Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Urban Landscapes'
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1
Almeida, Mara Elisabete da Silva. "Urban preferences for rural landscapes." Master's thesis, Universidade de Évora, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10174/12387.
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A crescente procura social por paisagens rurais, nomeadamente pelas suas funções
não produtivas, tem sido evidente na região mediterrânica. Os urbanos tornaram-se
novos utilizadores do espaço rural principalmente pelas actividades de recreio e como
local de residência e para identificar quais os requisitos destas funções no âmbito da
gestão da paisagem e do espaço rural torna-se necessário um conhecimento mais
vasto no que respeita às preferências de paisagem destes utilizadores. O objectivo
deste estudo é identificar as preferências de paisagem dos urbanos. Um questionário
baseado em fotografias foi o suporte para 308 entrevistas aplicadas em 10 concelhos
do Alentejo. Este questionário foi aplicado a oito grupos de utilizadores com origem
urbana (habitantes rurais, novos rurais, chefes de exploração, caçadores, utilizadores
com segunda residência, visitantes regulares, turistas e eco-turistas). Os resultados
indicam que existe uma clara diferenciação nas preferências dos urbanos,
condicionada pela funcionalidade associada à paisagem rural, pela nacionalidade e
pela ligação que os utilizadores têm à agricultura. Apesar da divergência de
preferências os resultados demonstram que a agricultura tem uma forte influência nas
escolhas dos urbanos e que os valores de consumo, embora estejam na base das
funções que estes utilizadores procuram no espaço rural, estão fortemente associados
a valores de protecção e produção; ### ABSTRACT:
Society’s’ growing demand for rural landscapes, mainly for its non-productive functions,
has been observed in Mediterranean rural landscapes. Urban dwellers became new
users of the countryside mainly for residential and recreational activities. To identify the
requirements of these functions in the landscape and rural space management, a
better understanding is needed regarding landscape preferences expressed by these
users. The aim of this study is to identify landscape preferences among urban rooted.
A photo-based survey, applied in 10 municipalities in the Alentejo region, Southern
Portugal, was the support for 308 interviews carried out to eight groups of landscape
users (rural inhabitants, new rural inhabitants, landowners, hunters, second residents,
regular visitors, tourists and eco-tourists) all with an urban living background. Results
show that preferences among urban rooted diverge according to landscape’s functional
aspects, user’s nationality and connection to farming. Despite the variance on
preferences results demonstrate that farming has a strong influence on preferences
among all urban users. Consumption values, although being in the basis of urban
user’s main purpose in rural space, are closely connected to production and protection
values.
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O'Loan, Timothy, and Tim OLoan@woodsbagot com au. "Urban Yards: Terraires Vagues of inner northern Melbourne." RMIT University. Architecture and Design, 2007. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20080513.142506.
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This Masters of Landscape Architecture investigates the occurrence of small, temporary urban voids in inner northern Melbourne. The study asks whether these spaces operate as Public Domain (Hajer & Reijndorp 2001) and uses the concept of
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Ekman, Eric W. 1973. "Strategies for reclaiming urban postindustrial landscapes." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/17683.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 110-117).
Expanding the primarily expert-driven and site-specific efforts to solve brownfield problems, this thesis develops a process framework for planners and developers to organize the brownfield redevelopment process through strategy formulation based on a site-context relationship with interacting social, economic, and ecological factors. This thesis explores the theory and practice associated with brownfield redevelopment and, through a broader perspective, postindustrial landscape reclamation. Key issues and ingredients for success in the brownfield redevelopment process are distilled from the investigation of two case studies, one of which is Nine Mile Run in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The process framework's design serves to recreate the general project context and scope represented by Nine Mile Run and promotes integrative planning and restorative redevelopment practice that augments brownfield redevelopment activity.
by Eric W. Ekman.
M.C.P.
4
McDonnell, Timothy Gerard. "Urban fusion: creating integrated productive landscapes." Kansas State University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/9182.
Full textAbstract:
Master of Landscape ArchitectureDepartment of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning
Lee R. Skabelund
Urban agriculture is an industry located within or in close proximity to a town, city or a metropolis, which grows, raises, processes and distributes a diversity of food to that urban area (Mougeot 2000). Traditionally, agricultural practices have been viewed as fringe or rural activities that do not belong in urban centers. As cities continue to grow, the distance between food production and consumers increases. On average, a meal eaten in America has traveled approximately 1,500 miles from field to plate (Hill 2008). This distance creates a system that requires food to be imported to cities and removes physical connections between urban populations and their source of food. Increased distances raise concerns of food security as urban areas are now dependent on outside sources. It will continue to be an issue in the future with fossil fuel depletion and the influence this will have on transportation costs and the cost of food. The quality of life in urban areas has also been compromised as centers grow. Individuals get lost in the fast-paced lifestyle of cities and lose the ability to interact socially. As urban populations continue to grow, it will be crucial to create centers that provide potential for a prosperous future. The placement of integrated productive landscapes in cities focuses food production locally while providing public spaces that encourage community interaction, helping transform the urban environment. Like many cities, Kansas City, Missouri has created an urban structure void of food production, relying on food from outside sources. Additionally, the city lacks public spaces deterring community and social interaction. Integrated productive landscapes are presented as opportunities to introduce agriculture into the urban fabric using suitable sites located in the very heart of the city. In this report, the Interstate 670 Corridor is re-envisioned as a productive landscape used to connect the community to local food and encourage social interaction. The corridor demonstrates the seamless integration of agriculture into Kansas City’s urban core, creating a multi-functional productive space that fuses with the public realm in a way that can be appreciated by those who experience it.
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Claus, Eric R. "Waste Landscapes: [Re]valuing Urban Marginalia." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1277136535.
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Marshall, Chelsea Dean. "RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPES IN TUCSON, ARIZONA SUSTAINING SONORAN DESERT LANDSCAPE CHARACTER AT URBAN EDGES." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/555361.
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Sandström, Ulf G. "Biodiversity and green infrastructure in urban landscapes /." Örebro : Örebro universitetsbibliotek, 2004. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-69.
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Reul, Lindsay Kramer. "Designing landscapes for economy : designing regional landscape infrastructure to enable economic and environmental benefits." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/73708.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2012.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
"June 2012." Page [86] blank. Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-82).
This thesis seeks to deploy landscape design as a regional economic development strategy. It investigates the relationship between economic activity and the built environment. Economies transition from one trend to the next at a faster pace than urban stock, meaning the landscape and infrastructure, is able to adjust. Thus, flows of ephemeral economic phases leave patterns of durable infrastructure elements that may not serve as relevant or useful purposes in the emerging economic movements. These landscapes and infrastructure elements can then become underutilized or obsolete. Instead of allowing these facets of the built environment to fall subject to abandonment, entirely rely upon subsidies, or solely become a commodity tourist attraction, this thesis seeks to redesign and repurpose old infrastructure to deliver productive services to the surrounding contemporary society. This paper asks if adaptively repurposing regional infrastructure can contribute positively to regional economics. In order to test this argument, it investigates a single case study - the Erie Canal in Upstate New York. The Erie Canal was a piece of 19th century infrastructure built in 1825 that gave substantial rise and economic prosperity to the region. However, since its initial opening, the Erie Canal has declined in relevance and today suffers from underutilization. This paper seeks to discover if redesigning and repurposing the Erie Canal can generate both economic benefits and ecologic benefits to contribute positively to the surrounding urban region. It applies a systems-based design approach to assess the current conditions of the Canal, and then identifies points of leverage, or catalyst sites, along the linear system that will most greatly engender positive benefits for the entire surrounding region. A full mapping assessment was conducted per the research principles of systems-based design. Further economic and site information was recalled through secondary source reports and interviews. From these research methods, three typologies of catalyst sites and spaces were identified along the linear canal system and five potential economic opportunities were identified in the Erie Canal Region. This thesis proposes three alternative trajectories to move forward with these physical and economic findings: conduct a primary source investigation to discover the true potential of the latent economic opportunities surrounding the canal; remove the subsidy from the Canal budget all together and deinfrastructuralize the waterway to a natural state; or amplify the natural strengths of the Canal by diversifying its utilization.
by Lindsay K. Reul.
M.C.P.
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Sickmann, Jared. "Portable landscapes: flexibility and customization associated with temporary landscapes." Kansas State University, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/32675.
