The following is a qualitative exploration of place identity, wilderness and cultural tourism interpreter guides, and sustainable tourism development in Canada’s Yukon Territory. Four research sub-questions are used to glean insights and advance this study: 1) how are Yukon place identities characterized in relation to remoteness?; 2) how is Yukon tourism positioned in relation to these place identities of remoteness?; 3) how is remoteness reflected in the place identities of wilderness and cultural tourism interpreter guides?; and 4) how do the place identities of wilderness and cultural interpreter guides influence the way they design and deliver their tourism activities? Recognizing the importance of “sense of place” as a tourism development tool, cultural geography was used to analyse guide place identity in relation to place-making and place-marketing processes. The study involved textual analysis of resident and tourist oriented documents, participant observation of guides and their tourism activities, and an analysis of place identity narratives identified in interviews with wilderness and cultural tourism guides. Three collective place identity narratives were used as a framework to examine place relationships in a tourism context: 1) Masculinist Narratives, 2) Narratives of the New Sublime, and 3) Narratives of Loss. In this study, place identity is explored in terms of the way it is expressed through, and influenced by, notions of “remoteness.” Remoteness is conceptualized as a social, cultural, historical and geographical construct that holds meaningful – if differently experienced and expressed – place identity values for residents and tourists alike. Remoteness is defined by the Yukon’s vast wilderness, its distance [real and perceived] from southern Canada and “civilization,” and its unique cultural makeup and history, especially with regard to lingering notions of an untamed frontier and its First Nations residents. Findings discuss infrastructure as a pivotal paradox; one that hinges on the “remote-accessible” nature of the Yukon’s tourism development question. Relationships between guide place identity, tourism experience authenticity and the nature of interpretation, type of tourism operation and tourism experience are identified and considered in relation to special interest tourism. Finally, implications for tourism and destination management and the goals of sustainable tourism development are discussed. / Tourism

Beginning in 1980, large forestry corporations in British Columbia began to rapidly downsize and restructure their operations. The combination of volatile international market conditions, increasing demands for environmental conservation, First Nation?s land claims, higher stumpage rates, American protectionism, a declining timber supply, and introduction of labor saving technologies, made it no longer profitable for these companies to employ large numbers of workers under a Fordist organizational structure. The tremendous job losses seriously compromised the sustainability of forestry dependent communities throughout the province. The responses from forestry based communities in B. C. have been diverse. Some have chosen to take a more passive approach and have become bedroom communities to larger urban centers or retirement destinations. Others have actively pursued economic diversification through increased entrepreneurial activities. No matter which alternative individual communities have chosen to pursue, it is evident that they are all undergoing a significant transformation. This exploratory study examines how the identity (or image) of these places has evolved, and investigates the impact this has had on local residents. The three Vancouver Island communities of Chemainus, Sooke, and Port Alberni have been selected as case studies. A variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods are employed including a resident survey, personal interviews, and review of real estate guides and promotional materials. Overall the findings suggest that the identity associated with each case study community has both positively and negatively perceived elements. With a greater appreciation for these elements, it was possible for the researcher to make a variety of justifiable recommendations to improve current planning policies and processes, in each of the case studies, which will help them build a stronger, more positive image, and therefore become healthier, more viable, and sustainable communities. By emphasizing the significance of identity for community planning, and by outlining the participatory methods necessary to conduct an in depth identity investigation, this study also paves the way for future investigations on other British Columbia communities in transition and for the widespread use of the principle of identity as a contributory decision-making strategy in the planning profession.

Beginning in 1980, large forestry corporations in British Columbia began to rapidly downsize and restructure their operations. The combination of volatile international market conditions, increasing demands for environmental conservation, First Nation?s land claims, higher stumpage rates, American protectionism, a declining timber supply, and introduction of labor saving technologies, made it no longer profitable for these companies to employ large numbers of workers under a Fordist organizational structure. The tremendous job losses seriously compromised the sustainability of forestry dependent communities throughout the province. The responses from forestry based communities in B. C. have been diverse. Some have chosen to take a more passive approach and have become bedroom communities to larger urban centers or retirement destinations. Others have actively pursued economic diversification through increased entrepreneurial activities. No matter which alternative individual communities have chosen to pursue, it is evident that they are all undergoing a significant transformation. This exploratory study examines how the identity (or image) of these places has evolved, and investigates the impact this has had on local residents. The three Vancouver Island communities of Chemainus, Sooke, and Port Alberni have been selected as case studies. A variety of quantitative and qualitative research methods are employed including a resident survey, personal interviews, and review of real estate guides and promotional materials. Overall the findings suggest that the identity associated with each case study community has both positively and negatively perceived elements. With a greater appreciation for these elements, it was possible for the researcher to make a variety of justifiable recommendations to improve current planning policies and processes, in each of the case studies, which will help them build a stronger, more positive image, and therefore become healthier, more viable, and sustainable communities. By emphasizing the significance of identity for community planning, and by outlining the participatory methods necessary to conduct an in depth identity investigation, this study also paves the way for future investigations on other British Columbia communities in transition and for the widespread use of the principle of identity as a contributory decision-making strategy in the planning profession.

