Over the past fifty or so years there has been a well examined decline in socialconnections and many other facets of American communities (Fischer 1982; Putnam2000; Freeman 2001; McPherson, Smith-Lovin, & Brashears 2006; Dunham-Jones &Williamson 2009). New urbanism has been proposed as a tool to reverse some of thissocial decline in communities. This study seeks to understand the possible socialconnective benefits of new urbanism in a number of ways. First, a new urbanistcommunity is compared to a similar adjacent community that also happens to betraditional suburban community. The study examines differences between the twocommunities in terms of social connections, social interactions, and communitysatisfaction. Second, the study examines individual design elements of new urbanism to understand their relationships with social interactions and social connections. This study also examines community cohesion in terms of diverse social interactions and bridging ties. Previous studies suggest that bridging ties are more likely to be formed between persons who are connected with weaker social bonds (Granovetter, 1973) as well as persons who interact through spontaneous rather than planned forms of social interaction (Molm, Collett, & Schaefer 2007). Lastly, this study seeks to understand if any of the new urbanist design strategies examined are related to bridging ties. The findings of this study suggested that new urbanist communities do have more social interactions, social connections, and community satisfaction than do traditional suburban communities. The findings also suggested that four new urbanist design strategies: porches, community meetings, and mixed-use zoning are positively related to social interactions and social connections. Moreover, findings suggested that persons connected by weaker social bonds are indeed more likely to have bridging ties, however, they did not support the idea that persons who have more spontaneous interactions will also be more likely to have bridging ties. Lastly, the findings indicated that of all the new urbanist design strategies, only the neighborhood business center was positively related to bridging ties. Conversely, a negative relationship was found between resident's who use their porches and bridging ties.

Unincorporated areas within a regional planning context are often of an essential ‘in-between’ nature — facing unique community-specific and site-specific challenges. These challenges include: identifying appropriate growth management strategies, examining how growth containment is best effected, and determining how this is best integrated in the unincorporated rural area context — especially where these areas are adjacent to rapidly growing incorporated urban-region centres. There are also considerations around how concepts, such as Complete Communities and Agricultural Urbanism, can be applied to such contexts — and how such concepts may facilitate a tighter, and more seamless, relationship between the typically polar opposite interventions under the banners of regional planning and community design. This practicum examines how the concepts of Complete Communities and Agricultural Urbanism are and/or could be applied to unincorporated rural areas as part of an approach to a combination of planning and design — as placemaking. The Regional District of Nanaimo’s Rural Village Centre (RDN RVC) strategy provides the main case study context, along with several other ostensibly comparable BC regional district settings as potentially informative precedents. It was discovered that there are increasing linkages between regional planning and community design that may be further advanced via a placemaking perspective. Of special note are the opportunities associated with adaptations of the concepts of Complete Communities and Agricultural Urbanism in the unincorporated rural context; referencing these concepts can enhance the linkages between the ‘unincorporated rural settings’ and their ‘incorporated’ municipal neighbours. The research has helped to identify where there may be room for improvement around RDN RVC strategies, and how they may be better applied in the future.

It was the best of cities, it was the worst of cities, it was a place of giddying boom, it was a place of economic despair, it was a utopia, it was a dystopic no-topia, it was the world centre of fantasies, and the world centre of nightmares, a town where some struck it rich while others lost themselves in their desires for wealth, in short, the place was so far unlike the present place, that some of the noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. This thesis is constructed of fragmented stories but not in the classic sense as there is no over-arching narrative, no beginning, middle and end, no synthetic conclusion. Rather this thesis is similar to Los Angeles itself; it is a multi-faceted exploration of competing themes that have birthed a city of fictions, a centre of fantasy, a place that shapes our collective memories, even for those of us who grew up in far-off places. Los Angeles has searched for a down-town core, a collective identity, a dominant narrative and these attempts are explored through different themes – the story of film noir, the development of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the redevelopment of Bunker Hill, the violence and upheavals of the riots. I have explored how the city has tried to re-brand itself, Through these prisms, and how these attempts have shaped its development and history. It is said that Los Angeles has an architecture of absence, with its superficiality and lack of depth, and as a visual metaphor, this can represent the giddy changes happening in the field of architecture, where hyper-realism trumps facts. This idea of Los Angeles as a mirror should not surprise: it has long been a world centre for myth-making, an epicenter of fiction, cinema, architecture, et cetera, spewing out seductive, grotesquely exaggerated reflections of North America itself.

