Matching Items (18)
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- All Subjects: urban planning
- Creators: School of Sustainability
Description
Defines the concept of the arcology as conceived by architect Paolo Soleri. Arcology combines "architecture" and "ecology" and explores a visionary notion of a self-contained urban community that has agricultural, commercial, and residential facilities under one roof. Two real-world examples of these projects are explored: Arcosanti, AZ and Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Key aspects of the arcology that could be applied to an existing urban fabric are identified, such as urban design fostering social interaction, reduction of automobile dependency, and a development pattern that combats sprawl. Through interviews with local representatives, a holistic approach to applying arcology concepts to the Phoenix Metro Area is devised.
ContributorsSpencer, Sarah Anne (Author) / Manuel-Navarrete, David (Thesis director) / Salon, Deborah (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Sustainable urbanism offers a set of best practice planning and design prescriptions intended to reverse the negative environmental consequences of urban sprawl, which dominates new urban development in the United States. Master planned developments implementing sustainable urbanism are proliferating globally, garnering accolades within the planning community and skepticism among social scientists. Despite attention from supporters and critics alike, little is known about the actual environmental performance of sustainable urbanism. This dissertation addresses the reasons for this paucity of evidence and the capacity of sustainable urbanism to deliver the espoused environmental outcomes through alternative urban design and the conventional master planning framework for development through three manuscripts. The first manuscript considers the reasons why geography, which would appear to be a natural empirical home for research on sustainable urbanism, has yet to accumulate evidence that links design alternatives to environmental outcomes or to explain the social processes that mediate those outcomes. It argues that geography has failed to develop a coherent subfield based on nature-city interactions and suggests interdisciplinary bridging concepts to invigorate greater interaction between the urban and nature-society geographic subfields. The subsequent chapters deploy these bridging concepts to empirically examine case-studies in sustainable urbanism. The second manuscript utilizes fine scale spatial data to quantify differences in ecosystem services delivery across three urban designs in two phases of Civano, a sustainable urbanism planned development in Tucson, Arizona, and an adjacent, typical suburban development comparison community. The third manuscript considers the extent to which conventional master planning processes are fundamentally at odds with urban environmental sustainability through interviews with stakeholders involved in three planned developments: Civano (Tucson, Arizona), Mueller (Austin, Texas), and Prairie Crossing (Grayslake, Illinois). Findings from the three manuscripts reveal deep challenges in conceptualizing an empirical area of inquiry on sustainable urbanism, measuring the outcomes of urban design alternatives, and innovating planning practice within the constraints of existing institutions that facilitate conventional development. Despite these challenges, synthesizing the insights of geography and cognate fields holds promise in building an empirical body of knowledge that complements pioneering efforts of planners to innovate urban planning practice through the sustainable urbanism alternative.
ContributorsTurner, Victoria (Author) / Gober, Patricia (Thesis advisor) / Eakin, Hallie (Committee member) / Kinzig, Ann (Committee member) / Talen, Emily (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This paper explores women and bicycling, with the focus of looking at how to get more women onto the bicycle in Tempe, Arizona. The main areas of interest for this study are improvements to bicycling infrastructure and an increase in the safety and the perception of safety of women cyclists in the Tempe area. In order to explore this topic, an online survey of 75 Arizona State students was conducted. From the results women were primarily concerned with their safety due to the condition of the overall infrastructure and the lack of bicycle related improvements. Research such as this that examines women and cycling is significant due to the current underrepresentation of women in the cycling community and has the potential to improve safety and increase bicycle ridership.