Full textAbstract:
Master of Landscape ArchitectureDepartment of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning
Howard D. Hahn
Cities and towns across the world are in a dynamic state of change, and therefore, becoming responsive to new and innovative approaches to creating and restoring public spaces. These new approaches address the need for flexible, multifunctional spaces in order to adapt to and accommodate the changing demands and unexpected circumstances that occur within the city (Wall 1999, Temel 2006, Gehl 2011). Temporary landscapes, or site specific, time-limited designs of open space, have become an emerging approach to improving public spaces. These small scale projects provide unique experiences and offer a laboratory for experimentation where new, innovative ideas can be tested (Lydon 2012, Sargin and Savas 2012, Temel 2006). The idea of flexibility and the need for multifunctional spaces are explored through the following report by investigating how an innovative approach involving temporary landscapes can enhance streetscape quality and offer a variety of public activities. First, I developed a deeper understanding of temporary landscapes in order to identify the transition in approach to urban design from focusing on permanence to temporary, and express the importance of temporality in urban design. A design matrix exploring programmatic options and customizable design features was established through an extensive literature review and case study analysis. Through the application process, I explored the regulatory process involved in implementing a temporary landscape intended for the Aggieville Business District in Manhattan, Kansas. This procedure involved a review of the city's ordinances and liability concerns, designing a portable landscape, and constructing a prototype to be deployed off-street until approval is gained. The results from this project provide field evidence to support recommendations for future design iterations for portable landscapes that increase pedestrian comfort and support an expanded range of activities for public spaces. Prototypes of different design iterations and replications can also serve as future projects for the College of Architecture, Planning, and Design at Kansas State University. Ultimately, this project will begin a critical discussion of the future role of temporary landscapes in cities that are in a dynamic state of change.
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Donyavi, Hossein. "The evaluation of ornamental plants for urban landscapes." Thesis, University of Reading, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.416721.
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Brunetto, Leah B. (Leah Beth). "Infinite urban landscapes : a journey through Cambridge, Massachusetts." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/72640.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2012.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Page 84 blank. Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-83).
This study explores how the forms of urban landscapes influence and reflect physical and metaphorical journeys through a city. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the artist and researcher investigates the diverse landscapes of her native Cambridge, Massachusetts: from her own backyard to the Minuteman Bikeway. Places such as public parks once felt physically infinite and natural in childhood, but are revealed as man-made and enclosed by the inorganic frameworks of the city. The level of fragmentation in landscapes experienced increases along the timeline of life, reflecting increased pace and complexity further away from home. These energetic forms lead to city exits such as highways, where one-point perspective reintroduces the notion of infinity. Methods of research include site studies, a literature review, and the development of a form generation process leading to the production of an exhibition of paintings. While at first glance some of the featured landscapes appear natural, their artificiality is revealed by the geometries of elements such as fences, pavement, and bridges. The compositions were developed iteratively using digital photography and tracing to find the most dynamic forms and rhythms. Site photos were deconstructed literally into two different layers: inorganic and organic. The final paintings subtract the inorganic layers from the organic layers, resulting in a distinctly modern, urban aesthetic.
by Leah B. Brunetto.
S.B.
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Nemati, Sam. "Beyond Sustainability through Regenerative Architecture : Regenerative Urban Landscapes." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Arkitekthögskolan vid Umeå universitet, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-171838.
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Samuelsson, Karl. "Spatial analyses of people's experiences in urban landscapes." Licentiate thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Miljövetenskap, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-29047.
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Limiting cities’ negative impact for global sustainability suggests compact city development. However, extensive and accessible urban nature is important for urban dwellers’ wellbeing. Aligning efforts to make cities locally and globally sustainable means resolving this conflict. This thesis applies spatial analysis of urban dwellers’ regularly occurring experiences, as these are important wellbeing indicators, looking specifically at Stockholm, Sweden. The aim is to contribute to a nuanced understanding of urban environments’ influence on urban dwellers’ experiences. Paper I investigates how accessibility to various environment features impact the probability that people have positive or negative experiences. Paper II applies resilience principles to investigate what experiences exist together in neighbourhoods. The environment have considerable influence on people’s experiences. Some common indicators in urban planning display weak relationships with experiential outcome, while other less common ones have larger effects. Neighbourhood compositions of experiences display consistent patterns, both spatially across Stockholm and with respect to resilience principles. Many neighbourhoods harbour diverse positive experiences, while a few are dominated by negative ones. The results suggest that human-environment relations should be given more consideration in urban discourse and urban planning. A relational approach could improve urban dweller’s experiences, and positively influence their wellbeing. For urban planning to be able to handle the complexity of such an approach, I suggest that resilience principles can be heuristics for an urban development that does not compromise people’s experiences. The methodological framework developed here can be applied in other cities, as it can identify specific places for transformation, but also increase knowledge of the interplay between urban environments and people’s experiences across different contexts.För att begränsa städers negativa påverkan på global hållbarhet förordas ofta kompakta stadsmiljöer. För att säkra stadsbors välbefinnande krävs emellertid stora och tillgängliga naturområden. Denna konflikt måste lösas för att nå en stadsutveckling som bidrar till både lokal och global hållbarhet. Denna avhandling består av två studier av Stockholm som tillämpar rumslig analys av människors upplevelser, då dessa är viktiga indikatorer för välbefinnande. Den undersöker hur tillgänglighet till olika miljöfaktorer är relaterade till positiva och negativa upplevelser. Vidare tillämpar den resiliensprinciper för att undersöka vilka upplevelser som samexisterar på områdesskala. Stadsmiljön har betydande påverkan på människors upplevelser. Vissa vanliga indikatorer inom stadsplanering visar svaga samband med upplevelser, medan andra mindre vanliga har större effekter. Sammansättningar av upplevelser på områdesskala uppvisar genomgående mönster, både rumsligt och i förhållande till resiliensprinciper. Många områden innehåller en mångfald av positiva upplevelser, medan ett fåtal domineras av negativa upplevelser. Resultaten visar att relationer mellan människa och miljö bör ta en mer central plats i stadsplaneringen, då detta erbjuder möjligheter att förbättra stadsbors upplevelser. Resiliensprinciper kan fungera som tumregler inom stadsplaneringen för en stadsutveckling som inte äventyrar människors upplevelser. Metoden som utvecklats här kan appliceras i andra städer, då den kan identifiera specifika platser för omvandling, men också leda till djupare förståelse för samspelet mellan stadsmiljöer och människors upplevelser i olika sammanhang.
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PEDATA, Laura. "Unintended Landscapes. Reevaluating the Potential of Residual Landscapes in Tirana’s Future Urban Development Strategies." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Ferrara, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11392/2488254.
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The research is centered on observation, analysis and representation of landscape conditions, processes over time and change, particularly in transitioning countries where cities are subject to fast urban growth and the proliferation of residual spaces, which result in antagonistic and confused landscapes, landscapes of mutation and crisis. Through a study of language and space, the dissertation highlights that what is central, and what is “residual”, is primarily a mechanism of thought, and not solely a mechanism of “space”. Although residual spaces are a result of the rational organization of the urban territory, they have become the opposite of the organized world. Analyzing these landscapes at the micro scale we can learn from the natural order that shapes them and from the way the urbanized territory influences their existence; whilst at the macro scale they appear as scale less fragments, interruptions of the urban fabric that reveal a new urban geography. Their temporary suspension and availability to transformation – but also their unstable, dynamic, heterogeneous and chaotic character - generates an opportunity for designers to reframe the urban design discourse, acknowledging the value of indeterminacy and open-endedness.
