Human Geography Commons^™

Negotiating Neoliberalism: Community-Based Organizations And The Production Of Urban Place, Caroline S. Devany

Geography Honors Projects

Focusing on two community-based organizations’ roles in producing urban place, this thesis contributes to the “New Urban Politics” literature that explores the neoliberal governance of space. Synthesizing participant observation, informant interviews and ideas introduced in Henri Lefebvre’s Production of Space my thesis explores the possibility of aesthetic practices rooted in everyday life to create alternate subjectivities of people and place. While both organizations engage urban governance in ways that do not directly contest neoliberalization, they each affirm participants as agents in the production of urban place in ways that can destabilize the marketization of everyday life.

Exploring The Nature Of Space For Human Behavior In Ordinary Structured Environments, Molly Boeka Cannon

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

What is the nature of the built environment? Built environments are the settings within which people carry out activities and emerge from the specific combining of spatial conditions with specific social content for the setting. The social content and the spatial conditions form a core-defining relationship that serves to distinguish one structured setting from another. A core-defining relationship such as this refers to the essence of the built environment. What are the implications for human behavior that emerge from conceptualizing built environments in this manner? I argue that space, through its essential relationship with the contexts of daily living (i.e. …

Social Interaction At The Maya Site Of Copan, Honduras: A Least Cost Approach To Configurational Analysis, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In this article, I employ least cost paths using GIS to measure the relationship between site configuration and social connectivity at the ancient Maya site of Copan, Honduras. I investigate two questions. First, did people of different social classes experience varying degrees of social connectivity? Second, did people living in different parts of the city experience difference degrees of social connectivity? Ultimately, the goal is modify traditional configurational analysis using least cost analysis (LCA) to identify how social hierarchy was embedded in landscapes and how ancient people may have strategically manipulated landscapes to structure social interaction and community organization.

The Urban Fabric Of The Great Plains, Andrew Becker

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

To most Americans the Great Plains region of North America is mysterious place. There are disagreements when defining its limits, and some people just refer to it as the Midwest. The Great Plains has been a place under an ocean, a place under glaciers, and a place on fire. It was once dubbed “the Great American Desert,” but is now known for its agricultural viability. The Great Plains sparks imagination because it is so massive and was one of the final frontiers for Euro-American settlement. The Great Plains is seen as a rural place but the majority of the region’s …

The Life, Death And Rebirth Of University Avenue: Exploring The Relationship Among Transportation, Urban Form And Neighborhood Characteristics, Jillian G. Goforth

Geography Honors Projects

The impending light rail transit development along University Avenue in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota has led to local curiosity about both the past activities and the future possibilities for this urban street. Part I of this paper explores the social, economic and physical evolution of University Avenue and its relationship to transportation eras. Part II argues that there is a connection between the urban form of each transportation epoch and the rate of crime along University Avenue. The study concludes with the prediction that safety will improve following construction of the Central Corridor Light Rail line.

Situated Architecture In The Digital Age: Adaptation Of A Textile Mill In Holyoke, Massachusetts, Dorcas A. Brooks

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The City of Holyoke, Massachusetts is one of many aging, industrial cities striving to revitalize its economy based on the promise of increased digital connectivity and clean energy resources. But how do you renovate 19th century mills to meet the demands of the information age? This architectural study explores the potential impact of sensing technologies and information networks on the definition and function of buildings in the 21st century. It explores the changes that have taken place in industrial architecture since 1850 and argues for an architecture that supports local relationships and environmental awareness. The author explores the industrial history …

'The Edge Of The Island': Neighborhood Identity And Evolving Community In 'Liminal Places', Gordon Douglas

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

This paper examines the contemporary processes at work in urban areas without clear spatial identities that are simultaneously facing the challenges of cultural change and gentrification. I do so through the close analysis of one such ‘liminal place’ on Chicago’s West Side. I use the phrase ‘a community on the edge of the island’ to describe the area, inspired by an interview subject who referred to the tenuous search for a sort of ideal bohemian hipness as the need to stay as “close to the edge of the island” as possible without actually leaving it. Making use of ethnographic and …

Preservation Ethics In The Case Of Nebraska’S Nationally Registered Historic Properties, Darren Michael Adams

