The creation of working relationships between First Nations and non-First Nation peoples is the focus of the Common Land, Common Ground movement, which created partnership between the municipality of Kenora, three nearby First Nation reserves and the Grand Council of Treaty #3. This research explored, through the concept of Sense of Place (SOP), connections and visions people have regarding land gifted to this partnership on Tunnel Island (TI) in Kenora. Data were collected through interviews, modified focus groups, and participant observation. Results are organized into three themes, with ‘Connections’ revealing representations of people’s sense of place of TI, ‘Perspectives’ outlining people’s views about TI, and ‘Visions’, establishing people’s thoughts on the future of TI. Recommendations include: using SOP research to authentically engage people in place connections to allow for holistic participation and engagement and recognizing at a institutional level that increased awareness and participation will not result in homogenized agreements.

No description available.

As subway ridership around the world increases the typology has an opportunity to play an increasingly important role in the daily routine of urban dwellers. Underground spaces pose unique psychological and physiological stresses on occupants; therefore, an opportunity exists to rethink the subway station interior to respond to experiential and existential conditions of the traveler. This practicum aims to address these issues by redesigning an existing subway station that responds to convergence of picnolepsy, non-place, and biophilic design methodologies. Project goals include a design that focuses on experiential and emotional qualities to create a more exciting and comfortable space without impeding existing efficiencies.

The creation of working relationships between First Nations and non-First Nation peoples is the focus of the Common Land, Common Ground movement, which created partnership between the municipality of Kenora, three nearby First Nation reserves and the Grand Council of Treaty #3. This research explored, through the concept of Sense of Place (SOP), connections and visions people have regarding land gifted to this partnership on Tunnel Island (TI) in Kenora. Data were collected through interviews, modified focus groups, and participant observation. Results are organized into three themes, with ‘Connections’ revealing representations of people’s sense of place of TI, ‘Perspectives’ outlining people’s views about TI, and ‘Visions’, establishing people’s thoughts on the future of TI. Recommendations include: using SOP research to authentically engage people in place connections to allow for holistic participation and engagement and recognizing at a institutional level that increased awareness and participation will not result in homogenized agreements.

The purpose of this essay is to examine descriptions of nature, both in terms of physical setting and as an abstract entity, and their relation to the concepts of place and regional identity in Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone (2006) and The Outlaw Album (2011). The main thesis is that when it comes to the characters’ relation to nature there is acceptance instead of resistance, and unification instead of separation. The essay also puts forth the argument that acceptance of nature can be seen as one of the key elements in both Winter’s Bone and The Outlaw Album. Moreover, the essay contains the idea that nature is a crucial part of the characters’ sense of regional identity in Winter’s Bone and The Outlaw Album. The theoretical background consists of ecocriticism along with theorizations of regional identity. When it comes to ecocriticism, a wide and multilayered theoretical field, the essay focuses on the works of three different scholars who all address the relationship between man, nature and place, namely Lawrence Buell, Fred Waage and Leonard Lutwack. The analysis consists of two parts. The first part addresses Winter’s Bone and mainly deals with the concept of family, the aspect of rurality and unification with nature within the novel. The second part looks at similar aspects in The Outlaw Album, but here, the emphasis is rather on the concept of outsider–insider, i.e. the difference between native Ozarkers and people who originate from outside the region.

The Hanshin (阪神) and Hankyu (阪急) Railway lines run parallel from Umeda, Osaka to Sannomiya, Kobe; Hankyu passing through the area closest to the mountains and Hanshin traversing the lowland closest to the coast. Frequent riding of their separate trains by the researcher yielded two very distinct travelling experiences. Upon enquiry, friends and colleagues readily acknowledged these characteristics- describing the Hankyu area as ??fashionable?? (おしゃれ) and ??wealthy?? (お金持ち); whereas the area surrounding the Hanshin line was portrayed as ??noisy?? (にぎやか) and of a place of ??commoners?? (庶民). Despite having these perceptions, however, they were uncertain as to their causes. The purpose of this thesis is to research the story behind distinctions in the urban space surrounding two railway lines. Further, it aims to investigate the extent to which two private railway groups have, through their diversified businesses, contributed in some way to these perceived distinctions. It is an examination that requires a study of place; particularly one that investigates the locational attributes of the region, like its physical geography, and processes exogenous and endogenous to the two corporations. The former processes are ones that originated outside the corporations, notably economic and industrial growth and social change. The latter are ones that originated within the corporations, particularly their management structures, oligopolistic competition, corporate brands, and consumption. The research draws on various facets of the geographical tradition: it stems from transport geography to pursue the geography of the city, themes of place-making, and consumption. Embodied in these are the important subjects of history, culture, corporate behaviour and the economy. In particular, this thesis considers the popular view which states that transport is a ??permissive factor rather than a direct stimulus?? (Hoyle and Knowles, 1998: 13). By bringing transport geography in touch with other sub-disciplines, to consider the historical and cultural significance of transport from a contemporary perspective, this thesis concludes that transport can, as in the case of Japanese private urban railways, have a direct influence on place.

No description available.

Thesis (M Arch)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2009. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ralph Johnson. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Detroit Mercy, 2009. / "24 April 2009."