A disposição dos povoados, vilas e cidades ao longo do litoral brasileiro sempre foi representação, para a historiografia, da interdependência da Colônia em face da expansão mercantilista européia. Em conseqüência, os estudos sobre a urbanização, fundamentados nos aspectos estruturais e econômicos da Idade Moderna, têm estes espaços como produto cultural dos grupos dominadores. Essa Dissertação de Mestrado procura mudar o foco de análise ao investigar os contextos sociais específicos dos núcleos urbanos nos primeiros eventos do colonialismo. Como suporte para a pesquisa, foram eleitas algumas cidades litorâneas do atual Estado de São Paulo: São Vicente, Santos, Cananéia, Iguape, São Sebastião e Ubatuba. A partir de pesquisas multidisciplinares, entre as Ciências do Urbanismo, História, Arqueologia, Geografia, Sociologia e Antropologia, as investigações evidenciaram a contribuição das sociedades indígenas nos processos de ocupação, não só das Vilas, mas de toda rede urbana. Presentes alguns séculos antes da chegada dos europeus, elegeram essa frente atlântica como habitat, estabelecendo nos nichos ecológicos seus lugares de vivência, estreitamente harmonizados com o meio ambiente. Essas escolhas balizaram a instalação dos futuros espaços urbanos. Os mesmos sítios, antes ocupados por aldeias (grupos locais), serão seqüenciados pela arquitetura de raiz européia. Os novos espaços, portanto, são fruto do encontro cultural entre indígenas e europeus. A percepção do elo afetivo que as pessoas têm com seus lugares, relativo aos povos indígenas, sinalizou que as representações não poderiam traduzir apenas o repertório cultural europeu. Afinal, pequenos grupos de brancos (ou indivíduos!) foram acolhidos por milhares de índios. Interagindo culturalmente conseguiram se adaptar e sobreviver. O novo cenário social decerto moldou a imagem dos aglomerados. A observação dos sítios, cenários ambientais, desenhos e imagens na linha do tempo, revelaram ao longo da pesquisa as evidências de suas singelezas. Uma recorrência nas Vilas estudadas simboliza o enlace dessas vertentes sociais: a articulação do módulo espacial da Matriz com a contigüidade da rua direita. As aproximações dos núcleos germinais foram obtidas com os levantamentos elaborados pelo Engenheiro Militar João da Costa Ferreira e colaboradores no final do século XVIII. Outra fonte cartográfica foi especialmente utilizada: os levantamentos da Comissão Geográfica e Geológica do Estado de São Paulo, do início do século XX. / The disposition of the population, villages and cities on the Brazilian coast from the interdependence of the Colony to the European commercial expansion was always seen thru history. Consequently, the studies based on the structural and economical aspects of the modern age, show these spaces as the product of the cultural dominant groups. This Masters degree theory tries to change the focus of these analyses once it investigates the social specific contexts of the urban areas from the first colony events. As support for this research the coastal cities chosen from the current state of São Paulo were: São Vicente, Santos, Cananéia, Iguape, São Sebastião e Ubatuba. From the multidiscipline researches, among the Sciences of Urbanism, History, Arqueology, Geography, Sociology and Anthropology the investigations prove the contribution from the Natives on the occupation process not only in the villages but also in all urban areas. Present a few centuries before the European arrived; they elected the Atlantic front as their habitat, establishing the places where they would live in straight harmony with the natural environment. These choices had direct influence in the future urban areas. The same places, which were chosen before from the tribes or local groups, would in sequence have the European architectural roots. Therefore the new spaces are the product of the cultural meeting between Europeans and natives. The perceptions of affection that people have with in relation with the places to the natives, demonstrated that it could not only translate the European culture. After all, small groups of whites (or individuals) were accepted by thousands of natives. Interacting culturally they adapted and survived. The new social scenery will definitely mold the image of these groups. The observation of places, environmental scenes and the design and images during the length of time revealed during the research the evidences of its simplicity. A fact in the villages studied symbolizes the enlace of social lines: the articulation of the cathedral with the continuity of direita street. The closeness of the originating groups was obtained from the data elaborated by the Military Engineer João da Costa Ferreira and the collaborators at the end of the eighteenth century. Another resource was used: the research from the Geographic And Geological Commission from the State of São Paulo, from the beginning of the twentieth century.

