This thesis was a post-implementation evaluation of Albuquerque’s Downtown 2010 Sector Development Plan. The Downtown Plan, commissioned in 2000, has a preset deadline of 2010 for meeting conditions outlined within its text. Therefore, the timing of this study was optimal. A triangulated, mixed methods methodology yielded data that were evaluated through an amalgamation of conformance and performance-based evaluation approaches. Six of the twelve categories, under which the Plan’s text is organized, were chosen as the focus of this study’s evaluation efforts. The categories are as follows: 1) Transportation and Parking; 2) Land Use and Design; 3) Healthy Neighborhoods; 4) Urban Housing; 5) Urban Retailing; and 6) Parks and Open Space. The findings of this study were specified to each of the six categories with additional findings listed later on. Overall, the results for each category fell between ‘somewhat unsuccessful’ to ‘successful’ based on a success spectrum created for typifying the evaluation results. Ultimately, this study found that the Plan was responsible for some significant and positive changes that occurred in Downtown Albuquerque over the past decade. These include the development of a number of various housing options, the prevention of commercial encroachment from the Downtown onto adjacent neighborhoods, and the creation of parking, bicycle, transit, and pedestrian facilities. A lack of various retail services and the failure to remediate the Fourth Street Mall are couple of the 2010 Plan implementation failures discovered by the evaluation. Additional findings spoke to the interplay between categories such as Urban Housing and Urban Retailing, which identified the need to synchronize the functions of these two interdependent markets. Further discoveries were derived from the collected data and their subsequent analysis.

This thesis was a post-implementation evaluation of Albuquerque’s Downtown 2010 Sector Development Plan. The Downtown Plan, commissioned in 2000, has a preset deadline of 2010 for meeting conditions outlined within its text. Therefore, the timing of this study was optimal. A triangulated, mixed methods methodology yielded data that were evaluated through an amalgamation of conformance and performance-based evaluation approaches. Six of the twelve categories, under which the Plan’s text is organized, were chosen as the focus of this study’s evaluation efforts. The categories are as follows: 1) Transportation and Parking; 2) Land Use and Design; 3) Healthy Neighborhoods; 4) Urban Housing; 5) Urban Retailing; and 6) Parks and Open Space. The findings of this study were specified to each of the six categories with additional findings listed later on. Overall, the results for each category fell between ‘somewhat unsuccessful’ to ‘successful’ based on a success spectrum created for typifying the evaluation results. Ultimately, this study found that the Plan was responsible for some significant and positive changes that occurred in Downtown Albuquerque over the past decade. These include the development of a number of various housing options, the prevention of commercial encroachment from the Downtown onto adjacent neighborhoods, and the creation of parking, bicycle, transit, and pedestrian facilities. A lack of various retail services and the failure to remediate the Fourth Street Mall are couple of the 2010 Plan implementation failures discovered by the evaluation. Additional findings spoke to the interplay between categories such as Urban Housing and Urban Retailing, which identified the need to synchronize the functions of these two interdependent markets. Further discoveries were derived from the collected data and their subsequent analysis.

This study and research was conducted to understand the myriad tools utilized as part of downtown revitalization plans, strategies or efforts in Ontario’s mid-sized cities, what impacts municipalities are seeking in their downtown revitalization plans, strategies or efforts, and the implications for planning theory and practice. This study and research involved a mixed methods research strategy – known as triangulation- which included a literature review, a web-survey directed to municipal staff within each of Ontario’s mid-sized cities, and a case study of London Ontario’s downtown revitalization strategy. The findings of this study and research indicate that traditional revitalization tools are still favoured in Ontario’s mid-sized cities. Further, marketing and quality of life tools are highly used by municipalities in downtown revitalization. Municipalities appear to be tailoring their downtown revitalization programs or efforts to stimulate business, and are increasingly taking an entrepreneurial, business-like approach to revitalization city centres. Transportation featured prominently in downtown revitalization efforts within Ontario’s mid-sized cities. Parking in particular, was an element that was planned for as part of downtown revitalization. Finally, stimulating the local downtown housing market was of primary importance to Ontario’s mid-sized cities. The literature consistently notes the extreme importance of housing as a downtown revitalization strategy over time. It appears that Ontario’s mid-sized cities prescribe to the theory that downtowns cannot truly function and become centres with strong retail markets, and activity hubs with synergistic uses within proximity without housing. Further, Ontario’s mid-sized cities appear to be increasingly seeking to stimulate the private sector in constructing housing. “Increase Residential Population” and “Increase General Activity” are the most prevalent objectives of downtown revitalization in Ontario’s mid-sized cities. Given that the top-three objectives of the web-survey were increasing population within the downtown, increasing general activity within the downtown, and increasing employment within the downtown, a combination of objectives which are multi-dimensional, it appears that mid-sized municipalities are seeking multi-dimensional downtowns, with particular attention paid to increasing population levels. The web-survey and case study did not concretely confirm or deny the literature with regard to monitoring and evaluation. However, the web-survey and case study do suggest that plan evaluation is not a particularly robust element of downtown revitalization efforts in Ontario’s mid-sized cities. Recommendations based on the findings of this research are provided for municipalities, planning practitioners and academics. This research contributes to the limited but expanding literature on mid-sized cities, downtown revitalization of mid-sized cities, as well as monitoring and evaluation techniques and concepts for mid-sized cities to consider. Recommendations for further research are also provided.

