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Still Got The Blues - No Time But Here, No Place But Now: Geographies Of Art & Activism In The Work Of Clyde Woods., Jake Mace May 2023

Still Got The Blues - No Time But Here, No Place But Now: Geographies Of Art & Activism In The Work Of Clyde Woods., Jake Mace

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The fight against displacement and dispossession in the increasingly inequitable process of reterritorialization is arguably the most pressing struggle of the modern city – and it is articulated through cultural production as much as through political debate and economic development. Yet research that is at the nexus of critical, urban, and cultural studies and which explores the resistant potential of countercultural production rather than the hegemonic impact of mainstream cultural production is underdeveloped. Clyde Woods’s blues epistemology offers a guide to reading cultural production of marginalized groups as maps of meaning that offer alternative visions of the past, the present, …


Land Tenure And The Urban Institutional Politics Of Sustainability: How Sustainability "Lands" In The Relationships Between Global North And South Contexts., Lindsey Connors May 2023

Land Tenure And The Urban Institutional Politics Of Sustainability: How Sustainability "Lands" In The Relationships Between Global North And South Contexts., Lindsey Connors

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability is not simply a moral concept but is essential for human survival, and the tensions inherent in sustainable development bear repercussions that are increasingly placed onto the poor and powerless (Redclift 1987). While sustainability has become a relevant concept for urban knowledge and research especially in the global South, much of our urban sustainability knowledge is shaped by research and typologies from the global North (Nagendra et al. 2018; Parnell & Robinson 2017; Roy 2005). This dissertation considers the spatial transferability of sustainability knowledge from a relational perspective (Massey 2002). Sustainable development can be understood from this perspective as …


Weathering The Storm: Navigating Urban Ecologies Of Communication In Times Of Crisis, Austin Hestdalen Aug 2022

Weathering The Storm: Navigating Urban Ecologies Of Communication In Times Of Crisis, Austin Hestdalen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project explores cities as urban ecologies of communication in which crises emerge and are given significance within the dialogic relations cultivated among public actors attempting to make a living, together, within the shared historical-cultural contexts of everyday life. To describe cities as urban ecologies of communication is to describe them in terms of urban communication and its interdisciplinary foundations in the study of rhetoric, philosophy, planning, policy, architecture, sociology, geography, and media. The first chapter introduces the challenges of urban risk and crisis management within the complex ecologies of communication constituted by cities and reviews how ‘risk’ and ‘crisis’ …


Barriers And Opportunities To Sustainable Urban Agriculture: The Case Of Louisville, Kentucky., Sait Sarr Aug 2022

Barriers And Opportunities To Sustainable Urban Agriculture: The Case Of Louisville, Kentucky., Sait Sarr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the urban populations continue to increase, food insecurity will continue to affect urban residents as well, depriving them of access to abundant and nutritious food. This has captured the attention of many policymakers, urban planners, nonprofits, grassroots movements, and other stakeholders. As a result, there is growing interest in developing new sustainable strategies and policy measures that improve food security through the promotion of sustainable urban agriculture. More than 100,000 Louisville residents, of which 20% are from West Louisville, do not have access to adequate and nutritious foods, and are at a higher risk of developing health issues. West …


Disparate Sense Of Exclusion Between Young People Of Color Living Within Variable Social Infrastructures., James M. Joyce Aug 2022

Disparate Sense Of Exclusion Between Young People Of Color Living Within Variable Social Infrastructures., James M. Joyce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I analyzed transcripts of listening sessions with youth/young adults of color in 2021-2022 for the purpose of addressing local racial inequity during COVID-19. I used inductive coding methods and found three themes on sense of exclusion to be most salient. These themes related to racial exclusion, exclusion of social infrastructures in the community, exclusion of young people of color by people working in schools and other public settings, and exclusion or disconnection of young people of color from opportunities for building community. I show how these themes vary across some dimensions of the local social infrastructure, and I discuss implications …


Findings And Understandings Of 'Home': An Ethnographic Study Of How Homeless People And Displaced Persons Negotiate The Word 'Home'., Abby F Perez May 2022

Findings And Understandings Of 'Home': An Ethnographic Study Of How Homeless People And Displaced Persons Negotiate The Word 'Home'., Abby F Perez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an ethnographic study of various meanings of the word ‘home’ and how the word ‘home’ is used by homeless, evicted, and displaced persons, and by the researcher of the study, to negotiate boundaries and relations of power to achieve goals, both moral and material.Scholarly research on home in urban studies and sociology has produced many definitions and meanings of the word ‘home’ and concepts of home, but often neglects to consider the way the word itself is experienced, personally, by individuals and how to make sense of the way these personal experiences relate to official meanings of …


