This paper presents a strategic framework for conducting action research in partnership with community-based organizations. The framework was developed through projects conducted in three urban communities in Pennsylvania – Harrisburg, Steelton and West Philadelphia. Using empirical data from these case studies, we present the research model as well as methodological considerations for conducti...

The use of the metabolism concept, expanded to include aspects of livability, is applied to cities to demonstrate the practical meaning of sustainability. Its application in industrial ecology, urban ecology, urban demonstration projects, business plans and city comparisons are used to illustrate its potential. # 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

This paper presents a strategic framework for conducting action research in partnership with community-based organizations. The framework was developed through projects conducted in three urban communities in Pennsylvania – Harrisburg, Steelton and West Philadelphia. Using empirical data from these case studies, we present the research model as well as methodological considerations for conducti...

This paper describes a new methodology for the conception of urban plans in order for them to fit the principles of Sustainable Development. The methodology herein presented makes use of different software for designing, calculations and dynamic modelling of buildings and urban spaces. The results from these assessments are then interpreted and incorporated in the urban design solutions. This m...

Current collaborative mapping projects using locative media technologies have often overlooked the conventions of the base map as a site for reinvention. Although these projects are ambitious in their aim to propose alternative organizations of urban space through the way it is digitally mapped, they remain bounded by datasets that reinforce a Cartesian and static notion of urban space. This pa...

The Efficient and Fair Approval of “Multiple-Cost – Single-Benefit” Projects under Unilateral Information This paper focuses on indivisible multiple-cost–single-benefit projects that must be approved by the government. A simple mechanism is proposed that ensures an efficient and fair implementation of such projects. The proposed mechanism is appropriate for a unilateral information structure: t...