This thesis addresses innovation in affordable housing. Many people face homelessness or suffer from the burden of renting a house that they cannot afford. In Boston, Massachusetts only 35% of the population are homeowners, resulting in more people renting in the city if they manage to find housing there at all. The increasing cost of housing in the United States presents a significant obstacle for immigrant families, many of whom are already struggling to make a living due to language barriers and limited access to employment opportunities. As housing prices continue to rise across the country, immigrant families face mounting challenges in securing safe and affordable housing, which can result in overcrowding, homelessness, and other adverse outcomes that exacerbate existing social and economic inequalities. To address the housing problem this research engages the solution of high-quality affordable housing for immigrant families in Chelsea, MA (a suburban neighborhood of Boston) by analyzing density and methods of prefabrication. Along with the solution of affordability, the intellectual node of the thesis also discusses the importance of suburbia and its advantage vi of providing a nurturing community. This thesis intends to develop certain functional parameters of design using a Prefabricated Panelized Approach. The prefabricated design for affordability approach provides a technique which can save time and money using off-site manufacturing of products and on-site assembly. This kind of development offers an opportunity to optimize the construction process and an efficient way to build affordable housing. Through this approach, the thesis intends to provide opportunities for home ownership, promote a sense of community among immigrant families, and offer language support to facilitate their growth.

<div>Millimeter-wave (mmWave) bands have become the most promising candidate for enlarging the usable radio spectrum in future wireless networks such as 5G. Since frequent and location-specific blockages are expected for mmWaves, the challenge is understanding the propagation characteristics of mmWave signals and accordingly predicting the channel state information. This research direction has garnered great attention worldwide from industry, academia, and government. However, the majority of current research on mmWave communications has focused on urban areas with high population densities, with very few measurement campaigns in suburban and rural environments. These environments are extremely important for future wireless applications in areas including residential welfare, digital agriculture, and transportation. To fill in this research gap, we developed broadband mmWave channel sounding systems and carried out intensive measurement campaigns at 28 GHz, covering clear line-of-sight as well as non-line-of-sight scenarios over buildings and foliage clutters, to fully characterize the mmWave propagation in suburban and rural environments.</div><div><br></div><div>Moreover, the accuracy provided by traditional statistical models is insufficient for next-generation wireless networks with higher-frequency carriers, because they are unable to predict abrupt channel changes caused by site-specific blockages. To overcome this issue, we explored the possibility of utilizing site-specific geographic features such as buildings and trees in improving mmWave propagation models. A new channel modeling methodology highlighting site-specific parameter evaluation based on easily obtainable data sources (e.g., LiDAR) was proposed for accurate, fast, and automated channel state predictions. Accordingly, an overall root mean square error (RMSE) improvement of 11.79 dB was achieved in a one-building blockage scenario and a regional RMSE improvement of over 20 dB was observed in a coniferous forest. This approach also enables channel simulations for large-scale system performance evaluation, demonstrating a powerful and promising approach for planning and tuning future wide-area wireless networks. The simulation results showed that network densification alone is not enough for closing the digital gap, especially with mmWaves because of the impractical number of required towers. They also backed up supplementary solutions including private data relays, e.g., via drones and portable towers.</div>

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The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare the achievement of rural students on the 8th grade mathematics Virginia Standards of Learning assessments to urban students in Virginia. The variables of school size and socioeconomic status, as expressed by percentage of free or reduced lunch populations was also considered. The population consisted of 294 middle schools in Virginia. Data were gathered from the 2003-2004 school year. Several t-tests for independent samples and analysis of variance were used to identify the relationship between variables. The study showed no significant differences in 8th grade mathematics SOL scores between rural and urban schools. When suburban schools were included in the study, higher math scores were seen in suburban schools. The study showed a significant difference in 8th grade mathematics SOL scores in schools with student populations larger than 750 students when compared to schools with student populations less than 750. Schools with a percentage of free or reduced price lunch students higher than the state average (33%) showed significantly lower 8th grade mathematics SOL scores than schools with a percentage of free or reduced price lunch students less than 33%, regardless of school location. The results of this study indicate that Virginia educators should consider the need for policies and procedures which reflect the unique characteristics and challenges that face rural schools. School improvement practices in Virginia's public school systems will continue to focus on higher standards and greater accountability. As schools move toward meeting the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, rural schools will continue to face challenges of funding, geographic isolation, and a lack of qualified teachers. The results of this study also indicate similarities in rural and urban schools in Virginia, in terms of student achievement and socioeconomic status. School leaders need to focus on meeting the needs of students, whether those students are in rural, urban, or suburban schools.

