published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

香港作為「全球城市」，過去數十年城市核心的空間布局不斷轉變。建築物相繼推倒再建，道路工程也無日無之。資本主義生產模式的壓迫需求，把空間（重新）組織、理性化，務求令效率極大化，加速資本價值生產和社會過程。然而，距離香港城市心臟地帶不足一小時小輪航程的大嶼山梅窩，卻馬上讓人感受不一樣的故事。當地居民以單車作為主要代步工具；村落裏穿插的是彎彎曲曲的小路；時間與空間的感知和經驗方式，許多方面都與香港大都會大不相同。 / 如果說，香港核心商業區不斷的推倒、建設已屬「常識」，也代表了全球資本主義之下的發展，我們該如何理解梅窩的「非尋常」發展？如果說，核心商業區所出現的代表了主導的發展形式，這又是否我們唯一可以依循的道路？我在本研究批判全球資本主義下的發展，如何在跨國資產階級的力量和政府干預的推動之下，令空間同質化，使資本可以從空間搾取最大的剩餘價值。通過討論梅窩發展的獨特性和異質性，我的論點是，梅窩展示了全球資本主義下另類發展的可能；也就是說，不受資本宰制的發展方式是可能、也是可行的。還有，世上並非只有一條放諸四海皆準的金光發展大道。梅窩的邊緣性和鄉村傳統，為我們提供資源和啟發，詰問資本主義發展背後的種種假設。本研究特別聚焦於一九九七至二零一三年這段時間。一九九七年，青馬大橋通車，令梅窩失去作為大嶼山「窗口」的地位。在隨後的超過十年期間，梅窩失去昔日的繁華，卻造就了另一條道路，讓市區基層人士也能體驗一種有別於大都會的生活方式。一些獨立藝術家也憑借梅窩的鄉村文化，同時受到當地人、動植物、田野提供的資源所啟發，發展出獨特的藝術和生活觀。這些藝術家與梅窩的邊綠性就如大都會核心的一面批判鏡子，反映社會及主流文化的問題。更重要的是，我希望通過梅窩這個具體例子，說明另類發展這條道路儘管又彎又小，而且十分艱難，但它並非僅是浪漫的白日夢，而是可以發生的現實。 / As a ‘global city’, Hong Kong has been undergoing endless transformations in the spatial organisation of its core districts over the past few decades. Building after building is demolished and built; road works also go on incessantly. Due to the exigencies of the capitalistic mode of production, space is (re-)organised and rationalised in ways so as to maximise efficiency and to speed up capital value production and social processes in general. Less than an hour’s ferry ride from the heart of urban Hong Kong, however, people disembark at the pier of Mui Wo, Lantau Island to find another story. There, residents rely on cycling as the main means of transport; winding, small paths weave through inland villages; time-space is perceived and experienced in ways distinct from the metropolis. / If the destructions and constructions in the Central Business District (CBD) of Hong Kong are ‘common sense’ and epitomise development in the era of global capitalism, how should I make sense of the ‘uncommon’ development of Mui Wo? If what is unfolding in the CBD represents the dominant form of development, is it the only path that we could follow? In this thesis, I critique capitalistic development in the age of global capitalism which, with the agent of the transnational capitalist class and the intervention of government, is leading to the homogenisation of space such that capital can extract its maximum surplus value possible out of space. By discussing the specificity and heterogeneity of the development of Mui Wo, I argue that it provides a case of how development is pursued in an alternative way in the age of global capitalism, that there exists the possibility of pursuing development that is not governed by capital. The marginality and rural traditions of Mui Wo provide resources and inspirations for us to interrogate the assumptions behind capitalistic development, and to see that there are other possibilities. I am particular interested in the period between 1997 and 2013. My argument is that Mui Wo had been spared from the frenzy of capitalistic development by the opening of Tsing Ma Bridge in 1997 which ended its status as the ‘gateway’ to Lantau Island. For more than a decade, a less busy Mui Wo provided an alternative road to urbanites of the lower classes to experience a way of living that is different from the metropolis. Some independent artists took this opportunity to develop a unique philosophy of arts and living out of the resources and inspirations provided by Mui Wo, including its rural culture, and the people, animals, vegetation, farmlands and nature there. The marginality of these artists, together with the marginality of Mui Wo, is like a critical reflection on the metropolitan core, informing us all is not right in the wider society and the dominant culture. More importantly, through my discussions of this concrete case of Mui Wo, I seek to argue that an alternative path of development, though small, winding and difficult, is not merely a romantic dream, but can actually be reality. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Tang, Kin Ling. / Thesis (Ph.D.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 317-328). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Tang, Kin Ling.

