Pros and Cons of High

The Role of Geography in Land-Use Planning

The Role of Geography in Land-Use Planning Within urban and rural communities, geography plays a critical role in the development of the built environment. Urban planners must rely on knowledge of geographic space when deciding how best to manage growth. As the cities of the world grow and more rural land is developed, ensuring smart growth and practical environmental management are necessary goals. Steps Before Planning and Development Can Occur Before any kind of planning and development can happen, funds must be collected from the public and a set of rules is needed to clarify the process. These prerequisites are the two active factors in planning for land use. By collecting taxes, fees and even ideas from the public, decision-makers are able to effectively provide plans for development and revitalization. Zoning regulations provide a legal framework for development. Regulations of Use of Private Land Municipalities regulate the use of private land for a variety of reasons. Designations for the use of land are provided in a municipality’s master plan, which is usually intended to ensure the following. Transportation FlowEconomic DevelopmentHistoric PreservationRecreational Space/ParksEnvironmental/Wildlife Protection Businesses, manufacturers and residential communities all require specific geographic locations. Accessibility is the key. Businesses are more suitable downtown while manufacturing centers are most accessible for shipping at an interstate or a port. When designing residential developments, planners generally focus on developing close to or directly above commercial areas. Components of Planning Urban Areas The desire for urban areas is the flow of transportation. Before any development can happen, there must first be an infrastructure suitable to the needs of future growth. Infrastructure includes sewer, water, electricity, roads and floodwater management. The master plan of any urban region has the potential for guiding growth in a way that will generate a fluid movement of people and commerce, especially in emergency situations. Public investment through taxes and fees is the cornerstone for developing infrastructure. Most major urban centers have been around for a long time. Preserving the history and aesthetic of earlier developments within a city creates a more livable space and can boost tourism in the area. Tourism and livability are also boosted by growing the city around major parks and recreation areas. Water, mountains and open parks offer citizens an escape from the city’s hub of activity. Central Park in New York City is a perfect example. National parks and wildlife sanctuaries are perfect examples of preservation and conservation. One of the essential parts of any plan is the ability to provide citizens with an equal opportunity. Communities cut off from urban centers by railroads, interstates or natural boundaries have difficulty in accessing employment. When planning for development and the use of land, special attention must be given to lower-income housing projects. Mixing housing for various income levels provides increased educational and opportunities for lower-income families. To facilitate the implementation of a master plan, zoning ordinances and special regulations are imposed on real-estate developers. Zoning Ordinances There are two essential parts to a zoning ordinance: Detailed maps showing land area, boundaries and the zone under which the land is categorized.Text describing in full detail each zones regulations. Zoning is used to permit some types of construction and prohibit others. In some areas, residential construction may be limited to a specific type of structure. Downtown areas may be a mixed-use of residential and commercial activity. Manufacturing centers will be zoned for construction close to the interstate. Some areas may be prohibited for development as a means of conserving green space or access to water. There may also be districts where only the historical aesthetic is allowed. Challenges are faced in the zoning process, as cities desire to eliminate blighted areas of zero growth while maintaining a diversity of interests in a geographic area. The importance of mixed-use zoning is becoming increasingly apparent in major urban areas. By allowing developers to build residential units above businesses, land use is maximized by creating a round-the-clock hub of activity. Another challenge faced by planners is the issue of socio-economic segregation. Some subdivisions strive to maintain a certain financial status by regulating the scope of housing developments. Doing this ensures that home values in the subdivision will remain above a certain level, alienating the poorer members of the community. Adam Sowder is a fourth-year senior at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is studying Urban Geography with a focus on Planning.

