Intent and aim The primary intent of this thesis is to explore about Compact Urbanism and to define an approach towards low density, mono functional precincts in the city that lie underutilized in their potential towards a positive contribution to the city and to come with new model of compact city that will answer the challenges and problems that are still unanswered. The reconfigured Compact city will built environment at the best possible way to support the best quality of life. Everyone wants to be free of the urban pollution he can directly sense: the smog, smoke, grime, litter, odors, city heat, din, poor water, and the slum conditions. But the environmental degradation associated with urban development can also be measured in terms of disrupted ecosystems and wasteful use of green space and natural resources. The approach illustrates how and why compact city is the way of redesigning an urban environment so as to get rid of these negative aspects and to preserve enhance the qualities of urban life that we have come to accept desirable. Eventually to reconfigure the compact city which will work better than what has been proposed so far. The new model of compact city will make neighborhoods more lively, safe and relevant for children; and so that the city itself becomes a more exciting center for personal interactions in today’s fast-moving world. Main Concerns Concerns rise from the observations that there are city structures that are inefficient and are underutilized areas in the cities which have lower intensity of use and untapped potential to absorb new functions, activities and housing stocks. As of by-product of mono functional use and low density these areas have issues like lack of identity, character and lack of a vibrant public domain. A Renewal process is important for such city precincts that are located near city centers or work centers and occupy large areas at low densities in relation to its location and potential. The notion of the Compact City is a reaction against the city structures in most developed cities-dense cores accommodating most of the cities workplaces, retail, entertainment, commerce, services and amenities and sprawling low-density, single use suburbs-a city structure which by default produces the need to travel and as a product car dependency, energy consumption and pollution. The basis for the debate is the general agreement that the city as we know and inhabit today causes unsustainable environmental stress, is socially stratified & functionally sub-optimal, and is expensive to run.  Challenges The city is a platform where humans meet, interact, collaborate, exchange their views, make new relationship, work and compete with each other. City forms a shell in which all lives survive and develop. It moulds their lives. It is a web where different kind of people varies in religion, ethnicity and race lives together. It interlocks them and makes a mass of variety of living and nonliving objects. All cities are fast growing. People are moving in and out of the cities. Each day somebody is transferred to some other place. Families are breaking up either of transfers of job or splitting of parents. New constructions are planning. Whether the new construction is required or not people are building it up without giving a thought how it will be beneficial to the environment. Because of all these impacts of improper planning, land value in the city is hiking up and eventually people are left with no option but to move outskirts of the city. New tracts of land are occupying. Green places are disappearing. The challenge has to do with conservation. The fast growing encroachment towards the countryside of the city is destroying valuable green fields. They are affecting the farm lands which are essential for human life in order to get food for unstoppable population. There is a need of getting control over the growth of the city. There should be more functional and organized planning which can curtail sprawl. We have to comprehend the significance of land as it is not infinitive, it is limited. The city should be redesigned or proper measures and consideration are to be made in order to conserve land, water, energy and waste. If irregular spreading of city is not stopped and compact cities are not implemented than we will lose valuable lands and will not be able to acquire benefits of natural environment as it will be destructed. Compactness has to be achieved to build environment to support best quality of life. / Literature survey -- Methodology -- Case studies -- Social implications of compact city -- Compact city guiding principles. / Department of Architecture

Over the past few decades, the issue of downtown revitalization has been a priority for planners and civic leaders. One strategy of attracting people, jobs and investment to the downtown is by constructing a catalytic facility that facilitates further growth, of which the sports stadium is ???by far??? the most prevalent example (Coates and Humphreys, 2011; p.5). However, the outcome of downtown stadium development has been inconsistent in cities across North America. The purpose of this thesis is to determine whether the built urban form impacts the outcome of downtown sports arenas and whether it contributes to civic image. An urban morphological analysis is conducted in order to evaluate the outcome of two multi-purpose sports arenas: Budweiser Gardens in London, ON and Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, ON. The analysis traces the evolution of both cities??? downtown urban form over time, identifying patterns to development by categorizing the townscape into three elements: the town plan unit (consisting of the street pattern, lot pattern and building pattern), the building fabric and land use. The urban morphological analysis was undertaken utilizing fire insurance maps, tax assessments and planning documents. In addition, a questionnaire was distributed to 200 residents of both case cities in order to gauge each facility's contribution to civic image. The results show that Budweiser Gardens has emerged as the more successful facility, namely due to two factors: (a) the arena is sited close to the central business district, in an area where the historical townscape has been preserved to a greater extent; and (b) because the unique design of the facility (which incorporates a replica of a historic building into the contemporary development) contributes to a higher degree of civic image than Copps Coliseum, which lacks both historic and current place references. The ultimate conclusion of this thesis is that urban morphological analyses should be incorporated into urban plans, so that the siting of future projects can be improved in order for cities to accrue the maximum benefits and return-on-investment.

This research study uses a synthesis of theoretical frameworks from sociology and geography to develop critical branding theory that guides an analysis for how urban space is branded with a narrative and identity. The project investigates how a long running Japanese Canadian culture and arts festival called the Powell Street Festival that takes place in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside acts a branding vehicle and reimages urban space with commemorative aspects. The study consisted of twelve qualitative interviews, document and archival research, and a participant observation. Findings suggest that the Powell Street Festival performed as a vehicle for reimaging space, and through subtle-commemorative branding, Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside has been rebranded, in part, with Japanese Canadian facets. The Japantown brand coupled with the high potential for urban revitalization of this space, leads to a concern over the possible social and physical displacement of current Downtown Eastside residents, many of whom are low-income persons.

In the aftermath of the succession of abortive planning schemes and the indiscriminate destruction of war (1975-1991), it is the self-inflicted pattern of destruction that has caused the most damage to the urban fabric of Beirut, Lebanon: the reconstruction process itself. Through the examination of pre- and postwar plans and strategies, this study establishes destruction as a framework in the urban history of Beirut. The eradication of cultural heritage and urban memory is evident in the demolition of half the city fabric and the privatization of reconstruction, and continues through the implementation of the proposed market-led rebuilding strategy. / This thesis frames the reconstruction of Beirut within comparative methodologies of urban rebuilding in the twentieth century, namely those of post-W.W.II Europe (as manifested in Warsaw and Rotterdam) and those of contemporary market-led urban regeneration (as exemplified by London Docklands). As a critique of the proposed rebuilding of Beirut, it contributes to the re-negotiation of the process and policy of urban reconstruction at the national and international levels.

Thesis (M. U. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Also available in print.

Thesis (M. Env. St.)--University of Adelaide, Mawson Graduate Centre for Environmental Studies, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-107).

Thesis (M.U.R.P. 1979) from the Department of Architecture, University of Adelaide.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Murdoch University, 2003. / Thesis submitted to the Division of Arts. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.(Town and Regional Planning) -- University of Pretoria, 2009. / Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 256-262). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.