This study investigates the influence of inner-city and suburban student teaching upon adjustment and effectiveness of first-year elementary teachers, with secondary attention to their personal and professional problems of adjustment to their initial teaching location. The fifty-five subjects of this study were first-year, inner-city and suburban teachers in the Dallas area. Except for two Black females and three Anglo males, all were Anglo females. The findings of this study support the following conclusions 1. Student-teaching locale should not be the determining factor in deciding the type of school for first-year teachers. 2. Effective inner-city student teachers may be expected to be highly effective teachers in both inner-city schools and those in other locales. 3. Successful student-teaching experiences, regardless of location, can be expected to produce well-adjusted, effective teachers. 4. It can be anticipated that inner-city teachers will experience a negative change in optimism, attitudes toward teaching, general adjustment and mental health during their initial year of teaching. 5. Both suburban and inner-city teachers who enjoyed successful student-teaching experiences can be expected to have good self-perception, empathy, a favorable view of children, confidence regarding classroom discipline, and effectiveness as a teacher.

The urbanised environment provides ecologists with unique situations in which to undertake ecological study. It has been said that urbanisation is like a natural experiment; we often have populations of animals that have gone from living in natural or semi-natural environments to living in a highly modified anthropogenic environment. These situations provide ideal settings to study the ecological and behavioural differences that may develop in populations located in different habitats. Urbanisation typically results in a minority of species dominating the fauna, and this thesis aimed to examine one such species, the Australian magpie. Despite the magpie being a common and well-liked suburban bird, the majority of previous research on this species has been undertaken within rural or exurban locations. This thesis aimed to examine what actually happens to the species when it lives in the suburban environment. In particular I focused on specific behavioural and ecological features, to see if there were any particular adaptations the suburban magpies showed and also if the suburban habitats provide certain resources favourable to the magpies and what ecological effects these may have. Comparisons of the territory structure and resources of rural and suburban magpies showed that although many features of the territory are similar between rural and suburban locations, notably the choice of native nest trees, magpie territories within suburban areas were smaller and contained more anthropogenic features. The reduced territory size may possibly be related to a greater abundance of key food resources also evident within suburban areas. Furthermore, suburban magpies are more successful in their foraging attempts, again possibly reflecting a more abundant food supply in suburbia and also the simplified nature of suburban foraging areas might facilitate more successful foraging. The increased foraging success is likely to explain the greater provisioning rate to nestling suburban magpies. Suburban magpies also utilised human provided foods. I quantified the extent of wildlife feeding within many of the suburban study sites of this thesis (through the use of questionnaire surveys). In each of the locations it was evident that at least one person (usually more) was providing a regular supply of food to wildlife and magpies appeared to be the main recipients of this food. Previous ecological studies suggest the provision of extra food to avian populations is likely to affect the breeding ecology, and this was so for magpies. The suburban populations initiated breeding significantly earlier than rural magpies. To test the influence of food, supplementary food was provided to rural magpies, not currently receiving any additional human provided foods. The fed rural magpies initiated breeding before control rural magpies (i.e. not receiving any additional food) but suburban magpies still initiated breeding before all other groups. This suggests additional factors present within suburbia, such as warmer temperatures, may also control the timing of breeding in magpies. Magpies in rural and suburban locations lived within different vertebrate communities. Within suburban magpie territories a greater number of intrusions were made by domestic animals, notably dogs (Canis lupus) and cats (Felis domesticus). The frequency of raptors entering the territorial areas occupied by magpies appears to suggest such events are more common in rural areas. The number of humans entering magpie territories was obviously greater in the more populated suburban areas and the majority of magpies responded neutrally to humans. However a group of magpies that previously exhibited extreme aggression towards humans were found to have a greater frequency of aggressive interactions with potential predatory intruders, which were primarily humans. Subsequent examination of the level of corticosterone from this aggressive group of magpies found that a high level of aggressive interactions with potential predators and humans is reflected in higher level of corticosterone, which may have implications for further behavioural and even physiological changes. An ability to habituate to human in urbanised areas is a key attribute of successful synanthropic species. Comparisons of magpies disturbance distances at different points along the urban gradient (the gradient that runs from the urbaised city to natural wildlands) found suburban magpies only responded to humans when they had approached to a close distance (often less than one metre) and many simply walked away to avoid the approaching human. Rural and exurban magpies responded to humans at greater distances than suburban magpies. The distance at which they responded to the human was usually 100 meters plus, and these magpies always flew away. A continuation of this investigation over a temporal scale again found the large difference in response to humans, with suburban magpies exhibiting a decreased response towards humans. However, a certain proportion of responses from suburban magpies were also aggressive. The examination of disturbance distance over the breeding season found that in suburban magpies the responses of most disturbance distance variables remained similar between breeding stages. Rural magpies, however, exhibited variation in their responses towards humans depending on the stage of breeding. It is suggested that the response of rural magpies may be a typical fear response towards an unusual potential threat. The studies presented in this thesis show that magpies have the behavioural capacity to take advantage of resources in suburban landscapes that are not available or are in lessor supply in rural landscapes, it is these abilities that facilitate the magpies synanthropy.

