<p>This study explored the livelihood activities in female-headed households in Vrygrond, Cape Town. The objective of this study was to identify and analyse livelihood strategies adopted by female-headed households. The Capability Approach was used as a theoretical framework of the study. This approach drew on the idea that resources and abilities enable people to achieve a range of valued ways of being and doing.</p>

The sustainable development concept has entered the urban planning agenda of Turkey mainly after Habitat II Conference held in Istanbul in 1996. Turkey is trying to adopt the experiences of developed countries to improve the planning system including the sustainable development criteria. In this study, planning experience of Mugla is selected as a case study to criticize and evaluate on the changing planning process of cities in Turkey in terms of sustainable development criteria, which requires new approaches that are integrative and participative between local and global context. In the case of Mugla, the urban form has shaped according to the development areas declared in the plans as additional districts to the traditional city since 1930s / that is, the result was not sustainable in the long run because of some environmental, socio-economic and political values. In the thesis, the problems of the case related to planning experience through sustainable development objectives are stated and solutions are proposed for a sustainable city.

<p>This study explored the livelihood activities in female-headed households in Vrygrond, Cape Town. The objective of this study was to identify and analyse livelihood strategies adopted by female-headed households. The Capability Approach was used as a theoretical framework of the study. This approach drew on the idea that resources and abilities enable people to achieve a range of valued ways of being and doing.</p>

This diploma thesis deals with analysis of indicators of the social environment in small municipalities with up to 2 000 inhabitants based on various criteria for local use. The aim of the thesis is to propose an indicator set, which will best meet the requirements of such set in terms of applied criteria. The research question is: What indicators should be included in an indicator set for assessing the social environment of municipalities with up to 2 000 inhabitants to suit the differences and needs of these communities? The research problem addressed in the thesis concerns the possibility of measuring social sustainability at the local level, focusing on small municipalities with up to 2 000 inhabitants in the Czech Republic. The thesis also focuses on the possibility of projecting SDGs into this set. It is a qualitative research that involves the use of methods of document analysis, comparison, description, non-participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Based on the first four methods and theoretical knowledge, a preliminary design of the indicator set was created. Within the framework of semi-structured interviews, this design was discussed with representatives of selected small municipalities and other stakeholders. The edited set represents the final indicator set of the social...

The growing population of cities and the rise of e-commerce are increasing the transportation of both goods and people. This can generate problems such as traffic jams, increased pollution, and lower living standards for citizens. To reduce the negative impacts, a change in last mile mobility could be made, replacing traditional combustion vehicles with electric ones or, ideally, with bikes and cargo bikes.  This thesis examines the case of the Swedish cities of Gävle and Uppsala, trying to explain how the last mile affects the lives of their inhabitants, if and why electric vehicles and cargo bikes are implemented (or not), and how authorities can promote their use. For this purpose, after a literature review, some questions were developed, and seven city managers were interviewed: five from Gävle and two from Uppsala.  The study shows that city managers are aware of the impacts that the last mile, and mobility in general, has on its inhabitants, and of the need for a shift towards a more sustainable mobility. Despite this awareness, policy makers are not doing everything possible to accelerate the transition. According to city managers, both the public and private sector advocate more for a change of energy source (from combustion to electric vehicles) rather than a model change using bikes. In addition, the study shows the opportunities that the new model based on non-traditional vehicles can offer and the barriers that prevent its implementation. Finally, different measures that could make cities more sustainable are proposed.

