Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

The Ethics Of Wildlife Control In Humanized Landscapes, John Hadidian, Camilla H. Fox, William S. Lynn

William S. Lynn, PhD

The 21st century is witness to an unprecedented and rapid growth of human settlements, from urban centers to wilderness vacation resorts. Concurrent with this has been the growing tolerance and acceptance of many wild animals and humans for one another. This has created an expanding ‘zone’ of human-animal contacts, some number of which invariably result in conflicts. While the vast majority of our interactions with wild animals are undoubtedly benign, it is the conflict between wildlife and people that draws particularly close attention from the public. Animals viewed as vertebrate “pests” range from the small to the large, the timid …

Farm To School: Strategies For Urban Health, Combatting Sprawl, And Establishing Community Food Systems, Mark Vallianatos, Robert Gottlieb, Margaret Haase

Mark Vallianatos

Farm-to-school is a new, innovative strategy with multiple planning-related objectives. The article evaluates the significance of farm-to-school in relation to improving the health and nutrition of school-age children, particularly low-income youth; strengthening the capacity of local farmers, particularly those engaged in sustainable practices; adding to the toolkit of strategies designed to contain and ultimately reduce sprawl-inducing developments by helping preserve farmland; and helping establish a community food systems approach no longer entirely dependent on the global food system that has come to dominate food growing, processing, distribution, and consumption patterns around the world.

Food Justice And Food Retail In Los Angeles, Mark Vallianatos

Mark Vallianatos

No abstract provided.

Fresh From The Farm... And Into The Classroom, Margaret Haase, Andrea Azuma, Robert Gottlieb, Mark Vallianatos

Mark Vallianatos

No abstract provided.

Food Access, Availability, And Affordability In 3 Los Angeles Communities, Project Cafe, 2004-2006, Andrea Azuma, Susan Gilliland, Mark Vallianatos, Robert Gottlieb

Mark Vallianatos

Introduction Racial/ethnic minority communities are at increasingly high risk for chronic diseases related to obesity. Access to stores that sell affordable, nutritious food is a prerequisite for adopting a healthful diet. The objective of this study was to evaluate food access, availability, and affordability in 3 nonoverlapping but similar low-income communities in urban Los Angeles, California. Methods Using a community-based participatory research approach, we trained community members to conduct a food assessment to 1) map the number and type of retail food outlets in a defined area and 2) survey a sample of stores to determine whether they sold selected …

Wildlife In U.S. Cities: Managing Unwanted Animals, John Hadidian

John Hadidian, PhD

Conflicts between people and wild animals in cities are undoubtedly as old as urban living itself. In the United States it is only of late, however, that many of the species now found in cities have come to live there. The increasing kind and number of human-wildlife conflicts in urbanizing environments makes it a priority that effective and humane means of conflict resolution be found. The urban public wants conflicts with wildlife resolved humanely, but needs to know what the alternative management approaches are, and what ethical standards should guide their use. This paper examines contemporary urban wildlife control in …

Community Involvement To Address A Long-Standing Invasive Species Problem: Aspects Of Civic Ecology In Practice, Rebecca W. Dolan, Kelly Harris, Mark Adler

Rebecca W. Dolan

Invasive non-native species (INS) are found in every city around the globe, but their impacts in urban settings as biological agents of visual pollution that block views of natural landscapes and disconnect citizens from nature are not as often addressed as comprehensively as their impacts in natural areas or agricultural settings. The multiple impacts of INS in cities make them ideal candidates for aspects of Civic Ecology Practice, where local environmental stewardship action is taken to enhance green infrastructure and community well-being in urban and other human-dominated systems. We present details of a community driven program focused on removal of …

Tables On Black Alone Population In The Us States _ Geography States _ 2000 To 2020, Michael A. Rodriguez Ph.D., Joy Semien

Joy Semien

Information demonstrates black alone population based on 2000, 2010, 2015, and 2020 predictions.

