Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Just Futures Framework: Insurgent Roller-Skating In Portland, Oregon, Célia Camile Beauchamp

Dissertations and Theses

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, insurgent roller-skating has 're-emerged' as a popular use of urban space. Drawing on spatial justice theories, futures literature, and queer spatial theory, this study theorizes a four-part just futures framework to analyze the nuance and tension within the roller-skating scene in Portland, Oregon. The just futures framework: 1) creates a space for expanding planning practice to reflect overlooked and suppressed perspectives on urban space; 2) explores insurgent urbanism’s contradiction between the reification of hegemonic systems and its counter-hegemonic and subversive qualities; and 3) assesses the spatial and planning implications of insurgent …

Radical Urban Natures: Mitigating Urban Heat With Nature-Based Techniques In Portland, Oregon, Heather Day-Melgar

Dissertations and Theses

Anthropogenic rising heat associated with climatic changes in the built environment has become a serious global issue. The built environment is often comprised of impermeable, paved surfaces, lack of vegetation to make way for development, tree removal, and loss or alteration of urban waterways, which leads to a degraded ecosystem for humans and non-human life, and less of an ability for carbon capture, all of which contribute to higher urban temperatures. This alteration of the existing natural environment leads to populations often unable to conceptualize that a built environment is still an ecosystem, and restoration is possible and necessary for …

Defining Dementia-Friendly Communities From The Perspective Of Those Affected, Iris Alexandra Wernher

Dissertations and Theses

More and more communities across the globe are pledging to become more "dementia friendly," yet many initiatives lack direction as to what this pledge might entail. The intent of this qualitative study, conducted in the metropolitan area of Portland and several other cities in Oregon, was to better understand how communities can increase their dementia friendliness – from the perspective of people living with dementia and their care partners. The study further aimed to clarify if and how age- and dementia-friendly efforts can be integrated.

Twenty-five community-dwelling individuals living with dementia and their 25 informal carers participated separately in semi-structured …

Reconceiving The Relationship Between The Built Environment And Walking Behavior: Examining The Samples, Scales, And Methods In Travel Behavior Research, Jaime Pablo Orrego-Oñate

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation aims to formulate a mechanism for the relationship between the urban form and walking choice that can be consistent across contexts. The motivation is the lack of concordant results in the magnitude of the environmental influence on walking choice in urban areas found in the literature. The dissertation identifies a series of limitations in previous research that could cause mixed results in the magnitudes of the association. This research elaborates an approach to overcome these limitations by proposing a mechanism of the activity density over walking modal share by controlling for trip distance distribution. The aim is an …

An Analysis Of The Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Tulsa Remote Program, As An Effective Economic Development Strategy, Kristen J. Padilla

Dissertations and Theses

Cities do not exist in a vacuum. They are in constant competition for talented, educated individuals and growing, innovative businesses -even if that competition is not explicit or specific. Traditionally cities have been left with two economic development paths to help diversify their economies: attract talent but without jobs, or attract business but without a strong talent pool. However, due to technological advancements, exacerbated by the pandemic, a new and growing workforce that can work from anywhere has emerged, remote workers. This talent pool shifts traditional economic development attraction strategies from city to industry to city to talent.

Many remote …

Examining Emergency Citizen Response To The Covid-19 Pandemic: Emergent Groups Addressing Food Insecurity In Portland, Oregon, Aliza Ruth Tuttle

Dissertations and Theses

Emergency response agencies commonly focus on how hard infrastructure will interact with extreme climatic and geologic events: bridges during an earthquake and buildings following a tornado, for example. Peoples' actual experience of these extreme events vary, however, based on socially constructed consequences of natural hazard events and their interaction with a depleted or robust social safety net.

Previous research shows people living with depleted social safety nets and who experience a natural hazard event are likely to help where they see disaster. Individuals consistently form groups, called emergent groups, to organize their efforts. This research explored emergent groups that formed …

The Impact Of New Light Rail Service On Employment Growth In Portland, Oregon, Lahar Santra

Dissertations and Theses

This study quantitatively examines the impact of the new Light Rail Transit (LRT) service on employment growth in retail, knowledge, and service sectors before and after opening the LRT. At the corridor level, this study conducts a case study of Greenline in Southeast Portland, Oregon. The results of the corridor level study suggest that the new LRT service increased employment along the Greenline corridor among all the three sectors of interest- retail, knowledge, service in the long-term (ten years) while having slightly different results for the short-term (five years), likely due to the slow growth of LRT benefits. This study …

Heat, Wildfire And Energy Demand: An Examination Of Residential Buildings And Community Equity, Chrissi Argyro Antonopoulos