The Underbelly Of Residential Segregation, Bussing To Integrate And The Educational Ramifications: A Case Study Of Louisville Kentucky., Camara Douglas May 2022

The Underbelly Of Residential Segregation, Bussing To Integrate And The Educational Ramifications: A Case Study Of Louisville Kentucky., Camara Douglas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Integration of the American public school system is often examined to figure out if integration worked. This dissertation examined busing to integrate into Louisville, Kentucky. Busing to integrate in Louisville, Kentucky, took place during that 1975-1976 school year. Louisville’s case is somewhat different. Not only did they finally follow federal mandates to integrate, they had to mix two totally separate school systems, one for the county (White) and one from the city (African American). The objectives are: (1) what were the experiences and perceptions of African American students in high school who lived in the West Louisville hyper-segregated neighborhoods and …


Assessing Citizen Attitudes Towards Climate Change, Renewable Energy, And Solar Development In Kentucky., Ryan Patrick Lloyd May 2022

Assessing Citizen Attitudes Towards Climate Change, Renewable Energy, And Solar Development In Kentucky., Ryan Patrick Lloyd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on public attitudes and perceptions of renewable energy development strategy, solar energy, and climate change using a statewide survey in the 23 counties of Kentucky (KY) where solar developments have been installed or will be installed soon. Results indicate a that the public has a complex view of renewable energy development (RED) and how best an energy transition should be carried out, if at all. Solar RED was generally perceived positively by members of the public, with rooftop or household solar being stated as the preferred model of development. Citizens were most concerned over the visual impact …


A Decade Of Car-Cyclist Collisions In Louisville: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis., Elizabeth Ferguson Greenwell May 2022

A Decade Of Car-Cyclist Collisions In Louisville: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis., Elizabeth Ferguson Greenwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis has considered factors of the built environment to discover if cay-cyclist collisions display any patterns that could be used to improve cycling safety. This thesis contains an introduction, a literature review, an overview of the study area and data, a description of the methods, results, and discussion and conclusion section. This thesis is significant because it has been the first study to consider cyclist volume as an explanatory variable of the spatiality of car-cyclist dependence for Louisville, Kentucky. Through descriptive and spatial statistics, trends in car-cyclists were identified. Collisions occur more frequently in the summer, during commute hours, …


Bicycles And Transit: Weather Or Not: A Study On The Effect Of Weather And Air Quality On Bicycle-Transit, Bicycle, Rail Transit Counts In Denver, Christiana M. Fairfield Jan 2022

Bicycles And Transit: Weather Or Not: A Study On The Effect Of Weather And Air Quality On Bicycle-Transit, Bicycle, Rail Transit Counts In Denver, Christiana M. Fairfield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The movement of people and goods within metropolitan areas is critically important to the operational efficiency and functionality of cities. This study explores the influence of local weather conditions and the air quality index on bicycle-transit user in Denver, Colorado. Based on bicycle-transit having two key components, bicycle and transit, the effect of local weather conditions and the air quality index is also explored with bicycle use and rail-transit usage. Key findings include: (1) the most significant variable across all three modes is temperature, (2) for bicycle-transit and bicycle use, there is a steady increase in ridership as temperatures increase …


Sustainable Urban Groundwater Governance In Faisalabad, Pakistan: Challenges And Possibilities., Shahbaz Altaf Dec 2021

Sustainable Urban Groundwater Governance In Faisalabad, Pakistan: Challenges And Possibilities., Shahbaz Altaf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Groundwater use is high in developing countries, especially in places where municipal water authorities struggle to meet the water demand of their residents. To analyze the interactions between groundwater and piped water in the Global South context, Faisalabad, Pakistan was taken as the case study area. Using the Institutional Analysis and Development framework and Elinor Ostrom’s design principles as analysis tools, formal and informal institutions governing the piped water and groundwater, including their congruence with the social and ecological factors, were explored. The results showed that scarcity of piped water pushed people towards groundwater and the absence of informal and …


The Impact Of Criminal Justice Involvement: Examining Experiences In A Housing First Program., Amanda N. Denton Aug 2021

The Impact Of Criminal Justice Involvement: Examining Experiences In A Housing First Program., Amanda N. Denton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals who come into contact with the criminal justice system are more likely to experience housing instability and homelessness, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of subsequent criminal justice involvement. Due to a lack of federal funding, as well as disjointed and inconsistent policies regarding eligibility criteria, people with criminal records are unlikely to receive federal rental assistance. While the exclusion of people with criminal histories is presented as necessary to protect communities and residents from crime, improving access to stable housing may reduce recidivism, incarceration rates, and correctional costs and increase public safety. The present study examined the differences …