This study and research was conducted to understand the myriad tools utilized as part of downtown revitalization plans, strategies or efforts in Ontario’s mid-sized cities, what impacts municipalities are seeking in their downtown revitalization plans, strategies or efforts, and the implications for planning theory and practice. This study and research involved a mixed methods research strategy – known as triangulation- which included a literature review, a web-survey directed to municipal staff within each of Ontario’s mid-sized cities, and a case study of London Ontario’s downtown revitalization strategy. The findings of this study and research indicate that traditional revitalization tools are still favoured in Ontario’s mid-sized cities. Further, marketing and quality of life tools are highly used by municipalities in downtown revitalization. Municipalities appear to be tailoring their downtown revitalization programs or efforts to stimulate business, and are increasingly taking an entrepreneurial, business-like approach to revitalization city centres. Transportation featured prominently in downtown revitalization efforts within Ontario’s mid-sized cities. Parking in particular, was an element that was planned for as part of downtown revitalization. Finally, stimulating the local downtown housing market was of primary importance to Ontario’s mid-sized cities. The literature consistently notes the extreme importance of housing as a downtown revitalization strategy over time. It appears that Ontario’s mid-sized cities prescribe to the theory that downtowns cannot truly function and become centres with strong retail markets, and activity hubs with synergistic uses within proximity without housing. Further, Ontario’s mid-sized cities appear to be increasingly seeking to stimulate the private sector in constructing housing. “Increase Residential Population” and “Increase General Activity” are the most prevalent objectives of downtown revitalization in Ontario’s mid-sized cities. Given that the top-three objectives of the web-survey were increasing population within the downtown, increasing general activity within the downtown, and increasing employment within the downtown, a combination of objectives which are multi-dimensional, it appears that mid-sized municipalities are seeking multi-dimensional downtowns, with particular attention paid to increasing population levels. The web-survey and case study did not concretely confirm or deny the literature with regard to monitoring and evaluation. However, the web-survey and case study do suggest that plan evaluation is not a particularly robust element of downtown revitalization efforts in Ontario’s mid-sized cities. Recommendations based on the findings of this research are provided for municipalities, planning practitioners and academics. This research contributes to the limited but expanding literature on mid-sized cities, downtown revitalization of mid-sized cities, as well as monitoring and evaluation techniques and concepts for mid-sized cities to consider. Recommendations for further research are also provided.

Urban planning intended to conserve cities’ valuable past, both areas and structures, is challenging due to the need to find a balance between preserving urban heritage and fulfilling development needs. In China, efforts to preserve cities designated to be Historic Cultural Cities (HCCs) are affected by HCC planning mechanism (HCCPMs), which have been developed to protect the cities’ significant value as a whole. In this study, policies in HCC conservation plans are evaluated on their amount of detail and are compared to stakeholders’ expectations. A case study is carried out for areas in the City of Beijing. Findings of this study include the following: a general level of the detail used in HCC conservation plans; this level of detail ranges distinctively in various policy categories and HCC classes; stakeholders desire a higher level of detail than currently exists in the conservation plans; different expectations exist among stakeholder groups (residents, participants from the central districts, and participant without planning knowledge). Five statements can be reflected from the general level of detail: 1) urban conservation is not a primary concern in HCCs; 2) plan objectives were achieved in HCC plans; 3) the public did not effectively impact planning decisions; 4) little financial and human resources support exists for conservation activities; 5) the written legislative guidance is inaccurate. The differences in stakeholders’ expectation and the current plans reveal the failure to achieve public participation goals such as transparency and democracy. Recommendations are provided on improving plan quality and public participation in Historic Cultural Cities to better serve for urban conservation in Chinese cities.

A park management plan is an important tool used in protected areas to successfully develop and achieve goals and objectives. Planning in modern protected area environments is challenging due to the requirement of finding the balance between its primary goal of preserving ecological and cultural features while managing to achieve tourism and visitation objectives. There are different perspectives regarding the purpose of a management plan and the role that the public should play in having an influence over the decision making process, including access to information required. This study evaluated the amount of detail in visitor and tourism policies that was found in park management plans compared to the amount of detail that park stakeholders desired, revealed through a case study of Ontario Provincial Parks. Findings include: a consistently low level of detail provided in park management plans; a large gap between the larger amount degree of detail desired by stakeholders’ compared to the sparse detail contained in plans; and a significant difference in the degree of detail desired by stakeholders affiliated with one park, Algonquin Park, over others. The low level of detail contained in management plans can be a reflection of five elements: 1) a low value of visitation and tourism, 2) a blueprint planning goal of management plans, 3) a weak role of the public in decision making, 4) sparse human resources/finances, and 5) imprecise legislation and guiding provincial policy. The large gap between the detail stakeholders desire compared to the content provided in plans reflect weak public participation and governance principles such as transparency, accountability, and fairness and power sharing. Lastly, differences in the degree of detail desired based on park affiliation suggest that park features, beside park classification and park visitation levels, also have an effect on the degree of detail expected from park stakeholders.