Dissertations and Theses

Extreme heat and wildfire events are becoming more prolific and exacerbated by climate change, carrying significant implications for environmental and social systems. Residential buildings play a central role in protecting people from heat and pollutant exposure during extreme weather events, but the level of protection varies dramatically depending on building energy efficiency and technology availability. Low-income and communities of color have higher energy burdens compared to affluent populations, and underserved communities often do not have financial resources for, or access to, advanced building technologies. This dissertation explores the impacts of extreme heat and wildfire on residential buildings, focused specifically on …

Comparative Study Of Newspaper Coverage About Tiny Homes Within America: A Content Analysis Of Six Geographic Regions, Faith Rothenberger

Dissertations and Theses

Tiny home living is an alternative way of dwelling, compared to the average American home, and is increasing in popularity worldwide. Tiny homes have a smaller ecological footprint, are more affordable than traditional housing, and can be instrumental in addressing many social and environmental pressures facing the US today. This study examines how tiny homes are represented to the public by way of newspaper reporting and seeks to understand if there are geographic and temporal differences in reporting related to tiny homes. The study uses content analysis to identify differences in key factors between regional newspapers within America’s six geographic …

Adoption And Use Of E-Grocery Shopping In The Context Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: Implications For Transport Systems And Beyond, Gabriella Abou-Zeid

Dissertations and Theses

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic drastically impacted travel for in-person shopping, commute trips, global supply chains, and food business operations. Previously mundane tasks, like shopping for food and household items, became markedly different as new social distancing and mask guidelines were put in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Concurrently, e-commerce sales in the U.S. skyrocketed. E-grocery pickup and delivery services saw unprecedented expansions. The adoption and use of e-grocery services have implications for equity and mobility, although the nature of the relationship of e-grocery to the latter is still unclear. Enhancing our understanding of the drivers of (and …

The Soniferous Experience Of Public Space: A Soundscape Approach, Kenya Dubois Williams

Dissertations and Theses

This research explores the awareness and perceptions of practitioners regarding the role of the soundscape in understanding and managing public spaces. Without considering the role of the soundscape as part of public spaces, urban planners, designers, and policy officials cannot accurately engage in placemaking that provides a complete sensory experience. The antiquated practice of enforcing noise codes has been the traditional approach to mitigate noise (unwanted sounds). However, sound is an overlooked element in the sensory experience of cities and how individuals and communities construct a "sense of place." This study considers the implications of the soundscape approach and soundwalks …

Comparing The Promise And Reality Of E-Scooters: A Critical Assessment Of Equity Improvements And Mode-Shift, Michael Glenn Mcqueen

Dissertations and Theses

In just three years, e-scooters have substantially disrupted and altered the urban mobility landscape. Throughout this period, they have been commonly touted as part of a larger micromobility solution that promises to erase equity barriers and solve the first-mile/last-mile problem. However, few studies in the nascent e-scooter literature have considered these claims. In this study, we surveyed students at Portland State University (n = 1,968) about the role that e-scooters, among other modes, played in meeting their general and university-related travel needs. We then estimated models that incorporated demographics, travel behavior, and latent attitudes distilled using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). …

"I Should Have Moved Somewhere Else": The Impacts Of Gentrification On Transportation And Social Support For Black Working-Poor Families In Portland, Oregon, Steven Anthony Howland

Dissertations and Theses

Portland has faced a mass displacement of Black households from the historically segregated area of Albina through various phases of urban renewal, urban deterioration, and gentrification. A substantial number of them have moved to East Portland, a suburban segment of the City of Portland that was unincorporated county land prior to the 1990's. As Black people have left Albina, the roots of Blackness there have eroded from the area as businesses and churches catering to them have also closed as a result of lost patrons.

In this study I interviewed 27 low-income working-age Black people with children with the sample …

In Search Of A Third Place On Campus: An Exploration Of The Effects Of Built Space On Students' Sense Of Belonging, Kimberly S. Stave

Dissertations and Theses

Despite decades of environmental behavior research demonstrating the impact physical space has on human behavior, the American university has been slow to adopt this data into campus design and renovation plans. Campus ecology literature has demonstrated that the physical environment of the university campus communicates messages that influence students' feelings of well-being, mattering, and inclusion within the campus community, all significant contributors to student learning and retention.

Campus spaces designed for community building are essential to cultivate a sense of belonging for university students, however, locations dedicated to this type of social interaction, such as third places, are an often-underestimated …

The Impacts Of The Bicycle Network On Bicycling Activity: A Longitudinal Multi-City Approach, Wei Shi

Dissertations and Theses

Bicycling is a promising approach to improve health, environment, and economic development of urban places. Theoretically, a bicycle network's component goes beyond lanes and paths, and would generate greater impacts than the sum of its parts. However, most previous research focused on how individual types of bicycle-related infrastructure could promote bicycling. Few empirical studies investigated how bicycle networks impact bicycling activity. This project attempts to address this question. Specifically, how to properly measure bicycle networks, and what impacts bicycle networks have on bicycling activity, e.g. bike ridership and bike mode choice, across different cities and longitudinally.

