The Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (SED), the core of the government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), saw building socialism as its fundamental task. This dissertation elucidates the means by which the regime constructed 'socialism' and evaluates both the effects and the effectiveness of the procedure, using the city of Eisenhuttenstadt as a prism The city was founded in 1950. It provided a tabula rasa, upon which the policies and practices of the SED and the GDR could be engraved and exhibited. It was not 'average,' but representative. Stalinstadt, as the city was known from 1953 to 1961, is instructive as a model for what socialist life actually was in the German Democratic Republic. What happened in Eisenhuttenstadt happened in other cities across the GDR; policies affecting the lives of Stalinstadt's citizens likewise affected East Germans everywhere The official historiography suggests that a new and better type of community was created in Stalinstadt. The collective memory and pride of the residents and builders of the city in their community reinforces the image. Recent studies of the city in all fields, however, have uncovered discordant notes and revealed many of the claims regarding the city as partial truths at best. Why and to what extent Stalinstadt failed to meet the expectations of its founders is one of the central questions of this dissertation By using the extensive records of the SED and the city administration, it evaluates success against the standards they set for themselves. Because the city was a social experiment in which external, historical factors were minimized, the effects of government policy are more clearly distinguishable in Stalinstadt. It may be true that Stalinstadt eventually came to resemble most other cities in East Germany, but it can also be said that most other cities in the GDR came in many ways to resemble Stalinstadt. By examining the city and asking big questions of a small place, this history will contribute to a clearer understanding of life in East Germany / acase@tulane.edu

In the late 1950s and 1960s, Buenos Aires was the site of social conflict in both material and symbolic terms. After Peron's ouster, different groups carried out their struggle for power by reorganizing the material city, by altering urban practices, and by representing Buenos Aires in particular ways in literature and film. There were new types of buildings and new trends in urban development. Lifestyles were more quickly paced. Writers focused on alienated middle-class protagonists wandering the city streets as did a new generation of filmmakers called the Nueva Ola. In this shifting urban landscape, residual and emergent discourses represented the city in distinct ways Certain sectors tried to reassert classic liberal ideology. In texts about Buenos Aires, authors and filmmakers criticized the alienating nature of contemporary urban life while expressing nostalgia for lost humanist principles. Blaming the supposed deterioration of Buenos Aires on the Peronist administration, oligarchic and middleclass sectors attempted to bolster certain spatial configurations that protected them from the working-classes. A concern for maintaining the public/private divide could be seen in both literature and film as well as the practices of the middle classes, particularly in the construction of high-rise apartment buildings and the increased use of automobiles over public transportation At the same time, new types of magazines and new publishing houses were reworking the patterns of cultural production and consumption and circulating their goods to ever wider sectors of the urban population. Incorporating trends in the business world, the new cultural institutions advocated timely consumerism and equated democracy with consumption. The increasingly prevalent and explicit treatment of sex and sexuality in literature, films, and magazines was the ultimate sign of the breakdown of the traditional notions of the private. While experiencing a backlash in the form of government censorship, the new articulations of the social meaning of the city and urban life were the basis of a new hegemonic formation / acase@tulane.edu

Statement of the problem. In 1990, citizens in Leon County voted to establish a commission to propose a consolidation of the County and the City of Tallahassee. In 1992, the charter proposed by the commission was defeated by a 3-2 margin. / Purpose of the study. With the 1990 vote, a two-year effort to fashion a consolidation proposal was begun. It was comprehensive, inclusive, and seemed to have wide community support. Yet it was resoundingly rejected by the citizenry. The goal of this study is three-fold: (a) to provide a thorough written record of one of the most major efforts in Florida's history to achieve consolidation; (b) to place this undertaking in the broader context of consolidation initiatives in the U.S.; and (c) to identify the learnings about consolidation dynamics from this experience. / Methodology. The concentration on a single experience with metropolitan reform indicated the case study as the appropriate methodology. Within this general framework, however, the inquiry was broadened by reference to comparative experience, as well as to theories of change and reform. The inquiry was greatly aided by access to many local data sources. / Analysis and findings. There was much in the strategy of the Tallahassee-Leon reform to commend. The framing of the charter did provide for much community participation. However, such an event is basically political; and there was a failure, both in charter writing and in the campaign, to appreciate the significant political and economic obstacles to be overcome. It is clear, too, that the defeat cannot be explained simply by the fact that there was no significant crisis in local governance. / Conclusion. This study reveals that (a) the presence or absence of crisis is insufficient to explain the complex dynamics of efforts at consolidation of local governments, and (b) even failed reform efforts can do much to build insights on the perverse problems of governmental change. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-04, Section: A, page: 1521. / Major Professor: Frank Sherwood. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

This thesis focuses on what constitutes leadership for regional economic development in each of three regional cities in South Australia. The research underpinning the thesis investigates and analyses themes and patterns of local economic development policy adoption and considers the role leadership plays in local government and regional economic development boards. / thesis (MBusiness)--University of South Australia, 2004.