Unincorporated areas within a regional planning context are often of an essential ‘in-between’ nature — facing unique community-specific and site-specific challenges. These challenges include: identifying appropriate growth management strategies, examining how growth containment is best effected, and determining how this is best integrated in the unincorporated rural area context — especially where these areas are adjacent to rapidly growing incorporated urban-region centres. There are also considerations around how concepts, such as Complete Communities and Agricultural Urbanism, can be applied to such contexts — and how such concepts may facilitate a tighter, and more seamless, relationship between the typically polar opposite interventions under the banners of regional planning and community design. This practicum examines how the concepts of Complete Communities and Agricultural Urbanism are and/or could be applied to unincorporated rural areas as part of an approach to a combination of planning and design — as placemaking. The Regional District of Nanaimo’s Rural Village Centre (RDN RVC) strategy provides the main case study context, along with several other ostensibly comparable BC regional district settings as potentially informative precedents. It was discovered that there are increasing linkages between regional planning and community design that may be further advanced via a placemaking perspective. Of special note are the opportunities associated with adaptations of the concepts of Complete Communities and Agricultural Urbanism in the unincorporated rural context; referencing these concepts can enhance the linkages between the ‘unincorporated rural settings’ and their ‘incorporated’ municipal neighbours. The research has helped to identify where there may be room for improvement around RDN RVC strategies, and how they may be better applied in the future.

Baigiamojo magistro darbo tyrimo objektas yra vidutinio dydžio besitraukiančių miestų centrinių dalių funkcinė ir erdvinė struktūra. Nagrinėjamas Rokiškio miestas, kaip besitraukiantis miestas, susiduriantis su panašiems miestams būdingomis problemomis. Analogų studijoje, miesto raidos procesai lyginami su pasaulio miestuose vykstančiais procesais, remiantis pasauline praktika, ieškoma būdų problemoms spręsti. Siekiant suvaldyti miesto traukimąsi ir pagerinti miesto gyvenamosios aplinkos kokybę bei miesto įvaizdį, kuriama Rokiškio, kaip ekologiško miesto, vizija. Detalesnio tyrimo objektu pasirinkta Rokiškio miesto funkcinė ir erdvinė struktūra bei miesto pietinė dalis ir su ja susijusios urbanistinės bei aplinkos kokybės problemos. Į nagrinėjamą teritoriją įeina masinės statybos gyvenamieji rajonai ir pramonės teritorijos, t.y. itin problematiškos zonos. Darbas pateikiamas aiškinamajame rašte, grafinėje medžiagoje (planšetuose) ir miesto pietinės dalies koncepcijos makete. Darbas atliekamas remiantis moksline literatūra, pasauliniais analogais, juos lyginant, vertinant, darant išvadas ir jų praktiką pritaikant Rokiškio miestui. Aiškinamąjį raštą sudaro penki skyriai: Įvadas, analitinė – metodinė dalis, analitinė – tiriamoji dalis, eksperimentinė – projektinė dalis ir išvados; taip pat literatūros šaltinių, iliustracijų, lentelių sąrašas ir priedai. Darbo apimtis – 111 p. teksto be priedų, 69 iliustracijos, 12 lentelių, 53 bibliografiniai šaltiniai. Atskirai pridedami darbo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The goal of Master thesis is to investigate the functional and spatial structure of mid-size shrinking cities. The object of this study is Rokiškis town – a shrinking town, encountering regular problems of this kind of town. Comparative analysis between Rokiškis and similar foreign towns is made, seeking for tools and examples of problem solving. In order to suppress the process of town shrinking and to ameliorate the quality of living environment, together with the overall image of the town, the vision of Rokiškis as an ecological town is being established. Detailed study of Rokiškis functional and spatial structure, and also of southern part of the town is made. Problems concerning urban planning and the quality of living environment are investigated. The studied territory gathers mass housing blocks as well as industrial territories – and these are the zones of very complex problems. Master thesis is presented by a textual part, graphical drawings and conceptual paper model. Thesis is based on the references of scientific literature, analogues of foreign countries, while comparing and evaluating them, and making conclusions The textual part has 5 chapters: introduction, analytical-methodical part, analytical-research part, experimental-project part and conclusions; references list, illustrations‘ list, tables list and extras included. Master thesis has 111 pages, without extras, 69 illustrations, 12 tables, 53 bibliographical references, extras included.