ContributorsStarr, Nicole (Author) / Kelley, Jason (Thesis director) / Golub, Aaron (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
City planners often use bicycle friendly rating schemes as tools to guide them in their efforts to establish a bicycle community. However, the criteria and methodologies used vary from program to program and often do not encapsulate all of the necessary elements that comprise true bicycle friendliness. This report documents the important elements, strategies, and best practices that well-established Dutch, Danish, and German bike friendly cities exhibit to create a baseline standard for bicycle friendliness. Not all rating programs' criteria and methodologies align perfectly within this understanding of bicycle friendliness. City planners should use these programs as tools while keeping their limitations in consideration. The City of Tempe currently uses the League of American Bicyclists Bicycle Friendly Community program and BikeScore.com. By understanding the limitations associated with these programs, Tempe should move forward in their pursuit of bicycle friendliness by using multiple rating programs simultaneously and by looking at top-rated cities' strategies to enhance their infrastructure, network, urban form, and biking culture.
ContributorsTrombino, Frank Michael (Author) / Golub, Aaron (Thesis director) / Kelley, Jason (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Environmental change and natural hazards represent a challenge for sustainable development. By disrupting livelihoods and causing billions of dollars in damages, disasters can undo many decades of development. Development, on the other hand, can actually increase vulnerability to disasters by depleting environmental resources and marginalizing the poorest. Big disasters and big cities get the most attention from the media and academia. The vulnerabilities and capabilities of small cities have not been explored adequately in academic research, and while some cities in developed countries have begun to initiate mitigation and adaptation responses to environmental change, most cities in developing countries have not. In this thesis I explore the vulnerability to flooding of the US-Mexico border by using the cities of Nogales, Arizona, USA and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico as a case study. I ask the following questions: What is the spatial distribution of vulnerability, and what is the role of the border in increasing or decreasing vulnerability? What kind of coordination should occur among local institutions to address flooding in the cities? I use a Geographic Information System to analyze the spatial distribution of flood events and the socio-economic characteristics of both cities. The result is an index that estimates flood vulnerability using a set of indicators that are comparable between cities on both sides of the border. I interviewed planners and local government officials to validate the vulnerability model and to assess collaboration efforts between the cities. This research contributes to our understanding of vulnerability and sustainability in two ways: (1) it provides a framework for assessing and comparing vulnerabilities at the city level between nations, overcoming issues of data incompatibility, and (2) it highlights the institutional arrangements of border cities and how they affect vulnerability.
ContributorsMárquez Reyes, Bernardo J (Author) / Eakin, Hallie (Thesis advisor) / Lara-Valencia, Francisco (Thesis advisor) / Aggarwal, Rimjhim (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
This research project is part of a larger study of green infrastructure in urban planning and sustainability initiatives in cities across the U.S. Within the past few decades, the topic of sustainability has been at the forefront of city planners’ minds as cities grow, there is new or redevelopment, and the threat of climate change and future climate variability increases. Green infrastructure is one increasingly popular urban sustainability strategy, which is widely promoted for its ability to provide multiple benefits. This multi-functionality translates into ecosystem services and possible disservices for a local community and the city as a whole. This research project examines 120 planning documents from 19 U.S. cities to examine whether the services cities say they expect green infrastructure to provide, or the rationale, match with the criteria used to determine where green infrastructure is sited. For this project, we ask: what are the rationales that cities provide for developing green infrastructure and what are the criteria cities are using to determine where to site it? We find that certain rationales, or benefits, are claimed without corresponding and specific siting criteria to substantiate how these benefits will be achieved, while other benefits, like those related to stormwater management, are prioritized over other potentially important benefits.
ContributorsColeman, Emma Ciara (Author) / Meerow, Sara (Thesis director) / Hoover, Fushcia-Ann (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
As recent statistics from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) show, “in the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of the food supply…at the retail and consumer levels, correspond[ing] to approximately 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food in 2010” (“Food Loss and Waste | FDA”, 2020). Not only is excess food waste an economic problem for numerous companies, it’s unsustainable and inefficient when there could be the potential for learning and implementing innovative solutions, both on a large and small scale. The research from this creative project will focus on comparing The Walt Disney Company’s current food waste sustainability practices at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, with Arizona State University’s (ASU’s) local Aramark Catering Services practices and initiatives throughout the Tempe campus’ dining halls. Specifically, the thesis will explore the benefits of anaerobic digesters and The Walt Disney Company’s use of anaerobic digesters at their Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts as a central means of converting food waste material into renewable natural gas. It will also explore Aramark’s current food waste management processes, specifically composting with the City of Phoenix’s industrial-grade composting yard, and the potential for implementing anaerobic digestion via a partnership with the City of Mesa into or in place of their current processes on ASU’s Tempe campus in the future.
