Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

An Evaluation Of The Oregon Department Of Transportation’S (Odot) Environmental Streamlining Efforts: A Focus On Cetas, Connie P. Ozawa, Jennifer Dill

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Oregon Department of Transportation responded to the federal call in the late 1990s to streamline the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by (1) implementing organizational and procedural changes internal to the agency, (2) funding ODOT-dedicated staff positions in state and federal resource agencies, and (3) convening regular meetings with state and federal agencies with NEPA-related regulatory responsibilities. This latter effort evolved into the CETAS (Collaborative Environmental and Transportation Agreement for Streamlining) process that includes a management and a technical team element. This document reports an assessment of the effectiveness of these efforts. Phase I of the study was designed …

Homesteading On The Extraterrestrial Frontier, Carl Abbott

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Many science fiction writers depend on the multiple narratives of the American West as templates for framing their understandings of the future. This essay examines the ways in which the western homesteading story has been adapted in fictions about future planetary settlement. It argues that the increasing complexity of these treatments reflects the deepening awareness of the ambiguities of the American homesteading experience and parallels many of the insights of the 'new western history.' Key texts discussed include Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, Robert Heinlein's Farmer in the Sky, Philip K. Dick's Martian Time-Slip, Kim Stanley Robinson's Blue Mars, Jonathan …

Impacts Of Trip Permit Program Changes On Vehicle Operations And Inspections, Jennifer Dill

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research project has two inter-related parts: (1) an assessment of the equity of implications of the emissions inspection program in the State of Oregon and elsewhere; and (2) an assessment of the impacts of the new trip permit program on vehicle operations. The study provides a better understanding of the benefits and equity impacts of the inspection program and the recent change to the trip permit system. The findings will be of use to Oregon, as well as all public agencies that oversee vehicle inspection programs throughout the country. The research includes specific recommendations for addressing equity concerns and …

Survey Of Merrick Tod Residents Final Report, Jennifer Dill

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Merrick is a mixed-use, transit-oriented development located at 1231 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in Portland, in the Lloyd Center/Rose Quarter area. There are 185 rental apartments in the building, along with ground floor commercial space and underground parking. Metro provided the developers of The Merrick with financial assistance through the agency's Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) program. One primary purpose of the TOD program is to create higher density, mixed-use developments near transit stations that will increase transit ridership. Because of their involvement in the project, Metro wanted documentation of the transit use and travel patterns of Merrick residents. …

Incorporating Science Into The Environmental Policy Process: A Case Study From Washington State, Tessa B. Francis, Kara A. Whittaker, Vivek Shandas, April V. Mills, Jessica K. Graybill

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The incorporation of science into environmental policy is a key concern at many levels of decision making. Various institutions have sought to standardize the protection of natural resources by requiring that decisions be made based on the "best available science." Here we present empirical data describing the incorporation of best available science in the land-use policy process on a local scale. Results are based on interviews with planners and others who conducted scientific reviews associated with a Washington State Growth Management Act amendment that requires the inclusion of best available science in protecting critical areas. Our results show that jurisdictions …

Helping Everyone Have Plenty: Addressing Distribution And Circulation In An Hours-Based Local Currency System, Jonathan Lepofsky, Lisa K. Bates

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper summarizes research conducted by the authors who served as the ad-hoc Disbursement Task Force created by NCPlenty, Inc., the non-profit managing agency for a local currency system in central North Carolina, USA. NCPlenty, Inc. began printing a scrip-based local currency called the PLENTY in October 2002. The PLENTY, or Piedmont Local EcoNomy Tender, is based on the Ithaca HOURS currency and has faced circulation and distribution issues similar to other HOURS-based systems in the US. While at the start of the PLENTY’s first year of circulation the number of participating individuals and businesses nearly doubled and a vibrant …

Planning A Sustainable Portland: A Digital Library For Local, Regional, And State Planning And Policy Documents, Carl Abbott

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper is intended as a guiding framework for the collection and digitizing program of the Oregon Sustainable Community Digital Library (OSCDL). The document addresses the following issues: (1) Portland and Oregon as centers of innovative planning (2) The institutional context of planning (3) The types of planning documentation typically found (4) The definition and dimensions of sustainability (5) Issue areas and topics that are most significant and interesting for electronic access.

It then offers suggestions about priorities for digital archiving based on a historical interpretation of Portland’s key planning and policy accomplishments and its consequent planning "gems" that are …