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In this study, it is aimed to explore Akyaka&rsquo / s self-generated practice and its route of progress with the definitions of place. As the ignorance of Akyaka -as an unconventional body characterized with Nail &Ccedil / akirhan&rsquo / s Aga Khan Award winner traditional type of house in 1983- by the conventional architectural discourse prevents learning from it. Therefore, the research will focus on Akyaka&rsquo / s distinctive story which is taking its references from a place and producing the place of its own, out of the boundaries of the profession. Akyaka will be researched in the framework of several different aspects in relation to protection of coastal region, architectural representation, Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Turkish Architecture&rsquo / s identity quests, tourism&rsquo / s agendas, continuity of tradition and its controversy with modern, locality&rsquo / s sustainability, and pastiche in architecture. The town will be listened to in terms of its geographical, socio-cultural and architectural/architectonic bases. In this context, if this unrecognized formation has something to say after 25 years will be studied introducing the place phenomenon reproduced by the settlement as a field of discussion.

This thesis examines the role of racialized practices in the discourses and processes that alter place identity. Drawing on ethnography from the East Village of Buckhead, a once vibrant nightlife district in Atlanta, I examine how discourses of danger, colorblindness, and the race card have been employed to “whitewash” the discussions about the redevelopment of the Village. In effect, the business and civic elite of Atlanta (and Buckhead) deployed racialized conceptualizations of group identity. In particular, they utilized “public safety” discourses to influence the Atlanta city government to support the redevelopment effort. This led to the elimination of the establishments that attracted African American partygoers in large numbers. Using interviews with government agents, night club operators, and Buckhead civic and business leaders, combined with archival analysis of newspaper accounts, I implemented a hybrid content-discourse analysis to explore the ways in which the discourses of race and place concerning the East Village changed between 2000 and 2008.

No description available.

This practicum investigates the role of landscape architects in identifying and understanding the development of place identity in children with application to schoolyard design, specifically in Lorette, Manitoba. Through a review of literature, design principles were developed to reflect place identity, as well as enable outdoor learning experiences, cognitive development, and provide long-term community investment in the success of the project. These principles were used to direct a series of case studies, which helped inform design features in the conceptual design section of this practicum. Community engagement became integral to the design process, where students, staff and community members were invited to participate and share their opinions about Lorette, the current schoolyard and suggestions for the future schoolyard. The conceptual design integrates elements representative of local culture and history, all the while emphasizing connecting children to naturalized outdoor spaces, bringing learning outdoors and providing children with places to play.

Wind power is often presented as a technique for energy production with many environmental benefits, especially since it does not emit any carbon dioxide. Most people are generally positive towards wind power. But when a wind farm is to be implemented on a local level, often resistance occurs. This study investigates how and why local perceptions of a wind farm differ. A qualitative method using interviews was chosen, and the focus has been on an area where a wind farm was planned. The results reveal that advocates have a users’ perspective on nature, while opponents have a conservation perspective. Advocates believe wind power can contribute to a better environment, while opponents believe that preserving natural areas is the best for the environment. Moreover, living in a calm landscape is part of the opponents’ identity, while the identities of the advocates, who often are active farmers, are connected to their ability to live from the land. Thirdly, whether a person recognizes the need for a change towards a renewable energy system or not also matters for the attitude. According to previous research, a person’s relationship to the landscape is of crucial importance for her/his attitude towards wind power implementation, and this is confirmed in the current study. Research also stresses that the visual impact of wind turbines is usually what creates most resistance, but this is not supported. The roles of information and citizen participation, which previous research found significant, are not confirmed as important either: Both were deficient, but this study cannot determine whether a better managed planning process would have made some of the interviewees more positive to it or not. Definitely, the claims from earlier research that Not-In-My-Back-Yard (NIMBY) motives are rarely the reason for resistance are supported.

What role does place differentiation play in contemporary urban redevelopment processes, and how is it constructed, practiced, and governed? Under heightened forms of interurban competition fueled by processes of globalization, there is a desire by place-makers to construct and market a unique sense of place. While there is consensus that place promotion plays a role in reconstructing landscapes, how place differentiation operates – and can be operationalized – in processes of urban redevelopment is under-theorized in the literature. In this thesis, I produce a typology of four strategies of differentiation – negation, coherence, residue, multiplicity – which reside within capital transformations and which require activation by a set of social actors. I situate these ideas via an examination of the redevelopment of the Gooderham and Worts distillery, renamed the Distillery District, which opened to the public in 2003. Under the direction of the private sector, the site was transformed from a space of alcohol production to a space of cultural consumption. The developers used a two pronged approach for the site’s redevelopment: historic preservation and arts-led regeneration. Using a mixed method approach including textual analysis, in-depth interviews, visual analysis, and site observation, I examine the strategies used to market the Distillery as a distinct place, and the effects of this marketing strategy on the valuation of art, history, and space. Two central arguments direct the thesis: first, in an attempt to construct place differentiation, what emerges is a sense of sameness which limits the potential of the district and produces a disconnect between the space and its users; second, it is only by understanding how differentiation operates in discourse and practice that alternative formations of place-making can emerge and socio-spatial disconnectedness can be rethought.