This thesis proposes the renovation of existing rental units in ten low-rise apartment buildings in order to foster urban and ecological resilience. Existing ex-military apartments on the north shore of Maynard Lake in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada are adapted through strategic additions and subtractions to create a gradient of spaces: from private to communal to public. The site is conceived as an urban threshold to the lake, organized around new communal amenity spaces for the inhabitants and new diverse mixed-use spaces for the public. At the heart of the project lies the design strategy of effecting big change in the quality of existing space through small interventions. Relatively low-cost incremental design moves transform bleak and alienating spaces into livable places where renters will benefit from the support of their community.

This paper demonstrates, through Sagkeeng First Nation narratives, how the Fort Alexander Indian Residential School (FAIRS) is a micro-instance of genocide. An understanding is offered from the perspective of a settler colonial academic, in consideration of decolonizing principles. Using relational theory, namely Actor-Network Theory, this paper discusses how FAIRS’s practices were designed and operated to disrupt relations between Anishinaabe children and their community, and the ways children and their families negotiated and undermined these practices. Data was collected through critical narrative analysis and sociohistoric inquiry to identify and unpack themes of "language," "space/place," and "the natural environment" as identified in FAIRS Survivors’ testimonies, interviews, stories, and memoir.

While there currently appears to be no universal definition for Emotional Behavioural Difficulties (EBD) it is often used around the world as a label for children displaying difficult behaviours. One intervention used for children with EBD is residential treatment, which involves “providing a full range of therapeutic, education, recreational and support services given by a professional, interdisciplinary team” (Johansson 2007, pg. 16). To date there is little literature on the effectiveness of residential treatment for children with EBD. This present study aims to further the research by measuring the progress made towards a child’s personal goals while at residential school and if this progress is still evident six months after returning home and entering mainstream schooling. Child and parent feedback on the time spent at residential treatment are examined to see how they viewed the treatment. The participants consisted of 83 children aged seven to thirteen years who had attended the residential school between 2004 and 2009, their parents/caregivers, mainstream teachers and residential treatment staff. Follow up questionnaires given to the parents/caregivers when the child was leaving residential treatment and the child’s leavers report were analysed using a mixed methods approach. The results of this study indicated that the children’s personal goal attainment did not change at a statistically significant level six months after returning home and entering mainstream schooling Findings were consistent across the three age groups analysed (under 8 years 11 months, 9 years -10 years 11 months and over 11 years) as well as across the goal codes. This research suggests the gains the children made towards goal attainment at residential treatment were able to be generalised to their home and mainstream school environment.

This research employed two methodological approaches to testing an evolutionary hypothesis of city growth and residential status redistribution. The expectation was that among small metropolitan areas, residential status patterns should be evolving toward the patterns which have been observed among older, larger cities.In the first stage of analysis, evidence suggested that residential status patterns have evolved in a predictable direction for sixteen of twenty cities between 19110 and 1970. A graphic link between "colonial" and Burgess patterns of status distribution was also found.Using tract level analysis, the results of the second research stage suggested that a positive relationship between status and distance of a tract from the central business district exists within the center city area but that a negative relationship is predominant in the suburban ring area. These findings question the basic assumptions from which the evolutionary hypothesis has beengenerated.

This research explores the narratives told by five young adults aged 18 to 25 about their journeys of transitioning out of a large residential treatment facility into less structured settings, in Calgary, Alberta. Participants engaged in in-depth interviews designed to elicit storytelling regarding their time in care. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a narrative lens, paying particular attention to the way participants told their stories. Three main storylines emerged from participants’ narratives, including; standardized approaches in residential care, multiple interpretations of what “independence” looks like, and life “after care”. The findings in this study raise questions about the over reliance on behaviour management models within residential care, the limited role of young people in planning and decision making, and restrictive indicators of “successful” transitions. These findings suggest the need for multiple treatment strategies and approaches that are responsive to individual needs and circumstances, especially when making the transition out of care. / Graduate

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In examining the Canadian residential fabric, this thesis advocates for the design of urban dwellings which respond directly to a number of contemporary urban challenges. A number of these challenges stem from the largely suburban nature of North American cities; there are major concerns about the relative isolation and automobile dependence of contemporary suburbs, their spread into conurbations, and their environmental impacts. On the other hand, there are challenges with many typical urban infill developments as well; they are often developed for a limited range of households, lack much in the way of connections to the outdoors, and, in contrast to some of the key arguments for intensification, often perform below the level of energy efficiency we might reasonably expect in a compact, contemporary, and sustainable urban form. All of these challenges are further discussed and evaluated in chapter three of the thesis. In attempting to address these challenges in a holistic manner, this thesis makes a case for conscientiously increasing the density of the many existing low-density areas within our urban fabric, in a form which incorporates varied outdoor spaces, varied uses, varied unit types and sizes, within a relatively energy efficient form and skin. Chapter four looks at design principles, strategies, and precedents, as well as schematic designs which attempt to integrate and synthesize these objectives. In order to illustrate the application of these principles and schematic designs to an existing low density urban area, chapter five proposes a more detailed design on a large site in Westboro, Ottawa, an evolving semi-suburban area whose development dates largely from early and mid 20th century.

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