Git (Gender-Informed Trauma) In Black N Blue Boys / Broken Men: How Concepts Of Gender Restrict The Black Male Actor’S Creative Process And The Methods He Can Use For Creative Freedom., Tyler Tate Aug 2021

Git (Gender-Informed Trauma) In Black N Blue Boys / Broken Men: How Concepts Of Gender Restrict The Black Male Actor’S Creative Process And The Methods He Can Use For Creative Freedom., Tyler Tate

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how the black male actor’s creative process can be affected by historical and cultural constructions of masculinity connected to race, sexuality, and physical movement. My research on black men’s experience with gender identity finds that social and cultural forces lead black men to reproduce behaviors that mirror a prescribed masculine ideal through physical movement. This prescribed masculine behavior is typically coded in terms of stiffness or lack of expression. This study explores how self-imposed restrictions reiterated by social standards of masculine behavior limit the creative freedom in the black male actor’s creative process. Specifically, black male actors’ …


Experiences Of African American Veterans With Regards To Ethnicity, Mental Health, And Homelessness, Jeffrey Redmond Apr 2021

Experiences Of African American Veterans With Regards To Ethnicity, Mental Health, And Homelessness, Jeffrey Redmond

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Having a secure and permanent home is an important foundational, psychological need because it influences the fulfillment of other aspects of a person’s life. Given the importance of shelter in the well-being of any individual, the problem of homelessness among veterans underscores the significance of ensuring that veterans have access to this basic human need. This phenomenological, qualitative study explored the lived experiences of African American homeless veterans regarding to ethnicity, housing, mental health, and being unhoused with the intent of understanding or identifying meaning in regards to these experiences. The overrepresentation of African American homeless veterans leads to the …


Getting Up: An Ethnography Of Hip Hop Graffiti Writers, Their Art, And Perceptions Of Society's Reactions., Theodore Malone Aug 2020

Getting Up: An Ethnography Of Hip Hop Graffiti Writers, Their Art, And Perceptions Of Society's Reactions., Theodore Malone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic analysis of the modern hip hop graffiti writing subculture connects the separate but complementary theoretical constructs of serious leisure (Stebbins 1982), dark leisure (Smith and Raymen 2016), recreational specialization theory (Bryan 1977), and edgework (Lyng 1990) and situates the writer “standpoint” (Smith 1987) in terms of interrelations of policy and written discourse. Past research found that writers were motivated by fame and status, to express artistic skills, and to control and destroy space (Brewer and Miller 1990). Others found that writers sought to express contestant notions of style and resist economic and political authority (Ferrell 1996; 2006), and …


Predictors Of Urban Homeless Rates., Andrew John Bates Aug 2020

Predictors Of Urban Homeless Rates., Andrew John Bates

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the differences among homeless rates in urban and suburban “continuums of care” (service areas for homelessness in the United States) over the period of 2014-2018. The purpose is to determine which variables are useful to predict the rates of two definitions of homelessness: the more extreme “Category One” homelessness as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): those unsheltered or living in homeless shelters; and the broader Department of Education definition of homelessness: families with children that are homeless, including those in Category One but also those living in hotels, staying temporarily with …


Compassion Or Neoliberal Governance: Critiquing The Discourse Of Compassionate Louisville., Ekramul Islam Aug 2020

Compassion Or Neoliberal Governance: Critiquing The Discourse Of Compassionate Louisville., Ekramul Islam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since 2011, the city of Louisville, the site of this research, has been calling itself “Compassionate City.” The dissertation takes Compassionate Louisville as a city brand and seeks to investigate the effect of the image construction on the local politics. It aims to investigate the latent discourses produced by Compassionate Louisville in relation to the neoliberal political economy of the city. This dissertation employs the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) methodology. Compassionate Louisville, being a brand, produces a discourse of compassion. The CDA methodological approach helps to investigate this manufactured discourse in relation to the neoliberal socio-political context of the city. …


Changing Faces, Changing Places: Understanding Immigration, Housing Market And Native Out-Migration In Established And New Destinations In The United States., Anqi Xu Aug 2020

Changing Faces, Changing Places: Understanding Immigration, Housing Market And Native Out-Migration In Established And New Destinations In The United States., Anqi Xu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation concerns residential incorporation and the socioeconomic impact of immigrants primarily from Latin America and Asia with their rapid geographical dispersal in the U.S. I adopt econometrics methodologies and GIS techniques to examine how immigration affects housing price changes and white out-mobility in established and new destinations, utilizing datasets from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). The first part examines the effects of immigration into the U.S. established and new immigrant destinations on housing prices using county-level data that span 2011 to 2017. Using the global and local Moran’s I statistics, I demonstrate …


