Architecture Commons^™

Travel Behavior Change And Economic Transition In Gentrified Neighborhoods, Maryam Izadi

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Post-industrial cities in the US have experienced social and economic transitions, mostly in declining downtown neighborhoods. This process, known as gentrification, typically involves revitalization that reverses the decline and disinvestment in inner-city neighborhoods. The industrial shift increased the demand for housing near downtown. The employment of college-educated and high-skill workers has been centralized, while low-skilled jobs continue to decline downtown. While the impacts of gentrification on housing and residential displacement is frequently investigated, little attention has been given to its impact on travel behavior change and economic transition, which is the focus of this research. Change in travel behavior is …

The Race To Fifty Feet: An Effort To Determine The Benefits Of Deepening The Mississippi River, Brian Miles

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This research examined the benefits and drawbacks of deepening the Lower Mississippi River to fifty feet. It established that the deepening of the Lower Mississippi River will impact not only the local area but also the inland regions that rely on the river systems and lower river ports for product movement. The perspectives of vessel operators, maritime industry experts and charterers are provided to offer insight. The sources for the research include educational literature, maritime research and interviews of industry experts. Based on this research, it is clear that this project will benefit many parties. The beneficiaries will include both …

Detection Of Sand Boils From Images Using Machine Learning Approaches, Aditi S. Kuchi

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Levees provide protection for vast amounts of commercial and residential properties. However, these structures degrade over time, due to the impact of severe weather, sand boils, subsidence of land, seepage, etc. In this research, we focus on detecting sand boils. Sand boils occur when water under pressure wells up to the surface through a bed of sand. These make levees especially vulnerable. Object detection is a good approach to confirm the presence of sand boils from satellite or drone imagery, which can be utilized to assist in the automated levee monitoring methodology. Since sand boils have distinct features, applying object …

Creating Healthy Urban Environments: Commercial Landscaping, Preference And Public Health, Mary Leibe

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Landscape development[1] can provide many benefits, including the reduction of stormwater runoff and the creation of habitats for wildlife. It can also provide health benefits. Researchers, such as Roger Ulrich and Rita Berto have demonstrated that views of trees and other vegetation are associated with lower blood pressure and reduced recovery times in hospitals and that environments with more natural elements may lessen mental fatigue (R. Ulrich 1984) and (Berto 2005).

As rebuilding in New Orleans continues 11 years after Hurricane Katrina, landscape development has been limited or lacking, especially in the redevelopment of commercial properties. Two prominent reasons …

Measuring Access To Employment To Guide And Evaluate Public Transit Service Planning In New Orleans, Kevin Harrison

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

New software and technology is making it easier than ever before for public transportation planners to evaluate how quickly residents can reach jobs and other destinations. Because in the past it was difficult to measure access to opportunities, these concepts remained primarily in the theoretical and academic realms of research. This thesis reviews methods that could be used to evaluate routine bus service improvements and performs a comparative analysis of different methods in the context of New Orleans. There are many different variables in how the analysis could be performed, but this thesis focuses on the role that time of …

Cumulative Impact Of Shortest Path, Environment And Fuel Efficiency On Route Choice: Case Studies With Real-Time Data, Syed R. Islam

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) provides a great platform for the planners to reduce environmental externalities from auto. We now have access to real time data. We have been using shortest path to provide route choice to the user. But we have the potential to add more variables in choosing routes. Real time data can be used to measure carbon di-oxide emission during a trip. Also, fuel efficiency can be measured using the real time data. Planners should use this potential of ITS to reduce the environmental impact. This paper thus try to evaluate if considering three variables shortest path, environmental …

Negotiating Inner-City Redevelopment: Engaging Residents In Housing Requisition In Shanghai, Zhumin Xu

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Housing requisition (Fangwu Zhengshou) is defined as the power to take residents’ property for public use by the state. Between 1995 and 2010, one million residential units were relocated from the inner city of Shanghai to the outskirts of the city or suburban counties. Historically, residents have been excluded stakeholders in large-scale urban renewal in post-reform China. Starting in 2011, Shanghai requires residents to vote on property takings for inner-city renewal. In March 2013, residents voted down the Block 59 project in the North Bund area in Shanghai, which marks the first housing requisition project for inner-city redevelopment rejected by …