Air transportation is essential to our society. It enables global trading, brings people together, and lets travelers explore distant parts of the world. However, flying is a highly unsustainable behavior and accounts for roughly 2% of all carbon emissions; with industry and research forecasting constant growth in the coming years. The economic benefits rhetoric often prevails over the environmental costs, though; motivating governments to give incentives to airports and airlines. The Swedish Government, despite its green goals and pro-sustainability actions, is no exception, and both municipal and federal funds support the air route network. This thesis reports on the development of the Publikvitto, a system designed to help citizen make sense of the government's incentives to the flying industry. The process is based on research through design and inspired by reflective practices. The primary outcome are insights into the relationship between designer, social issues, and government's actions; and how these elements can be approached in order to design artifacts that motivate people to engage in political discussions. / Att transportera sig med hjälp av flygplan är idag en självklarhet. Genom att flyga kan vi upptäcka andra delar av världen, träffa nya människor och få till internationella uppgörelser. Att flyga är dock ett mycket ohållbart sätt att transportera sig och svarar för ca 2% av all världens koldioxidutsläpp, där forskning och utveckling av industrin endast visar att dessa siffror kommer växa. Eftersom flygindustrin är en viktig del av samhället är dock de miljömässiga konsekvenserna förbisedda, där staterna snarare upprätthåller industrin genom bidrag och skattelättnader. Trots sina hållbara mål är Sveriges stat inget undantag. Denna studie handlar om utvecklingen av Publikvittot, ett system som är designat för att hjälpa oss som medborgare att förstå regeringens stöd och skattelättnader gentemot flygindustrin. Processen av utvecklandet är baserad på “forskning genom design” och inspirerad av reflekterande förhållningssätt. Slutsatser av denna studie handlar framför allt om insikter om relationen mellan designer, sociala problem och statens handlingar och hur dessa element kan bli bemötta för att designa produkter som motiverar människor att delta i politiska diskussioner.

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South Africa is a water - scarce country and will be facing a serious water shortage by approximately 2020. The study, that aims to establish attitudes towards the use of water and to examine the role of education in ensuring responsible use of water, focuses on Moruleng village which was selected as representational of the 28 villages of Saulspoort region. The outcomes of the literature review which examined water consumption patterns in rural areas prompted the conducting of focus group interview with four categories of villagers from the Moruleng village. Personal observations supported by photographs and follow-up interviews with individuals featured in the photographs supplemented the interview data. The study evidenced that water consumption patterns in rural communities are indicative of attitudes. Villagers' attitudes towards water and its use are ambiguous. The study purposes to examine the possible options to inculcate positive attitudes towards water and its use through the recommendations contained in the study. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.(Environmental Education))

In this thesis I advocate and evidence ESD through understanding and analysing the ecology of change in educational organisations, in particular Tertiary Education (TE), during the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD, 2005-2014). I draw on my portfolio of research that examined various aspects of the efforts to mainstream ESD during this decade. My publications, which are referred to in this thesis, are based on experience of my own practice as lecturer, educational development manager and advocate of ESD at local, national and global level. My research approach is broadly based on action research principles. I argue that, to fully understand this complex change process, it is necessary to appreciate the role of the underpinning, and often conflicting, values in TE and how they influence the adoption of ESD. I further discuss the influence of both ‘top-down’ approaches, that are expressed in policies and frameworks, and ‘bottom-up’ approaches that are instigated by communities and individuals with special interests. The influence of the learning environment itself is also examined. Lastly, I make the case that the employment of appropriate action research methodologies can help with gaining a better understanding of this process as well as play a part in the process itself.

This thesis investigates the influence that cultural differences have in the designing of products and services that encourage sustainable lifestyles. This was researched through a case study of dishwashing practices in Mexico and the UK, and the development of a methodological framework for supporting designers working in cross-cultural contexts. Designers can shift user behaviour to be more responsible, and by doing this, reduce a product s impact on the use phase of its lifecycle. Nevertheless, designing products that successfully drive behaviour towards a more sustainable path can only be accomplished if they are conceived to fit the user and the specific context of interaction. In order to do so, designers must truly understand the users, and take into account the complex web of factors that lay behind individual behaviour. A comprehensive review of the literature established an understanding of human behaviour and the emergence and evolution of practices and routines. This brought to light the diverse behavioural patterns in different contexts; and was further investigated with a scoping study in two different locations (Mexico and the UK), exploring general water consuming practices in the home, specifically manual dishwashing practices. The preliminary findings shaped a study that aimed to deepen the understanding of these practices in the selected sites, involving the use of Cultural Probes and videoing people in their common kitchen environment. A robust and clear image of washing-up practices emerged with rich and detailed data presented in different media, ideal to be implemented in a design process. To this end, a series of multicultural Personas were created as the direct outcome of the Cultural Probes and the scoping study, giving way to the design studies phase of the project, carried out with industrial design students in Mexico and the UK. A design brief for sustainable washing up practices was delivered. Design experiments were used to provide interesting evidence of the influence in the design process of the designers understanding of the target user. The findings indicate that designers benefit from exploration and creativity tools tailored directly from the user-research findings in the early design process. This increases the level of empathy towards the user, particularly making it easier to design for users with different needs and contexts than the designers themselves. It also helps designers to better apply design for sustainable behaviour framework to their concept designs.