Who decides which neighborhoods receive affordable housing, community gardens, or job centers? How do these organizations and agencies get a seat at the decision-making table? And what can urban redevelopment politics tell us about larger links between governance and inequality in American cities? This dissertation, based on four years of ethnographic fieldwork in Boston, addresses these questions and significantly advances our understanding of urban governance and neighborhood inequality. First, I argue that influence over community development plans depends on organizational legitimacy, not unequal access to resources. Second, I illustrate a consequential realignment of political representation, showing how private community-based organizations (CBOs)—not elected politicians—represent poor neighborhoods in community development decision-making. Finally, I reveal how subtle cultural processes—not overt elite domination—undermine resident power in public participatory processes. By focusing on the day-to-day grind of governance, this dissertation reveals overlooked actors and new political processes. It is a unique urban ethnography that takes readers off of the street corner and into the conference rooms of government agencies and private development organizations—a move forcing social scientists to rethink dynamics of power, political representation, and inequality in poor neighborhoods. / Sociology

Much has been made of the proliferation of fictions in the contemporary city, coming together under the hegemony of globalization to obliterate the particularities of place. The pervasiveness of media in daily life gives the impression of inescapability, and it appears impossible to conceive of the city in “traditional” physical terms. Among the nations of the so-called First World, Japan, the center of which is unquestionably the metropolis of Tokyo, has been at the fore of the social, economic and technological changes that revel in these fictions. This dissertation is a critique of the culture of Tokyo of the last several decades. Following from the assumption that the city and mass media are inseparable, it examines the representations of urban places in television towards understanding how they function as part of urban development. It is thus an attempt at a history of urban culture incorporating both “concrete” and “virtual” forms of spatial practice, towards a unified understanding of the processes that create the contemporary city, with a particular focus on the role of corporations. Two specific places in Tokyo that underwent large-scale development have had an exceptional presence in Japanese television: Odaiba and Akihabara. Limited to two types of television, what are known in Japan as “trendy dramas” and anime (animated cartoons), this dissertation examines the roles television programming had in creating or recreating the “placeness” of these two parts of Tokyo. It is separated into two parts for each location. Chapters one and three examine the historical background of each place alongside the media context that applies in each case, and chapters two and four demonstrate how television was used to advertise a particular image of each place. / Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning

The number of residential small-scale solar electric, or photovoltaic (PV) systems installed in Massachusetts has increased over the past five years. However, expanded deployment of residential solar PV may be hindered by lack of awareness of expected electricity generation of solar PV systems, and corresponding financial return. Policymakers are also interested in using limited state resources to support the installation of well-producing solar PV systems that will help meet state greenhouse gas reduction goals. Operational residential solar PV systems may provide a key to understanding electricity production that can inform prospective system owners and policymakers. This research utilizes monthly electricity production data for 5,400 residential solar PV systems in Massachusetts that were installed between 2010 and 2013. The analysis first focuses on understanding the aggregate dataset and distribution of systems, then explores the impact of fifteen different variables on residential solar PV system electricity production. These variables include shading, rebate eligibility, equipment type, ownership model, date in service year, system cost, selected installer, PTS reporting method, and others. When controlling for system size, production over all systems was normally distributed. Through a multiple regression analysis, percent shading, roof inclination and azimuth, rebate eligibility and county were variables that had the greatest impact on system production, with shading being key among them, while other variables showed a more nuanced impact. Ultimately, the full regression resulted in an r2 value of 34.2, leaving a majority of the system production variability unexplained. The data also provide insight into the impact of state policy measures surrounding system siting, validation of production data, and forecasting as part of the production based SREC incentive. Ultimately, quantifying the impact of the variables on electricity production patterns can be an effective tool to provide guidance for both prospective system owners and policymakers.