Under 1950- och 1960-talet byggdes det många stadsdelstorg och centrum i Sverige tack vare den växande ekonomin som rådde i landet. Ett flertal av dessa platser är idag folktomma och ödsliga. Agö torg som ligger i Brynäs centrum är ett exempel på ett stadsdelstorg och centrum som byggdes under denna perioden och har sedan dess i stort sett förblivit oförändrat. Torget är ingen naturlig mötesplats i Gävle och det utnyttjas idag dåligt. Torget fungerar till största del som transportsträcka för de boende i stadsdelen för att komma till den service som finns i direkt anslutning till torget. Ett bra utformat torg är en plats där möjligheten för möten mellan människor är god och där det finns en attraktion och en funktion som inspirerar till att besöka och vistas på platsen. Torg är en del av det offentliga stadsrummet och är viktiga ingredienser i en stad för att öka livskvalitén. Syftet med denna studie är därför att ta reda på hur torget och centrumet kan utvecklas till en levande och användbar plats för de boende i stadsdelen och besökare. Två gestaltningsförslag har tagits fram. Ett gestaltningsförslag är baserat på mina egna kunskaper och ett gestaltningsförslag togs fram med hjälp av litteratur inom ämnet samt en inventering, enkät och observationer. Observationerna utfördes enligt Gehl och Svarres metoder. Förslagen jämfördes sedan mot nollalternativet, d.v.s. hur torget ser ut idag och hur det används idag. Detta gjordes med hjälp av multikriterieanalys (MKA) i form av analytisk hierarkisk process (AHP), observationer och en enkät som delades ut till besökare till torget. Resultatet efter AHP visar att både mitt förslag och förslaget som bygger på teori och metodik är en klar förbättring mot hur platsen är idag. Viktiga faktorer för att göra torget till en attraktiv mötesplats är tillgänglighet, trygghet, grönska, attraktioner samt kontemplation. Med den teoretiska bakgrunden och den insamlade empirin som underlag till ett gestalningsförslag som enligt den gällande landskapskonvetionen tar vara på natur och kulturvärden förefaller det finnas goda möjligheter att genomföra en förändring av Agö torg till en attraktiv mötesplats med gestaltningsförslagen som utgångspunkt. En förutsättning för att lyckas är att medborgarna fortsätter att engageras i utforming och framtida användning av Agö torg. / During the 1950s and 1960s, many urban squares and centers in Sweden were built thanks to the growing economy prevailing in the country. A number of these places are today desolate. Agö Square, located in Brynäs, is an example of a district square and center built during this period and has since then largely remained unchanged. The square is not a natural meeting place in Gävle and is currently being poorly used. The square works largely as the distance of transport for the residents of the district to get to the service that is directly adjacent to the square. A well-designed square is a place where the opportunity for meetings between people is good and where there is an attraction and a function that inspires to visit and stay on site. Squares are part of the public realm and are important ingredients in a city to enhance the quality of life. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to find out how the square and the center can be developed into a vivid and useful meeting place for residents of the district and visitors. Two proposals have been produced. The first proposal is based on my own knowledge and the second proposal were made using literature and an inventory, survey and observations. Observations were conducted according to Gehl and Svarre’s methods. The proposals were compared with the zero alternative, i.e. what the square looks like today and how it is used today. This was done using the multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) through analytic hierarchy process (AHP), observations and a questionnaire that were distributed to visitors to the square. The result of the AHP shows that both my proposal and the proposal based on theory and methodology are a clear improvement in the way the site is today. Important factors for making the square an attractive meeting place are accessibility, security, greenery, attractions and contemplation. With the theoretical background and the collected empirics as the basis for a proposal which, according to the current landscape convention, takes on nature and cultural values, there seems to be good opportunities for implementing a change of Agö square into an attractive meeting place with the design proposals as a starting point. One prerequisite for success is that citizens continue to be engaged in the design and future use of Agö Square.

