Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Confrontational Stigma And Contested ‘Green’ Developments: Biosolid Facility Siting In The Rural Landscape, Sarah A. Mason-Renton

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examines responses and reappraisal of a proposed and now operational biosolid (sewage sludge) processing facility, the Southgate Organic Material Recovery Centre (OMRC), in the Township of Southgate in rural Ontario. This research is grounded in geographical literatures related to the geography of health, emotional geography, and risk perception and facility siting. The significance of this research is based on a relative absence of literature on public perceptions of transformed waste products, such as biosolids, in rural landscapes and the need to better understand these perceptions and felt impacts in the context of rural residents’ attachments to place. This …

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 …

"Going The Distance So Our Food Doesn't Have To": Case Studies Of Creative Public Procurement At Canadian And Uk Universities, Lori Stahlbrand

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation explores three efforts to develop sustainable local food systems at public universities in Canada and the UK. One is a partnership between the Canadian non-profit, Local Food Plus (LFP), and the University of Toronto (U of T). The other two are partnerships between the UK non-profit, the Soil Association (SA), and two British universities – Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and the University of the Arts London (UAL). In all three cases studies, a formal certification program to support the transition to more sustainable local food systems was a central feature. The author of this dissertation was the founder …

Marine Protected Areas In Colombia: Re-Connecting Social, Ecological, And Policy Aspects Through A Governance Perspective, Luisa Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this doctoral research is to examine opportunities and constraints for integrating key aspects of governance into marine conservation strategies and for shifting top-down approaches toward collaborative and integrative forms of governance that enhance conservation and social outcomes in marine protected areas (MPAs).

Although there is evidence that demonstrates that MPAs are an effective tool for marine conservation, shortcomings in addressing ecological characteristics and particularly in addressing social factors in the design and planning of MPAs often constrain achieving conservation and sustainability goals. These shortcomings are particularly acute in MPAs implemented through top-down governance approaches that overlook stakeholder …