ContributorsNagy, Billie Isabella (Author) / Burns, Kevin (Thesis director) / Cloutier, Scott (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
As a cause of negative economic, societal, and environmental effects, food waste is increasingly being seen as a sustainability issue that needs to be addressed. Reduction of food waste is preferred to recycling because it reduces the financial burden and technological innovations needed to address the issue. While there are many different approaches to reduce food waste, this paper investigates dynamic social norms as an avenue for reducing food waste. Recent studies showcased the effectiveness of using dynamic social norms to reduce meat consumption and the use of to-go cups. However, there appears to be a gap in research that investigates the impact of dynamic social norms in U.S. university community dining settings. This study piloted the use of dynamic social norms to intervene in post-consumer food waste behaviors at Arizona State University. Specifically, this study compared food waste amounts in a location with and without an intervention tool as well as conducted interviews to monitor any self-reported behavior change. Results show that dynamic social norms can promote behavior change in terms of food waste when compared to a control location without the intervention. Further, this study advocates for monitoring food habits through both quantitative and qualitative analysis in order to identify potential behavior changes that could not be captured to the same extent by a mono-methodological approach.
ContributorsCampbell, Hailey Paige (Author) / Fischer, Daniel (Thesis director) / Auustin-Behravesh, Shirley-Ann (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor, Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This thesis explores the role and meaning of community in the community land trust (CLT) model, and uses a single embedded case study to examine the mission, organizational structure, and governance model of Newtown CDC, a CLT based in Phoenix, Arizona. The thesis seeks to answer the questions, “What does community participation and empowerment mean to Newtown CDC”, and “how does the organization satisfy the competing needs of community participation and affordable housing production?” Historical documents of Newtown CDC, interviews with CLT staff, board members, and national policy representatives, as well as a survey of current and former CLT residents, reveal the perceived meaning and role of community, its evolution, and successes and failures in engaging the community. The data finds that a change in political and cultural dynamics has contributed to more resources focused on developing affordable housing, and less focus on community engagement. CLTs have adapted to this change, and the role and execution of community engagement has also evolved.
ContributorsSubbaraman, Sree Manasvini (Author) / Ehlenz, Meagan (Thesis director) / Brewer, Stephanie (Committee member) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Food waste is a growing global issue that exemplifies an unsustainable system of resource loss in landfills which eventually breaks down into the greenhouse gas of methane. Approaching landfill diversion of food waste on the local level requires innovative solutions based on public and private partnerships. This thesis project explored how the City of Tempe's Grease Cooperative could provide a model of restaurant partnership and third-party service to tackle not just restaurant grease waste in water, but food waste in the solid waste stream. This used other city-run food waste collection systems as examples, and it relied on the input and support of multiple municipal stakeholders in its design. Using an existing food waste collection service in the Phoenix metropolitan area, the research was collected during a month-long observational pilot study of four Tempe restaurants, where data ranged from trash bin differences to kitchen staff sizes. The results of the pilot were compiled for the benefit of the collection service, the City of Tempe, and the involved restaurants to demonstrate potential obstacles to a currently small, but scalable, collection service, and potential solutions that will make the service more efficient and attractive to new customers. Future research goals include expanding the pilot's reach and information through stronger partnerships and collaborative data collection in Tempe, providing a guide to a food waste collection cooperative within Tempe, and promoting large scale diversion of food waste from restaurants both through prevention and nutrient recycling. The final paper was submitted for publication to the Solutions journal, as an example of "On the Ground" implementation of solutions.
ContributorsAndersen, Annika Emmaline (Author) / Cloutier, Scott (Thesis director) / Eakin, Hallie (Committee member) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05