To address the first …

The Impact Of Implementing Different Cordon Size Designs On Land Use Patterns In Portland, Or, Asia Spilotros

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research dissertation is to compare the effects of using small, medium, and large cordon designs in road tolling on residential and commercial neighborhoods in Portland, Oregon. Changes in land use patterns are assessed by comparing the projected output of each cordon scenario to a "no toll" alternative in 2035. The performance of each cordon design is tested using two different prices ($1.65 and $8) and compared to a default scenario 25 years after the initial implementation in MetroScope's year 0, 2010. The following areas embedded within the cordon perimeter were considered in determining changes in land …

Can Churches Change A Neighborhood? A Census Tract, Multilevel Analysis Of Churches And Neighborhood Change, David E. Kresta

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the role of local churches in neighborhood change, analyzing the relationship between Christian churches and changes in household median incomes from 1990 to 2010 in the census tract in which each church is located. Based on a nationally representative sample of churches from 2006 and 2012, the study uses hierarchical linear modeling and statistical matching techniques to analyze how key church characteristics such as social service involvement, social capital generation, residential patterns of attendees, and demographic composition are related to changes in neighborhoods. Two primary research questions were addressed: 1) How have patterns of church location changed …

Gentrification And Student Achievement: A Quantitative Analysis Of Student Performance On Standardized Tests In Portland's Gentrifying Neighborhoods, Justin Joseph Ward

Dissertations and Theses

Across the United States one would be hard pressed to find an urban center that has been unaffected by the phenomenon known as gentrification. From substantial economic growth to the displacement of long-term residents, the benefits and criticisms of the process of gentrification are wide ranging and extend over a thorough body of literature. Commonly associated with increasing levels of education and higher resident incomes, gentrification should be a boon to struggling public schools that are continually plagued by generational poverty. Unfortunately, the continued widening of the education gap and increasing racial segregation in our public schools suggest that any …

Consciousness Against Commodifcation: The Potential For A Radical Housing Movement In The Cully Neighborhood, Cameron Hart Herrington

Dissertations and Theses

A right to housing is a central iteration of the broader demand for a democratic right to the city. The perpetual housing crisis for lower-income people results from a commodified system in which access to housing is based on the exchange value interests of property owners, rather than a universal right to a decent, affordable home. This system is a pillar of neoliberal urban governance and justified by a hegemonic ideology that equates speculative homeownership with the American Dream. Achieving a right to housing, even at the local scale, requires a radical movement that cultivates individual and collective consciousness, discredits …

Millennial Perceptions On Homeownership And Financial Planning Decisions, Margaret Ann Greenfield

Dissertations and Theses

This master's thesis investigates the economic factors that are affecting the financial decision-making of educated, middle to upper class Millennials in Los Angeles, California. This thesis explores how economic factors, preferences, and self-efficacy interact to determine housing pathways. This thesis also asks whether Millennials in Los Angeles will be able to afford homes and how the cultural narrative of the American Dream affects preferences. In order to answer these questions, twenty in person interviews are conducted with residents of Los Angeles in which they are asked about their values and preferences regarding housing, and the economic factors they are currently …

An Analysis Of The Bizx Commercial Trade Exchange: The Attitudes And Motivations Behind Its Use, Ján André Montoya

Dissertations and Theses

The Global Financial Crisis underscored both the complexity and brittleness of the global financial system, especially for small to medium enterprises dependent on the current banking regime for credit. More than ever, we have also begun to see the disentanglement of small businesses from traditional banks at the local and regional level in the form of CDFIs, fintech alternative lending, and now complementary currencies. Through interviews with the management and members of the BizX complementary currency this study asks what the attitudes and motivations are behind its offering and use. In addition, it inquires into the economic and psychological benefits …

Regulating Pavement Dwellers: The Politics Of The Visibly Poor In Public Space, Lauren Marie Larin

Dissertations and Theses

Many researchers argue the increasing reliance on sit/lie ordinances to regulate homeless people's use of public space is one in a suite of neoliberal policies that shape the geographies of public space in cities to serve the needs of global capital. However, these policies are developed at the local, not global, level as specific actors make claims in the public sphere that communicatively shape policy formation. Through comparative case study, this research asks, how do different actors, situated in specific local and global contexts, influence the adoption of sit/lie ordinances?