This thesis is an investigation of the gendered, classed and racialized identities associated with living a traditional family life in a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia in the 1 990s. It has two entry points. The first is a focus on gendered identities that are the result of “old” ideals in a “new” cultural and geographical context: what identities result when traditional ideals of motherhood, fatherhood and homeownership are played out in a context where the ideals are being questioned, the ability to live these ideals limited and the surrounding landscape does not seem to reflect these notions? I use the heuristics of “new traditionalism” and “declining fortunes” to understand this interpretation and reinscription of the “old” within the “new”. The second entry point is a concern with place: how, in the 1990s, are white, middle-class familial identities gendered and experienced in and through place, and specifically suburban environments? Building upon Doreen Massey’s rethinking of the notion of place, I define place as a constellation of social and cultural relations in a particular site and examine some of the ways that places and identities are articulated. The thesis is based on archival work and in-depth interviews with residents in two neighbourhoods in the Municipality of Surrey, an outer suburb of Vancouver, British Columiba. Through an analysis of the planning of Surrey I show how the construction of Surrey as suburban set the limits of possibility and impossibility for identity there, deeming some identities “natural” and others peripheral. An examination of residential location decisions demonstrates that spatially demarcated neighbourhoods were desired and reconstructed and that the meanings of places within Surrey (what I term symbolic geographies) and distancing from a familial and racial other were important in the process. By exploring the multiple linkages between gender, class and home I show how images of place, and especially the house and the neighbourhood, are part of situating the self. Through a focus on the tensions between new traditionalist ideals and practices, I suggest that cultural meanings circulating within specific places influence the experience of gendered subject positions and both exacerbate and smooth over tensions within new traditionalism. In an investigation of the links between religion, gender difference, new traditionalist convictions, and place, I highlight how religious networks involve a different relation to place compared to other residents. I conclude that traditional models of family and gender (new traditionalism) remain pervasive signposts, and underlain by a relation to feminism, but are modified in response to the pressures of homeownership and different economic positionings (understood in terms of the discourse of declining fortunes). This modification is also class and place specific; the ability to live an idealized new traditionalist life is dependent upon the “possibility” of a male breadwinner wage and the meanings circulating within the residential neighbourhood.

This thesis is an investigation of the gendered, classed and racialized identities associated with living a traditional family life in a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia in the 1 990s. It has two entry points. The first is a focus on gendered identities that are the result of “old” ideals in a “new” cultural and geographical context: what identities result when traditional ideals of motherhood, fatherhood and homeownership are played out in a context where the ideals are being questioned, the ability to live these ideals limited and the surrounding landscape does not seem to reflect these notions? I use the heuristics of “new traditionalism” and “declining fortunes” to understand this interpretation and reinscription of the “old” within the “new”. The second entry point is a concern with place: how, in the 1990s, are white, middle-class familial identities gendered and experienced in and through place, and specifically suburban environments? Building upon Doreen Massey’s rethinking of the notion of place, I define place as a constellation of social and cultural relations in a particular site and examine some of the ways that places and identities are articulated. The thesis is based on archival work and in-depth interviews with residents in two neighbourhoods in the Municipality of Surrey, an outer suburb of Vancouver, British Columiba. Through an analysis of the planning of Surrey I show how the construction of Surrey as suburban set the limits of possibility and impossibility for identity there, deeming some identities “natural” and others peripheral. An examination of residential location decisions demonstrates that spatially demarcated neighbourhoods were desired and reconstructed and that the meanings of places within Surrey (what I term symbolic geographies) and distancing from a familial and racial other were important in the process. By exploring the multiple linkages between gender, class and home I show how images of place, and especially the house and the neighbourhood, are part of situating the self. Through a focus on the tensions between new traditionalist ideals and practices, I suggest that cultural meanings circulating within specific places influence the experience of gendered subject positions and both exacerbate and smooth over tensions within new traditionalism. In an investigation of the links between religion, gender difference, new traditionalist convictions, and place, I highlight how religious networks involve a different relation to place compared to other residents. I conclude that traditional models of family and gender (new traditionalism) remain pervasive signposts, and underlain by a relation to feminism, but are modified in response to the pressures of homeownership and different economic positionings (understood in terms of the discourse of declining fortunes). This modification is also class and place specific; the ability to live an idealized new traditionalist life is dependent upon the “possibility” of a male breadwinner wage and the meanings circulating within the residential neighbourhood. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

