In light of pressing challenges including climate change and energy security, urban planners are increasingly being required to make decisions that can be attributed to reductions in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Energy mapping is an emerging approach used to make improved energy-related decisions and predict energy performance, although at the time of writing, has not been applied within a Manitoban context. Informed by promising practice utilized in other Canadian locales, this research creates an energy mapping process for use in the City of Winnipeg’s residential sector. The Ebby-Wentworth neighbourhood is analyzed to develop and test the mapping process. The process begins with determining baseline energy use for the neighbourhood, and is then compared to three development scenarios, which include the use of retrofits, and new construction on an adjacent development site. The results of applying the energy mapping approach in Winnipeg demonstrates this to be a key decision-making tool for planners looking to make informed decisions related to energy-using equipment, building and site design, and land use and infrastructure. Recommendations include: increased use of the energy mapping approach as a decision-making tool through enhanced collaboration between federal and provincial authorities, municipalities, and utilities; incorporating energy considerations into the planning and development process through revised and updated energy legislation, policy and programming; and, further refining and testing of the energy mapping process designed for this research to develop a best-practice approach for mapping energy use within the Province of Manitoba.

Project Thesis (D. Min.)--Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 173-178).

As children’s independent mobility in urban environments continues to decrease, children become further removed from all realms of city life. There is a need for children to practice and demonstrate their autonomy in public, and a properly planned and designed environment can support such skill building in urban settings. This practicum envisions wayfinding as a pivotal intervention in the urban environment to enable children’s independent mobility and environmental familiarity. The research focuses on the planning of a wayfinding strategy for Canadian school-age children (ages 8-10) as a way to encourage independent mobility in an urban context. This research is based on a review of children’s wayfinding psychology and planning strategies, inspiring design precedents, a detailed site audit and hands-on mental mapping exercises with children. The result is a set of research, consultation, planning, policy, and design recommendations to develop a child-friendly wayfinding strategy in the Exchange District neighbourhood of Downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. / October 2015

The Mennonites are a religious, social and ethnic group with origins in the time of the sixteenth century Reformation. The group was named after a Dutch Anabaptist leader, Menno Simons, who provided the members with substantial theological leadership. Throughout the last four centuries, the Mennonites have migrated around the world and divided into over a hundred different sub-groups. In 1989, Canada was home to over 100,000 Mennonite members who belonged to 735 church congregations that were part of 30 separate groups. The two largest Mennonite groups in Canada are the Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (MB) and the Conference of Mennonites in Canada (CMC). These two groups, and the Colleges they own and operate, are the focus of this thesis topic - Mennonites and Higher Education in the 1960s. By 1960, the Mennonite Brethren Bible College (MBBC) and the Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC) had become involved in the process of opening their communities to the professional and vocational opportunities available in Canada while selectively closing the community to secular influences. The Colleges made institutional decisions which allowed them to offer a university standard education in a parochial setting. These decisions created an active discussion within the two sponsoring Mennonite constituencies. Some members, within each group, were less inclined to embrace the influences of a growing urban, modern worldview because involvement in modern Canadian society would require the adaptation of their traditional, rural identity. The Colleges, on the other hand, encouraged changes while attempting to maintain continuity with essential community ideals. This process of change is the focus of this thesis.

The current generations of children are being taught in schools which are not relevant to their daily lived experiences. “Schools and the curricula that exist today are more suited to the needs of the industrial age than those of the information age” (Yelland, 9). As a result, students are becoming disengaged from the learning process. The vast permeation of digital media into our surroundings and a shrinking global society demand a new typology in learning environments. This typology must address students' creativity, social needs, and the importance of community and sense of place. How can these needs be met through the incorporation of technology – often controversial and deemed isolative and disconnecting? Can technology be used as a social tool to create healthy and productive learning spaces? This proposal responds to these questions by presenting a conceptual re-design of an elementary school in Winnipeg. The supporting theoretical framework outlines literature which examines education, technology and society, and space and place. Workshops and interviews with students and teachers are analyzed, and design precedents, strategies and methods are discussed. Collectively, the theories, concept, and research presented provide insight into the creation of an interactive, flexible, and community-focused learning environment.