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation focuses on the National Register of Historic Places and considers the geographical implications of valuing particular historic sites over others. Certain historical sites will either gain or lose desirability from one era to the next, this dissertation identifies and explains three unique preservation ethical eras, and it maps the sites which were selected during those eras. These eras are the Settlement Era (1966 – 1975), the Commercial Architecture Era (1976 – 1991), and the Progressive Planning Era (1992 – 2010). The findings show that transformations in the program included an early phase when state authorities listed historical resources …

A Greenway Runs Through It: The Midtown Greenway And The Social Landscape Of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Aaron M. Brown

Geography Honors Projects

Minneapolis’ Midtown Greenway is a 5.5 mile bicycle and pedestrian corridor that replaced a grade-separated railroad line in 2000 and expanded to its current length in 2007. In an era of reinvestment in American inner cities and a heightened political awareness of both urban transportation alternatives and public spaces, the academic field of geography has much to contribute to the discussion about the viability, effectiveness, and success of projects such as this adaptive reuse of reclaimed, deindustrialized space. My research investigates results from a survey of 223 Greenway users, exploring participants’ demographics, residential proximity to the trail, and purposes for …

Socio-Spatial Constructs Of The Local Retail Food Environment: A Case Study Of Holyoke, Massachusetts, Walter F. Ramsey

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This mixed-methods study addresses the relationship between the availability of food and realized food access by studying the retail food landscape of Holyoke, Massachusetts – a small, socio-economically diverse city. While a large body of empirical research finds that low-income communities and communities of color are especially likely to lack adequate access to healthy foods and experience increased vulnerability to food insecurity, few studies explore urban food environments through a mixed-methods case study approach. Through the use of food store mapping, store audits, and resident interviews, this research is a nascent attempt to articulate how the unique development histories and …

Modes, Means And Measures: Adapting Sustainability Indicators To Assess Preservation Activity's Impact On Community Equity, Mackenzie M. Greer

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Preservation of and reinvestment in the built environment as a redevelopment tool has been used by cities and towns across the country, in many cases providing significant social, economic and environmental benefits. Potential social effects have often been the least explored aspect of sustainable development, especially with regard to preservation, yet they are often the most challenging, particularly given the potential for displacement.

This thesis reviews literature where the issues of preservation, redevelopment and sustainability intersect. A set of best practices was developed that can be applied to other cities and towns to help balance preservation- and equity- enhancing activities. …

Stress, Status, And Sociability: Exploring Residential Satisfaction In The Rural Midwest Following Rapid Immigration, James Potter, Rodrigo Cantarero, Amy E. Boren

Architecture Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

This investigation examined predictors of residential satisfaction among newly arrived residents (NAR) and long-term residents (LTR) of a rural community following a rapid influx of immigrants into the community. The physical environment, social/cultural aspects of life, and resources and public services were hypothesized to affect perceptions of residential satisfaction. Both LTR and NAR were pleased with environmental attributes, sociocultural attributes, and public services. An inverse relationship was revealed between stress and residential satisfaction. The primary sources of stress for LTR related to economics and social status issues, whereas the primary sources of stress among NAR involved issues concerning family and …

Time-Series Analysis Of Clusters In City Size Distributions, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Craig R. Allen, K. Michael Bessey

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Complex systems, such as urban systems, emerge unpredictably without the influence of central control as a result of adaptive behavior by their component, interacting agents. This paper analyses city size distributions, by decade, from the south-western region of the United States for the years 1890–1990. It determines if the distributions were clustered and documents changes in the pattern of clusters over time. Clusters were determined utilizing a kernel density estimator and cluster analysis. The data were clustered as determined by both methods. The analyses identified 4–7 clusters of cities in each of the decades analysed. Cities cluster into size classes, …

Ua1b3/1 Campus Master Plan, Johnson/Romanowitz/Architects & Planners

WKU Archives Records

A 20-Year Campus Master Plan developed by Johnson/Romanwitz/Architects & Planners for Western Kentucky University which includes maps, planning methodology, parking, pedestrian access, future construction and growth, signage, maintenance and accessibility.

