Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Land Use And Human Population Density On Benthic Macroinvertebrate Diversity In A Highly Urbanized River, Maleha Mahmud, David C. Lahti, Bobby Habig

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Many studies have documented the detrimental effects of urbanization on aquatic ecosystems. What is less known is how “super urban” centers—areas with unusually high human population densities and immense infrastructures—impact biodiversity. Specifically, freshwater streams and rivers that are situated in highly urbanized metropolitan areas might be more susceptible to anthropogenic disturbance. Here, we evaluated the impacts of land use and human population density on benthic macroinvertebrate diversity along the Bronx River, a freshwater river situated in one of the largest urban centers in the world: the New York metropolitan area. We addressed the following research question: How does (1) high …

Personal Green Spaces During The Pandemic - Perceptions Towards Urban Home Gardens During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Bengaluru, India, Varsha Bhaskaran, Charles Nilon

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented changes in a short span of time to people’s life and living. Being in a lockdown, especially in urban areas, has led to changes in the way people perceive nature around them and within their homes. Research on this topic in the cities of the global south has been limited with even fewer studies in Indian cities. To begin to address this gap, in this exploratory study we interviewed 30 residents of Bengaluru, India to understand how they perceived the changes they experienced in their home gardens and in the nature around their …

The Deception Of Student Athlete Protection: The Failures Of The Miller-Ayala Athlete Agents Act In The Age Of Nil, Matthew R. Hand

Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Kids Are Not Alright: A Look Into The Absence Of Laws Protecting Children In Social Media, Libby Morehouse

Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Urban Eco-Gardens For Biodiversity And Human Sustainability: A Case Study From Palestine, Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, Mohammad H. Najajrah, Elias N. Handal, Johanna Gideon, Mohammed A. Abusarhan, Ruediger Prasse

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

The situation in Palestine is of concern where global threats of climate change, overexploitation, habitat destruction, invasive species, and pollution are compounded by occupation and conflict. Thus, almost 1/3^rd of vascular plant species are rare and over 50 are listed as endangered or rare based on their abundance and presence in grids studied earlier. Here, we describe the development of a conservation botanic garden that works via research, education, and direct in situ and ex situ conservation of plant species. The garden now boasts 381 species of vascular plants (63 are rare). The team scientifically and selectively introduced some …

Influence Of Community Characteristics On Urban Forest Management Programs In New York State, J. Rebecca Hargrave, Rick W. Harper, Brett J. Butler, Jamie T. Mullins

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

US state and federal urban forest management agencies endeavor to support municipal forestry programs. However, the variation in programs within and among states may complicate support delivery. Municipal programs are often categorized by population size and community affluence to identify common characteristics and needs and facilitate support. To describe local urban forest management programs in New York State, a survey of municipalities gathered information on urban forest management program components, intentions, and needs. In addition to examining the contributions of population size and affluence, this study also evaluated the influence of metropolitan areas on programs in small municipalities and compared …

Vulnerability Assessment Of Urban And Peri-Urban Areas In Dhaka: Exploring Ecosystem Service Loss, Md Tousif Tanzir, Kh Shakibul Islam, Md. Raihanul Islam, Hasan M. Abdullah, Abdul Kaium Tuhin

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Rapid unplanned development, a primary cause of urban change, endangers ecosystems greatly. Quantifying ecosystem services helps portray the declining ecological functions caused by the urban land cover change. Dhaka, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, exerts little effort toward sustainability; affecting both the inner city and the outer periphery (peri-urban area) called extend Dhaka (5 km buffer from the city's border). This study examines Dhaka's urban growth impact on ecosystem service values (ESV) from 2004-2020 and projects these impacts to 2050, considering three scenarios: business as usual (BAU), conservation, and development. We employed Landsat images, different …

Demand-Side Disarmament: Or How I Learned To Deter The Bomb, James J. Bernstein

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

García Asto And Ramírez Rojas V. Peru, Celene Afari

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Duque V. Colombia, Alondra Gonzalez