I examine two cases of policymaking in Portland and San …

The Political Water Web Of The United States, Omar Hammad

Dissertations and Theses

The United States’ water systems are interstate in their nature; these systems are governed by Congressional compact agreements. Water compacts have been influenced by common factors that have reverberated throughout the water-web of the country. These impacts varied in their scale, national level federal regulations, such as the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and recent concerns about climate change are macro-scale influences. Localized drivers such as regional economics and population change are localized impacts. While these concepts and issues influence water compacts as a whole, their impacts occur at different periods, albeit for the same reason. As such, we see …

Configuring The Urban Smart Grid: Transitions, Experimentation, And Governance, Anthony Michael Levenda

Dissertations and Theses

In the face of challenges of energy security, decarbonization, resilience, and the replacement of aging infrastructure systems, federal, state, and local actors are facilitating the development of smart electricity networks to transition towards a more sustainable electricity system. In the United States, development of "smart grids" is being pursued as a national policy mandate and goal, promising that the deployment of smart grid technologies -- referring in general to digital information and communication technologies that sense, monitor, control and manage the electric grid -- will make electricity systems more environmentally sustainable and reliable, and at the same time, provide opportunities …

Cyclist Path Choices Through Shared Space Intersections In England, Allison Boyce Duncan

Dissertations and Theses

In the last several years, there has been growing worldwide interest in making streets safer for all users--pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. One approach, shared space, is a traffic calming technique as well as urban design concept. This technique strives to fully integrate the roadway into the urban fabric by removing elements such as lane markings, curbs, and traffic signs. By removing these elements and creating a more plaza-like space, these sites become ambiguous and no user group as priority. The technique is relatively new, and the majority of existing research concerns pedestrians only. This mixed methods research focused on six …

Travel Mode Choice Framework Incorporating Realistic Bike And Walk Routes, Joseph Broach

Dissertations and Theses

For a number of reasons--congestion, public health, greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, demographic shifts, and community livability to name a few--the importance of walking and bicycling as transportation options will only continue to increase. Currently, policy interest and infrastructure funding for nonmotorized modes far outstrip our ability to model bike and walk travel. To ensure scarce resources are used most effectively, accurate models sensitive to key policy variables are needed to support long-range planning and project evaluation, and to continue adding to our growing understanding of key factors driving walk and bike behavior. This research attempts to synthesize and advance …

Beyond Fruit: Examining Community In A Community Orchard, Emily Jane Becker

Dissertations and Theses

The Fruits of Diversity Community Orchard, located in Portland, Oregon in an affordable housing neighborhood, is a site of alternative food provisioning in which a group of people, organized by two nonprofits, work together to manage fruit and nut producing plants. Through conversations with volunteers who participate regularly and participant observation, this study explores the questions: What does community mean in the context of a community orchard? In what ways does partnering with a nonprofit from outside the neighborhood influence community and the way the project is operationalized?

This thesis situates community orchards within the literature on alternative food networks …

An Exploration Of Bicyclist Comfort Levels Utilizing Crowdsourced Data, Bryan Philip Blanc

Dissertations and Theses

Bicycle transportation has become a central priority of urban areas invested in improving sustainability, livability, and public health outcomes. Transportation agencies are striving to increase the comfort of their bicycle networks to improve the experience of existing cyclists and to attract new cyclists. The Oregon Department of Transportation sponsored the development of ORcycle, a smartphone application designed to collect cyclist travel, comfort, and safety information throughout Oregon. The sample resulting from the initial deployment of the application between November 2014 and March 2015 is described and analyzed within this thesis. 616 bicycle trips from 148 unique users were geo-matched to …

Building Social Sustainability From The Ground Up: The Contested Social Dimension Of Sustainability In Neighborhood-Scale Urban Regeneration In Portland, Copenhagen, And Nagoya, Jacklyn Nicole Kohon

Dissertations and Theses

In response to growing social inequality, environmental crises, and economic instability, sustainability discourse has become the dominant "master signifier" for many fields, particularly the field of urban planning. However, in practice many sustainability methods overemphasize technological and economic growth-oriented solutions while underemphasizing the social dimension. The social dimension of sustainability remains a "concept in chaos" drawing little agreement on definitions, domains, and indicators for addressing the social challenges of urban life. In contrast, while the field of public health, with its emphasis on social justice principles, has made significant strides in framing and developing interventions to target the social determinants …

The Scales And Shapes Of Queer Women's Geographies: Mapping Private, Public And Cyber Spaces In Portland, Or, Paola Renata Saldaña

Dissertations and Theses

Queer women's relationship to space has been under-theorized due to the difficulties in identifying particular spatial patterns that can describe their presence in urban settings. Most of the research that has focused on queer space has mentioned the difficulty of mapping queer women. The purpose of this research is to identify the ways in which the scarcity of queer women-specific space in Portland, Oregon, has affected the development of a women's community based on a queer identity, the role of intersecting identities such as race and gender identity in these communities and spaces, as well as the implications of queer …