Talk This Way: A Look At The Historical Conversation Between Hip-Hop And Christianity, Joshua Swanson Aug 2020

Talk This Way: A Look At The Historical Conversation Between Hip-Hop And Christianity, Joshua Swanson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Christianity and Hip-Hop culture are often said to be at odds with one another. One is said to promote a lifestyle of righteousness and love, while the other is said to promote drugs, violence, and pride. As a result, the public has portrayed these two institutions as conflicting with no willingness to resolve their perceived differences. This paper will argue that there has always been a healthy conversation between Hip-Hop and Christianity since Hip-Hop’s inception. Using sources like Hip-Hop lyrics, theologians, historians, autobiographies, sermons, and articles that range from Ma$e to Tipper Gore, this paper will look at the conversation …


Urban Green Space: Mitigator Or Multiplier Of Inequality In The Denver Metropolitan Area?, Joshua Charles Baldwin Jan 2020

Urban Green Space: Mitigator Or Multiplier Of Inequality In The Denver Metropolitan Area?, Joshua Charles Baldwin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Studies have shown that communities of color and low-income populations are likely to live in neighborhoods that lack access to quality green spaces, unable to directly benefit from the environmental, recreational, and cultural services they provide. The goal of this research was to determine if the green space inequality patterns seen globally and nationally exist in the Denver Metropolitan Area. Using an existing green space dataset, ecosystem services fieldwork, GIS digitizing, and bivariate correlation analysis I uncovered numerous green space inequalities based on proximity, acreage, and quality. Key findings included 1) Lakewood’s Hispanic and less-educated populations have relatively little access …


Public Perception Of Different Planting Techniques Using Augmented Reality, Sultana Quader Tania Jan 2020

Public Perception Of Different Planting Techniques Using Augmented Reality, Sultana Quader Tania

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to measure public perception of the different planting techniques (block and matrix), which are used at visitor information centers (VICs) and other rights of way (ROW) areas. The main factors that affect public perception of planting techniques were identified through an extensive literature review and qualitative survey from four welcome centers in the state of Georgia. The ranking of those indicators, based on public preferences, was discovered through a quantitative survey. During the first phase of the quantitative survey, images of block and matrix were used. An iOS-based user-friendly and cost-effective augmented reality (AR) …


Examining Spatial Inequities In Green Space Distribution And Access Around The Historic City Of Savannah, Georgia., Chiamaka F. Chimah Jan 2020

Examining Spatial Inequities In Green Space Distribution And Access Around The Historic City Of Savannah, Georgia., Chiamaka F. Chimah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Green space supports recreational activities and environmental sustainability which has proven to aid physical and social well-being as well as environmental health. However, spatial inequities are observed in the distribution and accessibility of urban green space. This norm identified as an environmental justice issue has left racial minorities and people of low socioeconomic status at a disadvantage. This study adopted a geospatial approach to assess green space quantity, quality, and accessibility, and generate a green space index. This research assessed the relationship between racial structure, socioeconomic characteristics and green space inequities in all municipalities in Chatham County, Georgia with a …


Worker-Owned Cooperatives As Urban Economic Development., Nick Conder Dec 2019

Worker-Owned Cooperatives As Urban Economic Development., Nick Conder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the topic of urban policies relating to worker-owned cooperatives, and the political conditions surrounding worker-owned cooperatives in American cities. The topic is studied through a comparison between two case study cities: Cleveland, Ohio and Jackson, Mississippi. Through the collection of public records and interviews with policymakers, analysts, and community activists, this study details the current policy status towards worker-owned cooperatives and the political context for the worker-ownership movement in each city. The study also offers preliminary assessments of existing worker-owned cooperatives and explores the obstacles facing worker-owned enterprises in the selected cities. The findings of the case …


Impartiality, Social Network Effects And Collective Memory: Three Essays On Trust In Police., Matthew Robert Fischer Aug 2019

Impartiality, Social Network Effects And Collective Memory: Three Essays On Trust In Police., Matthew Robert Fischer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an historical and empirical examination of police organizational efforts at influencing public perceptions of trust in police. It begins with an historical overview of police organizational reform, focusing on the various strategies employed by police reformers have attempted to influence public perceptions of police trustworthiness and legitimacy. It uses Rothstein’s impartiality as Quality of Government thesis and the theory of collective memory to argue for an understanding of the importance of the normative context in which police tactics and strategies are deployed for garnering trust in police and how the presence of social network effects for trust …