La frontière orientale de la Grèce connaît depuis le début des années 2000 une augmentation des arrivées de migrants qui la franchissent sans autorisation. Le pays, nouvellement dans lʼespace Schengen, est jusque là muni dʼun cadre législatif prévu pour une immigration albanaise dont les autorités contrôlent les arrivées et envers laquelle elles pratiquent lʼexpulsion. Au fil des années 2000, lʼaugmentation des arrivées de migrants à la frontière gréco-turque et une combinaison de prises de décisions politiques autant locales, nationales, quʼeuropéennes, voire mondiales, a entraîné lʼémergence de lieux dʼenfermement. Cʼest lʼensemble de ces évolutions, leurs enjeux et leurs conséquences que ce travail décrypte. Théoriquement et méthodologiquement inscrit dans une approche sociale et politique en géographie, la frontière est envisagée comme un assemblage. Cela permet de comprendre comment le contrôle migratoire sʼétend à de nouveaux espaces et à de nouveaux acteurs, prolongeant ainsi la frontière au-delà de la ligne de séparation. Les modalités de cette extension frontalière sont autant le fait des cadres législatifs et des pratiques policières à différentes échelles que de lʼenvironnement socioculturel des espaces frontaliers. La manière dont ces éléments sʼimbriquent pour former une frontière réticulaire et performative permet dʼancrer la réflexion au cœur dʼun débat géographique sur les nouvelles formes de frontières contemporaines et leurs localisations. Du franchissement frontalier jusquʼau cœur du territoire grec, cette thèse expose les modalités de production et de reproduction des situations de frontières pour les migrants dans le pays. / Since the start of the millenium Greeceʼs eastern border has witnessed an increase in the flow of irregular migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Although the country entered Schengen a few years back, its immigration laws catered mainly for arrivals from Albania, an immigration that the autorities wanted to keep under control and where expulsions were possible. Throughout the noughties, new places of confinment were built in response to increasing numbers of migrants at the border between Greece and Turkey, and based on a combination of political decisions taken locally, nationally, at European level and even globally. This essay deciphers these trends, what is at stake and the consequences that they carry. From a theoretical and methodological point of view, encompassing a social and political approach in geography, borders are considered as an assemblage. This makes it easier to understand how migratory control expands beyond the geographical line of separation between Greece and Turkey and into new spaces involving new players. This expansion of the borders is the result of the legal framework, the policing practices at all levels and the sociocultural environment of these areas. The way in which these various elements come together to form a border that is both reticular and performative, enables us to position our thoughts within the geographical debate on new forms of contemporary borders and their localisation. From crossing the border to life inside the greek territory, this thesis presents the ways in which border situations are created and reproduced for the migrants in that country.

Gedächtnishöchstleistungen sind auch im Alter möglich. Dies konnte am Beispiel der »Methode der Orte« experimentell bestätigt werden. Hierbei hat sich gezeigt, daß das Gehirn über große kognitive Kapazitätsreserven verfügt. In einer speziellen Testmethode (»testing the limits«) zeigt sich aber im Hochleistungsbereich, trotz der grundsätzlichen Plastizität, ein altersbezogenes Nachlassen der Gedächtnismechanik. Offenbar gibt es biologische Grenzen in der Schnelligkeit der menschlichen Vorstellungskraft. Vielleicht gelingt es auf der Grundlage dieser Erkentnnis, einen zuverlässigen Markierungsindikator für das hirnphysiologische Altern zu finden. Daraus könnten sich auch neue Methoden zur Früherkennung von Demenzen ableiten lassen. / A very high level of performance in memory is also possible in old age. This could be confirmed, for example, by experiments using the »method of loci«. It was shown that the human brain has available a large cognitive developmental reserve capacity. Nevertheless, a special method of assessment (»testing the limits«) revealed a robust age related decrease of memory mechanics at the high performance level despite this basic plasticity. Obviously, there are biologic limits of the speed of human imagination. Perhaps it will be possible to find a reliable marker of brainphysiologic aging based on this knowledge. Furthermore, new methods in early detection of dementias might be derived from the approach described.

This thesis aims to shed light upon three related research areas with the medieval period at their core: medieval Europeanization, the historiography of medieval places, the importance of the cultural environment and medieval period for the present day. By these means several current research angles are integrated within medieval research, the history of science and cultural heritage research. Six investigations of medieval central places in Ångermanland and Medelpad in northern Sweden are used to exemplify these issues. The use of hermeneutic theory emphasises the relationship between the present day community, the individual and the interpretation of history. The sites presented in the thesis represent the entire medieval period from the 11th Century to the start of the 16th Century. Two of them – Kvissle chapel and “Skelettåkern” (=The Skeleton Field) in Björned – functioned as private Christian churches or graveyards; two were important harbours – Sankt Olofshamn (=Saint Olof’s Harbour) and Kyrkesviken (=Church bay); two functioned as military castles or fortifications – Styresholm/ ”Pukeborg” and Bjärtrå stronghold. In addition to these, four medieval stone parish churches have been examined: the old church at Alnö in Medelpad, and the churches of Torsåker, Boteå and Grundsunda in Ångermanland. The Europeanization of Norrland is discussed with reference to aspects such as religious transition and parish formation, monetarization and changes in household structure, trade specialization and administrative territorialization. Central places have played an important role in this process. Historiography illuminates how, and in which contexts, knowledge and understanding of history and medieval central places has developed and been communicated. This includes the use of place names and the oral narration of history, authorship and scientific research into local history. A number of primary school teachers, adult education college (‘folk high school’) teachers and priests were particularly important for the growth of local historical research around the turn of the 20th century. The use of cultural heritage is illustrated with a discussion of how the medieval cultural environments in Ångermanland and Medelpad have been interpreted and used in recent years. This includes aspects such as signposting, teaching and research activities, mass media attention, amateur history plays and similar performances, and the formation of various types of society. These three aspects of Norrland’s medieval period, together with the use of a cultural heritage perspective, form a broader holistic picture of the social role of scientific research and the cultural environment, where local interest in history is important for regional development.