The Payback Period as a Tool in Capital Budgeting Decisions Essay

The Payback Period as a Tool in Capital Budgeting Decisions - Essay Example In order to aid managers in making decisions with regards to capital budgeting, tools and techniques have been devised. One of these methods is called the payback method. The payback method is one of the most popular tools in conducting capital budgeting decision. The payback period tells the company the length of time required to recoup the original investment through investment cash flows. This is essentially the time when the company breaks even-the initial capital outlay is equal to the cash flows. For example, if a company invests $100,000 for the introduction of a new product line, then, the payback period reveals when the company will be generating cash flow of $100,000. Considering that the business organization invests in a project which generates the same level of cash flow annually, the payback period is computed as the follows: However, if the investment generates unequal annual cash flows, then the individual annual cash flows are subtracted from the initial investment until a difference of zero is reached. The year when cash flow equals investment is the payback period. Other things being equal, the investment with a low payback period is chosen as it implies less risk for the company. ... As the investment is recouped in a shorter period of time, it also indicates that the investment is less likely to fail. In the payback method, the profitability of the investment is often tied on how fast the investment generates cash inflow for the business organization. If the business organization is eyeing two or more projects to invest into, using the payback as sole decision criterion will make the company choose the project which has the lowest payback. However, if there is only one project to be evaluated, the firm often sets a specific span of time when the initial investment should be recouped. Generally, managers favor projects which have a payback period of less than three years. If the payback period is one year, the project is considered essential. In order to assess really understand how the payback period can be used in decision making, we will use it to evaluate two projects-one which has a fixed annual cash flow and one which generates unequal stream of cash flow. Suppose, XYZ Company is choosing between replacing its old machine used for production or embarking on a new product line. Each of the projects is estimated to require an initial investment of $100,000. Since the company is constrained with only $100,000 budget, the company must pursue only the more profitable option. The primary decision criterion used to evaluate investment decisions is the payback method. The estimated net cash flows are as follows: Year Replace Old Machine Introduce Product Line 1 $25,000 $10,000 2 $25,000 $20,000 3 $25,000 $70,000 4 $25,000 $50,000 5 $25,000 $50,000 A. Constant Annual Cash Flow The replacement of the old machine with the new one is forecasted to yield

Flight Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Flight - Research Paper Example The disappointment leads to few people being trained as pilots and even some changing their pilot careers. This paper will discuss the factors that lead to a shortage in the number of pilots in the airline industry. The paper will also offer probable measures that would rectify the solution if implemented. The main reason why  everyone  works is because they want to get salaries. Salaries are the motivation factor for people to work or to desire to join a certain career. The pilot career is among the best white color jobs, but the salaries offered are quite disappointing (Bachman 1). One expects that being in the pilot career; they will receive the best salaries as compared to being in other careers. The technicality in the job also calls for attractive salaries. However, the starting salaries of pilots are very low. Although the salaries may differ depending on the airline, on average, the starting salaries are very low. The educational efforts that one inputs do not match the salary that is provided. This fact keeps away the people who would be willing to train as pilots. Other careers that are in the same level as the pilot career such as medicine and architecture are well paying. The bright students will opt to study medicine and architecture rather that piloting since they expect to have better salaries from the start. Most airlines have failed to address the problem claiming that raising the salaries will lead to increasing travel costs for passengers. However, failing to address one problem has caused bigger problems such as delayed flights that chase away customers (Bachman 1). Most customers would prefer paying more rather than having delays. It is, therefore, necessary that airline managers should address the problem since it will have a double gain. Customer’s loyalty will be build and at the same time, the issue of pilot shortage will be curbed. Their salaries determine the lifestyles that people of a certain

Female Genital Mutilation in Africa Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Female Genital Mutilation in Africa - Article Example By definition a rite of passage is "a ritual associated with a crisis or a change of status (as marriage, illness, or death) for an individual" (Agnes, 1990, p. 1018). Although the excisions do not occur because of a crisis, they do, in fact, occur in preparation of a change of status, as in marriage, and the woman or young girl often takes on new roles after the operation is performed. Those operations that are performed on infants cannot by definition be considered a rite of passage since the change in status is not in the near future. Thus, FGM can be considered a rite of passage when it is performed in preparation for the new roles the girl will assume in her future marriage. Indeed, the ritualistic components of FGM are evidenced by the preparations that are made for the operation. Girls are often given new jewellery, clothing, and gifts as part of the operation. In some cases, a great feast will occur in celebration of the operation. From the definition, it can be concluded tha t FGM qualifies as a ritual. Another reason often cited for FGM is that it is a fertility rite. Saadwai (2002) comments that if FGM were intended to be a fertility rite, the excision would be partial and symbolic: However, in the Sudan, after the girls are circumcised, they are then washed in the Nile as a fertility offering to the god of the Nile. There certainly are many aspects of FGM that make the connection with fertility rites a plausible one (Lowenstein, 1978; Salama, 1980; Saadawi, 2002). Sociologists and anthropologists have tended towards concurrence with the perception of FGM as a traditional ritual and rite of passage. Campbell (2006), most noted for his work on male circumcision, maintains that FGM is a direct offshoot of male circumcision rites among the ancient totemistic hunting groups. In these societies, there is an abundance of large game which led to the development of the art of hunting. Emphasis in the social structure was placed on the men as they were the providers. Wile the rite of circumcision in these societies reflected "a bias in favour of the males and therewith an emphasis on the sexual aspect of the rites and particularly on circumcision," female circumcision evolved in complementarily to the male fertility dimension of this practice. (Campell, 2006, 320). Some sociologists have argued an alternative theory, suggesting that FGM is an outcome of the desire of some primitive societies to control female sexuality and, thereby, ensure the paternity of children (Morris, 2003). This argument is inextricably linked to the mother's premarital chastity and fidelity during marriage, not the father's per se. This line of thinking can be taken to its logical conclusion: perform a physical operation to keep the woman from having sexual relations outside of marriage. This will be viewed as necessary for societies that see the constraint of female sexuality as the necessary condition for continued propagation of the human race (Sanderson, 2001; Morris,

