MIT Libraries logoDSpace@MIT

MIT
View Item 
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Graduate Theses
  • View Item
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Graduate Theses
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

The middle of nowhere : town design and sense of community in rural youth

Author(s)
Donaldson, Helen Coughlin
Thumbnail
DownloadFull printable version (7.873Mb)
Alternative title
Town design and sense of community in rural youth
Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.
Advisor
Diane E. Davis.
Terms of use
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
This thesis tests the theory behind the new urbanist call for "modem version[s] of the traditional town" with respect to one physical design feature: the clearly defined town center. It asks the question: how does the existence of a town center, which, as prescribed by new urbanism, integrates commercial, recreational, and civic facilities in close proximity, affect sense of community in rural youth? The findings of this study, at least in part, support the new urbanist theory. Students in an area with a strong center do appear to display stronger feelings of basic need fulfillment, membership, and more positive feelings in general regarding their community. However, in other respects, students in the area without the center exhibited a much stronger sense of community, feeling much higher degrees of attachment, identity, and influence. The strong sense of community exhibited by the students in an area without a center may well be a product of that area's edges, and may begin to elucidate the role of other physical (and potentially social) boundaries in fostering sense of community.
Description
Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2005.
 
Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-100).
 
Date issued
2005
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/33406
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Urban Studies and Planning.

Collections
  • Graduate Theses

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

OA StatisticsStatistics by CountryStatistics by Department
MIT Libraries
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibilityContact us
MIT
Content created by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC unless otherwise noted. Notify us about copyright concerns.