Urban Studies and Planning 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 …

Exploring The Relationship Between Green Space And Academic Performance, Audrey Demeaux

University Honors Theses

A growing body of literature is exploring the possibility that the presence of green spaces near schools can work to improve academic performance. Research to date on the relationship between green space and academic performance has shown mixed results. However, some see incorporating green spaces into school layouts as a key alternative strategy for improving academic achievement in the United States. This paper adds to the emerging discourse on the relationship between green space and academic achievement by using open-source data to conduct a regression analysis exploring the possible relationship between green space near K-12 schools and SAT scores in …

Modern Slavery As A Product Of Transnational Corporate Supply Chains: An Ecofeminist Evaluation Of Systems To Address The Linkage Between Modern Slavery, Climate Change, And Gender Injustice, Miranda Kanter

University Honors Theses

Neoliberal ideologies and economics are based on the concept of endless economic growth. This growth is sustained through the use of market domination and the exploitation of the vulnerable and their resources. As pressures of economic growth place priority on industry over human and environmental health, our world faces dire consequences for its corrupt relational values. This research demonstrates the link between modern slavery, the environment-climate crisis, and gender injustice in three separate case studies of modern enslavement in transnational corporate supply chains. Through the use of ecofeminist theory, modern systems of domination and their internalizations are used as a …

Preserving Healing: Understanding Historic Preservation Through The Lens Of Restorative Justice In Portland, Oregon, Bri Brady

University Honors Theses

This essay explores historic preservation through a lens of restorative justice focusing on community inclusion practices. Portland, Oregon serves as the case study for the research, and aims to better understand how the past examples of preservation have carried into our preservation practices today. This essay concludes with world building ideas that focus on restoring community impact and voice in preservation practices.

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 …