Urbanization is among the greatest threats to biodiversity on the planet, and is projected to increase in magnitude in coming years. This growing threat makes it important to better understand how urbanization may impact vital ecosystem services, such as pollination. Studies on the impact of urbanization on pollination vary wildly in their findings. This study analyzed multiple aspects of pollination success in common milkweed populations varying in urbanization level, including insect community composition, pollen removal/deposition, and fruit/seed production. By analyzing multiple pollination aspects we can determine the overall mechanism in which urbanization instills on the entire pollination process. Overall, urbanization increased insect visitation rate, and altered insect composition, with small bees and bugs/beetles having a larger presence in urbanized areas. Pollen removal also increased with urbanization, while other factors of pollination success were unaltered. These results suggest that increased urbanization can differentially impact components of the pollination process.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how surface engagement through touch affects perception of stimuli and mood. Researchers have found psychological, physiological and cognitive benefits associated with exposure to and interaction with nature. Stress Reduction Theory with Psychoevolutionary framework, and Attention Restoration Theory are often used to explain and interpret results. However, studies that focus on individuals with negative perspectives of nature find a positive affective response to nature is not universal. Rather, individuals respond differently based on their own experience with nature. Childhood exposure and culture have been found to influence attitudes towards nature. Theories of embodied cognition emphasize the importance of previously learned associations and embodied states have been found to influence judgment, experience of emotions, and physiological states. To assess whether an individual's attitude towards nature influences the embodiment of a positive or negative state, participants were randomly assigned to come into physical contact with one of four surfaces with their feet: grass, fake grass, dirt and cement. Individuals affective, cognitive and physical relationship with nature was measured with the Nature Relatedness Scale. Change in perception of neutral stimuli and mood before and after surface exposure were measured. Results suggested surfaces influenced mood in different ways, however the effects on perception were unclear. A participant's perspective of nature did not seem to influence mood change depending on surface type. Future research is needed to assess whether the shift in mood was based on metaphors of language, priming from surface texture, or a result of complex interaction between bodily sensations and cognition.

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Urbanization is an ongoing process all over the globe. People moving from rural to urban areas are the primary cause of urbanization, and history indicates that this movement of people is very hard to influence. The inflow of new residents to urban areas results in the need for more buildings and infrasystems, new institutions and often, new ways of life. How does this relate to the sustainability challenge? Given the ways in which most cities are currently developing, urbanization does not contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals. This thesis explores a new research strategy for studying the process of urbanization and how it may hold opportunities for addressing the long-term objectives of environmentally sustainable urban development. The research strategy: MAMMUT – Managing the Metabolism of Urbanization, is a methodological and conceptual framework, it is a dynamic and cross-disciplinary approach towards understanding urban sustainability. The main novelty in this research strategy is to explore the use of situations of opportunity – instants when stakeholders have a possibility greater than average to guide and influence the urbanization process so as to contribute to more of environmental sustainability – as units of analysis. Political scientists have used concepts similar to this, however none is as wide in scope and time. Four aspects are analysed in a situation of opportunity: urban structure, institutional framework, new ways of life and environmental impacts – enhancing the cross-disciplinary approach of the framework. Also, in terms of time frame, the pre-history, the formative moment and the outcome of each situation are studied. A cover essay and three papers compose this thesis. The papers apply and test the above-mentioned methodology in pilot studies about historical situations of opportunity created by the development of public transport systems in Stockholm, Dar es Salaam and Curitiba. The cover essay discusses the lessons learned with the pilot studies and aims at: (a) discussing and further developing the MAMMUT methodological and conceptual framework; (b) analysing the relations and synergies between the four aspects of urbanization (as proposed by MAMMUT’s framework). The main conclusion of the thesis is that the MAMMUT research strategy can be a useful tool for analysing the urbanization process and its relations to sustainable development. Suggestions for improvements in the framework are made. Also, the four aspects of urbanization suggested for the analysis of a given situation are confirmed relevant, however the analysis of the relations and synergies between these aspects is revealed to be as important as studying the four aspects per se. / QC 20101217

Climate change is a daily challenge that we are faced with, it has become a part of our lives and is altering how we live. Architecture plays a vital role in life and it is crucial for architecture to be able to adapt to the climate conditions that may arise. A large percentage of the population living near coastal cities are faced with dangers of sea level rise, flooding, and coastal storms. Architects must design for the people within these cities or else their lives will be lost. Designers understand the catastrophic we are currently facing and are finding innovative ways to protect our cities. From rebuilding the coastal lines to making cities to imitate being a sponge. These solutions all play an important role in the future generations, each design can not work independently from each other and must work cohesively in order to have a resilient city. This thesis explores the possibility of having a dense neighborhood adjacent to a city. This neighborhood is purely independent from the main city utilities so that if a major event did occur then no systems will be interrupted. Adaptable architecture is able to change over time and with the growth of population. The design goal is to offer an optimal living option for people, the neighborhood is designed to be able to grow with a family and offer aging in place options while continuously growing over time. The structure is able to grow by using a modular pontoon system that can be attached to another module to create an interconnected city. These modules are Biocrete structures that contain the systems and utilities for a building to function giving full flexibility of what can be constructed on top. Since the city is forever growing the vertical core acts as a home for a mobile crane to be attached and assist with the development of residential units or the larger urban-scape. This crane can also be positioned on a small mobile barge that floats around the city to serve any location at a given time. / Master of Architecture / Architecture must be adaptable in a climate changing environment otherwise there will be catastrophic failure in society. Coastal cities are faced with the most climate challenges with sea level rise, flooding, storm surge, hurricanes, tsunami's, etc. Due to these challenges it is vital to have architecture to be resilient and still remain functional after a storm. The main challenge that is explored is how can we overcome the losses that are caused by flooding in coastal cities. This exploration suggests the idea of floating urbanization that is completely independent from the city and is able to adapt with any sea level elevation. The initial response to flooding is how can we keep the water out when in reality water cannot be contained over a long period of time. Instead, the question should be how can we live with water? The solution is to literally live with it, to design a city that floats on it and is able to move with the sea level. This eliminates the worry about your home being flooded and offers another option of living. This city is a fully adaptable structure that grows with families and the population at the same time. Each residential unit offers modular components to allow for the unit to expand given the size of the family, these residential modules sit on top a floating modular pontoon that can then be attached to another pontoon to allow the city to grow horizontally. This idea is not foreign nor new, it has been a way of living for some people for many years from a new single family home in Denmark to a whole floating village in Peru. It is not a new concept but it will be a more frequent design choice as climate change becomes more prevalent.