Syftet med examensarbetet är att få ökad förståelse och kunskap om hur samhällsplanering kan påverka ungdomars intresse och fritid. Studien har utförts i stadsdelen Västra Hamnen i Malmö. Malmö är en stad som har haft många sociala och ekonomiska svårigheter med hög arbetslöshet och utbredd ungdomskriminalitet. I detta arbete har studier gjorts kring hur sociala, ekonomiska och ekologiska satsningar, i området Västra hamnen, har påverkat ungdomar i Malmö. Bo01 är ett område som ligger i Västra Hamnen. Området försörjs endast med lokalt producerad förnyelsebar energi. Bo01 uppmärksammades och blev ett internationellt exempel på hållbar stadsutveckling i samband med invigningen av bostadsområdet i stadsdelen Västra Hamnen. Har ungdomarna i Malmö kunskap om detta? Målet med området är att skapa ”den blandade staden”, ”mötesplatserna” och ”kunskapsstaden”. Har dessa mål nått fram till ungdomar? Med hjälp av en enkätundersökning gjordes en studie kring detta. Enkäten delades ut till elever som läste sista året på gymnasiet, men även till högskolestudenter som befann sig på Malmö Högskolas bibliotek. Studien följdes även upp med en rad intervjuer, både på gymnasieskolor i Malmö och på Malmö högskola.  Majoriteten av gymnasieeleverna visste inte att Bo01 endast försörjs med förnyelsebara energikällor, till skillnad från högskolestudenterna som var mer medvetna om detta. Resultatet visar även att majoriteten av gymnasieeleverna har fått ett ökat intresse för miljö och hållbarhet i samband med projekten i Västra Hamnen. Malmö Stad behöver allmänbilda ungdomar om den hållbara utvecklingen som sker inom allt bygge i Malmö Stad. Detta för att uppnå ”kunskapsstaden”. Undersökningen visar även att de flesta tycker att det är positivt att Malmö Stad har placerat Malmö Högskola i området Västra Hamnen. Malmö stad har lyckats bra med att skapa mötesplatser för ungdomar, som bidragit till bland annat integration men även till nya kontaktnät. Området är populärt för ungdomar, speciellt under vår och sommar. Enkätundersökningen visar att 53 % av gymnasieeleverna befinner sig i Västra Hamnen mer än en gång i veckan, medans majoriteten av högskolestudenterna åker till området 1-3 gånger per sommar. / The background of this project is to understand how community affects young people in cities. The study focuses on a district in Western Harbor in Malmo. Malmo city has been exposed to social and economic problems due to the high unemployment and the crimes the city witnesses. It is interesting to study how city´s sustainability initiative affected the teenagers. Bo01 is an international example of sustainable urban development located in the Western Harbor and it is supplied with only locally produced renewable energy.  Do teenagers in Malmo have knowledge about that?   The main goals behind the construction of this district were to create the “mixed city”, “Meeting places” and “the knowledge city”. This study was based on questionnaire distributed to students in the final year of high school and to university students. Afterward, I made interviews to get more approach to how the main questions were responded. The majority of the high school students know nothing about the renewable energy sources of Bo01 but after starting the project of the Western Harbor the majority of high school students have become more interested in the environment and sustainability. The city needs to establish general youth knowledge of the sustainable development in the city, in order to achieve a sustainable society. The investigation also revealed that most of the teenagers have a positive adaptation to the location of the University of Malmo. Malmo city has been successfully creating meeting places for the youths who contributed to increase integration and profound new contacts. For the high school students the Western Harbor has been very popular during the warm seasons, 53% go there more than once a week. University student did visit the district 1-3 times in summer.

