This thesis is an exercise in ideas of two realms, theoretical and practical, and an effort to mix the two to create architecture. The theoretical thesis is exemplified in the pairings of photos seen on the bottom of each page, taken from Second View: The Rephotographic Survey Project. As the reader examines the pairs of photos changes over time can be seen in each. Typically the greatest changes are manifestations of man's existence. I have treated this as a point of departure for the technical thesis of Permanence and Temporality. Man's temporal existence creates permanent reminders in the permanent structure of the earth. This thesis explores the nature of permanence and temporality in materials and uses them to express the classic dichotomy of service and served. As a practical thesis the project focuses on providing better urban living through natural light, natural ventilation, and the provisions for community and interaction with nature. A modification of Le Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation was explored by narrowing the building to bring natural light further into the unit while widening the unit to get natural light and ventilation even to the service spaces. / Master of Architecture

While the Twentieth Century largely saw the flight of the middle and upper classes to suburban communities, the past twenty-five years have seen a renewed interest in urban living. As the more economically stable classes return to city centers, poorer communities are being displaced. Gentrification, often championed as urban renewal, is promoted by politicians as a social-mixing tactic, but often the infiltration of the wealthy into poor neighborhoods pushes the poor community to the fringes. An extreme case of gentrification can be seen in the juxtaposition of Tower Hamlets, one of the poorest boroughs in London and the City of London, whose square mile is bursting at the seams with financial institutions. With significantly lower property values, Tower Hamlets Council is wary of City expansion eroding away the largely low-income immigrant communities that reside there. Even with relatively lower property values, the prohibitively high cost of housing in the UK, especially in London means living in the city center is almost impossible for even the middle classes, a fact that further illustrates the threat posed by the City to the mostly residential Hamlets. Peabody, one of the most prominent social housing associations in London found that when polled, 30% of their residents listed location of foremost importance above both "security of tenure" and the "right amount of space." 1 Unfortunately, recent political events in the United Kingdom have made it more difficult for the poor to remain in city centers. The recent lowering of the benefits cap by Parliament means that approximately 17,000 low-income families will be forced to move out of inner London.2 In addition, Parliament is also in the midst of changing housing laws to make it more difficult for immigrants to qualify for social housing.3 Given that the residents of housing estates chiefly value location and current policy is making living in the city center difficult for all but the wealthy, how can the poor and middle-class residents of urban communities resist the push of increasing urban property value towards the suburbs? This thesis will explore how architecture and planning can help these communities adapt to the changing economically-driven urban fabric without banishing their poorer residents to the suburbs. / 0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

"Over 1.5 million single family homes went up in the United States in 2003 alone, and the vast majority of them, sadly, following not a single green design principle." Not only was green design, which is the search for better choices from an environmental perspective, not considered in these homes, neither were the millions of already existing homes within our cities. Modern construction and increasing sprawl are completely out of sync with the ecosystem of the planet and not only is the environment suffering, so is the condition of our cities. The location and inefficiency of these cookie cutter homes greatly contribute to the increasing dependency on automobiles, the clogging of landfills, the destruction of natural wilderness areas and the decrease in human social interaction. Creating a better alternative to the quickly multiplying new homes of suburban America is crucial to improving the future of the environment and the fabric of our cities. By revitalizing the dilapidated, often historic, neighborhoods of our inner cities with green design and building techniques we can improve the fabric of our cities and the daily life of their inhabitants.Located not far from downtown Richmond and littered with bus stops, public schools, parks and markets, the location of the Byrd Park neighborhood works to the advantage of its inhabitants as well as to the advantage of the environment. These convenient factors make Byrd Park appealing, but with further design and development of the existing residential structures the neighborhood will be more attractive and accommodating for a broader range of people. With the help of design, it can be a culturally rich, diverse, safe, comfortable and convenient neighborhood with accommodations for various lifestyles and income levels. Attracting a broader range of people will intern create an area rich in culture, social stimulation and diversity.

Architects throughout have been forced to practice design surrounded by a society that generally lacks of architectural awareness and interest. A growing trend to transition from a relatively isolated profession into a field that promotes stronger public involvement is critical for architecture to evolve. Within the past 10 years, the growth of architectural centers have begun to dissolve the barrier between the profession and the general public in that their primary function regardless of what form they represent, is to introduce and educate issues of architecture that are an inescapable part of our built environment. An investigation of architectural research institute precedents, would allow for opportunities to understand how they have engaged professional knowledge with a growing educated public opinion. Promoting the idea of similar functions locally to a skeptic public has to be based on the importance of change, where new technologies are consistently transforming the way we approach design problems. Introducing a variety of techniques to display information, which go beyond any two dimensional format into a three or four dimensional, more tactile, interactive medium, allowing the observer to become engaged in what they are learning is important for individuals to establish meaning. The facility itself would be a catalyst for learning in which design issues are presented and solutions are viewed by the viewer in a multi-sensory way. The ultimate goal would be able to establish a system of memory responses to allow the general public a better connection with architecture. Creating a center of information housed within a singular building would be a beneficial beginning but it is important to express that information beyond any static building into a contextual environment in which it can be further related with. Adding richness to public spaces that promote cases of good architectural design can be an example that would allow the absorption of concepts through participation. Eventually, the results would lead to more knowledgeable public input about how their built environment is viewed and encourage better design.