In substance, the research intends to offer an extended perspective on the discourse about overlooked residual spaces in contemporary cities, establishing the importance of observation as a fundamental operational tool to approach complex urban phenomena, like the one taking place in Tirana, where Residual Landscapes escape the mechanisms of thought and premeditation. By observing residual space spontaneous occupation strategies, considering the potential of people’s informal approaches to their management, and the possible influence on the urban ecosystem, the research hypothesizes a future open-ended operational mode of urban development. Residual spaces have the potential to become test sites for experimenting new urban landscape management strategies aimed at guaranteeing people’s comfort and health, responding to social needs, and contributing to the restoration of degraded urban ecosystems and the preservation of the environment. A closer observation of abandoned and indefinite spaces under a renewed value system and the definition of new analytical processes, can lead to the reassessment of the role of such spaces within the urban context, considering them as a potential ground for future urban development. Residual Landscapes can become the genesis for possible futures.La presente ricerca è centrata sull’osservazione, l’analisi e la rappresentazione di condizioni e processi del paesaggio in paesi in transizione, dove le città sono caratterizzate da una rapida crescita urbana e dalla proliferazione di spazi residuali i quali, a loro volta, tendono a generare paesaggi antagonisti e confusi, paesaggi del mutamento e della crisi. Attraverso uno studio del linguaggio dello spazio, la dissertazione mette in evidenza che ciò che è “residuale” è principiante un meccanismo del pensiero, e non esclusivamente un meccanismo dello “spazio”. Pur essendo un prodotto dell’organizzazione razionale del territorio urbano, gli spazi residuali sono diventati l’opposto del mondo organizzato. Analizzando questi paesaggi a una scala ravvicinata, è possibile osservare l’ordine naturale che ne influenza forma e carattere, e il modo in cui il territorio urbanizzato ne condiziona l’esistenza stessa; mentre a scala macroscopica appaiono come frammenti senza scala, interruzioni della città che rivelano una nuova geografia urbana. La loro sospensione temporanea e la loro propensione alla trasformazione – ma anche il loro carattere instabile, dinamico, eterogeneo e caotico – costituiscono un’opportunità di riconsiderare la progettazione urbana riconoscendo il valore dell’indeterminatezza. In sostanza la ricerca ha lo scopo di offrire una prospettiva più ampia sul tema degli spazi residuali nelle città contemporanee, stabilendo l’importanza dell’osservazione quale strumento fondamentale per affrontare fenomeni urbani complessi come quello di Tirana, dove i Paesaggi Residuali fuggono i meccanismi del pensiero e della premeditazione. Osservando le strategie di occupazione spontanea degli spazi residuali, considerando il potenziale degli approcci informali adottati dagli individui, e l’influenza che questi spazi hanno sull’ecosistema urbano, la ricerca ipotizza un metodo operativo di sviluppo urbano futuro indeterminato. Gli spazi residuali hanno il potenziale di diventare luoghi per sperimentare nuove strategie di gestione del paesaggio urbano, mirate a garantire il comfort e la salute degli abitanti e a soddisfarne i bisogni sociali, contribuendo altresì al ripristino degli ecosistemi urbani degradati e alla salvaguardia dell’ambiente. Attraverso l’osservazione ravvicinata di spazi abbandonati ed indefiniti attraverso un nuovo sistema di valori, e la definizione di nuovi processi analitici, la ricerca intende contribuire alla riconsiderazione del loro ruolo nel contesto urbano, considerandoli quali potenziali basi per lo sviluppo urbano futuro. I Paesaggi Residuali possono costituire la genesi di futuri possibili.
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Hoetmer, Derek. "CenterScapes : waste landscapes into thriving communities." Kansas State University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/15777.
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Master of Landscape ArchitectureDepartment of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning
Jason Brody
Within the past decade, waste landscapes of decaying regional shopping centers and malls have been transformed into new buildings, streets, and towns— otherwise known as greyfield redevelopments. The most successful of these greyfield redevelopment projects are designed as vibrant town centers that exhibit traits of larger 24-hour cities. Unfortunately, landscape has been less relevant within these projects than they have in historical town center precedents. Landscape architecture originated from societal, cultural, and environmental needs and emerged as a profession to meet those needs. Theory, research, and design principles have emerged as well from studying the importance of landscape within the urban realm. Based upon the theory of Landscape Urbanism, landscape should be the primary element of urban order and that landscape architects possess the ability to enhance these multi-disciplinary projects. In CenterScapes, explorative design projects act as experimental subjects for a landscape architecture approach to current successful greyfield-redevelopment-into-town-center design. This masters project illustrates design research in theory, precedent, design principle, analysis, and explorative design through two applications. While both applications exhibit traits of a greyfield-redevelopment-into-town-center typology, one is designed solely by landscape architects and the other is designed by an interdisciplinary team represented by architectural, landscape architectural, and real estate development disciplines. This report functions to reveal the importance of strategically allocated and designed open space to act as catalysts for new town center developments.
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Rehn, Felicia. "Pollinators in Urban Landscapes : Local and landscape factors impact on pollinator species richness and abundance." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Miljövetenskap, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-38559.
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Increasing human populations results in fast-growing urbanization. Natural and semi-natural landscapes are replaced with urban landscape features like roads, sidewalks, industrial and residential buildings. The remnants of the natural landscapes are left fragmented and are often managed by frequent mowing and trimming of the vegetation. This development has had a negative impact on pollinators such as bees and wasps. Bees and wasps are pollinating insects providing an ecosystem service that sustain the global food supply. Pollinators are important also in urban landscapes where their services are needed for ecological stability and biodiversity. This study compares 23 locations in Sollentuna municipality, to investigate if species richness and abundance of bees and wasps are correlated with local factors, landscape factors or both. The available food resources are measured in buffer zones with 200m radius. Local variables are: dead wood, exposed sand, extended edge zones, flowering plant species richness and unmanaged habitat. The result showed that the landscape factor of food availability was more important for the abundance of pollinators while local variables together with the landscape factor of food availability had a positive effect on the species richness.
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Munoz, Anna Maria. "Nesting ecology of mourning doves in changing urban landscapes." Texas A&M University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/1405.
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Texas A&M University (TAMU) supports a substantial breeding population of mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) with one of the highest nest densities in Texas. There has been a long history of mourning dove research on the TAMU Campus, with initial population studies conducted in the 1950s, and the most recent studies occurring in the 1980s. The TAMU Campus and surrounding areas have experienced substantial changes associated with urbanization and expansion over the last 50 years, altering mourning dove habitat on and around campus. The objective of this study was to examine mourning dove nesting and production in an urban setting and determine how microhabitat and landscape features affect nest-site selection and nest success. Specifically, I (1) examined trends in mourning dove nesting density and nest success on the TAMU Campus, and (2) identified important microhabitat and landscape features associated with nest-site selection and nesting success. Mourning dove nests were located by systematically searching potential nest sites on a weekly basis from the late-March through mid-September. Nests were monitored until they either failed or successfully fledged at least 1 young. A total of 778 nests was located and monitored
on campus. All nest locations were entered into ArcView GIS. An equal number of nests were randomly generated in ArcView and assigned to non-nest trees to evaluate habitat variables associated with nest-site selection for mourning doves. Binary logistic regression was used to evaluate the significance of microhabitat and landscape variables to nest-site selection and nest success. Comparisons with data collected in 1950, 1978, and 1979 showed relatively similar nesting densities, but a significant decrease in nest success over time. A comparison of microhabitat features between actual nest trees and random locations (non-nest trees) indicated increasing values of tree diameter at breast height and tree species were important predictors of mourning dove nest-site selection. Landscape features found important in dove nest-site selection were proximity to open fields, roads, and buildings. Proximity to roads and buildings also were significant predictors of nest success. Combining significant microhabitat and landscape variables for nest-site selection increased the predictability of the model indicating a possible hierarchical nest-site selection strategy.
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Parker, Matthew David. "The management of tree replacement in mature urban landscapes." Connect to thesis, 2004. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/62.
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Amenity trees provide physical, social and economic benefits to people sharing their environment. To maintain the benefits that many people have come to expect of trees in their urban landscapes, a viable and dynamic tree population is required. To this end it is necessary to plant new trees or replace existing trees when they require removal. The challenge when replacing mature trees is not simply the process of planting a tree when one is removed, but of the continual replacement of the entire tree population in a planned and managed fashion. In urban landscapes this is not a natural process, and human intervention is required.
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Håkansson, Irene. "Berlin’s Intercultural Gardens: Urban Landscapes of Social-Ecological Memory." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Stockholm Resilience Centre, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-91106.
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Efforts to achieve urban sustainability include ecological practices within civic society. A prominent example of this is the voluntary stewardship of green urban spaces such as community gardening. People participating in these practices – so the argument goes – draw on social-ecological memory (SE-memory) – knowledge, experience, and practice of local ecosystem management. The present study scrutinises the components and implications of the concept of SE-memory. It identifies and fills a theoretical gap by investigating and adding neglected dimensions of individual memory while strengthening the concept’s social component by examining implications of SE-memory for its actual individual carriers. The study centres on Berlin’s intercultural gardens – urban community gardens where processes of SE-memory are particularly diverse. It is based on five months of fieldwork, including intensive participant observations and in-depth interviews in such gardens. The findings show that the reviving, modifying, and transmitting of SE-memory involve expressions of individuality as well as community and comprise inter-locking streams of both individual and social memory. These play a pivotal role for individuals’ sense of belonging, social inclusion, and commitment to cultural diversity central to the intercultural gardens’ contribution to social urban sustainability as they provide space for personal memory revival, allow for people to practice their culture of origin, and offer points of manifold exchange with others.
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Schaffler, Alexis. "Enhancing resilience between people and nature in urban landscapes." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/6473.