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

What's Said In The Booth Never Stays In The Booth: A Comparative Analysis Of The Use Of Rap Lyrics In American And English Criminal Trials, Yekaterina Shrayber

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Case Of The "Caracazo" V. Venezuela, Douglas Clark

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contreras Et Al. V. El Salvador, Cristina Tenorio

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Pavez Pavez V. Chile, Rachana Reddi

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Moya Chacón Et Al. V. Costa Rica, Gursimran Bhullar

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Corruption And Competition: The Wrong Goal In Football, Melody Mohammadi

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

City Of Houston Nature Preserve Ordinance, Kelli Ondracek, Cassidy Kempt

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

The City of Houston’s Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) created a first-of-its-kind Nature Preserve Ordinance to protect existing natural habitat within 26 parks totaling 7,423 acres of land. The purpose of this ordinance is to preserve and protect, in perpetuity, city-owned natural areas by regulating public use and development of these lands. The policy protects threatened ecosystems, important water resources, and locally rare plant and wildlife populations.

Beyond Tree Planting In Urban Forest Climate Adaptation Actions, Michael T. Yadrick Jr., Lisa A. Ciecko, Weston Brinkley

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Forests in cities, and the communities that steward and benefit from them, face significant disruption due to climate change. It is now time to build the capacity in our institutions and in forested natural areas to help navigate multiple overlapping crises and systems change. This case study from Seattle, Washington provides perspective on how to mitigate climate change beyond tree planting.

Applying Asset Management Principles To Urban Natural Areas In Portland, Patrick R. Key

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Portland, Oregon’s Parks & Recreation Bureau has developed a protocol to assess our managed natural areas using an asset management framework. We utilized traditional asset management best practices to create a rapid, actionable protocol that also establishes parity between natural asset assessments and our existing inventory of built asset assessments, such as playgrounds, bridges, and trails. The results of these natural area assessments will help inform resource allocation, planning for future fiscal needs, and prioritization of on-the-ground interventions.

Prioritizing Control Of Lesser Celandine (Ficaria Verna) In Deciduous Forests In Indianapolis, In, Kevin Tungesvick, Spencer A. Goehl, Donald R. Miller

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) is an aggressive ephemeral perennial native to Europe and western Asia that invades floodplains and mesic forests. It has been recorded to escape from cultivation throughout the eastern deciduous forest and has become abundant in many riparian areas in the Mid Atlantic, Great Lakes, and Ohio Valley. It emerges earlier than most native vernal flora and forms a dense mat that replaces the less aggressive native spring ephemeral community. Control efforts on floodplains are often unsuccessful due to floodwater transport of upstream propagules. Eco Logic LLC, a local ecological restoration firm, worked with Indy …

Second Addenda To The Special Issue: The Science And Practice Of Managing Forests In Cities, Sam W. Lawson, Sophie Plitt

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

In this second set of addenda to our first special issue, The Science and Practice of Managing Forests in Cities, we present seven new case studies documenting approaches to evaluating, managing, and protecting forested natural areas in cities across the U.S. These case studies were presented at the fourth gathering of the Forests in Cities network which took place in Miami-Dade County, Florida in February, 2024.

Land Protection And Habitat Restoration As Catalysts For Sustained Community Engagement At The Roslindale Wetlands Urban Wild, Paul Sutton, Nicholas P. Long, Taylor Andrews, Erica A. Holm

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

The Roslindale Wetlands “Urban Wild,” a 10-acre forested wetland in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, is the backdrop for a compelling story of land preservation and habitat restoration as primary drivers for sustained community engagement. Originally identified for residential development, this patchwork of City and private land was long neglected and degraded by incompatible adjacent development and illegal dumping. In 2005, the community group Roslindale Wetlands Task Force (RWTF) was formed to start the long, gradual process of cleaning up and advocating for full preservation of the site. However, between 2019 and 2023, an alignment of several strategic joint planning …

Assessment Of Miami-Dade County Environmentally Endangered Lands Located Within Or Adjacent To Miami-Dade County Parks, James G. Duncan