Planning, specifically resource management, is an activity of the state which should seek to reflect the values of the people. However, in New Zealand, only the values of the dominant Pakeha culture have traditionally been considered by decision makers. As a result, resource management in New Zealand has developed as a monocultural institution. This thesis addresses the issue of monoculturalism in New Zealand�s planning regime. The aims of this thesis are twofold: (1) to examine the argument that New Zealand�s planning is monocultural, and has traditionally ignored the needs and aspirations of Maori; and (2) to examine the current resource management system in New Zealand in order to establish the basis for a bicultural approach to planning. These aims were addressed in two principal ways. First, a critical review of literature provided comprehensive background on the relationship between Western and non-Western cultures. Second, in depth interviews were held with both Maori and non-Maori involved in resource management structures. Data from these interviews illustrate Maori opinion on the current resource management system in New Zealand. The thesis concludes that biculturalism is the only legitimate structure for state policy in New Zealand. This conclusion is based primarily on the relationship established between the indigenous Maori and the Pakeha settlers through the Treaty of Waitangi. This study also found that the current resource management regime in New Zealand is incapable of supporting a bicultural resource management approach. Radical reforms are needed in order to facilitate bicultural planning. The thesis concludes by proposing changes to the current regime which will facilitate a bicultural approach to New Zealand planning.

Thesis (M.U.R. Pl.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1984. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-130). Also available via the Internet.

@font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Longstanding critical theories on place, memory, and identity can begin to address critical questions that residents, civic leaders, and designers are currently facing in twenty-first century small town America. The rapidity with which many rural communities are now transforming is unlike any previous phase of transition; due in large part to a vastly expanding globalized economy and mass culture. Anonymous, exchangeable environments are quickly becoming a standard condition for these cities, without much attention being paid by neither insiders nor outsiders alike. Often compounding the problem, poor existing social conditions within the aforementioned communities are not only being habitually unattended to, they are exacerbated by the parallel eradication of place. Due to these implications, a new direction in the modernization of rural communities across the nation is required to productively and responsibly plan for their future. A critical look at the roles of memory, place, and the built environment in the formation of collective and individual identities may be an integral step towards steering small towns down this path.

Working with and designing with other, non-human, biological species is one of the deepest challenges facing architecture today and human development in general. Rather than to preserve, or cater to outside species "How to Design with the Animal" demonstrates that Architecture can actively participate in the life around it. By directing, responding and intervening in the sensorial (audible, olfactory, or haptic) ranges of individual species, architecture and infrastructure can become redefined as animal players in a much larger system. As a sensorial device architecture would become part attractor, part program container and part animal/architecture interface. Animals and ecosystems would then begin to influence the siting and design of individual buildings and they in turn would attract individual species while also being subject to larger migratory, or environmental patterns. And, more than providing a space for program, a new posthumanist architecture could offer the visitor with the experience of participating in a conversation with another animal.

Climate change threatens the integrity of many parks and protected areas worldwide. Mountain parks are amongst the most vulnerable, facing changes in temperature, hydrology, glaciation, fire frequency, and pest and disease outbreaks. Species migration is a key tool in climate change adaptation, but often physical and jurisdictional fragmentation makes it impossible for species to migrate, putting species at risk of extirpation or extinction. Transboundary collaboration and regional planning are tools that can help physically connected parks and protected areas overcome jurisdictional fragmentation and allow for species migration, giving species a greater chance at being able to adapt to climate change. However, there are many barriers to transboundary collaboration and regional planning that makes this difficult to achieve. This research aims to address the challenges parks face with regards to transboundary collaboration and regional planning, and provide possible solutions for overcoming these challenges. A qualitative research project was conducted to determine the state of transboundary collaboration and regional planning in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, using Jasper National Park, Mount Robson Provincial Park, and Willmore Wilderness Park as the study area. A document review, questionnaire, and Importance-Performance Analysis were conducted to determine: the current policy within the Parks Canada Agency, British Columbia Parks, and Alberta Parks in regards to the management implications of climate change; the degree to which transboundary collaboration and regional planning are occurring in and around the study area with regard to climate change; the challenges parks face with regards to transboundary collaboration and regional planning; how these challenges should be addressed; and to determine what park agencies and managers need to be able to participate in transboundary collaboration and regional planning. Ultimately, it became clear that while transboundary collaboration is a potentially effective tool for climate change adaptation, little transboundary collaboration is occurring within the study area. In order for this to occur, all parks must have appropriate legislation, policies, and plans in place; British Columbia Parks has these, but both Parks Canada and Alberta Parks do not. Parks planners and managers are not able to put priority on transboundary collaboration until it is mandated within the management plans. However, parks managers are supportive of transboundary collaboration for climate change and it seems likely that the parks will use this tool as it becomes increasingly necessary over the next 25 years.

Effects of globalization transform the forms of relations between settlements and it also changed the relations between capital and labor. In this global era performances of individual settlements became crucial in the absence of old hierarchic boundaries. But individual performances of settlements are not enough to integrate the global system. A New type of spatial organization appeared which is called networking to enhance complementary and cooperative relations crucial for synergy. The spatial reflexions of this transformation process are city regions. This study aims to determine the factors affecting economic performance and networking patterns of settlements in Antalya Region with the use of quantitative research methods.