abstract: The population of older adults and the percentage of people living in urban areas are both increasing in the U.S. Finding ways to enhance city-dwelling, older adults' social integration, cognitive vitality, and connectedness to nature were conceptualized as critical pathways to maximizing their subjective well-being (SWB) and overall health. Past research has found that gardening is associated with increased social contact and reduced risk of dementia, and that higher levels of social support, cognitive functioning, mindfulness, and connectedness to nature are positively related to various aspects of SWB. The present study was a pilot study to examine the feasibility of conducting a randomized, controlled trial of community gardening and to provide an initial assessment of a new intervention--"Mindful Community Gardening," or mindfulness training in the context of gardening. In addition, this study examined whether community gardening, with or without mindfulness training, enhanced SWB among older adults and increased social support, attention and mindfulness, and connectedness to nature. Fifty community-dwelling adults between the ages of 55 and 79 were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Traditional Community Gardening (TCG), Mindful Community Gardening (MCG), or Wait-List Control. The TCG and MCG arms each consisted of two groups of 7 to 10 participants meeting weekly for nine weeks. TCG involved typical gardening activities undertaken collaboratively. MCG involved the same, but with the addition of guided development of non-judgmental, present-focused awareness. There was a statistically significant increase in different aspects of mindfulness for the TCG and the MCG arms. The interventions did not measurably impact social support, attention, or connectedness to nature in this small, high functioning, pilot sample. Qualitative analysis of interview data from 12 participants in the TCG and MCG groups revealed that both groups helped some participants to better cope with adversity. It was concluded that it is feasible to conduct randomized, controlled trials of community gardening with urban older adults, and considerations for implementing such interventions are delineated. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Psychology 2011

Urban Living Labs (ULL) have become a common way to address wicked design challenges within the future mobility, and smart city context. The move toward ULL is part of a paradigm shift away from focusing purely on the IT-artifact, innovation, and user-centeredness toward focusing on the urban context and the construction of a place as a social context rather than implementation of a product or service in isolation. This shift requires diverse sets of stakeholders with different backgrounds to come together to address wicked design challenges collaboratively tied to specific urban contexts. However, the change toward ULLs also brings unique qualities to collaborations. For example, it is often hard to generalize or transfer findings from one ULL to another. In addition, it requires new modes of thinking and acting concerning the value of bottomup approaches anchored in context. Therefore, a core challenge for impactful work in an ULL, is to find ways to retain stakeholders’ local engagements and ways of doing collaborative design beyond the ULL project to create ripple effects. This thesis tweaks this challenge into a question that aims at investigating what a locally contextualized ULL set-up means for the involved stakeholders from a participatory perspective by asking: How can we understand engagement in ULL co-design, and how can this engagement be retained beyond the Living Lab? The question was explored through a design ethnographic approach in a ULL, where citizens, city representatives, car manufacturers, and representatives from public transport worked together to explore future mobility services. The research question is addressed through a description of how stakeholder engagement played out in the ULL along with an analysis of the dynamics of co-design as a co-appropriation process within the ULL, which enabled stakeholders to engage in a social context across sectors and disciplines to co-learn ways of appropriating findings from the ULL as an explorative way of working. Co-appropriation is described as a process moving from acclimatization towards cogitation in co-design, with patching as an activity that supports the process. The thesis also elaborates on how findings from a ULL can be retained and scaled beyond the Living Lab through transformation games, as an example of a patching activity.

Aspects of the living environment can affect health and wellbeing of children and adolescents. Whereas most previous studies assessed the more distant residential urban environment, less is known on possible effects of the close environment. The present study investigated associations of the proportion of streets and green spaces in the immediate urban living environment (50, 100 and 400 m around the home) with media use, outdoor activity, overweight/obesity and emotional problems in two samples of younger (age 3–10, n = 395) and older children (age 10–19, n = 405). Independently of socioeconomic parameters, a higher proportion of streets was associated with overweight/obesity (in younger and older children), higher media use (in younger children), less outdoor activity and more emotional problems (in older children). Older children’s outdoor activity in winter increased with increasing proportions of green spaces. The observations suggest that the immediate urban living environment is a factor that can affect leisure behavior and health in children.