Water-Smart Growth: Integrating Water Management And Land Use Planning, Enjie Li

Enjie Li

Water and urban growth are inextricably interconnected, particularly in arid regions. Urban growth and water management have generated multi-dimensional conflicts. Growing cities that seek to quench their continuously increasing thirst with limited available water resources often have adverse impacts on the environment or region from which the water is drawn. Given that land use planning is an effective tool to control and manage urban growth and it has direct influence on urban water management, a holistic land-water planning approach is needed to cope with rapid growth and water scarcity in the arid western United States. However, this land-water planning approach …

The Ethics Of Wildlife Control In Humanized Landscapes, John Hadidian, Camilla H. Fox, William S. Lynn

John Hadidian, PhD

The 21st century is witness to an unprecedented and rapid growth of human settlements, from urban centers to wilderness vacation resorts. Concurrent with this has been the growing tolerance and acceptance of many wild animals and humans for one another. This has created an expanding ‘zone’ of human-animal contacts, some number of which invariably result in conflicts. While the vast majority of our interactions with wild animals are undoubtedly benign, it is the conflict between wildlife and people that draws particularly close attention from the public. Animals viewed as vertebrate “pests” range from the small to the large, the timid …

Urban Wildlife, John Hadidian, Sydney Smith

John Hadidian, PhD

Despite the potential for difficulty, there are several reasons why urban wildlife should be valued and better understood. First is its scientific and heuristic value. Urban wildlife populations are essentially parts of ongoing natural experiments in adaptation to anthropogenic stress. How urban animals are affected by human activities— and how they cope with them— can represent, on a highly accelerated scale, a model of what is happening to species in other biomes. No other wild animals live in such intimate contact and under such constant constraint from human activities as do synanthropes. Second, urban animals are exposed to many environmental …

Imagining Possibilities For Healthy Appalachian Communities In An Emerging Postindustrial Landscape, Brian Hoey

Brian A. Hoey, Ph.D.

This paper explores how community might be re-imagined to promote incipient social and economic agendas born increasingly of broad-minded citizen initiatives within the Appalachian region aimed at what is generally understood as “development,” but of a form distinct from the prevailing models of a more industrial age. I would like to ask whether a city like Huntington, West Virginia can emerge as a progressive example of what we might term postindustrial, urban regeneration and perhaps what we might call community healing—specifically through grassroots movement now finding local governmental support in collective attempts to transform this place from one defined primarily …

Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli

Sally Miller

Climate change, understood as a statistically significant variation in the mean state of the climate or its variability, is the greatest environmental challenge of this generation (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001). Marshfield is already being affected by changes in the climate that will have a profound effect on the town’s economy, public health, coastal resources, natural features, water systems, and public and private infrastructure. Adaptation strategies have been widely recognized as playing an important role in improving a community’s ability to respond to climate stressors by resisting damage and recovering quickly. Based on review of climate projections for the …

Fairmount Greenway - A Community Initative, Leah H. Bamberger, Liliana Carvajal, Mary F. Dehais, Yuanfang Gong, John E. Hulsey, Eric C. Kells, Kimberley Klosterman, Pamela Jo Landi, Adam G. Monroy, Seth A. Morrow, Bryan O'Bara, Jie Su, Arianna Thompson, Owen M. White

Mary Dehais

This studio was based on the Fairmount Greenway that was developed through a series of public meetings with the neighborhood community and with consultants from the firm Crosby, Schlessinger and Smallridge (CSS). The Fairmount Greenway, while drawing its identity from the traditional greenway model is in fact a reinterpretation of an urban greenway. The greenway path follows along both primary and secondary city streets because of the lack of space along the rail right-of-way. The Fairmount Greenway begins at what will be a new station stop at New Market South Bay near Upham’s Corner in northern Dorchester. The greenway follows …

Fairmount Greenway - A Community Initative, Leah H. Bamberger, Liliana Carvajal, Mary F. Dehais, Yuanfang Gong, John E. Hulsey, Eric C. Kells, Kimberley Klosterman, Pamela Jo Landi, Adam G. Monroy, Seth A. Morrow, Bryan O'Bara, Jie Su, Arianna Thompson, Owen M. White

jie su

This studio was based on the Fairmount Greenway that was developed through a series of public meetings with the neighborhood community and with consultants from the firm Crosby, Schlessinger and Smallridge (CSS). The Fairmount Greenway, while drawing its identity from the traditional greenway model is in fact a reinterpretation of an urban greenway. The greenway path follows along both primary and secondary city streets because of the lack of space along the rail right-of-way. The Fairmount Greenway begins at what will be a new station stop at New Market South Bay near Upham’s Corner in northern Dorchester. The greenway follows …

Food Access, Availability, And Affordability In 3 Los Angeles Communities, Project Cafe, 2004-2006, Andrea Misako Azuma, Susan Gilliland, Mark Vallianatos, Robert Gottlieb

