Is the Sprawling Urban Form Sustainable? : An Investigation of the Ecological Impacts of Low-density Fringe Development
| atmire.migration.oldid | 2335 | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Keough, Noel Gerard | |
| dc.contributor.author | Abobo, Ansbert Monah | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-07-17T21:19:23Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2014-11-17T08:00:38Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2014-07-17 | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2014 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | The traditional postwar city has been characterized by extensive low-density residential growth coupled with an over-reliance on the private automobile for mobility in the city. As human activities seem to be the defining determinants of the unsustainable urban fabric, it is essential to understand the long-term impacts of the contemporary urban lifestyle and how it detrimentally relates to the planet. In this research, two urban development concepts were investigated to determine the type of urban form suitable for structuring a more sustainable city. By comparing low-density suburban communities to core area communities using an environmental impact assessment tool supported with empirical observations and theory, the differences between these two urban concepts were obtained. Using the ecological footprint methodology, footprint estimations were done for suburban communities (N = 8) and core area communities (N = 4) in Calgary to find out their disparities. The research used neighborhood household income/consumption as a proxy for estimating the ecological footprint values and footprints obtained ranged between 11.35 Gha/cap and 6.77 Gha/cap. All the data used in this research are secondary data obtained from Statistics Canada, The City of Calgary, and a Canadian national footprint study by Mackenzie et al (2008). The research suggests that drawing growth to core areas is a salient part of reducing ecological footprint but it needs to be complemented with novel ways of urban fringe development to maximize the outcomes of ecological footprint interventions. Since the highest ecological footprint values were found in high-income suburban neighborhoods, it is relevant to approach the problem by utilizing income as an integrator in making the urban form less suburban and also changing the structure of the few indispensable suburban communities. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Abobo, A. M. (2014). Is the Sprawling Urban Form Sustainable? : An Investigation of the Ecological Impacts of Low-density Fringe Development (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26684 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/26684 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11023/1639 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Environmental Design | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Graduate Studies | |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Calgary | en |
| dc.publisher.place | Calgary | en |
| dc.rights | University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. | |
| dc.subject | Architecture | |
| dc.subject | Sociology--Transportation | |
| dc.subject | Urban and Regional Planning | |
| dc.subject.classification | Ecological footprint | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | Sustainability | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | Urban housing | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | Urban mobility | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | Sustainable design | en_US |
| dc.title | Is the Sprawling Urban Form Sustainable? : An Investigation of the Ecological Impacts of Low-density Fringe Development | |
| dc.type | master thesis | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Calgary | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Environmental Design (MEDes) | |
| ucalgary.item.requestcopy | true |