Coastal Land Loss And Collaborative Resource Governance: The Case Of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, Nandini Seth

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The research, presented here, is about the collaborative governance and adaptive management in coastal planning efforts of Louisiana. Fundamental conflict, between the idea of environmental conservation and developmental growth, has always existed in the coastal regions. The presence of the large number of environmental laws, at various levels of government and their different management objectives for utilization of coastal resources, requires study of intergovernmental relationship. Taking Plaquemines Parish as a case in point, this thesis will, therefore, review the critical restoration plans for intergovernmental coordination and conflicts. It will also provide recommendations, for elected representatives and policy makers, with an …

“Put The Church Right There”: A Study Of The Inclusion Of Congregational Structures Within New Urbanist Developments, Matthew L. Pierce

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Beginning with the development of Seaside (Walton County, FL), Kentlands (Gaithersburg, MD), and Laguna West (Elk Grove, CA), New Urbanist developments have set aside parcels for civic structures, many of which now house congregations. Using interviews with developers, planners, and church officials, this thesis examines the rationale behind including congregations within New Urbanist developments in four southeastern states (Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina). The expectations of New Urbanist developers largely mirror those found within key New Urbanist texts: congregational structures help create a legible landscape through typological architecture and conspicuous siting while providing space for public gathering. The …

Louisiana's Water Innovation Cluster: Is It Ready For Global Competition?, Stephen C. Picou

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The rapid growth of Louisiana's coastal restoration science and technology assets is paralleled by the growth of business resources to fulfill myriad project needs. Many institutions and organizations in Louisiana seek to further develop the state's research, education, engineering and related restoration assets into a globally competitive set of industries with exportable expertise and products that help the state capitalize on its water challenges. Globally, similar efforts are identified (and often branded) as water technology innovation clusters (or more simply water clusters). This paper explores the phenomenon of the development of water clusters by public-private partnerships and initiatives, nationally and …

The Exercise Of Power : Counter Planning In Palestine, Husni S. Qurt

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In the beginning of the 2000s, Israeli policies in the West Bank shifted from policies of control to policies of separation, which in turn led to the Transformation of West Bank communities into isolated urban islands. Current plans prepared for Palestinian localities by Palestinian planning institutions most often address these isolated islands without taking into account the Israeli-controlled areas surrounding these localities. Palestinians envision the entire West Bank as a contiguous area that will eventually form part of the Palestinian national state. However, most Palestinian plans take the boundaries imposed by Israel as a given and plan only for areas …

Bus Shelters As Shared Public And Private Entities; And Bus Shelter Advertising Contracts (Bsacs), A Product And Source Of Global Change: An Overview, History, And Comparison, Alexander Depriest

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The transit shelter, the space where riders make the transition from open space to more controlled buses and trains, is in many cases the site of a public-private transaction. Here, government agencies contract private companies to build and maintain shelters in exchange for governmental allowance of advertising in these locations. This dual purpose—the shelter serves concurrently as protection for transit users and as a moneymaker—means the space is contested, with economic and social needs often at odds. Bus shelter advertising contracts (BSACs), increasingly operated by large corporations, have resulted in widespread networks of bus shelters; observing these renders processes of …

Sustainable Development Through Green Infrastructure: A Critical Evaluation Of The Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan, Olivia R. Burchett

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Sustainable development is achieved through the equal promotion of environmental protection, economic development and social equity. Urban planners play a key role in sustainable development through the mediation of tensions inherent between these priorities. Using urban planning theory that focuses on the conflicts between the priorities of sustainable development and lessons learned from planning practice provides a basis from which to evaluate the claims of sustainability present in the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan. Outreach initiatives, policy frameworks and ecosystem co-management are suggested to make the planning and implementation processes of the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan more …

Phasing-Out Fossil Fuel Subsidies In Venezuela: A Transportation Planning Perspective, Mariana E. Marmol

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the feasibility of a gasoline and diesel consumer subsidy phase-out in Venezuela from a transportation planning perspective. It surveys the literature and discusses case studies from Iran, Brazil, and Bolivia in order to identify the lessons that Venezuela can learn from these countries’ successes and mistakes. It examines how strengthening and investing in the public transportation system can be used as a means to gain public support for the reform. I discuss the current political, social, and economic conditions that make a fossil-fuel subsidy reform difficult, and offer suggestions from a transportation planner’s perspective on how the …

Public Goods For A Few: The Role Of Crime Prevention And Security Districts In New Orleans, Ryan Galvin Wise

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study adds to the limited literature on residentially-focused special taxing districts by addressing three questions on crime prevention and security districts in New Orleans. 1) Do the districts share common characteristics? 2) Do they act as a tool to retain residents? 3) Do they represent what A.O. Hirschman would characterize as “exit,” “voice” or neither, and, as such, how do they effect the city’s potential for service improvement?