Robert Gottlieb

Introduction Racial/ethnic minority communities are at increasingly high risk for chronic diseases related to obesity. Access to stores that sell affordable, nutritious food is a prerequisite for adopting a healthful diet. The objective of this study was to evaluate food access, availability, and affordability in 3 nonoverlapping but similar low-income communities in urban Los Angeles, California. Methods Using a community-based participatory research approach, we trained community members to conduct a food assessment to 1) map the number and type of retail food outlets in a defined area and 2) survey a sample of stores to determine whether they sold selected …

Spatial Distribution Of Commercial Banks In Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State, Nigeria, I B. Abdullahi, M A. Ijaiya, A Abdulraheem, R I. Abdulkadir, R O. Ibrahim

Confluence Journal of Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

The spatial distribution of banks in any geographic entity determines the level of accessibility to its services by the public. This study examined the pattern of banks distribution in Ilorin metropolis. Field survey was employed in determining the number of available commercial banks and their respective distances between each other. The spatial analysis technique such as the nearest neighbour analysis as used ascertain the degree of clustering, density and the average distance taken to access these services. The study revealed that about 96% of the total number of banks are situated in the Central Business District which exhibited a very …

Mother Earth "Speaks": Change Yourself, Change The World, Use The Archetypal Energy "Harmony" As A Guide, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

In relation to the Cosmos, we all, as human beings, live on this tiny planet we call Earth, a planet that supports and sustains life, as we know it. There are many different kinds of people, plants, and animals functioning in harmony with soil, air, and water--all linked to one another in a complex web of life to form one Earth community. Unfortunately, we often take this miracle and ecosystem of life for granted. When, however, we take the ecosystem of life too much for granted, Mother Earth "speaks," reflecting imbalances and dis-harmonies. When Mother Earth "speaks," her message is …

Archetypal Energies, "Psychic Politics", And The Transformative Potential Of The Health Care Debate, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

In a previous message, I spoke of “Archetypal Energies, The Emergence of Obama As A Practical Idealist, and Global Transformation” (February/March 2009). I suggested that at issue is what I called “psychic politics for global transformation, nurtured by practical idealism and the Archetypal Energies.” To reiterate, I have described Archetypal Energies as Higher Vibrational Energies, operating deep within our individual and collective psyches, which have their own transcendent value, purpose, quality, and “voice” unique to the individual. We experience them as “creative urges” to move us toward our Highest Good or Optimal Realities. I use easily recognized terms to evoke …

The Mirror Effect, The Law Of Attraction, And "Points Of Attraction" That Can Nurture The Evolution Of Human Consciousness, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

This message has several purposes. First, I want to express my immense joy that Chip Baggett and I are serving as Co-Presidents of AHP since August 16, 2009. In my view, Chip and I are long-time friends, who have a transcendent connection and synergistic energies. My desire and intent is for our co-presidency to mirror the effect(s) of synergistic collaboration as a “point of attraction” that can assist in the evolution of human consciousness across often “perceived personal and societal boundaries” (e.g., race, culture, ethnicity, class, individual and collective belief systems, and dogma). More generally, however, this message is intended …

Adding Ecosystem Function To Agent-Based Land Use Models, Vineet Yadav, S Del Grosso, William Parton, George Malanson

George P Malanson

The objective of this paper is to examine issues in the inclusion of simulations of ecosystem functions in agent-based models of land use decision-making,

Homeland Security: Engaging The Frontlines - Symposium Proceedings, George H. Baker, Cheryl J. Elliott

George H Baker

The rise of the American homeland security endeavor under the leadership of the new Department of Homeland Security has been heralded by several major national strategy documents. These documents have served to organize efforts at top levels within the government and industry. However, the national strategy guidance is not getting to many organizations and people at the grass-roots level who can make the most difference in preventing attacks, protecting systems, and recovering from catastrophic events, viz. the general citizenry, private infrastructure owners, and local governments. To better understand grass-roots issues and solutions, James Madison University, in cooperation with the Federal …

What Communities Should Do Pre-Event To Support Public Health Post-Event Assessments, Surveillance And Monitoring, Thomas Lyons Carr Iii

Thomas Lyons (Thom) Carr III Appl.Sc., CEM

[Abstract written March 2008, TLC] Under worst-case planning assumptions used by some major metropolitan areas, a Neighbor-to-Neighbor self-help program model is the primary link between citizens and the professional response personnel of the responsible government agencies.

In the Neighbor-to-Neighbor self-help program model or a Community Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) calls on the citizens in neighborhoods to identify and establish cluster emergency preparedness committees, Cluster Emergency Coordination Centers (CECC) and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). Missing from these plans or what is not articulated is how constant Public Health Post-Event Surveillance, Monitoring and Assessments will be done. Given the worst-case planning …