Contemporary influences on design practice

Contemporary influences on design practice There are professions more harmful than industrial design, but only a very few by creating whole new species of permanent garbage to clutter up the landscape, and by choosing materials and processes that pollute the air we breath, designers have become a dangerous breed In this age of mass production when everything must be planned and designed, design has become the most powerful tool with which man shapes his tools and environments (and, by extension, society and himself). This demands high social and moral responsibility from the designer. Victor Papanek (1985) Design for sustainability is part of the bigger picture of sustainable development, a subject which has received considerable media attention in recent years due to a range of world wide crises which have manifested themselves as political problems: climate change, famine, disease and poverty. The evolution of sustainability Is been described as a series of three waves, with peaks and troughs of activity, that contribute to the momentum we see today (SustainAbility, 2006). The first wave occurred in the 1960s and 1970s with the birth of the Green Movement and the rise of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), such as Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, which focused on driving change via government policy and regulation. The second wave occurred in the 1980s, set off by a range of economic crises (brought on by the collapse of the Berlin Wall) and environmental catastrophes (from Bhopal to Chernobyl) which prompted a range of legislation and environmental, healthy and safety standards. At this time NGOs used a number of high profile business transgressions to catalyse public debate and drive regulatory and market responses. The concepts of auditing, reporting and engagement within business entered the mainstream (SustainAbility, 2006). The new millennium saw the start of the third wave of sustainability. Unrest in the Middle East and elsewhere had led to a growth in anti-globalisation, often in the guise of anti-Americanism. The first World Social Forum, organised in opposition to the World Economic Forum brought together activists and NGOs from around the world, campaigning on issues such as trade justice and debt, and increasingly united on issues of water scarcity and exploitation. In the wake of another set of high profile business fiascos such as the Enron debacle, corporate governance and liability became a hot issue for top management and for financial markets. Meanwhile, businesses started to explore new partnerships with NGOs, for example Greenpeace and Shell shared a platform at the Johannesburg Summit, also Greenpeace formed a joint venture with Innogy to create the Juice wind power brand, which recently began to feed power generated by a huge offshore wind farm into the national grid (SustainAbility, 2006). Since the late 1960s when Victor Papanek (1971) first blamed the design profession for creating wasteful products and customer dissatisfaction, there has been a growing feeling in many environmental circles that design and manufacture is responsible for many of the man-made stresses imposed on the planet. A fact that is well illustrated by the fact 80 % of products are discarded after a single use and 99 % of materials used are discarded in the first six weeks (Shot in the Dark, 2000). Though this trend is expected to start to change with the introduction of new product focused environmental legislation, the fact still remains that mainstream product de ­sign draws on scarce resources to create and power products which often have little or no consideration for impact on society and the environment. Defining Industrial Design Throughout the nineteenth century, the term de ­signer was vague and ambiguous, referring to a wide range of occupations: fine artists, architects, crafts ­men, engineers and inventors (Sparke, 1983). By the twentieth century the profession of design had de ­veloped into Industrial Design as we know it today, existing in design teams and governed by manage ­ment structure (Sparke, 1983). Within industry, industrial designers tend to either work in-house, as a function of a larger organisation or as independent design consultants within a design consultancy that services a variety of different clients (Lofthouse, 2001). Within both of these capacities industrial designers can be involved in the design and development of both consumer and industrial goods (Lofthouse, 2001). This report focuses on consumer products. Within this sector, industrial designers can serve a wide range of industries such as pharmaceuti ­cals, packaging, and electrical and electronic domestic products, as such their outputs can vary enormously in terms of their nature and complexity. Design for Sustainability Emerges The concept of design for sustainability first emerged in the 1960s when Packard (1963); Papanek (1971); Bonsiepe (1973) and Schumacher (1973) began to criticise modern and unsustainable development and suggest alternatives. The second wave emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s and coincided with the green consumer revolution. Writers such as Manzini (1990); Burall (1991), Mackenzie (1991) and Ryan (1993) began to call for design to make radical changes. This wave continued to gain momentum towards the end of the 1990s and early 2000s as design for sustainability became more widespread. Though there has been a long history of designers being mo ­tivated and interested in improving the environmen ­tal and social impact of the products they produce, there has been a lack of opportunity within the in ­dustrial context with case studies only starting to emerge from electronic and electrical companies in the early 1990s when companies such as Philips, Elec ­trolux, IBM and Xerox began to promote the work they had done in this area. Although large industry commitment to integrating environmental and social issues into product development has continued to be on the rise there has been little evidence of wide ­spread opportunity for this type of holistic thinking, in the commercial design industry. Design for sustainability issues are currently rarely addressed in the design brief (Dewberry, 1996; Lofthouse, 2001) and as such it is often difficult for designers to have the opportunity to engage with environmentally and socially responsible design in a professional capacity. This report aims to change this situation and encourage a more widespread ap ­proach to design for sustainability. Education In the past environmental and socially responsible design has not been specifically encouraged through design education and training. This is now changing for example in the UK programmes such as STEP and Sustainable Design Awards