Every student has the right to a safe learning environment, yet so many students have been targets of or witnesses of bullying incidents. In spite of school administration efforts to create effective reporting systems and to implement anti-bullying programs, many students remain silent victims. The present study analyzes data collected from a School Safety Survey through SchoolTipline. This data was used to determine the bullying trends, reporting trends, and reporting preferences of 562 7th and 8th grade students at an urban, suburban, and rural school. The results of this study indicate that bullying continues to be a prevalent issue that students face, but a great majority still fail to report these bullying incidents to school personnel. The results also indicate that there are significant differences in regard to bullying among the urban, suburban, and rural schools, which warrant further research.

Ornamental traits are considered honest advertisements of fitness, and their evolution is usually explained in terms of sexual selection. This explanation remains unsatisfactory in some instances, for example, juvenile birds whose plumage is molted prior to adulthood and breeding. I first evaluate whether juvenile plumage reflectance signals dominance status in the Federally Threatened Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) using a combination of observational and experimental methods. Then I estimate the heritability, non-genetic maternal and environmental effects, and strength of selection on juvenile plumage reflectance using archived feather samples and a pedigree constructed from historical nest records. Finally, I compare plumage reflectance and its use as a signal between a wildland and suburban population of scrubjays. I conclude that plumage reflectance is a signal of dominance, and that social selection can also drive the evolution of sexually dimorphic traits. In this species, plumage reflectance is heritable and influenced by maternal effects, but environmental effects are inconsequential. Although this trait appears to have an important function, only mean brightness and female hue are associated with lifetime reproductive success. Plumage reflectance was more UV-shifted in the suburban birds, but there is no reason to believe that urbanization decreases the value of this plumage as a signal. However, these plumage differences may facilitate dispersal from suburban areas, contributing to the decline of suburban populations.

In an age of increasing urbanization, rural communities and agricultural lifestyles are quickly disappearing. Many local, pastoral histories have been buried under the new narratives of modern suburban development. Do such places, located along the rural-urban fringe, contain accounts worth memorializing? This thesis is a case study of the Ancaster Meadowlands—a growing neighbourhood within the City of Hamilton, Ontario. It explores the process of suburban growth and uncovers the local history of a landscape. As a narrative, the study traces land-use change over time, displaying the area’s evolution from a site of Neolithic settlement, to an important Loyalist village, and finally to a large suburban neighbourhood with commercial and residential components. Three principal methods are employed: resident interviewing, key informant interviewing, and archival research. Themes elicited in this study include land-use conflict, NIMBYism, real-estate volatility, and the interconnectedness of politicians and developers. Given that there are few case studies of contemporary suburban development, this study provides a rare illustration of the multi-faceted process of expansion around a Canadian city while also supplying a historical account of local importance. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

This paper focuses on exterior lighting strategies for suburban green areas in Stockholm, using the Nytorps gärde case study as an example. The research methodology employed includes a literature review, a survey, quantitative measurements, and expert interviews. The study highlights the importance of sustainable urban spaces, the inherent conflict in meeting the needs of both people and the ecosystem and proposes strategic measures for green spaces, including a proposed solution for a footpath involving low energy consumption and reduced feelings of threat, whilst at the same having a minimal light pollution footprint. The importance of involving and considering the nocturnal environment in urban planning is emphasised, with a proposal for light/night planning at a strategic level. Local and general strategies are proposed as are implementing good light pollution discipline and lighting controls. The thesis aims to provide lighting design guidance for the proposed development while advocating for the preservation of darkness, the importance of listening to women and girls in shaping the nocturnal environment, and a proposal for time-based light interventions that respect the dark environment.

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