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This thesis is a proposal on how architects and designers can begin to rethink our role in providing for the health, safety and welfare of the general population- with an emphasis on health- specifically in existing suburbias. Changes can be made to take existing unhealthy environments to transform them into healthy, inclusive places that different types of people can genuinely enjoy living in. The differences in what we know now vs. what was known back when most subrubs were originally planned are drastic. Our knowledge and understanding of the consequences of certain design decisions are understood, so why haven't American suburbs adapted to address the health issues we have created for ourselves? My thesis is an attempt to answer the question of how suburbs can be changed (/evolved) to encourage socially, environmentally, personally healthy environments. As a future architect who is planning to dedicate my career to protecting the health, safety and welfare of the general public, I feel inclined to address the issue of rampant unhealthy lifestyles in the suburbs. Design movements such as Congress for New Urbanism and Smart Growth have laid the ground work for proposals found in this thesis. The largest criticisms of those movements are that they an be seen as forceful attempts to control peoples' lifestyles. My intention is not to trick or force people to live a certain way through design. My intention is to present options for healthier lifestyles for current suburbanites to benefit from. I aim to be very sensitive to the cultural differences of those who live in certain areas and to respect and preserve the successes of existing suburbs. / Master of Architecture / This thesis is a proposal on how architects and designers can begin to rethink our role in the development and design of the built environment to protect the health, safety and welfare of the general public. According to a statement issued by the American Institute of Architects, “the consensus in the health profession is that the health and wellness of the population has been dramatically degraded by the built environment”¹. Changes can be made to take existing “unhealthy environments” and transform them into healthy, inclusive places that different types of people can genuinely enjoy living in. This thesis is an exploration of one of many ways that goal can be accomplished. The differences in what we know now vs. what was known back when most suburbs were originally planned are drastic. Our knowledge and understanding of the consequences of certain design decisions are better understood today, so why haven’t American suburbs evolved to address the health issues we have created for ourselves? This thesis is an attempt to answer the question of how suburbs can be intervened in to encourage socially and environmentally healthy lifestyles, as well as improve public health. Design movements such as Congress for New Urbanism and Smart Growth have laid the groundwork for proposals found in this thesis. The largest criticisms of those movements are that they can be seen as forceful attempts to control peoples’ lifestyles. The intentions of the proposals made in this thesis are not to “trick” or “force” people to live a certain way through design. The intention is to offer residents the option to make healthy lifestyle changes if they wish; by intervening in areas where previous design has virtually prevented the opportunity for healthy lifestyles. The proposals made in this thesis aim to be very sensitive to the cultural differences of those who live in certain areas and to respect and preserve the successes of existing suburbs.

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on December 28, 2009). Thesis advisor: Dr. Soren C. Larsen. Includes bibliographical references.

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Thesis (M.U.P.)--State University of New York at Buffalo, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-74). Also available online via the ProQuest Information and Learning Company website.

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The object of this research is the exploration of the effects of planning regulations on house form and privacy in low-density single-family dwellings (villas) in the context of Saudi Arabian cities. The research explores two main issues: firstly, the importance and the effects of privacy violation between neighbouring villas through overlooking on their residents' behaviour and use of house spaces; and secondly, to investigate the residents' preferred house form. To assess these two issues practically, seven suburbs from three different cities, representing large (Riyadh), medium (Tabuk) and small (Haqil) urban centres in Saudi Arabia were selected for carrying out a questionnaire survey. The selection of these suburbs was intended to represent, as far as possible, the different social groups in Saudi Arabian society. The population of the survey was the villa residents in these suburbs, who were asked questions regarding their use of house yards and windows, and tested on their awareness of planning regulations, and the effects of these regulations on house form and degree of privacy. The respondents were also asked about their preferred house form. The results indicated that privacy is considered an important issue by residents, and the effects of privacy violation, through neighbours overlooking each others' houses, were very clearly seen on the residents' reduced use of overlooked yards, compared to those not overlooked, as well as through the construction of extra fences to block overlooking from neighbouring houses. Although the residents showed a high degree of awareness about the effects of the villa house form on the high degree of overlooking, they showed a far greater preference for living in villas rather than attached courtyard house forms. The final conclusion of the research demonstrates the failure of the present planning regulations to promote an acceptable house form that allows for a reasonably sufficient degree of privacy protection. While some research and housing schemes have promoted house forms different from that of the villa, these have proved to be unacceptable and were rejected by residents. The recommendation of the current research is that efforts to find a solution to the problem should instead focus upon means to reduce the effects or degree of privacy violation between neighbouring houses, while maintaining the popular house form of the villa.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 1984. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.