developed and run by the charity Practical Action are set up to encourage sustainability awareness in young designers working at National Curriculum key stage 3 and 4 (ages 11- 16) and A-levels respectively. Similarly projects such as DEMI (design for the environment multi-media implementation), and the pioneering work of the Centre for Sustainable Design, Goldsmiths College, Loughborough University and the setting up of a Toolbox for Sustainable Design (Bhamra and Loft ­house, 2004) which aims to help other lecturers develop sustainable design courses have helped to change this situation. Research in the field of design for sustainability is now well established, though it can still be consid ­ered a new area. Most of the developed nations now have some form of active research into design for sustainability, covering issues such as: implementa ­tion of legislation, eco-innovation, corporate social responsibility, product service systems, eco-redesign, impacts of user behaviour, design for disassembly and reverse manufacturing. Introduction. Challenge for Design Part of the challenge for designers is for them to fully understand the breadth of the agenda and appreciate what can be tackled under the umbrella of design for sustainability. Within the design community there is a general lack of awareness of many issues relating to sustainable development. Designers need to under ­stand and even communicate to their colleagues that design for sustainability is about more than recycling or using recycled materials. Design for sustainability offers a new and broader context for designing. Birkeland (2002) encapsulates this by presenting a new vision for design which is: Responsible redefining goals around needs, social/eco equity and justice. Synergistic creating positive synergies; involv ­ing different elements to create systems change. Contextual re-evaluating design conventions and concepts towards social transformation. Holistic taking a life cycle view to ensure low impact, low cost, multi-functional outcomes. Empowering fosters human potential, self-re ­liance and ecological understanding in appropri ­ate ways. Restorative integrates the social and natural world; recultivates a sense of wonder. Eco-efficient proactively aims to increase the economy of energy, materials and costs. Creative represents a new paradigm that tran ­scends traditional boundaries of discipline think ­ing. Visionary focuses on visions and outcomes and conceives of appropriate methods, to deliver them. This report aims to reverse the trend of design con ­tributing to global environmental and social prob ­lems by inspiring and empowering me to make a dif ­ference. It hopes to enlighten about the sustainability generally and show how better design can improve things. By considering the environment and society when you are designing you are able to offer your cli ­ents truly good design that meets their requirements and those of an increasingly fragile planet. In accordance with this report, I consider emergent in actuality the guide accomplished by Lunar Elements in july 2008. It represent a tool designed to help all designers, no matter what their level of experience, design more sustainable products. The designers field guide to sustainability- an overview of sustainable product development and the product life cycle Lunar Elements (2008) WHAT IS IT TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH ? Question the premise of the design Consider other approaches to the problem at hand Make is less complex Simple, elegant designs are often the least impactful Make it more useful Multiuse products can reduce consumption and in ­crease convenience HOW IS I T BROUGHT TO LIFE? Reduce material variety This can increase recyclability and can decrease man ­ufacturing energy Avoid toxic or harmful materials and chemicals PVC, polystyrene, lead and BPA for example Reduce size and weight This reduces emissions during shipping Optimize manufacturing processes Powder coat vs. paint. Pressure form vs. RIM Talk to your manufacturers about low energy, low waste alternatives Design packaging in parallel with products A green product in a wasteful package should be avoided whenever possible HOW I S IT USED? Design for Upgradeability Make standard internal components accessible and self explanatory Create durable and high quality designs Make products people want to keepand make them last Design for life after death A secondary use for a product adds value and helps reduce waste WHERE DOES IT END UP? Make it modular More easily repaired, and recycled Maximize recycled, recyclable, renewable, and biodegradable materials PET, Polypropylene, HDPE, Wood, Steel, Aluminum and PLA for example Minimize fasteners Fasteners add weight, material variety and assembly/ disassembly complexity Dont use paint Painted plastics are less likely to be recycled References Bhamra, T. A. and Lofthouse, V. A. (2004), Toolbox for Sustainable Design Education. Available at: www.lboro.ac.uk/research/susdesign/LTSN/Index.htm (Loughborough: Loughborough University). Birkeland, J. (2002), Design for Sustainability: A Sourcebook of Integrated, Eco-Logical Solutions (Sheffield: Earthscan Publications). Bonsiepe, G. (1973) Precariousness and Ambiguity: Industrial Design in Dependent Countries in Design for Need Bicknell, J. and McQiston, L. (eds.) pp. 13-19 (London: Pergamon Press, The RCA). Burall, P. (1991), Green Design (London: Design Council). Dewberry, E. L. (1996), EcoDesign Present Attitudes and Future Directions, Heskett, J. (1991), Industrial Design (London: Thames Hudson). Industrial Design Society of America (1999), IDSA web site. Available at: www.idsa.org Lofthouse, V. A. (2001), Facilitating Ecodesign in an Industrial Design Context: An Exploratory Study, Doctoral Thesis (Cranfield: In Enterprise Integration Cranfield University). Mackenzie, D. (1991), Green Design: Design for the Environment (London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.). Manzini, E. (1990), The New Frontiers: Design Must Change and Mature, Design, 501, p. 9. Packard, V. (1963), The Waste Makers (Middlesex: Penguin). Papanek, V. (1971), Design for the Real World (New York: Pantheon Books). Papanek, V. (1985), Design pentru lumea reala (Bucuresti: Editura Tehnica) Ryan, C. (1993) Design and the Ends of Progress in O2 Event: Striking Visions, Schumacher, E. F. (1973), Small is Beautiful: a Study of Economics as if People Mattered (London: Sphere Books, Ltd.). Shot in the Dark (2000), Design on the Environment: Ecodesign for Business (Sheffield: Shot in the Dark) Sparke, P. (1983), Consultant Design: The History and Practice of the Designer in Industry (London: Pembridge Press Limited). Design for sustainability Sustainability (2006), Trends and Waves. Available at: www.sustainability.com/insight/trends-and-waves.asp.