Urban places, besides their physical characteristics, are regarded as grounds where personal or communal meanings are created and accumulated. An individual can capture the meaning of a place, or create a new meaning by relying on his/her own feelings and experiences. This substantial role of urban places makes them the core concepts of environmental perception and urban design studies. This research, by discussing the idea of togetherness of meaning and design in urban spaces, presents trees both as place making and meaning generating features, and raises the term tree-places. The reason behind this is the capability of trees in terms of place formation, and their meanings for people which are shaped throughout the history. However, the attention of urban planners and designers towards working with trees in urban spaces is inadequate. They tend to focus solely on aesthetic appearances and biological contributions of trees. Moreover, trees are mostly thought afterwards, outside design processes. This attitude can be overcome through the identification of design principles with trees in urban exterior spaces. In this respect, this research presents a two-fold study, one of which is the meaning and the other is the design. Trees, in this context, are seen as the bridge connecting these two phenomena. While answering the question why trees have been chosen to relate meaning and design, an investigation is made on the deeply-rooted relationship between man and trees, and its traces on urban place. In order to strengthen the argument of the place making characteristics of trees, the existing urban places defined by trees are discussed under the term of tree-places. The study concludes with inferences from the theoretical discussions and case research that provide guidelines for urban design with trees. Trees are the essentials of people and cities, and the silent witnesses of history. For this reason, they are presented as valuable beings and design elements that create distinct urban places while supporting the concept of meaning.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how the research library of Linnæus University is used by students as a meeting place. Building upon Putnam's theory of bonding and bridging social capital and Audunson's conception of high and low intensive meeting places, it aims to explore the research library's potential for creating social capital and thus strengthening both learning and democracy in a university context. Borrowing part of the survey design from a study conducted as part of the Norwegian PLACE project, this study collects responses from 134 students as to their use of the library as a meeting place. The results show that the Linnæus University library is used for a variety of meetings of both high and low intensity, why it should provide a good setting for the creation of social capital. There seems to be a connection between how often one visits the library, as well as to which department one belongs, and how one uses the library as a meeting place. The thesis concludes that the research library may aid the creation of social capital and that emphasizing this role would benefit both learning and democracy.

This dissertation explores the social patterns and cultural layers of musical "open mics" in New York City. The study uses a qualitative approach which includes methods such as ethnography, in-depth interviewing, historical and discourse analyses focusing on open mics and the popular musicians who attend and perform them. Open mics, short for "open microphones," are public events that allow musicians to perform songs without a pre-planned, formal booking with a club or venue. Owing a historical and discursive connection to the folk hootenannies and jazz jam sessions of the past, these events have proliferated and spread considerably across the United States since the 1990s since their development, by name, in the late 1970s. Open mics not only reflect a do-it-yourself and participatory cultural ethos manifested with other recent expressive cultural activities, but also demonstrate a growing interstitial "musical third place" residing between private practicing and public performance. Musical open mics as musical third places provide musicians and singer/songwriters to network with other musicians, practice new musical compositions and play when other performance opportunities are not readily available. It provides a means for musicians to "hone their craft" in terms of performance methods and also construct musical identities in the almost exclusive company of other working singer/songwriters. This "backstage region" is thus framed and keyed by the musicians onto a continuum between two theoretical poles: performance practicing and practicing performance. Performance practicing as defined in this study frames a more performance-oriented display for musicians in locations called "closed open mics" or COMs. These settings, also residing on a theoretical continuum are socially more exclusive in terms of performance types, the aesthetic careers of the performers, the genres represented and the sociological makeup of the setting participants in general. OOMs or "open open mics," on the other hand, usually have a more fluid, diverse sociological composition of musical performers, performance types, and musical genres played and represented in these mainly weekly events. Closed open mics align into more homogeneous, isomorphic settings comprising "local open mic scenes" and open open mics remain more heterogeneous, socially inclusive, and unsettled as "pre-scenes."

The aim of this thesis is to examine the affects of mobile communication practices on urban public places, particularly on meeting places in urban space. The contribution of mobile communication technologies into daily practices and rapid penetration of them into everyday-life is quite obvious in the last decade. The inevitable presence of mobile phones in everyday-life practices encourages urban researchers to consider their impacts on urban social context and consequently on urban public places. The objective of the research is to understand the incompatibility between the existing urban image and the mental image of mobile society. Mobile phones enable people to organize meetings independent from the scheduled program. This device not only increases the mobility of the user within the city but also enhances the individual&rsquo / s ability to develop coherent cognitive maps / because it gives the freedom of choice to pick-up the location for &ldquo / meeting places&rdquo / . For instance, beside landmarks, paths have been given new identities by mobile society. An increase in the number of indoor or outdoor meeting places (some being entirely random in selection), contributes to the cognitive maps and thus to the identity of the city. This stands as a contradicting argument to the classical understanding of the city and its parts, which is by and large accepted to be based on visual experiences. The predetermined and limited components (nodes, landmarks) which help individuals meet (and socialize) are now modest items of a larger inventory of settings. This thesis is aiming to analyze the behavioral and perceptual changes that derive from mobile communication practices. Through this research, the architectural and spatial qualities of the old and new inventories of meeting places are also a part of the study to reveal the differences, if any.