| The objective of the research presented in this thesis was to study the planning and provision of urban open space as related to public recreation demand and the ecological perspectives of such open space.;Chapter one examines some of the current problems of open space planning and provision in urban centers and compares existing planning activities with a proposed methodological paradigm.;Chapter two deals with the social and perceptual nature of the City of Waterloo. In particular, it outlines a recreation activity clustering process for each of the seven planning districts of the city. Discerned amenities and disamenities are reviewed as are some of the cultural/historical elements of the city.;The biophysical nature of Waterloo is researched in chapter three, under the headings of vegetation, wildlife (avian and mammalian), pests, pets, weather, surface water, soils and geology. Methods and results are recorded. An update system concludes chapter three.;Planning, in this study, is seen as a normative, forward-looking, comprehensive process the activities of which consist of linking goals formulation, specific objectives, data analysis, plan formulation and implementation, leading to decisions and alternatives. Ecology is the study of living things in relation to each other and their environment. In that sense it examines structures, functions, properties and relationships of the environment. Public recreation demand is interpreted as both the use and declared use of open space for leisure pursuits. The place of both demand and ecological analysis in open space planning is to provide information on preferred use and environmental implications of alternative plans. This requires that recreation demand and ecology deal explicitly with functions and spatial dimensions.;The application of the proposed paradigm to a new development (subdivision), Beechwood West, forms the bulk of chapter four. Constraints and opportunities, as delineated by evaluative procedures, are expressed in map form. These abiotic, biotic, cultural/historical and amenity, disamenity maps when utilized with activity clusters and basic utilities maps form the basis of a conceptual design for the developing area.;Since previous secondary planning had begun in Beechwood West the approach taken in this thesis was compared to a more typical approach done by a practicing planner.;The "holistic" approach to urban open space planning and provision generally provides for greater environmental variety and hence broadened choices. Under the proposed system of framework, the city as a whole, new subdivision and neighborhood redevelopment can be dealt with as needed as part of an overall system. |