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Public interactions with urban forests can be a contentious issue and, in many cases, the protection of resources takes a backseat to stakeholders’ desire to use areas in ways that diminish the capability to manage resources and causes unintended consequences or direct impacts to sensitive resources. The assessment of impacts to sensitive forested areas located in parks was part of a Miami-Dade County legislative directive to provide enhanced guidelines for the protection of natural habitats. The assessment detailed historical and current issues at 18 environmental preserves located in or adjacent to the County’s park system and an implementation strategy for …

Developing A Protocol For Assessing Natural Area Function In Portland, Oregon, Christa Von Behren

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

The Revegetation Program at the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services aims to use active adaptive management to steward natural areas in our portfolio, but we have lacked an adequate monitoring protocol to effectively implement this approach. We spent three years developing and testing a functional assessment protocol to assess progress toward management goals and to infer performance of different ecological functions. We completed our first data collection during the field season of 2022.

Technology Justice: Taxation Of Our Collective And Cumulative Cognitive Inheritance, Hilary G. Escajeda

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

As artificial intelligence and robotic technologies accelerate economic transformation, outdated property and tax laws will increasingly fail American workers with ordinary skills that perform routine job functions. Because technology may render millions of workers redundant, U.S. policymakers must make significant social, economic, and legal structural changes to (1) improve the lives of average workers, (2) support the economy, and (3) maintain political stability.

Inspired by Thomas Paine’s Agrarian Justice, this twenty-first century Article argues that “Technology Justice” requires that humans benefit from the cognitive endowment created by our ancestors’ minds. Specifically, it asserts that our collective and cumulative cognitive …

A More Capacious Conception Of Church, Samuel D. Brunson, Philip T. Hackney

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

No abstract provided.

Nonprofits, Taxes, And Speech, Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Federal tax law is of two minds when it comes to speech by nonprofits. The tax benefits provided to nonprofits are justified in significant part because they provide nonprofits great discretion in choosing the specific ends and means to pursue, thereby promoting diversity and pluralism. But current law withholds some of these tax benefits if a nonprofit engages in certain types of political speech. Legislators have also repeatedly, if unsuccessfully, sought to expand these political speech restrictions in various ways. And some commentators have proposed denying tax benefits to groups engaged in other types of disfavored speech, including hate speech …

Moving Toward Police Accountability: Beyond Senate Bill 2, Ani Boyadjian

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

On September 30, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 2 (SB 2), “creat[ing] a system to investigate and revoke or suspend peace officer certification for serious misconduct,” as well as establishing the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division and the Peace Standards Accountability Advisory Board, which will be responsible for investigations into police misconduct. This Note will describe the new features of SB 2’s decertification provisions in contrast to traditional methods of addressing police misconduct. Additionally, this Note will examine where the bill fell short, and how to overcome its shortcomings.

The Unknown Consequences Of Place-Based Tax Incentives, Michelle D. Layser

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Nearly thirty years have passed since Prof. Ellen Aprill warned policymakers not to rely on tax incentives to fight urban poverty. At the time, federal and state governments were just beginning to embrace so-called place-based tax incentives, which are used to promote investment in low-income areas. Aprill was skeptical and expressed doubts about their capacity to change business behavior or to benefit low-income residents. Nevertheless, federal and state lawmakers charged forward, introducing new place-based tax incentive programs in the decades that followed. Today, tax incentives are a central part of most place-based policy initiatives. Yet, there is still a lot …

Every Story Has A Beginning, But What About An End?: Disney’S Expiring Copyrights, Marisol Jimenez Gastelum

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

The Walt Disney Company is one of the most powerful and influential media companies in the world that has revolutionized animated films. Steamboat Willie, the cartoon featuring the first version of Mickey Mouse, was released in 1928 and is set to enter the public domain on January 1, 2024. This iconic character has stayed out of the public domain for nearly a century because of Congress’s extension of copyright duration in response to lobbying efforts by Disney and other copyright holders. Although Disney has not made another effort to lobby Congress for an extension to its copyrights, Disney’s development of …