Planning researchers believe that property losses from natural hazards, such as floods can be reduced if governments address this issue and adopt appropriate policies in their plans. However, little empirical research has examined the relationship between plan quality and actual property loss from floods. My research addresses this critical gap in the planning and hazard research literature by evaluating the effectiveness of current plans and policies in mitigating property damage from floods. Specifically, this study: 1) assesses the extent to which local comprehensive plans integrate flood mitigation policies in Florida; and 2) it examines the impact of the quality of flood mitigation policies on actual insured flood damages. Study results show that fifty-three local plans in the sample received a mean score for total flood mitigation policy quality of 38.55, which represents 35.69% of the total possible points. These findings indicate that there is still considerable room for improvement by local governments on flooding issues. The scores of local plans varied widely, with coastal communities receiving significantly higher scores than non-coastal communities. While most communities adopted land use management tools, such as permitted land use and wetland permits as primary flood mitigation tools, incentive based tools/taxing tools and acquisition tools were rarely adopted. This study also finds that plan quality associated with flood mitigation policy had little discernible effect on reducing insured flood damage while controlling for biophysical, built environment and socio-economic variables. This result counters the assumption inherent in previous plan quality research that better plans mitigate the adverse effects associated with floods and other natural hazards. There are some possible explanations for this result in terms of plan implementation, land use management paradox and characteristics of insurance policies. The statistical analysis also suggests that insured flood loss is considerably affected by wetland alteration and a community's location on the coast. Another finding indicates that very strong leadership and dam construction are factors in mitigating flood loss.

A park management plan is an important tool used in protected areas to successfully develop and achieve goals and objectives. Planning in modern protected area environments is challenging due to the requirement of finding the balance between its primary goal of preserving ecological and cultural features while managing to achieve tourism and visitation objectives. There are different perspectives regarding the purpose of a management plan and the role that the public should play in having an influence over the decision making process, including access to information required. This study evaluated the amount of detail in visitor and tourism policies that was found in park management plans compared to the amount of detail that park stakeholders desired, revealed through a case study of Ontario Provincial Parks. Findings include: a consistently low level of detail provided in park management plans; a large gap between the larger amount degree of detail desired by stakeholders’ compared to the sparse detail contained in plans; and a significant difference in the degree of detail desired by stakeholders affiliated with one park, Algonquin Park, over others. The low level of detail contained in management plans can be a reflection of five elements: 1) a low value of visitation and tourism, 2) a blueprint planning goal of management plans, 3) a weak role of the public in decision making, 4) sparse human resources/finances, and 5) imprecise legislation and guiding provincial policy. The large gap between the detail stakeholders desire compared to the content provided in plans reflect weak public participation and governance principles such as transparency, accountability, and fairness and power sharing. Lastly, differences in the degree of detail desired based on park affiliation suggest that park features, beside park classification and park visitation levels, also have an effect on the degree of detail expected from park stakeholders.

Urban planning intended to conserve cities’ valuable past, both areas and structures, is challenging due to the need to find a balance between preserving urban heritage and fulfilling development needs. In China, efforts to preserve cities designated to be Historic Cultural Cities (HCCs) are affected by HCC planning mechanism (HCCPMs), which have been developed to protect the cities’ significant value as a whole. In this study, policies in HCC conservation plans are evaluated on their amount of detail and are compared to stakeholders’ expectations. A case study is carried out for areas in the City of Beijing. Findings of this study include the following: a general level of the detail used in HCC conservation plans; this level of detail ranges distinctively in various policy categories and HCC classes; stakeholders desire a higher level of detail than currently exists in the conservation plans; different expectations exist among stakeholder groups (residents, participants from the central districts, and participant without planning knowledge). Five statements can be reflected from the general level of detail: 1) urban conservation is not a primary concern in HCCs; 2) plan objectives were achieved in HCC plans; 3) the public did not effectively impact planning decisions; 4) little financial and human resources support exists for conservation activities; 5) the written legislative guidance is inaccurate. The differences in stakeholders’ expectation and the current plans reveal the failure to achieve public participation goals such as transparency and democracy. Recommendations are provided on improving plan quality and public participation in Historic Cultural Cities to better serve for urban conservation in Chinese cities.

In my thesis, I make a business plan for expansion of a dentist's surgery. I evaluate original surgery, make a financial plan for its expansion to a small stomatological center. The plan includes a balance sheet, profit and loss report and financial analysis. In the last chapter I specify possible risks of this branch of enterprising.