This study uses a praxis cycle approach to evaluate the work of the Anglican Diocese of Bujumbura in the community of Bwiza, a marginalised urban community in Bujumbura. In Chapter 2 it analyses the context of urbanisation in Burundi, with special reference to Bujumbura as capital. It then examines the work of the Diocese of Bujumbura in that urban setting in Chapter 3, against the background of Burundi’s religious composition and the history of the Anglican Church in Burundi as a whole. Chapter 4, gives a review of publications devoted to urban mission and theology. Special attention is given to liberation theology and the particular way it addresses poverty. Chapter 5 reports the findings of interviews and focus groups conducted with members of various churches in the community of Bwiza. In Chapter 6 these findings are interpreted missiologically, and the final chapter (7) suggests some issues for further research. The study explores the causes of poverty in Bwiza and suggests practical contributions that can bring about positive change. The main concern of the study is to bring awareness to the churches about the urgent need for urban ministry. It also explores possible solutions to urban poverty. The other concern of this study is to provide a basis for an urban mission strategy for the Anglican Church, which could assist other churches and all faith based organisations serving in urban settings. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology, with specialisation in Urban Ministry)

The theme of this dissertation is “Management of the regeneration of post-industrial areas”. The aim of the work is to identify support mechanisms for the redevelopment of post-industrial areas in the Czech Republic. Such support mechanisms were researched and analysed in those EU countries that have broad and varied experience with the regeneration of post-industrial areas. The most favourable case studies were selected from Germany, with a particular focus given to the districts around the city of Leipzig, and the United Kingdom, highlighting the city of Manchester. For these chosen examples, I have analysed the legislative, institutional, and financial tools of urban regeneration support. One chapter is dedicated to the analysis of the environmental assessment tools for buildings and urban communities as alternative approach to the support of municipal regeneration. Findings from all chapters are contrasted with the analysis of four typical examples of derivation of post-industrial areas in Czech cities, which were chosen as being typical of unsuccessful redevelopments. Based on these examples I have compiled recommendations gained from successful mechanisms for urban regeneration abroad which could be considered and put into practice here in the Czech Republic.

Le but de cette recherche est d’évaluer l’importance du paysage culturel dans la résilience des communautés urbaines post-catastrophes. Ce travail se concentre sur le quartier du Lower Ninth Ward dans la ville de La Nouvelle-Orléans (États-Unis) après le passage de l’ouragan Katrina en 2005. Les catastrophes naturelles prennent une envergure et causent des dommages considérables lorsqu’elles touchent des villes. La reconstruction post -désastre est donc très dispendieuse pour les villes et les gouvernements, d’autant que certaines régions sont dévastées au point qu’elles doivent être reconstruites au complet. Cependant, le coût le plus lourd à assumer reste celui en vies humaines et si rebâtir les éléments concrets d’une ville est une tâche difficile à entreprendre, reconstruire une communauté est considérablement plus complexe. Dans le but de comprendre une telle démarche, cette recherche se concentre sur les éléments intangibles, comme l’attachement au lieu et les réseaux sociaux, dont une communauté a besoin pour se reconstituer de façon durable et résiliente. Le concept de résilience est très contesté dans la littérature et plusieurs chercheurs se sont essayés à le mesurer. Cette recherche adopte une perspective critique sur le concept et le revisite d’un point de vue holistique pour mettre en lumière sa complexité. Cette démarche permet de remettre en question l’importance de mesurer un concept finalement en perpétuelle redéfinition dans le temps et selon les échelles géographiques. De plus, en établissant une relation entre résilience et paysage culturel, il a été possible de mieux comprendre la complexité de la résilience. Touchant à plusieurs disciplines (architecture de paysage, urbanisme et sociologie), cette recherche utilise une méthodologie qui reflète son aspect multidisciplinaire : les méthodes mixtes. Ces dernières permettent la collecte de données quantitatives et qualitatives qui produisent une vue globale de la situation post-Katrina à travers le regroupement de recensions statistiques, d’observations de terrain et d’articles de journaux. Parallèlement, des entretiens ont été réalisés avec des résidents du quartier ainsi qu’avec des professionnels pour mieux comprendre les différents points de vue. Cette méthodologie a permis de produire des résultats au niveau du cas d’étude autant qu’au niveau théorique. La recherche valide l’importance de prendre en compte le paysage culturel dans les situations post-catastrophes, (en particulier) dans la mesure où il s’agit d’un élément souvent négligé par les urbanistes et les acteurs locaux. En effet, les éléments constitutifs du paysage culturel tels que l’attachement au lieu et les réseaux sociaux, participent d’un sentiment d'appartenance (« home ») et d’une volonté, pour les résidents, de reconstruire leurs habitations, leur communauté ainsi que leur quartier. Toutefois, il faut reconnaître que ces éléments ne suffisent pas à retrouver ce qu’ils ont perdu. Ainsi, l’étude du paysage culturel permet non seulement de mieux comprendre la complexité de la résilience, mais démontre également que cette dernière est une construction sociale. / The purpose of this research is to determine the importance of using the cultural landscape in evaluating the resilience of an urban community after the occurrence of a natural disaster. The focus is on the neighborhood of the Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 in the city of New Orleans. Natural disasters are gaining significance and magnitude when they hit cities, which are becoming more and more populated over the years. The damage these disasters cause is colossal. It is very costly for cities to undergo major disasters and sometimes, large sections of cities need to be entirely rebuilt. The costliest price is the human life, and as history marks it, too many lives have perished due to disasters. While rebuilding is a challenging task, yet feasible, rebuilding a community is not as tangible as rebuilding the infrastructure. This research focuses on the many intangible aspects, like place attachment and social networks, a community needs to rebuild itself in a sound and resilient way. The concept of resilience is very contested in the literature and many have attempted to measure it. This research takes a step back and scrutinizes the concept of resilience from a holistic perspective, which highlights its complexity. This leads to questioning the importance of measuring the concept, especially that it changes with time and with the different scales of geography. In addition, a relationship between the cultural landscape and resilience is established, which allows for a better understanding of this complexity. Taking a little from multiple disciplines (Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning, and Sociology), this research resorts to a methodology that reflects its multidisciplinary aspect. The methodology is the mixed methods research design, which allows the collection of quantitative and qualitative data. The focus is to gather census data, newspaper articles, and observations to give a general perspective on the post-Katrina situation. Interviews are collected from residents and from professionals so as to tackle the research from different angles. This allows reaching results at the case study level as well as the theoretical level. This research validates the importance of using the cultural landscape in post-disaster situations as planners and government officials overlook it. Some of the elements that constitute it like place attachment and social networks motivate people to return to their original neighbourhoods and rebuild their homes and community. These elements, however, cannot by themselves give people back what they lost in the disaster. By relating the cultural landscape to the concept of resilience, it implies that resilience is a social construction.