Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Justice Served Fresh: Associations Between Food Insecurity, Community Gardening, And Property Value, Micajah Daniels, Courtney Coughenour Ph.D

McNair Poster Presentations

Numerous stakeholders in Nevada have used a variety of efforts to combat the growth of food insecurity facing Nevadans. The purpose of this research project is to understand the association between food insecurity, community gardens, and property value. Following the wealth of scholarship on these topics and data collected from community garden agencies in Southern Nevada, the research questions for this project include: (1) Where are community gardens located in SNV? (2) What efforts community gardens agencies are doing to address food insecurity (most interested in their efforts using community gardens)? (3) What are the perceptions of supports and barriers …

Understanding Urban Sustainability And Quality Of Life: A System Dynamics Approach, Abby Elizabeth Beck

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For an urban area to be sustainable, its resources cannot be depleted faster than they can replenish. If an urban area is to provide a high quality of life (QOL), it must offer and maintain an amenity package that satisfies its resident's preferences. Past studies on these topics all have a common thread: sustainability and QOL both pertain to people's relationship to capital. Capital is something that can accumulate and add value to a person or society. If sustainability and QOL are a function of people's relationship with capital, how they use it, deplete it, replenish it and transform it …

The Potential Of Downtown Las Vegas Becoming A Creative Milieu, Ana Magdalena Barragan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The city of Las Vegas is attempting to revitalize downtown through a creative economy by bringing cultural and experiential activities to the area in a mixed use arrangement with residential, business and civic uses. This study looks at the possibility of not only revitalizing downtown, but on it becoming a true creative milieu - a place that fosters creativity and innovation. It does so by first identifying three major forces working upon the realization of these goals: 1) the regional socio-economic conditions, 2) the government strategies, and 3) the creative population's participation.

The study conducts a quantitative assessments of each, …

Keynote Address: Community Health In Las Vegas, Camila H. Alvarez

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

New Urbanists present both a theory for strong community development and an architectural planning program for moving towards sustainable urban environments. They argue neighborhoods should be compact, pedestrian-friendly, with mixed-usage of housing and activities, and available public spaces. These design elements foster and encourage social interaction among residents which creates and enforces neighborhood community. I tested New Urbanism Theory by performing ethnographic fieldwork to assess the quality of neighborhoods in Las Vegas. Then I compared neighborhood qualities to residents’ responses to their neighborhood, neighbors, and quality of life from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area Social Survey. My results confirmed New …

Panel Discussion Presentation: Consequences Of Global Climate Change For Water Quality And Community Sustainability Along The U.S.-Mexico Trans-Border Region, Jorge Duran Encalada

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Panel Discussion: U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Perspectives

Case Studies of Reynosa/McAllen and Laredo/Nuevo Laredo:

- Water availability and quality in Reynosa/McAllen and Laredo/Nuevo Laredo

- Water Consumption

- Socioeconomic Conditions

- Water Quality Scenarios

- Conclusions & Recommendations

Housing In The Nation’S Micropolitan Areas: A First Look, Robert E. Lang, Karen A. Danielsen

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

Micropolitan area is a newly defined unit of analysis for examining housing affordability. Before the creation of micropolitan areas in 2003, U.S. counties were categorized as either metropolitan or nonmetropolitan. The category of micropolitan area allows for a more detailed analysis of housing affordability conditions in areas with populations less than metropolitan areas but more than nonmetropolitan areas. Variables examined in this analysis of micropolitan areas include demographic and housing characteristics. A policy section highlights how the findings from this analysis may be applied to micropolitan geography.

Las Vegas X 3 @ 2030-Part 1 & 2, Arthur Chris Nelson

Shaping the Future of Southern Nevada: Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability

Part 1, 12 PowerPoint slides

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design: An Analysis Of The Boulevard Mall, Kenneth Mac Leod

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many case studies have been published that report a decrease in crime as a result of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Although methodologies and results of some studies have been questioned, there is agreement that the designed environment can influence human behavior.

Data in this study were accumulated by the investigation of a local mall. Mall management and head of security reported a decrease in all types of crime after improving and adding security measures for customers and store employees. My hypothesis was the mall provided a high number of CPTED features which would result in a low number …

Housing Conditions & Demographical Survey: Housing Rehabilitation For The City Of North Las Vegas, Lisa M. Morris

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The basis of this research, is to evaluate the North Las Vegas area in order to develop knowledge of what areas are in critical need of rehabilitation. Improperly maintained affordable housing is one of the largest sources of wasted resources. The research was obtained through a windshield survey process, which included approximately 12,000 homes in the North Las Vegas area to determine their conditions. The findings of the windshield survey was used to correlate the results of the housing conditions, with demographics such as: Population, Age Distribution, Racial Distribution, Median Income, Poverty Levels, Age of Homes and Female Head of …