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Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The particular global context that is fundamentally altering the world is one in which the combined resource requirements of cities are unprecedented. This thesis communicates the thoughts, ideas and research observations on contemporary urbanisation dynamics through a synthesis of various perspectives. This conceptual fusion, as an attempt to provide a holistic overview of contemporary urban dynamics, forms the basis for developing a framework from which the multiple dimensions of cities can be addressed. This theoretical framework, which includes empirical analyses on the state of cities, is then applied to Johannesburg as a case study for deepening the understanding of urban dynamics and to assess implementation of the theoretical framework in reality. Despite being guided by the general aims of investigating current urban growth trends and the conceptual frameworks with which urban systems could be better understood, the complexity of the task at hand defied a static and linear research process. The ideas that emerged through the research journey, as opposed to a process, were synthesised using a literature review from which the framework of managing complex social-ecological systems was developed. Central to this framework is the metaphor of resilience, which through the idea of systemic adaptability, prioritises the need for both social and ecological opportunity to be enhanced. This is critical in the face of cross-cutting global challenges and in terms of cities as archetypical complex social-ecological systems. In reviewing literature on contemporary urbanisation dynamics, it was found that the socio-economic, spatial and ecological tensions characterising developing country cities, require strategies to enhance urban resilience rooted in local social and ecological capabilities that differ from developed nations’ contexts. These practical concerns were the catalyst for suggesting green infrastructure as a framework in which the joint social and ecological values of green assets are valued equally. This in line with the logic of enhancing a system’s overall systemic adaptability. The theoretical frameworks included in the literature review, therefore, emerged through the weaving back and forth of thoughts, debates and practical concerns about creating resilience between people and nature in the urban landscapes of developing countries The methodological implications of a green infrastructure framework resulted in the need to determine the total economic value of ecosystem services, as the benefits that society accrues through ecosystem functioning. Valuing both the social and ecological benefits of such ecosystem derivatives, not only relates to the concept of mutual resilience building, but makes the economic case for investment in natural assets. Through experience with this methodology, it emerged that valuation exercises of ecosystem services require primary research that connects physical data on ecosystem functioning to tangible economic values. In the chosen case study, however, this original research is yet to take place and methodologies for valuing Johannesburg’s green assets had to unfold based on data availability. The development of a methodology within a methodology is a major feature of this paper, which is guided by the logic that for overall systemic resilience to be sustained, investment in natural assets needs to explicitly account for the total economic values of ecosystem services. The conclusions suggest that Johannesburg is nevertheless in a unique position to capitalise on the concept of green infrastructure, from which social and ecological opportunity can be mutually enhanced. In a paradoxical way, the city’s tree-planting boom that resulted in the construction of the world’s largest urban forest in natural savannah grassland, has created inventories of ecological and social resilience that represent the multifunctional value of green assets, if valued explicitly. Recognition of these values shows that ecological assets extend beyond publicly delineated open space and that Johannesburg’s culture of greening is potentially playing a significant role in sustaining the resilience between its people and nature. However, until the detailed base research is conducted on the connections between Johannesburg’s green assets and their associated social and ecological dividends, these assets remain potential inventories of resilience whose values are yet to be fully determined. The recommendations of this thesis are therefore largely to strengthen the research and data bases on Johannesburg’s green assets. Original research is needed so that precise valuation exercises of Johannesburg’s ecosystem services can take place. This research is also the foundation from which a more robust and empirically sound case can be made for motivating investment in Johannesburg’s strategically unique green infrastructure, in the context of social-ecological challenges and the global movement towards green economies, jobs and cities.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die spesifieke globale konteks wat die wêreld ten diepste verander, is ’n konteks waarin die gekombineerde behoeftes van stede ongekend is. Deur ’n samevatting van verskeie perspektiewe bied hierdie tesis gedagtes, idees en navorsingswaarnemings oor die hedendaagse stadsdinamika. Hierdie samevoeging van konsepte, as ’n poging om ’n holistiese oorsig van hedendaagse stadsdinamika te bied, vorm die grondslag vir die ontwikkeling van ’n raamwerk van waaruit die veelvuldige dimensies van stede benader kan word. Hierdie teoretiese raamwerk, wat empiriese analises van die stand van stede insluit, word dan toegepas op Johannesburg as ’n gevallestudie om die stadsdinamika beter te verstaan en die gebruik van die teoretiese raamwerk in die praktyk te evalueer. Die gedagtes wat uit die navorsing voortgespruit het, word saamgevat deur ’n oorsig te gee van literatuur waaruit die raamwerk vir die bestuur van komplekse sosio-ekologiese sisteme ontwikkel is. Die kern van hierdie raamwerk is die metafoor van weerstandsvermoë (“resilience”) wat, deur die gebruik van die konsep sistemiese aanpasbaarheid, die behoefte aan sowel meer sosiale as ekologiese geleenthede as die belangrikste prioriteite identifiseer. Dit is deurslaggewend in die lig van deursnee- globale uitdagings en in terme van stede as argetipiese komplekse sosio-ekologiese sisteme. In die oorsig van literatuur oor die hedendaagse stadsdinamika is daar gevind dat die sosio-ekonomiese, ruimtelike en ekologiese spanning wat stede in ontwikkelende lande kenmerk, strategieë vereis wat stadsweerstand, wat uit plaaslike sosiale en ekologiese vermoëns spruit, sal verhoog. Hierdie praktiese kwessies was die katalisator om ’n groen infrastruktuur voor te stel as die raamwerk waarbinne die gesamentlike sosiale en ekologiese waardes van groen bates ewe veel waarde dra, wat in pas is met die logiese gedagte om ’n sisteem se algehele sistemiese aanpasbaarheid te verhoog. Die teoretiese raamwerk wat ingesluit is in die literatuur wat bestudeer is, het dus na vore gekom deur die uitruil van gedagtes, debatte en praktiese benaderings tot hoe weerstandigheid geskep kan word tussen mens en natuur in die stedelike landskappe van ontwikkelende lande. Die metodologiese implikasies van ’n groen infrastruktuur-raamwerk het dit noodsaaklik gemaak om die totale ekonomiese waarde van ekosisteemdienste, as die voordele wat die samelewing deur ekosisteme ontvang, te bepaal. Die belangrikste navorsing om letterlike inligting oor Johannesburg se ekosisteemdienste aan tasbare ekonomiese waardes te verbind, moet egter nog gedoen word, en metodologieë om die stad se groen bates te evalueer moet ontwikkel word afhangende van die beskikbaarheid van inligting. Die ontwikkeling van ’n metodologie binne ’n metodologie is ’n belangrike kenmerk van hierdie tesis, wat gelei word deur die logiese gedagte dat belegging in natuurlike bates baie duidelik die totale ekonomiese waarde van ekosisteemdienste moet bepaal as algehele sistemiese weerstandsvermoë gehandhaaf wil word. Die gevolgtrekkings dui daarop dat Johannesburg nietemin in ’n unieke posisie is om finansiële voordeel uit die konsep van ’n groen infrastruktuur te trek. Op ’n teenstrydige manier het die stad se grootskaalse poging om bome aan te plant, wat gelei het tot die wêreld se grootste stedelike woud in ’n natuurlike grasvlakte, inligting gebied oor ekologiese en sosiale weerstandigheid, en dit verteenwoordig die multifunksionele waarde van groen bates as daar uitdruklik waarde daaraan geheg word. ’n Erkenning van hierdie waarde wys dat ekologiese bates verder strek as ’n openbare afgebakende oop ruimte en dat Johannesburg se groen kultuur moontlik ’n deurslaggewende rol speel om die weerstandsvermoë tussen sy mense en die natuur volhoubaar te maak. Voordat noukeurige grondnavorsing oor die verband tussen Johannesburg se groen bates en hulle gepaardgaande sosiale en ekologiese voordele egter nie uitgevoer is nie, bly hierdie bates potensiële beskrywings van weerstandsvermoë waarvan die waarde nog nie ten volle bepaal is nie. Die aanbevelings van hierdie tesis is daarom hoofsaaklik dat navorsing voortgesit word, en dat die kennisgrondslag van Johannesburg se groen bates verbreed word sodat ’n presiese evaluering van ekosisteemdienste gedoen kan word as die grondslag van sterker en empiries gestaafde redes om in die stad se groen infrastruktuur te belê.
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Yeoh, Seng Guan. "Powerful landscapes : squatting, space and religiosity in urban Malaysia." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/30956.
