This historical case study applies the theoretical and methodological framework of Kim Dovey, Ambe Njoh, and Liora Bigon to examine the ways in which a colonial administrative building, the Dublin Custom House, served as a mediator of colonial power over Ireland, and how this process was understood by the creators of the building. This investigation is a response to the inconsistent way that intentionality is discussed in existing academic literature on the relationships between built environments and societal power structures. The study found that that the creators of the Custom House had a clear and nuanced understanding of the ways the building could be used to extend cultural and political power over Ireland, within the existing political framework in the country. In contrast to the theoretical framework used, the study found that in this case, the mediation of economic and political power was understood as functioning within the existing political-economic structures of the country, rather than creating new structures. The clarity of the findings suggest that further investigations into intentionality is likely to yield informative results, and that it would be beneficial to apply the methodological and theoretical framework used in this study to other cases in the future.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Research on the association between health and the built environment often delineates environmental exposure using different spatial forms and distances surrounding points of interest, such as residences or schools. Examples from the literature include Euclidian and network buffers, administrative and census boundaries, and other arbitrary geographies, such as grid cells. There is a lack, however, of reports that describe the justifications or implications for using different methods. This research compares different forms and distances for measuring environmental variables surrounding residential locations in the context of adult walking behavior in Marion County, Indiana. Walkability index and vegetation greenness variables were evaluated within 400-meter, 1-kilometer, and 2-kilometer Euclidian and network buffers, census block groups and tracts, and 805- X 805-meter grid cells. Results of analyses using each of these methods to test walkability and greenness as correlates of self-reported walking behavior were compared. Significant differences were observed in measurements of environmental variables as a function of both size and form. There were also significant differences between spatial measure methods when measuring components of walkability and NDVI. Census geographies, widely used in the public health literature, yielded environmental variable measurements differently than did similarly-sized residence-based measure methods. In logistic regressions, the walkability index did not exhibit a significant relationship with self-reported walking behavior. NDVI exhibited a negative relationship with self-reported walking, although the relationship was reversed and significant when stratifying by residential density.

Encouraging running for exercise can be an important part of a comprehensive strategy for making communities more attractive for healthy physical activity. In order to make communities more runnerriendly, research must identify the features of the physical environment that are important for runners. This study identified these features through five focus groups of twenty-two runners. The focus group participants discussed the places they had run within the study community and described their positive and negative qualities. These discussions were then analyzed by examining direct quotations of the discussion transcripts and by noting the amount of participants concerned about particular issues. The findings showed that the participants chose their routes based on their ability to meet their exercise needs, safety, ease of access, and potential to be a fun experience. These insights into these runners’ preferences can be used to help make communities more conducive to physical activity.

This study explores various notions of authenticity in tourism experience and seeks to establish if these notions are compatible with the concept of authenticity in conservation of the built environment. Three wine farms in the Cape Winelands cultural landscape, a proposed serial World Heritage Site, have been studied. The study suggests that object-related or material authenticity is being replaced with alternative notions of authenticity in tourism and that the toured object, for the purpose of winelands tourism in the Western Cape during this period, no longer needs to be authentic.

St. Augustine in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries was a prosperous, multi-ethnic community that boasted trade connections throughout the Atlantic world. Shipping records demonstrate that St. Augustine had access to a wide variety of goods, giving residents choices in what they purchased, and allowing them to utilize their material possessions to display and reinforce their status. Likewise, their choice of residential design and location allowed them to make statements in regards to their place in the social order. St. Augustine was a unique city in the Spanish Empire; the realities of frontier living meant that inter-ethnic connection were common and often necessary for survival and social advancement. Inhabitants enjoyed a high degree of social mobility based on wealth rather than ethnicity or place of origin. Through entrepreneurship and hard work, many St. Augustinians took advantage of the city*s newfound prosperity and fluid social structure to better their economic and societal position. In sum, St. Augustine in the Second Spanish Period (1783-1821) was not a city in decay as the traditional historiography holds; rather, it was a vibrant community characterized by a frontier cosmopolitanism where genteel aspirations and local realities mixed to define the social order.

Our day-to-day lives consist of formal and informal settlements in the built environment. As humans, we gravitate towards successful informal settlements (public spaces) to conduct activities such as socializing and recharging. Previous research has highlighted the importance of distinct factors in determining the success of public spaces. Still, research has failed to develop the foundation that makes all public places prosper. Through examining successful and unsuccessful public places through case studies, this research analyses the success and importance of our emotional and physical safety in public spaces through the presence or absence of sound, light, nature, boundaries, and order.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.