There is an on-going generational shift related to car culture, occurring in the developed world. After decades of increased driving, a decline can now be seen in twenty of the developed countries. Moreover, one out of five regional shopping malls in America is either dead or likely to fail within the next five years. This has given rise to a new urban planning strategy called “suburban retrofitting”. The strategy mainly concerns redevelopment of suburban areas; involving densification of the area’s built environment, a diversification of functions and improved public transportation to the area. The most common mode of public transportation used within suburban retrofitting is light rail. Most suburban retrofitting projects to date have been carried out on sites of dead shopping malls, and the literature focused on suburban retrofitting is, so far, mainly focused on American conditions. Thus the purpose of the thesis is to relate the theories about suburban retrofitting to the Swedish urban planning context, to see if these theories are useful and relevant for Swedish urban planners and policymakers. This question is highly dependent on whether these strategies can be considered to contribute to sustainable development. A case study is carried out about the redevelopment of a commercial area called Kungens Kurva, in Huddinge, south of Stockholm. The area will be denser, take on a city like character and be supplied with public transport. However, some important aspects of this project differ from the theories about suburban retrofitting: no housing is planned, substantial space for parking remains and shopping will still be the dominant activity in the area. The preconditions for suburban retrofitting differs greatly between Sweden and the U.S. Thus, the subjects for suburban retrofitting in Sweden might currently rather be the “million program” suburbs than commercial areas at the urban fringe. One of the reasons for this is that, in Sweden, commercial areas at the urban fringe are often still doing economically well. Which means that the preconditions for fundamentally changing the character of these areas – by introducing housing and diversifying the functions in the area – simply is not good enough. Other factors that make a radical transformation of commercial areas difficult are the strong regulations concerning noise and pollution. It is particularly the regulations concerning housing that make suburban retrofitting projects adjacent to highways problematic in Sweden. As for introducing a light rail system to the area, it is only a rational choice for the Swedish cities that already has such a system. The subway system has proven to be far more effective in diverting car trips to locations at the urban fringe. Therefore it might be a better choice for suburban retrofitting projects in Stockholm. / Det pågår för närvarande ett generationsskifte vad gäller bilkulturen, både i Sverige och i hela den industrialiserade världen. Efter decennier av ökande bilkörning kan man nu se en nedgång i tjugo av de utvecklade länderna. Dessutom har ett av fem externhandelsområden i USA redan lagts ned, eller är sannolikt att bli nedlagt inom de närmaste fem åren. Detta har gett upphov till en ny strategi inom stadsplanering som kallas för ”Suburban retrofitting”, eller ”förtortsomvandling”. Strategin syftar till att omvandla förortsmiljöer och innebär förtätning av den byggda miljön, en diversifiering av områdets funktioner och förbättrad kollektivtrafik till området. I förortsomvandlingsprojekt är den vanligaste typen av kollektivtrafik spårvägssystem. De flesta genomförda förortsomvandlingsprojekt har avsett nedlagda köpcentrum och den litteratur som berör ämnet är i huvudsak fokuserad på Amerikanska förhållanden. Syftet med examensarbetet är att relatera teorier om förortsomvandling till svensk stadsplanering för att se om dessa teorier är användbara och relevanta för svenska stadsplanerare och beslutsfattare. Vilket är en fråga som i sin tur är starkt beroende av huruvida dessa strategier kan anses bidra till en hållbar utveckling. I detta examensarbete genomförs en fallstudie som berör omvandlingen av externhandelsområdet Kungens Kurva, beläget söder om Stockholm. Området planeras att bli tätare, få en kvartersstruktur och förses med kollektivtrafik. Dock skiljer sig projektet från de teorier som finns i litteraturen om förortsomvandling i flera viktiga avseenden. Inga bostäder är planerade, bilen står fortfarande i centrum och shopping kommer fortfarande att vara den dominerande aktiviteten i området. Några av de viktigaste slutsatserna i examensarbetet är att förutsättningarna för förortsomvandling skiljer sig kraftigt mellan Sverige och USA. Framförallt är de ekonomiska förhållandena för externhandelsområden i Sverige fortfarande relativt bra. Dessutom har Sverige starka regleringar vad gäller partikelhalter och buller, vilket kan göra omvandlingsprojekt nära motorvägar svåra att genomföra. Särskilt om de avser bostäder, vilka är en nödvändig del av ett förortsomvandlingsprojekt om det ska anses bidra till en hållbar stadsutveckling. Vad gäller frågan om att införa spårvägsförbindelser till förortsmiljöer under omvandling är detta endast ett rationellt val om man redan har ett spårvägssystem, eller saknar spårbunden kollektivtrafik överhuvudtaget. I det fall man har ett tunnelbanesystem, som i Stockholm, är det sannolikt mer miljömässigt hållbart att utnyttja detta än att bygga spårväg. Det beror på att tunnelbanesystem är betydligt mer konkurrenskraftigt gentemot bilen avseende resor till perifera mål, eftersom tunnelbanetrafiken är separerad från andra trafikslag och därmed får en högre medelhastighet.