This thesis examines the characteristics of railway infrastructure development and associated issues in Manitoba, Canada. The period under consideration dates from when the first tracks were laid in 1878 through to the completion of the Hudson Bay Railway in 1929. Setting the scene is a template for railway development in general, one that allows hypotheses to be drawn that are specific to Manitoba. In order to test those hypotheses it is necessary to first provide a comprehensive overview of the historical evolution of the railway network. Next, aspects of graph theory are reviewed, identifying the methodology most appropriate for a spatial analysis of railway networks. This analysis attempts to draw conclusions about the relationship between the railway companies and the governments, people and geography that they were compelled to deal with. The testing of these forms revealed that while the Manitoba railway network is very complex, it never arrived at the maximum possible complexity.

The Youth for EcoAction (YEA) Program is a project of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg involving youth at risk in after-school programming. The program focuses on urban agriculture and gardening projects and was developed using the circle of courage model of youth empowerment. This research used participatory methods, including participatory video to analyze the program and its benefits. The YEA program creates positive change in the lives of participants and at a community-wide level. These benefits include skill building and job training, improved self esteem, nutrition and food security, increased environmental awareness and behaviour, and greater community strength. Youth serving agencies, community development organizations and government policy makers should look to the YEA program as a model for youth empowerment and community revitalization. This thesis also explores benefits of participatory research, specifically participatory video, and documents the personal learnings and journey of the author from researcher to practitioner.

Lake Winnipeg has been subject to intense eutrophication and invasive species such as Rainbow Smelt and Eubosmina coregoni for the last 40 years. This study demonstrated significant increases in total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, overall zooplankton abundance, and specifically Cladocera, between 1969 and the first decade of the 21st century. There were specific basin differences in the long-term changes of the Cladocera community, with the species Chydorus sphaericus and Ceriodaphnia quadrangula negatively affected by high levels of phosphorus, nitrogen and chlorophyll-a. Moreover, long-term change in the Cladocera community composition and abundance throughout the years (1969-2011) during summer was correlated with intensifying eutrophication. Additionally, weak diel vertical migration in the zooplankton community was observed for the first time in Lake Winnipeg.

The current generations of children are being taught in schools which are not relevant to their daily lived experiences. “Schools and the curricula that exist today are more suited to the needs of the industrial age than those of the information age” (Yelland, 9). As a result, students are becoming disengaged from the learning process. The vast permeation of digital media into our surroundings and a shrinking global society demand a new typology in learning environments. This typology must address students' creativity, social needs, and the importance of community and sense of place. How can these needs be met through the incorporation of technology – often controversial and deemed isolative and disconnecting? Can technology be used as a social tool to create healthy and productive learning spaces? This proposal responds to these questions by presenting a conceptual re-design of an elementary school in Winnipeg. The supporting theoretical framework outlines literature which examines education, technology and society, and space and place. Workshops and interviews with students and teachers are analyzed, and design precedents, strategies and methods are discussed. Collectively, the theories, concept, and research presented provide insight into the creation of an interactive, flexible, and community-focused learning environment.

This thesis examines the characteristics of railway infrastructure development and associated issues in Manitoba, Canada. The period under consideration dates from when the first tracks were laid in 1878 through to the completion of the Hudson Bay Railway in 1929. Setting the scene is a template for railway development in general, one that allows hypotheses to be drawn that are specific to Manitoba. In order to test those hypotheses it is necessary to first provide a comprehensive overview of the historical evolution of the railway network. Next, aspects of graph theory are reviewed, identifying the methodology most appropriate for a spatial analysis of railway networks. This analysis attempts to draw conclusions about the relationship between the railway companies and the governments, people and geography that they were compelled to deal with. The testing of these forms revealed that while the Manitoba railway network is very complex, it never arrived at the maximum possible complexity.