Wisconsin Railroad Planning: A State's Perspective Of Abandonments, Barbara Busse

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Federal legislation enacted in January 1974 created federal agencies to produce a rail plan process for the Northeast United States and to monitor and evaluate the programs. A a result of the federal enactment, many states are producing rail plans. Wisconsin is presently preparing one such plan which included the elements of freight operations. The State also has produced a Manual for State Railroad Planning. Both documents have included railroad abandonment as topic of discussion. The present planning process in the State is not sufficient to determine future courses of action concerning abandonments. A case study is presented to determine …

A Historical Description Of The Areal Distribution Of The Churches Of Warren County, Kentucky, Neilam Adams

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Religion is a part of man and his culture. We cannot understand the totality of man if we do not understand his religion. The church structure is the visible expression of man's religion.

The purpose of this study is to describe the distribution of churches in Warren County, Kentucky, and to examine the factors that contribute to this areal pattern. In an attempt to further clarify this human-religious expression the following points will be considered: (1) the reasons for denominational change through time; (2) the association of church location and population with corresponding rural -urban shifts; and (3) the style …

Ua3/3/1 Map Of Western Kentucky State College, Wku President's Office - Thompson, J.R. Hagan, Johnson, Depp & Quisenberry

WKU Archives Records

Area bounded by 14th Street, State Street/Normal Boulevard, [University Drive] and L&N Railroad. Base map created in June 1960. Annotated and divided into eleven plots, August 17, 1961:

• Plot No. 1 Central campus, 15th Street to 16th Street 40.7 acres
• Plot No. 2 16th Street to Trade School driveway 14.7 acres
• Plot No. 3 Trade School driveway to 17th Street 9.7 acres
• Plot No. 4 Pavilion area, 17th Street South 40.4 acres
• Plot No. 5 Academic Athletic-Maintenance Service Buildings area 14.0 acres
• Plot No. 6 Kentucky Building grounds 12.9 acres
• Plot No. 7 15th Street & Center Street corner .4 …

Ua3/3/1 Map Of Western Kentucky State College, Wku President's Office - Thompson, J. R. Hagan, Johnson, Depp & Quisenberry

WKU Archives Records

Map of WKU campus created by Johnson, Depp & Quisenberry Consulting Engineers of Owensboro. The map measures 30 x 54 and the scale is 1" = 100'.

Map of area bounded by 14th Street, State Street/Normal Boulevard and Old Russellville Road.

Campus buildings include:

• Agriculture Pavilion
• Bates-Runner Hall
• Cherry Hall
• Cherryton
• College High Hall
• Craig Alumni House (President’s Home)
• Diddle Dorm (Men’s Dormitory)
• East Hall
• Garrett Conference Center (Garrett Student Union)
• Gordon Wilson Hall (Library)
• Heating Plant
• Home Economics Building
• Industrial Arts Building
• Kentucky Building
• Log Cabin
• McLean Hall
• Music Hall
• Ogden Hall
• Parking Structure (Maintenance Building)
• Physical Education Building …

Ua30/1/1 Contour Map, Western Kentucky State College, Johnson, Depp & Quisenberry

WKU Archives Records

Map of WKU campus, 55" x 31"

Legend: Contour Map Western Kentucky State College, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Scale 1" = 100'
June 1960
Prepared by Johnson, Depp & Quisenberry Consulting Engineers, Owensboro, KY.

Boundaries - Louisville & Nashville Railroad on north, 14th Street on east, Normal Boulevard on south and approximate location of University Boulevard on west.

Includes good representation of the African American community Jonesville north of Old Russellville Road, indicating the location of homes and other buildings.

Campus features obsolete items such as the railroad spur to the Heating Plant, Rock House, Diddle Dormitory, Home Economics Building, Ogden …

Ua1c7/313 Kentucky County Map, Orion Covington, Wku College Heights Foundation

WKU Archives Records

Drawing of Kentucky County Map with inscription: The foundation has made 5002 distinct student loans from 1923-1937 (inclusive) amounting to $178,749.96. Each dot represents an average loan of $35.00+. See accompanying map for distribution by counties.

Includes insets: The Kentucky Building A few items included in the Kentucky Museum The Pioneer Log Cabin Rare books abound in the Kentucky Library An inviting spot in the colonial gardens. The College Heights Book Store.

Drawn by Orion K. Covington, 215 Woodford Street, Bowling Green, KY.