This essay explores how different forms of othering are applied in the novel Shadow  and Bone compared to the tv-series adaptation. The essay will focus on how differ ent forms of othering are used to characterize the main character Alina Starkov as well as the community called Grisha. In order to compare the changes this essay uti lizes adaptation theory and Gérard Genette’s hypertextuality. To further understand  the different forms of othering the essay relies on studies of racism and its connec tion to the fantasy genre. The essay concludes that different forms of othering are used in the novels compared to the tv-series. The novels use othering to characterize  Alina based on her Grisha identity. As the tv-series has given Alina a whole new  identity as multiracial, it is rather her ethnicity that is the foundation for her other ing. While the tv-series displays a more diverse cast than the novels, it also fails to  provide a rich presentation of Grisha culture and history.

This thesis investigates the potential of express bus to serve travel demand in a polycentric region, using the Atlanta metropolitan area as a case study. Express bus, which serves as the primary mode of line-haul transit commuting for most suburbs in the Atlanta region, is primarily focused on serving traditional suburb-to-city commutes. However, more than half of the commutes in the Atlanta metro are to suburban locations. This thesis investigates the potential of an author-devised plan to enhance the transit commute to suburban employment centers, using express bus as the primary technology. Working mostly with existing routes, the plan incorporates ideas found in the literature, such as intermediate stops, transfer hubs, and local bus serving first and last mile connections. The thesis also tested existing plans, off of which the author's plan was devised. Tests were performed using the trip-based model of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). Dramatic gains were seen as a result of the author-devised plan, such that 8,000 daily transit trips are added, and express bus ridership increases by 50%. Performance improved especially for routes in which intermediate stops were added. The results have implications for how transit can better serve travel demand in a polycentric region.

"Over 1.5 million single family homes went up in the United States in 2003 alone, and the vast majority of them, sadly, following not a single green design principle." Not only was green design, which is the search for better choices from an environmental perspective, not considered in these homes, neither were the millions of already existing homes within our cities. Modern construction and increasing sprawl are completely out of sync with the ecosystem of the planet and not only is the environment suffering, so is the condition of our cities. The location and inefficiency of these cookie cutter homes greatly contribute to the increasing dependency on automobiles, the clogging of landfills, the destruction of natural wilderness areas and the decrease in human social interaction. Creating a better alternative to the quickly multiplying new homes of suburban America is crucial to improving the future of the environment and the fabric of our cities. By revitalizing the dilapidated, often historic, neighborhoods of our inner cities with green design and building techniques we can improve the fabric of our cities and the daily life of their inhabitants.Located not far from downtown Richmond and littered with bus stops, public schools, parks and markets, the location of the Byrd Park neighborhood works to the advantage of its inhabitants as well as to the advantage of the environment. These convenient factors make Byrd Park appealing, but with further design and development of the existing residential structures the neighborhood will be more attractive and accommodating for a broader range of people. With the help of design, it can be a culturally rich, diverse, safe, comfortable and convenient neighborhood with accommodations for various lifestyles and income levels. Attracting a broader range of people will intern create an area rich in culture, social stimulation and diversity.