This project looks at the mutually imbricated relationship between space, sex, and technology in cultural output from the last fifteen years. Through an examination of sexual cruising cultures in Samuel R. Delany’s essays Times Square Red, Times Square Blue and John Cameron Mitchell’s film Shortbus, I unpack the ways in which technology is represented as a facilitator and barrier to the formation of spaces that foster queer sexual interactions. This thesis is interested in the ability of different technologies and spaces to promote the formation of heterogeneous relationships that cross categories of social difference—including race, class, and sexuality—following the HIV/AIDS crisis. Alongside an investigation of the potential of technologies of affiliation to support these kinds of interpersonal contacts, I argue that representations of technologically mediated intimacy are often limited to a hesitant ambivalence due to a cultural unease about the new types of non-normative relation offered by technology.

EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF MAT-BUILDING FOR THE CREATION OF UNIVERSALLY DESIGNED ENVIRONMENTS Eren, Yasemin M. Arch., Department of Architecture Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emel Ak&ouml / zer Co-Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Halime Demirkan June 2004, 152 Pages The goal of this study is to reread the strategies of formal organization in architecture, which are called &ldquo / mat-building&rdquo / and &ldquo / mat-urbanism&rdquo / , exploring their potential to contribute to the creation of universally designed built environments in the 21st century. The idea of mat-building was first delineated by Alison Smithson in 1974, in her article &ldquo / How to Recognize and Read Mat-Building,&rdquo / by means of its traditional and modern examples. The concept of universal design was first used in 1970&rsquo / s and reinterpreted by the American architect Ronald Mace in 1985. Since then, it has become a widely accepted design approach that is also known as &lsquo / inclusive design&rsquo / and &lsquo / design for all&rsquo / . Mat-building can be considered as a viable design approach that can respond to the crucial need for equally accessible, adjustable and adaptable built environments for all people all over the world. The study aims not only to evaluate the exemplary mat like configurations in light of the universal design principles. It also tries to point to the new ways for developing creative ideas and design theories, and emphasizes the significance of implementing the universal design approach in contemporary architecture and urbanism.

As from the beginning of the 20th century, there has been a shift in the scale of architectural production as an outcome of advanced construction technologies, new range of building materials, automation of building services and progressive infrastructural networks. The increased physical capacity -the deeper and taller buildings- not only increased the scale of the architectural practice in relation with urban planning, but also presented architecture the possibility to offer a wider social programmation for the reorganization of the urban territory. The increase in the scale of architectural production, this study would argue, has given rise to a critical tension between the fields of architecture and urbanism. The aim of this study is to understand alternative positions towards the relationship between architecture and urbanism in the production of the city through a cross-reading of the architectural-urban theories of Le Corbusier and Rem Koolhaas. At a very preliminary investigation, the urban thinking of Le Corbusier represents the modernist ideal in architecture that is after the rational and linear architectural production of the city with all its social, cultural and economic components. The theory generated by Rem Koolhaas, on the other hand, represents the end of the modernist ideal on the city, since it refuses the possibility of imposing a rigid, definitive and stable program on the city through the mediation of architecture. What separates these two positions is the turning point in the social and cultural structure that was experienced in 1960&rsquo / s, but what makes possible a continuous reading is the both architect&rsquo / s attempt to radicalize the scale of the architectural production, with diverse approaches towards its programmation. The study is an attempt to make this comparative analysis in order to understand what has changed from one to another in terms of their understanding of form, scale, program and context in architectural production, as well as their position towards social programmation of the urban organization.