In Sweden, it is expected that more than 90% of the population will live in cities by 2040. Therefore, cities have an important role in sustainable development to ensure high quality of life in the face of climate change and social challenges. This thesis uses the framework of Urban Living Labs as a form of experimentation to analyse how evaluation and learning in municipalities take place. Districts identified as sites of experimentation in the six mid-sized municipalities Umeå, Gävle, Jönköping, Borås, Örebro, and Lund are studied using a multiple case study approach. Secondary data is discussed together with findings from interviews. The results show that the aims and challenges of experimentation are similar in all cases. Municipalities aim at increasing their attractivity with these extraordinary districts, but they also contribute to sustainable development through innovation in different sectors (e.g., energy, construction, social life). The importance of structured evaluation for learning is recognized, but only few have (as of now) developed a framework for this. Double-loop learning (or reflectivity) is hinted at in the interviews, but for most projects, it is too early to identify whether it will take place. Experiments are contributing to sustainable development on a larger scale mostly through interactions in networks. Personal Networks, as well as international networks (e.g., initiated by the EU), have a special role as these provide incentives for experimentation, quick informal exchange, as well as spread findings and knowledge to municipalities outside of Sweden.

This thesis will explore the possible obstacles among Region Stockholm municipalities in promoting adolescents’ mental health and well-being through experimental governance. The thesis will examine the municipal and non-municipal points of view on specifically promoting adolescents’ mental health and well-being through experimental governance in the Swedish context with the use of urban sustainability transitions and transition management frameworks. The urban sustainability transitions will help us understand the role of cities in creating new modes of urban governing processes. In addition, the use of a transition management framework will help us to understand the importance of shifting from traditional management approaches by rather placing greater focus on innovative and design-oriented methods. This approach highlights the importance of learning by doing process rather than a reaching specific destination. In addition, I will use a qualitative research design that uses the methods of semi- structured interviews. The empirical findings are analysed with the help of thematic analysis through the theoretical frameworks and concepts. It has been demonstrated an observable slow- paced adoption of experimental governance, insufficient specific promotion of adolescents’ mental health and well-being, and distant relationship between experimental governance and promotion specifically adolescents’ mental health and well-being in the urban planning process.

I dagsläget består Stockholm city mestadels av kontor och handel vilket innebär att det blir folktomt kvällstid. För att göra innerstaden mer levande behövs en stadsdel med blandade funktioner där människor rör sig samt både bor och arbetar. Den grundfunktion som i dagsläget saknas i denna del av Stockholm är bostäder. Ett problem med att förse City med fler bostäder är dock tillgång till markyta då området redan är så pass exploaterat. I arbetet undersöks det om City kan göras till en funktionsblandad och mer levande stadsdel genom att förse området med fler bostäder. Med anledning av den begränsade tillgången till markyta i stadsdelen undersöks alternativet att bygga bostäder på befintliga byggnader. Arbetet visar ett förslag för påbyggnad av bostäder på tak i City samt undersöker förutsättningarna för detta. Påbyggnaden görs på en befintlig byggnad och ska genom sin utformning spegla en god boendemiljö samt samspela med den omgivande bebyggelsen. Förslaget omfattar ett taklandskap med bostäder i form av parhus och utevistelseytor. Att föra in fler bostäder genom påbyggnation av befintlig bebyggelse i City är en lämplig och generellt tillämpbar lösning med anledning av stadsdelens och bebyggelsens förutsättningar. / Stockholm City is currently well composed in the aspect of commercial and public service. A consequence to this is a desolated City during the late night. A requirement to accomplish a more living inner city is a satisfying combination of functions whereas people are in motion between the home, work and other social activities. The main function missing today in City is habitats. A problem with supplying more accommodations in City is however the limited asset of ground area due to exploitation. In this thesis research is made whether it is possible to transform City into a mixed-function and thereby urban living area. With reference to the limited asset of ground area aswell as the opportunity to preserve the existing qualities that occupy these areas, a research is conducted for the purpose of more residential buildings with the method of expansion of existing buildings. The result of this thesis is a proposition for residential buildings on roof tops in City and the requirements for such project are being analyzed. The additional building is added to a specific building and by its shaping reflects a good residential environment and a design appropriate to the surrounding built-up area. The proposal consists of a rooftop landscape with eight pairs of houses. To insert accommodations throughout expansion of existing buildings generally is applicable in City and therefore an adequate solution to the problem considering the problems in the area.