Social impact management through planning and development : Hedonic Psychology and a new approach to tourism in Zanzibar

This study proposes a new approach to tourism planning and development based on three threads in the literature on social impact management: (1) the current approach to tourism studies; (2) the writings and activities of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture; and, (3) the emerging field of Hedonic Psychology. Combining the best efforts of each of these fields -- respectively, understanding the tensions that arise in tourist areas, developing real-world projects, and understanding the psychological drivers of wellbeing -- creates this new approach, which I call the "Hedonic Psychology Approach." To illustrate the application or this approach and to expose the process of planning and development according to this approach, salient features of the Stone Town of Zanzibar are presented, including brief descriptions of the spatial, social, political, and economic conditions of the historic area. Several recommendations are proposed, from improving open space design to maximize interactions among people, to increasing the coordination new development to institutionalize the potential benefits of the new approach.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Author dc:creator

• Metzger, A. Tell (Adam Tell), 1974-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Eran Ben-Joseph.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• 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.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/17694

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/17694