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Based on archival, library and ethnographic research, this thesis recasts the notion of 'everyday resistance' (as propounded by James Scott) in terms of the landscape and spatiality of an urban Indian squatter settlement in Malaysia. In postcolonial Malaysia, managing different and often competing ethnic and religious identities in a Furnivallian 'plural society' presents administrative problems as well as a resource for political legitimation. Arguably, this is most starkly embodied in 'squatter settlements', often perceived as potential sites of urban discontent and unrest. But squatter settlements also provide significant sources of urban labour as well as important political vote-banks. The first part of the thesis examines historically how categories like 'squatting', 'religion' and 'ethnicity' are rendered discursively meaningful. Attention is then shifted to the 'ethnographic present' of the fieldwork squatter settlement in the suburban township of Petaling Jaya. I examine varied everyday routines, social practices, and the use of space in juxtaposition to wider cultural and urban processes. Tamil and Telegu Indians comprising two distinct religious groups - Hindu devotees of the goddess Mariyamman and the Seventh-Day Adventist Christians - are the main focus of discussion. Descriptions of the celebration of the annual goddess festival (for the former) and the weekly Sabbath Worship services (for the latter) bring out the substantive differences of these two groups in terms of culturally specific spatial idioms, and the theoretical implications they pose for the study of 'everyday resistance'.
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Astbury, Janice. "Inviting landscapes : resilience through engaging citizens with urban nature." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2015. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/inviting-landscapes-resilience-through-engaging-citizens-with-urban-nature(e46c8dd1-5d7c-40ef-a75e-403d682eb9e7).html.
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The role of citizens working with urban nature in making cities more resilient is under-explored and under-theorised. The social-ecological system (SES) is an appropriate concept to explore these interactions but challenges in applying it to cities have been identified. It has been suggested that there is a need to strengthen the 'social' in the SES. This thesis develops a conceptual framework that splits the social component of the SES into culture and agency and operationalises it through the concept of landscape. Previous scholarship has demonstrated that landscape is a powerful force in how people think about the world and that citizens are increasingly active in transforming urban landscapes. Using a critical realist framework, the SES is approached as an underlying mechanism that can only be apprehended through the landscapes that it produces. This directs attention to people’s experience of and responses to landscape. Three ‘layers’ of landscape are elucidated: the material landscape, the cultural landscape and responses to the landscape, drawing on the disciplines of landscape ecology, cultural geography and others concerned with environmental perception and people-environment interactions. The research surveyed citizen interaction with landscapes across North West England before focusing in on two key case studies in the city of Manchester. This analysis gave rise to development of a new concept, the Inviting Landscape, to describe landscapes that invite citizens to engage with them in ways that enhance the resilience of the underlying SES. The thesis identifies characteristics of Inviting Landscapes and links them to three stages of citizen engagement with landscapes. Potential practical applications of this characterisation of landscapes are discussed. Intellectually, the SES approach is enhanced through a deeper understanding of positive feedback mechanisms whereby landscapes influence citizen-nature interactions, which in turn impact on social-ecological resilience. The thesis concludes by making the case that attending more carefully to the role of culture and agency can strengthen the applicability of the SES approach to cities.
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O'Halloran, Kathryn Petronella. "Die Surrealistische Lumpensammlerin - Urban Incongruences, Dialectical Landscapes and Photography." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/15319.
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The research paper titled Die Surrealistische Lumpensammlerin – Urban Incongruences, Dialectical Landscapes and Photography is an exploration and extension of the creative work. Throughout the paper I have used the theoretical figure of the Surrealist Ragpicker to frame my photographic practice that is categorically documentary in style and landscape in subject. I define myself through the act of roaming, as the contemporary equivalent of the Surrealist Ragpicker. A metaphorical character developed in the writing of Charles Baudelaire, Walter Benjamin, Susan Sontag and Deborah Parsons, I adopt the theoretical underpinning of the ragpicker as a framework for my methodology and discuss reoccurring themes within the creative work. The modern ruin, the urban incongruence and dialectical landscapes are revealed as subjects of interest to the Surrealist Ragpicker. The resounding themes within my creative work (exhibited as 7 large-scale prints and an artist’s book) will be discussed with reference to some poignant images I made two years prior to my Masters candidature (from the series Ceaseless Replacement of the New), as well as with reference to artists, theorists and writers such as: Eugène Atget, Lee Friedlander, Robert Smithson, Richard Wentworth, Zoe Leonard, Berenice Abbott, Rose Macaulay, Brian Dillon, Emma Fraser, Romain Meffre, Yves Marchand, Edward Burtynsky, Stephen Shore, John Szarkowski, Simryn Gill, Martha Rosler, Rick Poynor, Geoff Dyer, Robert Ginsberg, Walker Evans and Terry Falke.
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Nguyen, Thi Thu. "The ecological roles of golf courses in urban landscapes." Thesis, Nguyen, Thi Thu (2022) The ecological roles of golf courses in urban landscapes. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2022. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/63558/.
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The proliferation of urban golf courses accounts for a growing proportion of the urban land area in Australia and other countries. While many suggest that golf courses have an environmentally negative impact, others believe they are important nodes in the network of urban green space and can provide refugial habitat for wildlife. However, research on golf course ecology is in its infancy and this limits development of explicit guidelines for ecologically sound development. Therefore, this PhD research used remote sensing technology to investigate the ecological roles of golf courses in maintenance of vegetation at the urban landscape scale. The thesis explores temporal and spatial landscape data as well as the possible cooling effects golf course can provide in the Perth Metropolitan Region.
The multifunctional aspects of green spaces in golf courses are highlighted in this study. Firstly, by using moderate resolution satellite imagery (Landsat) time series data for three decades from 1988 to 2018 to assess temporal changes in vegetation cover, the study found that vegetation clearance was significant and vegetation cover has become increasingly fragmented. It was concluded that golf courses contribute to urban conservation through the maintenance of vegetation cover and by increasing habitat connectivity during the long period of urbanisation. Secondly, high resolution satellite imagery (PlanetScope (PS) Level 3B) was then used to compare spatially the characteristics of vegetation within golf courses with other urban land-use. It found that golf courses have less conservation values than conservation land, but their role in preservation of native vegetation, vegetation health and habitat connectivity is more significant than other highly intensive urban land-uses. Thirdly, analysis of multispectral high resolution airborne imagery for assessing the capacity of golf courses in mitigating the urban temperature revealed that urban golf courses can provide cooling effects in the urban environment through the provision of tree coverage and other green areas.
Despite limitations of the research being carried out at the landscape scale, the findings of the thesis can enhance the future integration of golf courses into urban biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service improvement.
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Sun, Hongyan. "Characterizing Water and Nitrogen Dynamics in Urban/Suburban Landscapes." DigitalCommons@USU, 2011. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/1073.
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This research investigated the water use of different plant types in urban landscapes, nitrogen (N) and water transport in turf, and potential N leaching from urban landscapes to ground water. In the first study, three landscape treatments integrating different types of plants—woody, herbaceous perennial, turf—and putative water use classifications—Mesic, Mixed, Xeric—were grown in large drainage lysimeters. Each landscape plot was divided into woody, turf, and herbaceous perennial plant hydrozones and irrigated for optimum water status over two years, with water use measured using a water balance approach. For woody plants and herbaceous perennials, canopy cover, rather than plant type or water use classification, was the key determinant of water use relative to reference evapotranspiration (ETo) under well-watered conditions. For turf, monthly evapotranspiration (ETa) followed a trend linearly related to ETo. In the second study, water transport parameters were calibrated using an inverse simulation with Kentucky bluegrass (KBG). Subsequently, those parameters were applied to simulate water use by tall fescue (TF) and buffalograss (BG) turfgrasses using numerical modeling (Hydrus-1D). By using the calibrated soil hydraulic parameters obtained from the water transport simulation, N transport and transformation was modeled with Hydrus- 1D under different irrigation rates and different fertilization rates. Different soil texture scenarios were also simulated to demonstrate the influence of soil texture on N leaching. In the third study, the simulated N-leaching from different soil textures was integrated into a Geographic Information System (GIS) approach to estimate NO3-N leaching mass from urban turf areas. Nitrate-N leaching risks to ground water under overirrigation and overfertilization scenarios and efficient irrigation and fertilization scenarios were estimated. The results showed improvement of turf irrigation and fertilization management may decrease N-leaching significantly and greatly decrease the risk of ground water being contaminated by NO3-N leaching in the Salt Lake Valley.
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Davey, Calayde A. "Productive urban landscapes: the relationship between urban agriculture and property values in Minneapolis, Minnesota." Diss., Kansas State University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/20577.
