Type of Document	Thesis
Author	Sharma, Rupa
Author's Email Address	rrs3262@garnet.acns.fsu.edu
URN	etd-11172003-232847
Title	Sustainability Index for Residential Neighborhoods
Degree	Master of Science
Department	Urban and Regional Planning, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Dr. R. E. Deyle Committee Chair Dr. I. Audirac Committee Member Mr. H. T. Higgins Committee Member
Keywords	Social Sustainability Index Environmental Economic Neighborhoods
Date of Defense	2003-04-14
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract This thesis work addresses two research questions regarding sustainability that may be of interest to the planning profession, namely, is it useful and meaningful to measure the sustainability of residential neighborhoods in terms of their long-term viability? And if it is, is it then feasible to design an instrument for measuring neighborhood sustainability that can be used to inform neighborhood-scale planning and decision making? Interpreting from a review of planning literature regarding sustainability at the neighborhood scale that efforts to measure neighborhood sustainability provide insight and knowledge to planners about neighborhood conditions, I followed a step wise process to construct an instrument. This process involved defining sustainability as is relevant at neighborhood scale, identifying forces that influence it, defining the unit of analysis for the measurement instrument, and operationalizing the instrument. It is my conclusion that while it is feasible to construct an instrument for measuring sustainability, it is through additional research work outside of the graduate thesis that such an instrument can successfully be constructed. Due to time and resource constraints, I have only been able to develop an instrument of measurement that may be useful to planners chiefly as a heuristic tool rather than a policy making analytic tool.
Files	Filename       Size       Approximate Download Time (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)     28.8 Modem   56K Modem   ISDN (64 Kb)   ISDN (128 Kb)   Higher-speed Access    01_rs_cover_page.pdf 29.60 Kb 00:00:08 00:00:04 00:00:03 00:00:01 < 00:00:01   02_rs_Signature_Page.pdf 35.59 Kb 00:00:09 00:00:05 00:00:04 00:00:02 < 00:00:01   03_rs_acknowledgement.PDF 15.76 Kb 00:00:04 00:00:02 00:00:01 < 00:00:01 < 00:00:01   04_rs_TABLE_OF_CONTENTS.pdf 62.93 Kb 00:00:17 00:00:08 00:00:07 00:00:03 < 00:00:01   05_rs_abstract.PDF 11.73 Kb 00:00:03 00:00:01 00:00:01 < 00:00:01 < 00:00:01   06_rs_CH_1_Introduction.pdf 79.76 Kb 00:00:22 00:00:11 00:00:09 00:00:04 < 00:00:01   07_rs_CH2_Sustainability_and_its_measurement.pdf 757.97 Kb 00:03:30 00:01:48 00:01:34 00:00:47 00:00:04   08_rs_CH3_Components_of_an_instrument.pdf 110.58 Kb 00:00:30 00:00:15 00:00:13 00:00:06 < 00:00:01   09_rs_CH4_NEighborhood_definitions.pdf 170.61 Kb 00:00:47 00:00:24 00:00:21 00:00:10 < 00:00:01   10_rs_CH5_Defining_boundaries.pdf 93.23 Kb 00:00:25 00:00:13 00:00:11 00:00:05 < 00:00:01   11_rs_CH6_Index_Structure_and_indicator_measurement.pdf 301.41 Kb 00:01:23 00:00:43 00:00:37 00:00:18 00:00:01   12_rs_CH7_Indicators_for_the_three.pdf 215.56 Kb 00:00:59 00:00:30 00:00:26 00:00:13 00:00:01   13_rs_CH8_Conclusion.pdf 75.31 Kb 00:00:20 00:00:10 00:00:09 00:00:04 < 00:00:01   14_rs_Appendix_A.pdf 1.47 Mb 00:06:49 00:03:30 00:03:04 00:01:32 00:00:07   15_rs_Appendix_B.pdf 72.74 Kb 00:00:20 00:00:10 00:00:09 00:00:04 < 00:00:01   16_rs_References.pdf 181.14 Kb 00:00:50 00:00:25 00:00:22 00:00:11 < 00:00:01   17_rs_Biographic_sketch.pdf 52.90 Kb 00:00:14 00:00:07 00:00:06 00:00:03 < 00:00:01