| This dissertation explores the question of whether, and how, relationships between different configurations of informally negotiated rights and privileges in the city---or urban land tenure regimes---contribute to differentially sustainable practices in the city of Portland, Oregon. It draws on theoretical frameworks and methods from urban geography, development studies, political ecology, environmental studies, and sustainability science. The research is based upon data collected using four primary methods: (1) spatial demographic analysis and (2) archival research focused on planning documents and media accounts, which serve to contextualize and enrich the (3) primary interviews with residents and (4) qualitative GIS data. Together, I use these data to demonstrate relationships between different land tenure regimes in Portland and distinct, specific practices; I then examine practices within a sustainability rubric.;Two specific findings emerge from the research. The first is that competing regimes of informally negotiated mobility rights in the North Portland area profoundly shape residents' use of transit throughout the city. Residents who understand their rights as grounded in Portland's overarching sustainability ideals make much more extensive use of rail transit and bicycling, while those who understand their rights as grounded in ideals of residence and participation in community are more likely to use bus transit or automobiles, even when living in close proximity to new rail transit-driven development. The second finding is that distinct ensembles of food acquisition practices in Portland contribute very differently to the city's overall sustainability efforts. Even when the foods which are acquired are roughly similar (e.g., equivalently organic, local, or low-impact), participation in socially-oriented, socially motivated food acquisition practices have broadly positive implications for urban sustainability.;Overall, the dissertation suggests a strategy for urban sustainability research that engages with social and political dimensions of contemporary urban theory. By illustrating how rights and practices are co-imbricated with urban environmental outcomes, and by demonstrating a methodological strategy for examining the sustainability of research objects such as practices, this research offers a path forward for socially- oriented urban sustainability research which better links urban political theory with ecological and environmental concerns. |
