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- All Subjects: Sustainability
- All Subjects: Phoenix
- Creators: School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning
Sense of Place, Place Attachment, and Student Perceptions of Sustainability in the Salt River Valley
Many people use public transportation in their daily lives, which is often praised at as a healthy and sustainable choice to make. However, in extreme temperatures this also puts people at a greater risk for negative consequences resulting from such exposure to heat. In Phoenix, public transportation riders are faced with extreme heat in the summer along with the increased internal heat production caused by the physical activity required to use public transportation. In this study, I estimated total exposure and average exposure per rider for six stops in Phoenix. To do this I used City of Phoenix ridership data, weather data, and survey responses from an ASU City of Phoenix Bus Stop Survey conducted in summer 2016. These data sets were combined by multiplying different metrics to produce various exposure values. During analysis two sets of calculations were made. One keeping weather constant and another keeping ridership constant. I found that there was a large range of exposure between the selected stops and that the thermal environment influences the amount of exposure depending on the time of day the exposure is occurring. During the morning a greener location leads to less exposure, while in the afternoon an urban location leads to less exposure. Know detailed information about exposure at these stops I was also able to evaluate survey participants' thermal comfort at each stop and how it may relate to exposure. These findings are useful in making educated transportation planning decisions and improving the quality of life for people living in places with extreme summer temperatures.
The EcoCode resembles a typical form-based code in structure, but at a smaller geographic scale. General Provisions describes the context of the surrounding area that must be assessed before choosing to create an EcoBlock. Development and Adoption strategy explains the evolving role of the EBO and how the realization of this design is currently envisioned. Regulating Block, Block Development Standards, Building Envelope Standards, and Building Development Standards describe the detail that will need to be developed for the physical aspects of each block. Streetscape Standards describe the vision of the EBO as applicable to the streets surrounding an EcoBlock. Finally, the Sustainability Standards contain the contribution of each board member of the EBO with their unique expertise on implementing the design principles.
As a supplement to The EcoCode itself, this document contains three topics for case studies looking into the feasibility of the EcoBlock as a whole: shared space, net-zero energy, and mixed-income housing. Shared space development and management uses Montgomery Park in Boston to show the potential of community-based organization while warning against gentrification. The West Village campus of the University of California in Davis shows the technical possibility and the financial challenges of a net-zero community. Brogården, an affordable housing community in Sweden, demonstrates the possibility for decreasing energy consumption in public housing. Finally, Via Verde in New York City is an example of combining health, green space, and affordability in a mixed-income housing development. Though there is not yet an example of a fully implemented EcoBlock, these case studies speak to the challenges and the facilitators that the EBO will likely face.