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Doctor of PhilosophyEnvironmental Design and Planning
Huston Gibson
Lee R. Skabelund
Urban agriculture and urban food-systems are locally productive landscapes and their supporting programs and networks. Urban agriculture is now valued and actively promoted by many urban communities. Having numerous community benefits, UA is often considered to have desirable neighborhood amenities and is assumed to have effects on nearby property prices. However, very little is known about the primary or secondary economic contribution of these productive landscapes to urban environments, particularly in regards to how urban agriculture relates to property values in a neighborhood. Because urban agriculture sites are often overpowered by increasing exchange-values of surrounding properties, the original values (economic and non-economic) to the neighborhood or community may be lost as urban agricultural sites are transformed by “higher return” development schemes. Since urban agriculture can disappear or fail without effective financing and adequate policy and planning support, it is imperative to the longevity of such programs to understand how important land-use and economic variables interrelate. This study examines the spatial-temporal magnitude and economic relationship between urban agriculture parcels and property values. The study uses the hedonic method employing the Spatial-Durbin modeling approach. Findings expand the theoretical and policy discourse on how investment of public resources aids neighborhood development through low exchange-value programs such as urban agriculture. In understanding the advantages of local food systems to urban form, context-specific neighborhood strategies developed in tandem with targeted community development and comprehensive plans can improve urban revitalization and (re)development within a larger resilient city planning framework. The key findings from the study illustrate that there is great value in understanding the most appropriate design approach and features of urban agriculture for different neighborhoods and market groups. Important design considerations include scale, design aesthetic, abundance and quality of urban agriculture sites within different market groups and neighborhoods.
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le, Brasseur Richard. "Transitional landscapes : examining landscape fragmentation within peri urban green spaces and its impacts upon human wellbeing." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/31257.
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Transitional land uses produced through urbanisation continue to change the landscape and fragment ecological structures including green spaces across Europe (Nilsson et al., 2013). Green spaces offer significant benefits to humans, contributing to wellbeing and life satisfaction (Taylor, 2002). The understanding of how these unique green spaces spaces function and provide benefits to humans, and how landscape change in peri-urban contexts affects their performance, is important. The scope of this research is to contribute to an understanding of landscape fragmentation within some of Europe's polycentric urban regions, their peri-urban green spaces, and the associated impacts upon human quality of life. Two urban regional case studies, Paisley near Glasgow, Scotland, and Vantaa, near Helsinki, Finland were analysed and compared. The results indicate that humans interacting with more physically or ecologically fragmented peri-urban green spaces have higher self-reported life satisfaction levels. Though no statistically significant characteristics were apparent between life satisfaction and fragmented green space characteristics, this research was able to identify those specific structural attributes and physical characteristics of interstitial peri-urban green spaces within a polycentric region in a fragmented state that contribute to the physical, social, and psychological aspects of human wellbeing. The statistically significant eco-spatial characteristics of polycentric peri-urban interstitial green spaces that are reported to impact human wellbeing are the size, proximity, maintenance and management, and the level of greenness within its vegetation composition and setting. Overall, a spatially diverse, fragmented, peri-urban landscape whose green spaces are extensively sized, naturalistically shaped with horizontal vegetation and normal sized edges, most often parks or woodlands or forests which are integrated and physically connected to another green space which is moderately clean and somewhat safe as well as being located close to or adjacent to a heavy-trafficked road provide the most human wellbeing benefits.
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Oleg, Kravchenko, and Кравченко Олег Вадимович. "Optimization environment urban development in different conditions of degraded landscapes." Thesis, НАУ, 2016. http://er.nau.edu.ua/handle/NAU/24678.
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In the modern industrial city most consistent solution that provides a gradual creation of conditions to optimize urban environment, is the implementation of architectural and landscape rehabilitation of urban areas. Implementation of reconstruction works associated with changes in the quality of the urban environment, can be effective only if their social and ecological. In this regard,architectural and spatial ormation of the urban environment is considered in conjunction with the functional and ecological optimization and compositional harmonization.
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Alizadeh, Behdad. "The impacts of climate change on designing sustainable urban landscapes." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2016. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/14381/.
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There is much evidence to indicate that the climate is changing. The aims of this study were to develop meadow-like communities of Continental, Mediterranean and Temperate grassland species as a new approach to designing sustainable urban landscapes under different climate change scenarios. To achieve this aim, a community of thirty-six species from Marine, Mediterranean and Continental temperate climates were chosen to represent a gradient from well-fitted to poorly-fitted to the current British climate. The species were chosen to share similar morphological characteristics, in terms of canopy size, texture and structure. They were also chosen to be attractive in terms of colourful flowers, from spring to autumn, which provides a strong design impact. Three series of the experiment were conducted to investigate the effects of different climate scenarios on the fitness and growth performance of native and non-native species in meadow-like communities. The plant species seedlings were grown in situ at Sheffield Botanical Gardens with three watering regime rates (50% increase in precipitation, 50% decrease in precipitation and ambient), two different temperature treatments (Ambient and Ambient plus 30C), two levels of CO2 concentration (Ambient and Ambient +450PPM) in the presence or absence of molluscs. The results indicate that water availability; CO2 concentration and temperature are three important factors to choose plant species for greenspace according to the future climate change scenarios. Although each of the environmental factors has specific effects on species fitness and adjustment, their interaction is more important. At the Ambient level of CO2, the intermediate-fitted group (Mediterranean climate species) shows the highest biomass production in future climate scenarios. The poorly-fitted species cannot tolerate high levels of moisture, when the moisture level reaches Ambient over 50% of the plants in this group will show negligible growth, but increasing temperature can decrease this effect excess water in different species at different levels. Increasing CO2 from the ambient level to 900PPM enhanced the biomass productivity in all groups. The continental temperate grassland species (poorly fitted species) at CO2:900PPM, Temperature: Ambient, Moisture: Ambient and the Ambient +50% condition, showed similar biomass productivity to Mediterranean climate species. Overall, a designed plant community of species from Marine and Mediterranean climates will present the best-fitted species to design naturalistic urban landscapes according the 2050 UK climate change scenarios. Mollusc grazing was affected by different climate scenarios (from dry and warm to wet and hot). Slugs showed different behaviours in dry, wet, warm and ambient temperature in terms of plant selection for feeding. There was no significant difference in biodiversity support between native and non-native species regarding mollusc grazing.
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Ozguner, Halil. "Public and professional attitudes to naturalistic landscapes in urban areas." Thesis, University of Reading, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.390594.
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Waters, Summer, and Haley Paul. "Using Rainwater in Urban Landscapes: Quick Guide for Maricopa County." College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ), 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/225866.
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Roos, Bonnie. "Balancing Agricultural and Urban Water Needs in Transitioning Arid Landscapes." DigitalCommons@USU, 2016. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/5017.
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In the arid western United States (U.S.), population expansion is dependent on water supply. With the majority of the water being consumed in agriculture, municipalities often obtain water supply needed for growth from agriculture. Water supply reallocation generally occurs through agricultural-to-urban water right transfers. This trend in agricultural-to-urban water transfers drives the question of how to strike a balance between agricultural and urban water needs in rapidly growing arid regions. In the Intermountain West region of the United States, Utah is a state with a rapidly growing population and limited water supply. This study occurred between 2015 and 2016, using a multi-method approach to understand agricultural-to-urban water transfers in Utah. Inperson interviews, participant observation, and secondary data collection methods focused on existing challenges and opportunities for striking a balance between these water interests. Data revealed that water transfers out of agriculture and into municipalities are more significant to areas of Utah experiencing rapid population growth. Policy challenges arise as water is seen as a monetary asset, incentivizing the reintroduction of old water rights into an established water priority system. Further challenges occur as municipal uses are given preference in state development strategies over agricultural uses. This preference can incentivize both the selling of water to municipalities and the gathering of large municipal water right portfolios. Balancing growth and water interests in transitioning landscapes is suggested through the use of agreements, as well as regional planning and collaboration. This transition, if not properly planned and accounted for in the water budget, can create dilemmas with water availability, delivery, and use as separate water providers prepare for growth within their own geographic boundaries. The Mt. Nebo Water Agency provides the opportunity for stakeholder involvement and boundary-spanning to occur between regional municipal and agricultural interests. Stakeholder involvement and boundary-spanning solutions are considered crucial factors for regional planning, particularly with resources like water that traverse political boundaries.
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Duong, Hang T. T. "Deficit Irrigation of Kentucky Bluegrass for Intermountain West Urban Landscapes." DigitalCommons@USU, 2014. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/3704.
