Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Water Stories: An Exploration Of Human-Water Connectedness In Ontario And The Implications For Water Sustainability, Tracey Ehl

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Water is the great connector. Water connects people, health, wellness, culture, spirituality, nature, and the economy. Clean, safe water (potable water) and sanitation were recognized over a decade ago by the United Nations General Assembly (UN) as a basic human right, and more recently the UN has also identified water sustainability and management as one of 17 sustainable development goals for all people in all countries. Water is inextricably connected to humans. Yet, in Ontario, Canada, a place with access to some of the largest freshwater reserves in the world, robust regulatory frameworks, involvement, some investment by all levels …

Exploring The Relationship Between Gender, Race, And Space, And Toronto Community Housing Policy, Anita Rachel Ewan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation presents the racial-gendered lived experiences of Black women living in Toronto Community Housing (TCH; subsidized housing). This research found that Black women and their families are disproportionately faced with challenges due to barriers caused by housing policy and procedures that also affect the overall development and wellbeing of their children. It also highlights the ways in which Black women continue to thrive and survive in the face of detrimental and derelict living conditions; accomplished through community development and support initiatives, and fostering strong communities.

This is a qualitative research project that includes an art-based method. Utilizing a feminist …

Capturing In-Situ Feelings And Experiences Of Public Transit Riders Using Smartphones, Rafik Said, Rafik Said

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

High-density urban environments are susceptible to ever-growing traffic congestion issues, which speaks to the importance of implementing and maintaining effective and sustainable transportation networks. While transit oriented developments offer the potential to help mitigate traffic congestion issues, transit networks ought to be safe and reliable for ideal transit-user communities. As such, it is imperative to capture meaningful data regarding transit experiences, and deduce how transit networks can be enhanced or modified to continually maintain ideal transit experiences. Historically speaking, it has been relatively tricky to measure how people feel whilst using public transportation, without leaning on recall memory to explain …

The Battle Over Our Land: Urbanization Versus Farmland Preservation In The Greater Golden Horseshoe, Kali Mikulica

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Urban sprawl continues to advance further and further into the countryside, as individuals trade cramped urban spaces for much larger rural lots and longer commutes to work. This increased sprawl permanently converts productive agricultural land to urban uses, especially in regions surrounding rapidly expanding cities. It is for this reason that farmland preservation has become a significant issue for policy officials in recent decades. According to the literature, there are numerous methods of protecting prime agricultural land in the face of urbanization; however there are few studies that focus on how these different policy techniques affect farmers. The Ontario government …

Spatial And Structural Determinants Of Residential Burglary Rates In Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario), Martin Christopher Anstey

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Traditional ecological analyses of burglary have a number of shortcomings. First, break-ins occurring within a neighbourhood have been regarded as a solely the product of local residents. Second, the relationship between burglary and its determinants has been considered constant across space. Third, the data used in ecological analysis has been treated as statistically independent. The purpose of this study is to expand upon previous ecological studies through an analysis of residential burglary in Kitchener-Waterloo, Canada Theory from environmental criminology (a discipline concerned with the spatial aspects of crime) is used in conjunction with spatial data analysis techniques and GIS technology …

The Dynamics Of Ethnic Residential Patterns In The Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (Ontario), Marinel Mandres

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Responding to contemporary urban changes and increasing social complexities, this research endeavours to determine whether recently arrived immigrants still follow residential configurations as prescribed by traditional urban ecological models or whether ethnic groups are displaying a new dispersed (i.e. ‘shot gun’) domiciliary pattern characterized by enclave scattering. A new conceptual model describing various spatial outcomes relative to primary destinations of initial immigrant settlement and subsequent relocation is developed according to propositions discussed in the literature review. Subsequent statistical analyses focus upon the hypothesized post-1980 areal placement of six ethnic groups (Greek, Jewish, Multiethnic, Aboriginal, Chinese, and Jamaican) using the British …

Arson In Toronto: A Geographical Perspective (Ontario), James Richards

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis is an empirical study of the crime of arson in Toronto from a geographical perspective. Although empirical in nature there is a framework of analysis that hopefully provides a starting point for theoretical development. The study is loosely organized around the framework of four areas of arson research which include: antecedent environmental conditions, organismic variables, actual firesetting behavior, and the consequences of firesetting. To each one of these areas of research geographical analysis is possible. In most cases it was necessary in this study to incorporate the findings from the psychological and sociological literature into the geographical analysis. …

Regional Economic Development In Ontario: The Problems Of Both Federal And Provincial Government Involvement, John Brandon Lander

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Regional economic disparities have always been a topic of concern for the geographer as has the alleviation of this problem. In examining government efforts in this area, one must be aware of the parameters placed on such action by the established system of government.

Federalism, in the same way as other major forms of government, is supported by a voluminous amount of theoretical material. This literature discusses the foundations of this system of government but also delves into some of its inherent problems. Such problems have led many political scientists to advocate co-operative federalism, a more contemporary form of this …

An Analysis Of Transport Services And Facilities In Northern Ontario Centres: A Qualitative Approach, Violet Konkle

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Transportation has been considered in the discipline of geography largely within the context of distance and cost constraints, particularly with reference to industrial location decision-making processes. These costs are easily-quantifiable and measurable, and transportation geographers have tended to depend upon distance and tariff costs as the major transportation inputs in locational decision-making processes.

This dependency upon cost considerations is no longer evident in the real world. The priorities of the consignors (shippers) and consignees (customers) have shifted lately, and these distance and cost considerations are now examined in conjunction with such qualitative priorities as frequency of the consistency and reliability …

An Inter-Regional Analysis Of The Growth Rate Of Manufacturing Employment In The Province Of Ontario, 1960–1972, Brian James Lorch

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Despite the existence of different levels of manufacturing in the various regions of Ontario, most previous studies of this phenomenon have concentrated on explanation of its locational pattern in southern Ontario only. In contrast, though, this thesis analyzes regional variation in the growth rate of manufacturing employment in a total provincial framework. Also, its approach differs in that it examines variation in the factors which account for manufacturing employment growth and whether or not these variations are consistent over space (between regions) and through time.

The province is divided into three general regions; norther, southern and eastern, and from each …

An Analysis Of The Spatial Distribution And Location Of Ski Resorts In Southern Ontario, John E. Lewis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The number of skiers participating in the outdoor recreation activity of skiing has increased tremendously during the past twenty years. With increased amounts of leisure time, improved means of access and mobility, greater real incomes, new technology, and an increased desire to ski, the amount of skiing being done will continue to rise in the future.

The factors that have determined the development of existing ski resort facilities appear nebulous. Some of the ski resorts established in the past have resulted in economically successful operations while others have ended in a financial loss for the owners involved as well as …