The findings show that the districts tend to be wealthier and whiter, and to have higher homeownership rates and home values than the city at large. However, exceptionalities in three of …

Measuring The Sustainability Of U.S. Public Bicycle Systems, Max W. Williamson

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

As cities worldwide plan for increasing urbanization levels, new challenges in mobility will arise. Any approach taken to address these new issues will need to consider how to move more people with declining resources, thus the need for a sustainable solution arises. This thesis examines the growing trend of cities creating public bicycle systems as a means to add sustainability to a transportation system and identifies what are the criteria and indicators of a sustainable public bicycle. The criteria and indicators are used to examine data collection techniques of three Public Bicycle Systems in the United States: Capital Bikeshare in …

The Feasibility Of Closing Vehicle Crossings Along St. Charles Avenue: A Study Of Transit Safety And Performance, Vivek B. Shah

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The St. Charles streetcar is an important transit line in the city of New Orleans, with about 65,000 people living within a ½ mile walking distance from it. However, the line experiences a very high streetcar/automobile crash rate due in large part to the large number of grade vehicle crossings over the tracks that lack signalization. Through traffic modeling, the closure of many of these vehicle crossings and the diversion of automotive traffic to the remaining, signalized crossings is analyzed to determine traffic impacts on street network. The result is a modest increase in traffic, about 7-8%, at the remaining …

Understanding Land Use Grain: An Evaluation Of Meaning And Measurement, Benjamin N. Williams

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Land use grain is a commonly-used measure of the mixture of land uses in the urban environment in transportation planning and public health, but there is no standard measurement practice in place. This thesis examines the meaning and common measurements of land use grain in these subfields. The entropy-based equation, the jobs-to-housing ratio, and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) are among the most common measures of land use grain, but results from these metrics differ depending upon how researchers choose a sample area and upon how land use categories are defined. All three metrics are performed, in a single context with …

Deep Play, Urban Space, Adolescent Place: A Multi-Sited Study Of The Effects Of Settings On Adolescent Risk/Reward Behavior, Benjamin A. Shirtcliff

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The extant literature on the play behavior of youth normalizes adolescent behavior in public space as transgressional, resistant, and in need of social control. The dissertation counters this trend by looking to see if physical qualities, peer effects, and neighborhood context of settings play a deeper role in youth behavior. The study documented urban context, peer effects, physical features, and play behavior across 21 urban settings in New Orleans. Unobtrusive observations employed a highly innovative technique based on YouTube videos and analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Coded observations of risk-taking and prosocial behavior demonstrated some stability in behavior amongst adolescents—“youth” …

The Operation Was Successful But The Patient Died: The Politics Of Crisis And Homelessness In Post-Katrina New Orleans, Evan Casper-Futterman

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

On July 4^th, 2007, a small group of housing activists set up a tent city encampment in a plaza adjacent to New Orleans City Hall. The action resulted in the creation of Homeless Pride, a small group of politicized Plaza residents. Six months later, hundreds of homeless people were moved from the park, and it was fenced off. Using archival videos, interviews, and news media, this thesis analyzes the opportunities and constraints that activists, service providers, and local officials faced in light of two intersecting and overlapping contexts. The first context is the immediate crisis of the levee …

A Baseline For Downtown Transit-Oriented Development: Planning For Success In The Loyola Corridor, Peter Bennett

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) in downtown areas is a distinct form of new development, creating walkable districts and 24-hour neighborhoods. A new streetcar on Loyola Avenue in the New Orleans Central Business District was planned to encourage new development in the area. By analyzing the current land uses and values, projections of future change predict over $500 million in added value. For this development to become a successful TOD, policies must encourage uses that generate ridership and increase walkability. Although the Loyola corridor has many historic attributes of a transit-oriented downtown, it currently lacks neighborhood identity. The new development associated with …