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Due to end users irrigating with excess water, water conservation of turfgrass can make a large impact in urban water conservation by reducing water applied while still maintaining visual appearance. This study was conducted to determine if Kentucky bluegrass (Poapratensis L.) can be deficit irrigated to maintain minimum acceptable appearance while conserving water. The study investigated water stress in terms of stomatal conductance, chlorophyll index, leaf temperature and predawn leaf water potential at the point of water stress, or where visual quality no longer meets expectations during dry down conditions. Water use was measured over well established Kentucky bluegrass with an eddy covariance system that was validated with soil water measurements. Turfgrass was irrigated at 80% of reference evapotranspiration based on allowable depletion of 12 mm of soil water during growing season that was considered to be well-watered. Two dry downs were conducted over a two-year period (early and late summer). Turfgrass was allowed to dry down without irrigation until visual quality reached the minimum acceptable points (score ≤ 6). During drying periods, visual rating, chlorophyll index, predawn leaf water potential, and leaf temperature with stomatal conductance rapidly decreased once stomatal conductance fell to approximately half of well-watered levels. Both soil water content and evapotranspiration had weak correlation with stomatal conductance; however, stomatal conductance tended to have higher correlation with the change in soil moisture than with the change in crop evapotranspiration. Soil water use and eddy covariance data in terms of crop evapotranspiration had high correlation. The plant water use factor ranged from around 0.8 to 1.1 under well-watered condition corresponding to visual rating from 7 to 9. At the minimum acceptable point of visual rating, which is 5.5 to 6, the plant factor ranged from 0.65 to 0.87. This value of plant factor is quite high at this point. Even when Kentucky bluegrass went below acceptable visual quality, the grass still used significant amounts of water with the plant factor value ranging from 0.6 to 0.8. The data suggested that deficit irrigation cannot be applied with Kentucky bluegrass in the Intermountain West area.
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Borgström, Sara. "Urban shades of green : Current patterns and future prospects of nature conservation in urban landscapes." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Systemekologiska institutionen, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-46150.
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Urban nature provides local ecosystem services such as absorption of air pollutants, reduction of noise, and provision of places for recreation, and is therefore crucial to urban sustainable development. Nature conservation in cities is also part of the global effort to halt biodiversity decline. Urban landscapes, however, display distinguishing social and ecological characteristics and therefore the implementation of nature conservation frameworks into cities, requires reconsideration of what nature to preserve, for whom and where. The aim of this thesis was to examine the current urban nature conservation with special focus on formally protected areas, and discuss their future role in the urban landscape. A social-ecological systems approach was used as framework and both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied. The studies were performed at local to regional scales in the southern part of Sweden. Four key questions were addressed: i) What are the characteristics of nature conservation in urban landscapes? ii) How does establishment of nature conservation areas affect the surrounding urban landscape? iii) In what ways are spatial and temporal scales recognized in practical management of nature conservation areas? and iv) How can the dichotomy of built up and nature conservation areas be overcome in urban planning? Nature reserves in urban, compared to rural landscapes were in general fewer, but larger and included a higher diversity of land covers. They were also based on a higher number and different kinds of objectives than rural nature reserves. Urbanisation adjacent to nature reserves followed the general urbanisation patterns in the cities and no additional increase in urban settlements could be detected. In general, there was a lack of social and ecological linkages between the nature conservation areas and the urban landscape and practical management showed a limited recognition of cross-scale interactions and meso-scales. Such conceptual and physical isolation risks decreasing the public support for nature conservation, cause biodiversity decline, and hence impact the generation of ecosystem services. A major future challenge is therefore to transform current conservation strategies to become a tool where urban nature is perceived, planned and managed as valuable and integrated parts of the city. To enable social-ecological synergies, future urban planning should address proactive approaches together with key components like active enhancement of multifunctional landscapes, cross-scale strategies and border zone management.At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Submitted. Paper 5: Manuscript.
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Brand, Anna Livia. "Cacophonous geographies : the symbolic and material landscapes of race." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77839.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 212-219).
Since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the election of President Barack Obama in 2008, the country has struggled with questions regarding the salience of racial inequality. While the days following Katrina harshly illuminated these inequalities, the election of the country's first black president indicated that we had made great strides toward racial equality and many hoped that we would move forward in this struggle. Yet the ensuing redevelopment of New Orleans indicates that we still have a long way to go not only in acknowledging that racial inequalities exist but also in understanding their root causes and how they shape our visions for change. This dissertation takes up the issue of emplaced racial inequality in the redevelopment of New Orleans and considers its implications for the theory and practice of planning. It questions how race operates in and is constituted by space and how space shapes racial experiences. It asks what blacks have to say about their urban experience and what their visions for change are. By comparing blacks' and whites' views regarding the redevelopment of the city, this research explores their epistemological differences and questions which worldviews are reinforced or undermined by the state. Sited in post-Katrina New Orleans, this research compares blacks' and whites' experiences in three neighborhoods - Treme, Lakeview, and the Lower Ninth Ward. It asks why, given the common history of Katrina, residents in these neighborhoods have such different visions for their futures. It explores how blacks make sense of their racial experiences and use space and their emplaced social networks to overcome the racial disparities they face. By elevating these narratives, this dissertation argues that not only are blacks' and whites' visions for redevelopment distinctly different, but that blacks' visions potentially offer to planning critical understanding of the connections between individuals and communities, between communities and urban space, and a more just and equitable way of reconstructing the city. My critique, from the empirical work presented in this dissertation, is that planning not only fails to fully consider these ideas, but that it obfuscates blacks' worldviews and therefore contributes to an unequal urban sphere.
by Anna Livia Brand.
Ph.D.
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Gehring, Jake. "Modus operandi within landscapes wasted through attrition." PDF viewer required Home page for entire collection, 2008. http://archives.udmercy.edu:8080/dspace/handle/10429/9.
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Hedblom, Marcus Söderström Bo. "Birds and butterflies in Swedish urban and peri-urban habitats : a landscape perspective /." Uppsala : Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2007. http://diss-epsilon.slu.se/archive/00001453/.
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Thesis (doctoral)--Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2007.Thesis documentation sheet inserted. Includes appendix of four papers and manuscripts co-authored with Bo Söderström. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued electronically via World Wide Web in PDF format; online version lacks appendix.
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Ernstson, Henrik. "In Rhizomia : Actors, Networks and Resilience in Urban Landscapes." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Systemekologiska institutionen, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-8137.
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With accelerating urbanization it is crucial to understand how urban ecosystems play a part in generating ecosystem services for urban dwellers, such as clean water, spaces for recreation, stress relief and improved air quality. An equally important question relate to who gets to enjoy these benefits, i.e. the distribution of ecosystem services, and how issues of power and equity influence the management of ecosystems. Through case studies from the urban landscape of Stockholm, this doctoral thesis engages with these perspectives through combining ecological theory with social theory, including social network analysis, actor-network theory and social movement theory. Strategies for how to improve urban ecosystem management are presented along with frameworks for how to analyze issues of power and equity in relation to natural resource management. Paper I shows that ecosystem management can be studied through analyzing the structure of social networks, i.e. the patterns of relations between agencies, stake-holders and user groups. Paper II and Paper III analyze, based on a network survey of 62 civil society organizations and in-depth interviews, a transformational process of how an urban local movement managed to protect a large urban green area from exploitation (The Stockholm National Urban Park). Paper IV discusses, based on several case studies from Stockholm, a conducive network structure for linking managers and user groups (e.g. allotment gardens, cemetery managers, and urban planners) across spatial ecological scales so as to improve urban green area management. Paper V presents a framework to analyze the social-ecological dynamics behind the generation and distribution of ecosystem services in urban landscapes. The thesis points towards the notion of "a social production of ecosystem services" and argues for deeper engagement with urban political ecology and critical geography to inform governance and collective action in relation to urban ecosystems.
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Andersson, Erik. "Managing the urban greens : maintaining ecological functions in human dominated landscapes /." Stockholm : Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-6982.
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Eaves, Shane Richard. "Geographic Intersection| Urban Landscapes, the Natural World, and the Epiphanic Moment." Thesis, California State University, Long Beach, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1526901.
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Geographic Intersection: Urban Landscapes, the Natural World, and the Epiphanic Moment is a collection of poetry spanning my undergraduate and graduate career at California State University, Long Beach. The three-part structure of this work largely encapsulates the esthetic concerns and subject matter of my poetry. I investigate the way space is socially, culturally, and geopolitically rendered in an attempt to illuminate the (in)visible substructures and wilderness of urban environments. The natural world is also important to my work, functioning as a catalyst for the revelation and epiphany of existential and biological unity. The appendices are arranged so they seamlessly fluctuate between natural and urban environments, with attention paid to socioeconomic and cultural nuance throughout.
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Brew, Nina V. "Transformations of Spanish urban landscapes in the American Southwest, 1821-1900." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/71378.
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Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1986.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-111).
Through an examination of changes in urban structure and building form, I will consider the continuity of historical Spanish urban form in the American Southwest. The study encompasses three phases of increasing Anglo American influence between 1821 and 1900. An analysis of Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Socorro and Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Tucson. Arizona will be made in reference to: culturally- embedded models of city form in 16th century Spain and 19th century North America: modifications to those models due to a frontier location; and the geographical context of the Southwest. The method of analysis is based on a matrix of transformation processes and hierarchical levels of scale in the environment, and is applied to historic maps, photographs and written descriptions of the five towns. This method identifies elements of form and processes of change that continue to influence the form of these cities and are thus relevant considerations for architectural and urban design interventions in the present.
by Nina V. Brew.
M.S.
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Chiang, Alice T. "Cultural Identity in Contemporary Immigrant America: Placemaking in Marginal Urban Landscapes." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1377866341.
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Brinkman, Elliot Easton. "Measuring Community Capacity Across Urban and Rural Landscapes in Southwestern Illinois." OpenSIUC, 2010. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/315.
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Water quality is a substantial issue in rural and urban areas in the Midwestern United States. Water resources, such as streams, are often impaired by pollution. This can pose a threat to the natural ecosystem and the health of those that live within it. In the Lower Kaskaskia River region, Illinois communities are faced with impaired water resources. In order to effectively manage for healthy waterways, communities must have skills and resources to address threats to water quality. This study assessed capacity for effective watershed management in four communities within the Lower Kaskaskia River region. Each community exists within a subwatershed of the Lower Kaskaskia River Watershed. A stratified, random sample of 3,609 residents living within the four watersheds was taken to gather data on several community capacity indicators for each watershed community. A questionnaire was distributed to individuals living within the study area to measure dimensions of community capacity and familiarity with water conservation practices. With data from the questionnaire, it was possible to measure collective action, community empowerment, and shared vision for each of the communities within the study area. Exploratory factor analysis yielded outcomes that differed from theoretical literature on the topic. A stepwise regression analysis illustrated the importance of community empowerment in explaining the greatest amount of variability (39%) in community capacity. Once reliable measures of community capacity were established, it was possible to examine them across urban and rural areas. A multivariate analysis showed no significant difference between urban and rural community type in regards to levels of community empowerment, collective action, shared vision, and community capacity. Measurements of community capacity were not significantly different at á = 0.05 across urban and rural communities; however, practical differences between urban and rural communities were identified. Understanding practical differences in community capacity between different community types will assist in the development of outreach and education techniques that are relevant for both urban and rural communities that exist within the study area. Outreach and education strategies will allow for the implementation of effective natural resource management within the study communities, while informing citizens and leaders on watershed conservation practices that can be implemented at the individual and community levels.
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Ward-Lambert, Missy. "Old Roots: Place-Making and Hybrid Landscapes of Refugee Urban Farmers." DigitalCommons@USU, 2014. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/3298.
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This research project was designed to analyze the relevance of place and the physical environment to the adjustment processes of refugees. This dissertation contains the results of qualitative research with a group of 30 refugee urban farmers living in Salt Lake City, Utah. Seventeen of these individuals—from Burundi, Sudan, Bhutan, the Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, and Cuba—participated in interviews and a photography project focused on their experiences with agriculture in their home countries and since their arrival in Utah. The results of the research show the connection between the refugees’ work as farmers and their sense of place since arriving in the United States. Participants reported material and emotional benefits from their farming work, as well as challenges. The research results also provide insight into the process of cultural hybridization and cross-cultural exchange experienced by the participants. A discussion of some challenges inherent in doing research with refugees is included, and policy implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.
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Iyengar, Varsha G. "Liminal Landscapes: Conditioning Climates on the Chicago Riverfront." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1553618489377804.
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Kafer, Elijah. "Techné exploration of unmanifested shifts in cultural landscapes /." This title; PDF viewer required Home page for entire collection, 2008. http://archives.udmercy.edu:8080/dspace/handle/10429/9.
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Pitt-Perez, Olivia. "Social landscapes: social interaction fostering a healthier lifestyle." Kansas State University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/17751.
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Master of Landscape ArchitectureDepartment of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning
Jason Brody
It is easier for users to say that they frequent a park because they like the greenery than to say instead, that a park offers opportunities to meet or watch other people (Marcus, 1998).One of the main reasons people visit parks is to engage in both overt and covert social interaction (Gehl, 2010). Many people desire the opportunity to interact with others as a means of fulfilling their social well-being, but it is often unattainable in a civic space due to the lack of activities that promote social interaction. The lack of activities is specifically relevant in and around Washington Square Park, primarily due to a series of physical and social dilemmas the site faces. Washington Square Park is an underused civic space that has the potential to establish itself as a social civic anchor for downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Developing Washington Square Park into a civic space that promotes social interaction will help to achieve this potential. It will also help to bridge the gap with the current physical and social dilemmas that hinder the space. Through a process of literature review, precedent studies, and site analysis, project goals were established. To achieve these goals a set of design interventions were formed to address the physical and social dilemmas in and around the site. These interactions will then inform a final design for Washington Square Park that promotes a healthier lifestyle through social interaction for the users of the site.
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McMorrow, Aishling. "Urban landscapes of (in)security : affect and emotion in New York City." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 2017. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.727759.
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This thesis emerges from a dissatisfaction with the way that fear and (in)security are attributed to the urban landscape of New York City after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. I explore how three central sites in New York City - Grand Central Terminal, Rockefeller Center and Central Park - are shaped much more centrally by discourses aimed at distracting people from feelings of (in)security. So while these sites are marked by security infrastructures, they are much more about leisure, pleasure and consumption than they are about fear or vulnerability. My central claim in this thesis is that emotions do not operate uniformly or placidly at these spaces, instead, to analyse the emotional register properly, a more extensive theorisation of the discursive is required. As such, I foreground the importance of incorporating the physical body into my analysis in order to explore the power of affect and emotion, and how these registers physically shape bodies and the spaces they move through. Instead of a singular reading of fear, I focus instead on the alternative and "distracting" discourses that take people away from fear, and call attention to the complex entanglements of affect, emotion, the corporeal and the spatial that enable these discourses to continually displace feelings of (in)security. What I find across these three sites is that the official discourses aimed at distracting people from feelings of (in)security encourage certain affects and emotions, and order bodies and spaces in particular ways. Neither the dominance of fear nor the alternative mobilisation of leisure go untroubled at these spaces. It is only by focusing on the (inter)actions of affect, emotion, the corporeal and the spatial that we are able to engage with these lively and plural registers of discourse, and show how bodies are constantly negotiating with the power structures they encounter.
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Lu, Yueh-E. "Urban waterfronts as cultural landscapes : a study in conservation in modern Taiwan." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.520760.
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Wolyniak, Brian John. "Quantifying the Potential for Non-Point Source Pollution in Model Urban Landscapes." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/36330.
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The contribution of non-point source pollution to degrading surface water quality is considerable throughout Virginia and beyond. While research on agricultural best management practices in nutrient management and nutrient and soil stabilization has made progress in reducing agricultural contributions to nutrient and sediment loading of watersheds, little is known about how land covers of different vegetation representative of urban areas (e.g., bare soil versus turfgrass lawns versus urban forest) influence the potential for non-point source pollution.
Ambient rainfall volumes were manipulated to provide 50%, 100%, and 150% of natural precipitation to plots with landscape covers of bare soil, shredded wood mulch, turfgrass, and simulated urban forest (complete pin oak canopy with shredded hardwood leaf mulch). Precipitation amounts, runoff volumes, and eroded sediment masses for ten rain events between July and December 2004 were measured. Runoff was analyzed for nitrate and orthophosphate concentrations for three rain events. Turfgrass was found to be the most effective of the land covers tested at reducing components of non-point source pollution from stormwater. Turfgrass plots produced, on average, the least runoff and sediment, and lower nitrate concentrations in runoff water as compared to the other land covers tested. Results from urban forest plots apparently reflected the disturbance of tree planting, even six months later. This study contributes to a sparse body of knowledge about the influences of urban landscapes on water quality, and will inform land use policy and urban Best Management Practices.Master of Science