Urban (Un)Planning And Social Vulnerability In The Context Of Rapid Urbanization And Data Constraints: A Quantitative Study Of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania., Sheliza Bhanjee Aug 2019

Urban (Un)Planning And Social Vulnerability In The Context Of Rapid Urbanization And Data Constraints: A Quantitative Study Of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania., Sheliza Bhanjee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores intersections between vulnerability and urban planning in Sub-Saharan Africa, where distinct forms of urbanization are occurring and where there are significant data constraints limiting local studies and urban assessments in the region. The three studies which make up this dissertation offer methodological and theoretical pathways toward examining and measuring the influence of urbanization and planning factors on vulnerability of urban populations in the region. The first study is a literature review and examines existing literature for vulnerability conceptualization in urban environments, the notion of ‘urban vulnerability’, and roles of urban planning and related factors in relation to …


The Shape Study : The Survey Of Health And The Perceived Environment Study., Colette Patrice Davis May 2019

The Shape Study : The Survey Of Health And The Perceived Environment Study., Colette Patrice Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Few studies have considered how an individual’s perception of their built environment may be a risk factor for being overweight or obese. Adolescents may be particularly vulnerable in the context of “impoverished environments”, which they may perceive to be difficult, dangerous, resource deficient, and unaesthetic. This study aids in clarifying how the built environment influences the risk of obesity among adolescents residing in a neighborhood in Louisville, KY. Objective: The overall objective was to conduct a cross-sectional epidemiologic pilot study among adolescents aged 12-17 years residing in West Louisville, Kentucky to evaluate the association between perceptions of …


The Relationship Between Housing Affordability And Demographic Factors: Case Study For The Atlanta Beltline, Chapman T. Lindstrom Jan 2019

The Relationship Between Housing Affordability And Demographic Factors: Case Study For The Atlanta Beltline, Chapman T. Lindstrom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Housing affordability has been a widely examined subject for populations residing in major metropolitan regions around the world. The relationship between housing affordability and the city’s demographics and its volume of urban development are important to take into consideration. In the past two decades there has been an increasing volume of literature detailing Atlanta Georgia’s large-scale redevelopment project, the Atlanta BeltLine (ABL), and its relationship with Atlanta’s Metropolitan population and housing affordability. The first objective of this paper is to study the relationship between housing affordability at two scales within the Atlanta Metropolitan Area (AMA) for both renters and homeowners. …


The Unequal City: The Mass Criminalization Of The Urban Poor., Elizabeth Michele Jones Dec 2018

The Unequal City: The Mass Criminalization Of The Urban Poor., Elizabeth Michele Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Exploring and understanding the widespread use of arrests and incarceration in urban neighborhoods of concentrated poverty is the subject of this dissertation. The research addresses gaps in theoretical debates about the causes of mass criminalization that position the phenomenon as the result of either neoliberalism or racism. In addition, the dissertation explores the impact of mass criminalization on urban citizenship. Urban citizenship is a theoretical frame that considers the substance of the economic, social, political, and mobility dimensions of city life. The research methodology is a case study of two impoverished neighborhoods in the city of Louisville, Kentucky that incorporates …


The ‘Just City’ Or Just A City? : Evaluating Social Justice And Equity In Planning Education., Wes Grooms Aug 2018

The ‘Just City’ Or Just A City? : Evaluating Social Justice And Equity In Planning Education., Wes Grooms

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary evaluations of accredited planning education performance have eschewed the principles and methodologies of formal program evaluation and performance management. This dissertation tests hypotheses that this contributes to the lack of social equity and justice commitment, content, and inquiry on the part of accredited graduate planning degree programs, their clients, and administrators. The organizations, resources, and processes involved in the purveyance of accredited graduate planning education were conceptualized as a singular, evaluable program and illustrated in a series of program logic models. These models revealed sources of the inattentiveness to normative issues that past evaluations have evidenced, and informed assertions …


An Investigation Of The Performance Of Urban Rail Transit Systems On The Corridor Level: A Comparative Analysis In The American West, Daniel Zimny-Schmitt Jan 2018

An Investigation Of The Performance Of Urban Rail Transit Systems On The Corridor Level: A Comparative Analysis In The American West, Daniel Zimny-Schmitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1980s, significant investments have been made in urban rail transit across the United States, particularly using light rail technology. Most of these light rail systems have been built in Sunbelt cities which no longer had legacy rail systems. As a result, they were constructed using a building blocks approach, being funded corridor by corridor. Most research, however, on urban rail performance has taken place at the system-wide level, leaving a significant gap at the level of the transit corridor. This research examined nineteen urban rail corridors in Denver, Salt Lake City, and Portland. A performance score was constructed …