Urbanization as it affects the developing countries is one of the critical problems facing Jamaica today. The major urban centre, Kingston, is unable to cope with the many and varied problems introduced by the increasing number of people who are migrating from rural areas with the hope of finding a "better life" in the big city. However, its unhealthy magnetic power persists, draining the other areas of the country of the better educated, more ambitious, wealthier, as well as the less fortunate people, leaving these areas little developed and depriving the country as a whole of some of the greater social and economic potentials. The quest for a livelihood among Jamaicans, having commenced from as early as the 1380's, also encouraged significant portions of the population to migrate to foreign countries in search of employment even from such early times. Studies show that even this emigration has been largely unsuccessful. Although the migrants may realize a regular (though small) money income at their destinations they often fail miserably to be desirably absorbed in the social and economic structures of the various societies to which they migrate - they have even descended steeply from the social status which they enjoyed at home. On the basis of the above, It is contended that if Jamaica is to achieve its goals of social and economic stability, the full national inventory of human and natural resources has to be mobilized into a process of regional development. A new process of urbanization is necessary, that is, an "ordered, guided, and purposeful" approach to this phenomenon. The fundamental needs for which the population is in constant search namely: social and economic security, and the full range of services and amenities are more feasibly provided at the urban level, therefore, any development contemplated should take place in urban areas. Puerto Rico has successfully demonstrated that an acute population and urbanization problem, can be resolved by a determination to resolve it, and by careful planning. To achieve a balanced distribution of the population in Jamaica and an equitable distribution of the social services and the wealth, all areas of the island should be included In the new urbanization process. The urban areas, in order to produce aggregate efficiency should be coordinated within regional systems. Investigation of alternative regional systems of communities including the primate city hierarchy, the central place system, and the multi-nucleated system indicates that all exhibit characteristics of incompatibility with the island and would have to be subject to modifications in order to be adopted. Other determinants of location were investigated Including theories of industrial location, transportation, incidence of natural resources, occurrence of existing urban centres, and the surface configuration of the island. It is, concluded that the urban centres displaying certain potentials conducive to industrial-location (industrialization is the chosen mode for development) are to be selected for development along with other areas which the government should provide with the Industrial climate. With respect to development implementation, planning and development are considered more effective if executed at the regional level. There is a tendency for national planning to neglect the small urban centre, while planning at the local level poses severe administrative problems as well as the probability of gross aggregate inefficiency introduced by the potential rivalry between various local units. Planning and development are also deemed more effective if situated close to the source of power. The Prime Minister's office seems to be the most suitable arm of government to which this should be attached. In order to avoid the inflexibilities of the civil service which retards efficiency, it is suggested that a Jamaica Development Corporation should be formed. This is to be an autonomous body created by and accountable to the Prime Minister and charged with the function of identifying regional needs and executing regional planning and development techniques in the best interest of the country. The Corporation could be realized through a merger of the present Jamaica Industrial Development Corporation and the Jamaica Town Planning Department which should toe dissolved after its tasks are accomplished and proper provision is made for constant review. The hypothesis of the study is considered to toe generally valid. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Since the introduction in early 1971 of the Land Use Contract - S. 702A of the B.C. Municipal Act - few, if any, studies have been devoted to its practical applications. This paper therefore attempts both a survey and analysis of the use and implications of S. 702A. Questionnaires were used to collect data from all Regional Districts and some fifteen larger municipalities. Although results indicated a wide and varied usage, there was little evidence of a strongly demonstrated need for a new form of land control. Both the planners and administrators to whom the questionnaires were directed, and by their evidence the general public, misunderstood and are confused by the new provisions. However, fewer problems than anticipated were apparantly encountered in the use of S. 702A, and initial reluctance to utilize the legislation is dissipating. By reference to American zoning and British development control methods, it was determined that the Land Use Contract is a form of development control, similar to Ontario practices and not unlike the British example. It can be used to considerable advantage in the planning process, particularly where flexibility and innovation are desired, so long as it is used, as with all development control, in accordance with a comprehensive plan. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This thesis considers the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, the British Columbia Railway as of April 1, 1972, a Provincial Crown corporation, and the implications of its extensions upon regional development. The indicators of regional development studied are population and industrial profiles. The time framework of the thesis is from 1952 to 1972, the period of the P.G.E. extensions. Two perspectives of the implications for regional development are examined. Chapter Two treats with the Provincial Government agencies whose policies have had the most effect in the study area. The financing, safety, and freight rate implications of the P.G.E. are discussed. In addition, general policies and inter-relationships with the P.G.E. of the following Provincial agencies are considered: B.C. Hydro, the Department of Highways, and the Forest Service. The third through sixth chapters consider the regional development of four regions: Squamish-Cariboo, Prince George, Peace River-Liard, and Omineca-Stikine. These regions, in turn, are broken into areas—usually to correspond with a central P.G.E. railway station and its commodity carloadings. The development within each area is studied in respect to population changes and industrial expansion since 1951. The P.G.E. commodity carloadings from 1966 through 1970 are used as indicators of regional development. The fluctuations of the carloadings of certain commodities, such as woodchips, lumber and veneer, merchandise, and machinery and parts, have been used to show the level of regional industrial development. Alone, the P.G.E. commodity carloadings are of little use. However, they take on more meaning in light of the policies of the Provincial Government agencies. The usefulness of the data takes a quantum leap when individual shippers indicate how much they ship, its routing, and its final destination. A limited attempt at this later refinement is provided by the responses of about fifty company and government officials to a single page, open-ended question letter. Most of these responses are in letter form although those companies with offices in Vancouver are interviews. A limitation of the technique used in this thesis to determine regional development is the inability to estimate the importance of the service sector. The obvious weight is given to the resource extraction and manufacturing sectors since these are the sectors which generate railway carloadings. Only when there is a significant population and the total carloadings are relatively low, are there suspicions of a large service sector or the possibility of significant truck shipments. The general conclusion to this thesis is that the Pacific Great Eastern Railway has stimulated regional development in the areas it serves directly. However, this development has been primarily in the forest products industry, in conjunction with Forest Service policies and technological improvements. The development of this industry has then provided a stimulus for maintenance and repair services and a more stable population base, which has helped to establish a need for improved highways. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This study was concerned with the design and evaluation of a land use simulation game for rural residents of the East Kootenay region of British Columbia. The rationale behind the study was that gaming was a technique worthy of investigation for use in the environmental education of adults. Two hypotheses were proposed to guide the research on the land use simulation game designed. The first proposed that the game would produce a significant increase in knowledge and change in attitude, and the second stated that significant relationships would be shown between player characteristics, game play data and test results. A simulation game was designed using a modified version of a procedure set out by Glazier (41) for designing educational games. Two preliminary versions were tested and a final version set up. The game was a board game using an enlarged piece of a land capability map. Players bought and planned pieces of land through the four seasons of the year. The objective of the game was to maximize economic returns without severely damaging the environment. Instruments for evaluating the game were simultaneously designed and tested. The simulation game was played with 40 East Kootenay residents in school district number 2, Cranbrook on properties of 50 acres or more. Family groups played the game and completed both a pre and post-test. The people playing the simulation game came mostly from productive farms (82.5%). Thirty-five percent of the sample were husbands and wives, 45 percent children, and 20 percent were others which included farm hands and neighbours. The mean educational level of the group was 10.7 years. The mean land holding size was 537.1 acres and the mean number of players per each of the nine gaming sessions was 4.7 persons. Years of schooling correlated positively with the total score a person received on the game. Objective 6 on the ability to identify good and poor land uses correlated significantly with a number of other variables. This objective appears to be an important one to consider in future game modification. Knowledge and attitude correlated significantly and positively with years of schooling, money scores, total scores, playing time, number of players, attitude towards the game, and rank within a group; and negative significant correlations were found with property size and environmental unit scores. T-test results showed that there had been a general increase in knowledge and in particular an increase in the knowledge about the competitive relationships that exist between wild and domestic populations. A change in attitude about the effects of land use on neighbouring lands was also found to be significant. It was concluded that the simulation game had been a limited success with some learning statistically demonstrable. Correlation data and subjective data provided sufficient information for the further modification of this learning device to enhance its effectiveness. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

The increasingly popular recreational activity of cottaging has a marked spatial impact. In the past, planners have foregone the opportunity to guide and direct cottage development, other than by traditional zoning and subdivision techniques. The provision of public sercices or utilities is a valid method of development control which has been largely overlooked. This investigation of cottaging in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District examines the potential of this technique, concentrating on those strategic public services which can be provided by the government to individual lots (road, water, sewer and electricity). The study was based on 117 questionnaire returns. It was found that the majority of cottagers in the study area have low levels of the public services under discussion. However, many cottagers indicated dissatisfaction with existing low service levels. When these individuals were included with those who had high levels of services, this combined sub-sample constituted a majority of the population. The discrepancy between existing and preferred levels of services for many cottagers is a function of several factors. For example, infrequent use of the cottage apparently results in a tradeoff between the desire for the convenience offered by high levels of services and a variety of other factors, including the economics of providing the services, and certain aspects of the cottager's life style. A trend indicating that more frequent use of the cottage is accompanied by higher service preferences, supports this conclusion. The study reveals that cottages offer relaxation, isolation, and peace and quiet, and that the cottage is used as a base for outdoor recreational activity. Most cottagers in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District feel that their cottage area is currently at an optimum density and want neither higher levels of services nor more people. Planners can now utilize these findings to determine the levels of services that should be offered, weighing the cottagers' preferences against considerations of environmental quality and density. In addition, it is suggested that the provision of either high or low levels of services will attract different kinds of people, thus segregating the cottage population. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the following hypothesis: "that Benefit-Cost analysis is a suitable and sufficient technique for the allocation of waterfront to competing uses." The greatest stress is placed on the technique by limiting the meaning of "allocation" to problems involving mutually exclusive uses which compete for the same waterfront site. In this context choice of the best from a number of suitable sites for a use or of the most efficient scale of a project on a site are not considered to be allocation problems. Chapter I defines the waterfront and its elements— the shoreline, foreshore, and adjacent water areas—and discusses its major uses, extent, interrelationships, and multiple-use potential. Also discussed is the historical importance of the waterfront and some public attitudes which have fostered careless waterfront allocation and use. Thus, the need for comprehensive waterfront allocation procedures is established. The second Chapter briefly reviews Benefit-Cost theory and methods and discusses some problems of application. While acknowledging the extensive theoretical debate concerning the technique, it is outlined as it is currently-used in water-resource development programmes. Chapter III applies Benefit-Cost analysis to a specific waterfront allocation problem involving partly real-partly hypothetical port and recreation development proposals for the same site. Benefits, costs, and benefit-cost ratios are estimated for each of the two alternatives. Then basic assumptions with respect to the availability of other sites, the evaluation context, and timing are varied to examine the effects on the relative benefit-cost ratings of the two proposals. Problems of intangibles and of providing the necessary background for analysis are also discussed. The final Chapter summarizes the major conclusions regarding the utility of Benefit-Cost analysis in waterfront use decisions. It was concluded that the ratios for alternatives may shift substantially with changes in the context or viewpoint, with important implications for the distribution of benefits and costs amongst individuals, groups, and regions. Changes in timing also seriously affect relative ratings; it was found that the technique was not well-suited to long-range planning problems because of its orientation to specific projects. Finally, it was observed that the difficult type of allocation problem posed in this paper could create numerous intangible benefits and costs which, though considered to be of substantial importance, could not be integrated into the benefit-cost ratio in a useful way. Thus fundamental problems not encompassed by Benefit-Cost analysis must be solved before the ratios become useful for allocation purposes. It was concluded that the hypothesis was invalid. Instead, a comprehensive waterfront planning framework is suggested in which the role of Benefit-Cost analysis is seen to lie in investigating the welfare distribution consequences of alternative development proposals, in the efficiency of various scales of development of a facility or site, or in determining the best of the suitable alternative sites for a particular waterfront use. In this view Benefit-Cost analysis is thus accorded a more limited but still useful role. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This thesis places the growth management, specifically the urban growth boundary, policies of the Greater Vancouver Regional District and the Province of British Columbia in comparative perspective. The operative problem statement for this study is that current efforts at managing urban growth in the Lower Mainland are ambitious, but that they need to be made more robust. The specific methodologies used to address this problem statement include: a detailed review of the literature on urban growth boundaries and on growth management; a review of growth management policies relevant to containing urban growth in the Lower Mainland; and a detailed examination of the urban growth boundary policies of two case studies (Thurston County, Washington and Metro Portland, Oregon). The literature review reveals that urban growth boundaries are a simple concept, yet they are potentially troublesome policy considerations. As defined in the literature, urban growth boundaries are lines on a map that demarcate urban from rural land, thus setting a limit on urban expansion. The literature generally concludes that urban growth boundaries can be an extremely effective component to broader growth management programs, given a number of policy design considerations are taken into account. A thorough examination of current growth management initiatives in the Lower Mainland reveals that the substantive content of both the Livable Region Strategic Plan (1996) and the Growth Strategies Statutes Amendments Act, 1995 is "sustainable", albeit somewhat incomplete. In placing these policies in comparative perspective with the urban growth boundary policies of the two case studies, it is generally concluded that urban growth boundaries would contribute to current efforts at managing urban growth in the Lower Mainland by containing sprawl and ensuring the contiguity of urban development. Furthermore, it is argued that Provincial legislation should be amended in a way that outlines province-wide urban containment goals, ensures better interjurisdictional coordination of policies, and establishes enforcement mechanisms that include provisions for the application of sanctions upon noncompliant jurisdictions. Finally, while the case studies revealed some important information regarding urban containment in the Lower Mainland, they also served to confirm the information presented in the literature review, thus demonstrating consistency between theoretical notions of urban containment and practical experiences with urban growth boundaries. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate