Matching Items (156)
Description
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has become a common practice in United States oil fields for enhancing their productivity. Among the concerns regarding fracking, however, is the possibility that it could trigger shallow earthquakes. The brine that results from fracking is injected into the subsurface for disposal. This brine causes a pore pressure gradient that is commonly believed to trigger failure along critically stressed subsurface faults. In Timpson, a small city in eastern Texas, earthquakes have become much more common since two injection wells were installed in 2007. 16 events of M_W > 2 have been detected since 2008 and are believed to be associated with failure along a subsurface fault. Applying interferometric synthetic aperture radar, we analyzed 3 sets of SAR images from the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) from May 2007 to December 2010. Using these data sets, XX interferograms were generated. From these interferograms, it was possible to determine the spatial and temporal evolution of the crustal deformation in the line-of-sight of the satellite. The results show strong evidence of uplift in the region adjacent to the injection wells. While previous studies have established a strong connection between fluid injection and increased seismicity, this is to our knowledge the first observed case of crustal deformation that has been observed as a result of hydraulic fracturing fluid disposal.
ContributorsSedlak, Alexander Paul Woodward (Author) / Shirzaei, Manoochehr (Thesis director) / Vivoni, Enrique (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Earth and Space Exploration (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Hispanic neighborhoods, referred to as barrios, reveal several key characteristics unique to their ethnic neighborhood identity. The housescapes in the neighborhoods exhibit three characteristics which distinguish them as Latino housescapes: bright color exteriors, fences around the property and a display of religious iconography. In a spatial and landscape analysis of two key barrios in Arizona: Barrio Anita in Tucson and El Campito in Nuestro Barrio in Phoenix, research reveals the prevalence of the three housescape characteristics. The multiple case study explores the extent to which Hispanic housescapes exhibit bright house color exteriors, fences and religious iconography. The least prevalent of these characteristics is the display of religious symbols which indicates a growing change in the way Hispanic ethnicity is displayed in neighborhoods.
ContributorsStockham, Sarah Theresa (Author) / Pijawka, David (Thesis director) / Foster, David (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
City planners often use bicycle friendly rating schemes as tools to guide them in their efforts to establish a bicycle community. However, the criteria and methodologies used vary from program to program and often do not encapsulate all of the necessary elements that comprise true bicycle friendliness. This report documents the important elements, strategies, and best practices that well-established Dutch, Danish, and German bike friendly cities exhibit to create a baseline standard for bicycle friendliness. Not all rating programs' criteria and methodologies align perfectly within this understanding of bicycle friendliness. City planners should use these programs as tools while keeping their limitations in consideration. The City of Tempe currently uses the League of American Bicyclists Bicycle Friendly Community program and BikeScore.com. By understanding the limitations associated with these programs, Tempe should move forward in their pursuit of bicycle friendliness by using multiple rating programs simultaneously and by looking at top-rated cities' strategies to enhance their infrastructure, network, urban form, and biking culture.
ContributorsTrombino, Frank Michael (Author) / Golub, Aaron (Thesis director) / Kelley, Jason (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Urban areas produce an urban heat island (UHI), which is manifest as warmer temperatures compared to the surrounding and less developed areas. While it is understood that UHI's are warmer than their surrounding areas, attributing the amount of heat added by the urban area is not easily determined. Current generation modeling systems require diurnal anthropogenic heating profiles. Development of diurnal cycle profiles of anthropogenic heating will help the modeling community as there is currently no database for anthropogenic heating profiles for cities across the United States. With more accurate anthropogenic heating profiles, climate models will be better able to show how humans directly impact the urban climate. This research attempts to create anthropogenic heating profiles for 61 cities in the United States. The method used climate, electricity, natural gas, and transportation data to develop anthropogenic heating profiles for each state. To develop anthropogenic heating profiles, profiles are developed for buildings, transportation, and human metabolism using the most recently available data. Since utilities are reluctant to release data, the building energy profile is developed using statewide electricity by creating a linear regression between the climate and electricity usage. A similar method is used to determine the contribution of natural gas consumption. These profiles are developed for each month of the year, so annual changes in anthropogenic heating can be seen. These profiles can then be put into climate models to enable more accurate urban climate modeling.
ContributorsMilne, Jeffrey (Author) / Georgescu, Matei (Thesis director) / Sailor, David (Committee member) / Brazel, Anthony (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Social relationships are the single most factor that create joy in human lives. And yet, the ways we are building our cities and structuring our lives reduces our chances of interaction and increases isolation. Creating more public spaces may be a possible solution to this problem of declining social cohesion. Public spaces have been shown to improve rates of social cohesion and social interaction. They have also been show to have positive effects on physical health, local economies, the natural environment, reducing crime rates and psychological health. Creating public spaces in areas that are low-income or have limited amounts of space can be very challenging. This paper profiles options of community created spaces, space public spaces and temporary public spaces. All of which are options for low-income and limited space communities. The paper concludes with the summery of an active project to create a public space in such a community through a joint-use agreement.
ContributorsChampagne, Elizabeth Anne (Author) / Golub, Aaron (Thesis director) / Kelley, Jason (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This thesis explores the wide-ranging urban renovations of Paris that the Second Empire, led by Emperor Napoleon III, commissioned from 1853-1870. The complex nature of redesigning the French capital required the oversight of the prefect of the Seine under Napoleon III, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, a man who popularized not only the appearance of Paris as it is known today but also the innovative means of financing projects of such large magnitudes. Ordering for wider streets to accommodate the flow of traffic from a rapidly growing population in the nineteenth century, the city government of Paris saw an opportunity to modernize completely its urban area in a functional manner by implementing new water and sewer systems, municipal parks, street lighting, and uniform façades. The comprehensive nature of this undertaking constituted one of the first instances of modern urban planning. While the massive construction projects did displace many of the residents of the city's core, they fundamentally transformed Paris from a medieval town notorious for its malodorous stench, overcrowding, and disease to one of the world's most celebrated and visited cities.
ContributorsSifferman, Steven Tyler (Author) / Shaeffer, J. Duncan (Thesis director) / Hopkins, Richard (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Fat-stigma has become a popular topic of research in recent years as obesity and Western ideals have made their way around the globe. Previous studies have found that the internalization and expression of body norms can vary dramatically depending on location, gender, and many other cultural factors. Differing levels of body satisfaction have been linked to the internalization of these norms, and the development of low body esteem can result in many physical and emotional problems. Although there is an abundance of research on the topic of fat-stigma, few studies have investigated the related, but seemingly independent, topic of the ideal thin body. Furthermore, limited research has looked directly at body size stereotypes in Guatemala, and those that have, focused solely on Guatemala City. Furthermore, no previous cross-cultural analyses were found comparing body norms among US and rural Guatemalan adolescents. By surveying 9-10 year old students in Acatenango, Guatemala and Phoenix, Arizona, this study compared the preferences as well as stereotypes for average, thin, and fat body sizes in these two contexts. The results of this study illustrate a contrast between a fat-negative and a thin-negative culture, and highlight the complexity of the emergence of body norms around the world. We find that, in contrast to previous studies, neither the western ideal thin body nor obesity stereotypes have been internalized in Acatenango. Furthermore, negative evaluations of fat bodies and positive evaluations of thin bodies seem to be made independently of each other. Americans had a much higher prejudice against fat children and were more likely to be thin-positive (OR=1.997), while Guatemalans were more likely to be thin-negative. On average, the American students were much more polarized in their judgments on different body sizes, and experienced greater levels of body dissatisfaction. Finally, American students favored an ideal figure over one size smaller than Guatemalan students. Results suggest that there are still rural communities that have not been entirely affected by the spread of western body norms.
ContributorsCole, Dawn Michelle (Author) / Maupin, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Hruschka, Daniel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
All politics is local, but some locales practice politics differently than others. Unique, individual relationships between a place and the social institutions of politics modifies and mitigates assumptions of how politics works across space. This analysis takes into account cultural theory concerning political behavior of place and regions and work by political scientists analyzing the differences in political behavior and preferences and aims to test a hypothesis about spatial patterns in the defections from party line votes in the US House of Representatives.
ContributorsWolf, Levi John (Author) / Steen, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Sivak, Henry (Committee member) / Rey, Sergio (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Despite similar climate, ecosystem, and population size, the cities of Hermosillo, Mexico and Mesa, USA manage their water very differently. Mesa has a stable and resilient system organized around state and federal regulations. Hermosillo, after rapidly industrializing, has not been able to cope with climate change and long-term drought conditions. Water distribution statistics, stakeholders, policy structure, and government organization were combined in an organizational framework to compare the practices of the two cities. These inputs were weighed against the outcomes and the sustainability of each system. While Mesa is part of a massive metropolitan area, Hermosillo is still developing into a metropolitan center and does not have access to the same infrastructure and resources. In Hermosillo local needs are frequently discounted in favor of broad political goals.
ContributorsMoe, Rud Lamb (Author) / Chhetri, Netra (Thesis director) / White, Dave (Committee member) / Robles-Morua, Agustin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Earth and Space Exploration (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The Great Plains region of the central United States and southern Canada is a promising location for wind energy resource development. Wind energy site assessments and forecasts can benefit from better understanding the variability that may result from several teleconnections affecting North America. This thesis investigates how the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and the Pacific/North American Pattern (PNA) impact mean monthly wind speeds at 850 hPa over the Great Plains. Using wind speeds from the NCAR/NCEP Reanalysis 1, correlations were computed between the mean monthly wind speeds and average monthly teleconnection index values. A difference of means test was used to compute the change in wind speeds between the positive and negative phases of each index. ENSO was not found to have a significant impact on wind speeds, while the NAO and PNA patterns weakly affected wind speeds. The NAO index was positively (negatively) correlated with wind speeds over the northern (southern) plains, while the PNA index was negatively correlated with wind speeds over most of the plains. Even a small change in wind speed can have a large effect on the potential power output, so the effects of these teleconnections should be considered in wind resource assessments and climatologies.
ContributorsOrdonez, Ana Cristina (Author) / Cerveny, Randall (Thesis director) / Svoma, Bohumil (Committee member) / Balling, Robert (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor)
Created2013-05