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- Genre: Academic theses
Description
The dynamics of urban water use are characterized by spatial and temporal variability that is influenced by associated factors at different scales. Thus it is important to capture the relationship between urban water use and its determinants in a spatio-temporal framework in order to enhance understanding and management of urban water demand. This dissertation aims to contribute to understanding the spatio-temporal relationships between single-family residential (SFR) water use and its determinants in a desert city. The dissertation has three distinct papers to support this goal. In the first paper, I demonstrate that aggregated scale data can be reliably used to study the relationship between SFR water use and its determinants without leading to significant ecological fallacy. The usability of aggregated scale data facilitates scientific inquiry about SFR water use with more available aggregated scale data. The second paper advances understanding of the relationship between SFR water use and its associated factors by accounting for the spatial and temporal dependence in a panel data setting. The third paper of this dissertation studies the historical contingency, spatial heterogeneity, and spatial connectivity in the relationship of SFR water use and its determinants by comparing three different regression models. This dissertation demonstrates the importance and necessity of incorporating spatio-temporal components, such as scale, dependence, and heterogeneity, into SFR water use research. Spatial statistical models should be used to understand the effects of associated factors on water use and test the effectiveness of certain management policies since spatial effects probably will significantly influence the estimates if only non-spatial statistical models are used. Urban water demand management should pay attention to the spatial heterogeneity in predicting the future water demand to achieve more accurate estimates, and spatial statistical models provide a promising method to do this job.
ContributorsOuyang, Yun (Author) / Wentz, Elizabeth (Thesis advisor) / Ruddell, Benjamin (Thesis advisor) / Harlan, Sharon (Committee member) / Janssen, Marcus (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The aims of the study are to investigate the relationship between density and social equity. Social equity is an important social goal with regard to urban development, especially smart growth and sustainable development; however, a definition of the concept of social equity from an urban planning perspective was still lacking. In response to these deficiencies, the study used quantitative and qualitative methods and synthesized multiple social and spatial perspectives to provide guidance for density and social equity planning, community design, and public policy. This study used data for the area of King County, Washington to explore the empirical relationship between density and social equity at the neighborhood level. In examining access to several facilities, this study found that distances to parks and grocery stores were shorter than those to other facilities, such as the library, hospital, police station, and fire station. In terms of the relationship between density and accessibility, the results show that higher density is associated with better accessibility in neighborhoods. Density is also positively associated with both income diversity and affordable housing for low-income families. In terms of the relationship between density and crime, density is positively associated with violent crime, while density is negatively associated with property crime. The findings of this study can aid in the development and evaluation of urban policy and density planning aimed at promoting social benefits in urban space. Therefore, this study is useful to a range of stakeholders, including urban planners, policy makers, residents, and social science researchers across different disciplines.
ContributorsMin, Bogyeong (Author) / Talen, Emily (Thesis advisor) / Harlan, Sharon (Committee member) / Phillips, Rhonda (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Many studies have shown that access to healthy food in the US is unevenly distributed and that supermarkets and other fresh food retailers are less likely to be located in low-income minority communities, where convenience and dollar stores are more prevalent grocery options. I formed a partnership with Phoenix Revitalization Corporation, a local community development organization engaged in Central City South, Phoenix, to enhance the community's capacity to meet its community health goals by improving access to healthy food. I used a community-based participatory approach that blended qualitative and quantitative elements to accommodate collaboration between both academic and non-academic partners. Utilizing stakeholder interviews, Nutrition Environment Measures Surveys (NEMS), and mapping to analyze the community's food resources, research revealed that the community lacks adequate access to affordable, nutritious food. Community food stores (n=14) scored an average of 10.9 out of a possible 54 points using the NEMS scoring protocol. The community food assessment is an essential step in improving access to healthy food for CCS residents and provides a baseline for tracking progress to improve residents' food access. Recommendations were drafted by the research partnership to equip and empower the community with strategic, community-specific interventions based on the research findings.
ContributorsCrouch, Carolyn (Author) / Harlan, Sharon (Thesis advisor) / Eakin, Hallie (Committee member) / Aftandilian, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This dissertation research examines neighborhood socio-spatial organization at Calixtlahuaca, a Postclassic (1100-1520 AD) urban center in highland Mesoamerica. Neighborhoods are small spatial units where residents interact at a face to face level in the process of daily activities. How were Calixtlahuaca's neighborhoods organized socio-spatially? Were they homogenous or did each neighborhood contain a mixture of different social and economic groups? Calixtlahuaca was a large Aztec-period city-state located in the frontier region between the Tarascan and Triple Alliance empires. As the capital of the Maltazinco polity, administrative, ritual, and economic activities were located here. Four languages, Matlazinca, Mazahua, Otomi, and Nahua, were spoken by the city's inhabitants. The combination of political geography and an unusual urban center provides an opportunity for examining complex neighborhood socio-spatial organization in a Mesoamerican setting. The evidence presented in this dissertation shows that Calixtlahuaca's neighborhoods were socially heterogeneous spaces were residents from multiple social groups and classes coexisted. This further suggests that the cross-cutting ties between neighborhood residents had more impact on influencing certain economic choices than close proximity in residential location. Market areas were the one way that the city was clearly divided spatially into two regions but consumer preferences within the confines of economic resources were similar in both regions. This research employs artifact collections recovered during the Calixtlahuaca Archaeological Project surface survey. The consumption practices of the residents of Calixtlahuaca are used to define membership into several social groups in order to determine the socio-spatial pattern of the city. Economic aspects of city life are examined through the identification of separate market areas that relate to neighborhood patterns. Excavation data was also examined as an alternate line of evidence for each case. The project contributes to the sparse literature on preindustrial urban neighborhoods. Research into social segregation or social clustering in modern cities is plentiful, but few studies examine the patterns of social clustering in the past. Most research in Mesoamerica focuses on the clustering of social class.
ContributorsNovic, Juliana (Author) / Smith, Michael E. (Thesis advisor) / Stark, Barbara L. (Committee member) / Hegmon, Michelle (Committee member) / Harlan, Sharon (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015