This study describes archaeological excavations carried out at Unguja Ukuu on the main island of Zanzibar, Tanzania. The site has long remained obscure, oral histories do not mention it and no particular group among the living community of the island describes its origin from the site. A stone well at Unguja Ukuu together with several other early monuments of the east African coast that survive on the site have been attributed to the Wadebuli, suspected by early scholars to be people of Arab descent from their colonies in India or elsewhere on the Islands of eastern Indian Ocean. Surface survey and the drilling of more than 200 cores have defined the lateral extent and the stratigraphy of the site. Unguja Ukuu is a large site (c.16–17 ha) and the study reveals that it is a major center of an African iron-using farming community who occupied it from c. 500 AD. Radiocarbon dating and pottery provide the basis for this chronology. The study addresses an old controversy whether some of the pre-stone built settlements that developed on the east African coast could be indications of urbanization. Knowledge of the functional specialization of the settlement prior to its abandonment c. 900 AD is based on the evidence on the density of craft activity, community engagement in the regional trade with the mainland African continent, as far away as Roman Egypt, and in the interregional trade connected to the Indian Ocean, as well as redistribution of foreign merchandise to other sites and areas in the region. These as well as the location of the site linking the external trade and the mainland resource base indicate that Unguja Ukuu was a key urban centre built of mud and timber structures. This challenges our previous understanding of 8–9th centuries AD as the onset of early urbanism on the east African coast. The study proposes cycles of urbanism and emphasizes the need to reassess the problem of early urban identity and the use of wide range of criteria to overcome limitations of previous early urban investigations south of the Sahara and beyond. The results of the investigation given in this study are relevant to the history and archaeology of Zanzibar and the rest of East Africa and make a contribution particularly to extending the known time depth of the early urban tradition often conceived to occur in the late first millennium ad.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The present thesis aims to investigate how the Undergraduate Courses in the Federal University of Santa Maria, especially the Course of Architecture and Urban Design has been working the issue of cultural heritage. This verification was made through an analysis of recent curricular changes in the various courses of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM). Subsequently I performed an investigation in the curricular organization of the last two decades (1990 and 2000) the courses involved with the Graduation Program of Cultural Heritage. Finally, we performed further analysis of the Architecture and Urbanism, through semi-structured interviews with four (4) teachers of this course, directly involved with the courses and also through an analysis of the final-year undergraduate students from 2004 to 2009. Thus, based on the data of this research it was possible to establish a comprehensive systematization points referring to the presence of the theme of Cultural Heritage in graduate courses at the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), but also produce a more detailed analysis on how the course of Architecture and Urban Design has been building his actions and organizations in the midst of curricular context. Thus, what I realized is that the studies and researches at the University must be more present in the society of Santa Maria. Situation, that which comes to be conceived and crafted in 2010 in the Council for the Coordination of Historical and Artistic Heritage (COMPHIC), where actions and proposals for heritage education began to be thought about and worked in order to implement this effective participation, knowledge and interest of the community in the assets of the town of Santa Maria. / O presente trabalho busca investigar como os Cursos de Graduação da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, em especial o Curso de Arquitetura e Urbanismo vem trabalhando a questão do Patrimônio Cultural. Esta verificação se deu através de uma análise nas últimas reformulações curriculares dos diferentes cursos da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM). Posteriormente realizei uma investigação na organização curricular das duas últimas décadas (1990 e 2000) dos cursos envolvidos com o programa de Pós-Graduação em Patrimônio Cultural. Finalmente, foi realizada uma análise mais aprofundada frente ao curso de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, através de entrevistas semi-estruturadas com quatro (4) professores deste curso, envolvidos diretamente com disciplinas que abordam o tema. E também, através de uma análise dos Trabalhos Finais de Graduação dos anos de 2004 a 2009. Desta forma, a partir dos dados desta pesquisa foi possível estabelecer a sistematização pontos abrangentes que referenciam a presença da temática do Patrimônio Cultural nos cursos de graduação da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), mas também, apresentar uma análise mais aprofundada que acerca de como o curso de Arquitetura e Urbanismo vem estruturando suas ações e organizações curriculares em meio ao contexto patrimonial santamariense. Desta forma, o que percebi é que os estudos e as pesquisas realizadas na Universidade têm de estarem mais presentes na sociedade. Situação, esta, que passa a ser pensada e trabalhada no ano de 2010 na coordenação do Conselho do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico (COMPHIC), onde ações e propostas de Educação Patrimonial começam a ser pensadas e trabalhadas no intuito de realizar esta efetiva participação, conhecimento e interesse da comunidade para com os bens patrimoniais da localidade de Santa Maria.