Eighteenth Century Ballooning :: European Europe History

Eighteenth Century Ballooning       In a time where the skies are full of aircraft, it is hard to    imagine a time when air travel was nothing but a dream. That was    just the case during the early eighteenth century. The dream of flight    was so concentrated on winged flight that ballooning was actually and    accidental discovery. The shift to alternate opportunities to fly    occurred in 1766 with the discovery of hydrogen. Henry Cavendish    discovered the gas he coined the â€Å"inflammable gas.† At that time this    meant that the gas was highly combustible, unlike today’s    interpretation of inflammable. What made this gas so important was    the fact that the gas was much lighter than the atmosphere. The    lighter gas would give the balloon lift in the surrounding atmosphere,    hopefully taking a human along with it. The new discovery brought a    lot of excitement to the pursuit of air travel. The discovery began to    move forward in 1774 with Joseph Priestly’s publication of    â€Å"Experiments and Observations with Different Types of Air.† This    paper explored uses of the gas and further explained its properties for    future experimentation. In 1777, the paper was translated into    French and read by Joseph Montgolfier. The paper inspired    Montgolfier to further explore the possibilities of the gas. Montgolfier    and his brother Etienne began experimenting with the gas in hopes of    coming up with a device to give them flight. This became a reality in    1786 when the two brothers were able to fly small cloth and paper hot    air filled balloons. This was the small and modest beginning to hot air    balloon flight.    The brothers had some complication to work out with the first    flights being experimental. They used dense smoke from burning    chopped wool or damp straw to lift the balloon. The smoke idea most    likely came from a concept left over from the medieval times. They    believed that smoke had more of a virtue of lightness, and lighter    meant that the balloon had a better chance of flight. Another    possibility is that the brothers believed that the dense smoke would    simply be better contained in the balloon. Some individuals even    believe that the brothers used thick smoke to conceal their ideas.