legal services to small, medium and large companies, and companies and individuals people. The theoretical part of the thesis is focused on management of job performance, employee motivation and specifics of open space. The theory is applied in the practical part of thesis, which offers suggestions for improving the motivation system. Solutions are based on company and especially employee research.

Densification is well used in today’s city planning to meet the global urbanisation. Densification brings advantages for social, economic and ecologically sustainable development. However, it can also bring disadvantages, such as loss of open space. This study aims to examine and describe how open spaces manifest in Umeå, a Swedish city undergoing densification. The aim is also to examine how inhabitants perceive and use open space in two cases in Umeå. The study has been carried out through a literature review of relevant theory and relevant planning material, as well as through interviews regarding inhabitants’ perceptions and use of open space. Findings confirm that there is no distinct definition of open space in Sweden, which makes room for interpretation for city planners. In this study open space is defined as land within detailed development plan areas that is free of buildings and that is possible to reside in. The results show that in Umeå the current norm for open spaces within dense building structure is to emphasize quality and availability rather than quantity. Furthermore, the results show that open space manifests differently due to different prerequisites. Open spaces in the city centre are smaller and less green compared to open spaces outside of the city centre.

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Chinese floating population residents' underprivileged living status and intensified social tension are becoming the two major issues inside their community living settlements. The thesis research holds the position that urban open space can enhance Chinese floating population's quality of life and also contribute to the social capital within their living settlement. It is critical to create the open space system that brings great social and health benefits to the group. Literature reviews reveal floating population's characteristics such as existing and potential leisure activities and leisure places. Contemporary thinking on urban open space qualities, benefits and typologies were reviewed to determine which types of open space are of value to this population. Specific qualities and corresponding benefits of floating population community open spaces, which are closely related to the group's characteristics, are identified. Findings from the literature reviews were used to develop open space design guidelines specific to government sponsored floating population settlement areas. Planning and site design level design guidelines address social and health benefits for the floating population residents. Types of open space and their spatial distributions are identified at the planning level. At the site design level, place-based design guidelines were developed for three major open space categories: the daily use spaces around dwelling units, the streets, and the plaza/squares. Under each category, design strategies were developed to promote desirable open space qualities inside the floating population settlement area, and descriptive design objectives are proposed to achieve these qualities. The design guidelines connect the group's demographic, leisure and work characteristics to open space typologies, qualities and respective benefits, and provide recommendations for the open space design of Chinese floating population community. These design guidelines offer planners and site designers a new tool to guide planning and site design decisions of floating population community open space. / Master of Landscape Architecture

Current residential building designs have become very close and confined. This confinement has made the house lacking in the feeling of open space and the gradual transition from the outdoor to the indoor spaces. These units lack to ventilation, natural lighting, and the connection with the natural environments. In this study, a non-conventional design of the residential building is introduced. This design has revealed the elements of the ideal that is missing in the typical residential buildings today. / Master of Architecture