Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Ibpi: Bicycle And Pedestrian Education Program, Jennifer Dill, Lynn Weigand, Karen Dixon

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since the 1990s, the amount of attention and funding for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure has increased significantly. This, combined with the role of transportation in public health and environmental concerns, has raised expectations for engineering and planning practitioners to possess more knowledge and skills related to pedestrian and bicycle planning and design. This demand requires more education around these topics but university curriculum doesn?t reflect these important shifts in the field. This project was intended to begin addressing the need for more bicycle and pedestrian curriculum in two ways: (1) Determine the existence of and need for courses and curriculum …

Cultivating The Commons An Assessment Of The Potential For Urban Agriculture On Oakland’S Public Land, Nathan Mcclintock, Jenny Cooper

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This is an inventory of open space with potential for agricultural production on land both owned by public agencies and within the city limits of Oakland, California. The inventory was conducted between the summer of 2008 and spring of 2009 and is part of an ongoing movement to develop a more resilient, sustainable, and just food system in Oakland. This project aims to locate Oakland’s "commons"—land that is owned by public agencies and therefore a public resource—and assess the potential for urban agriculture (UA) on this land. We hope that this assessment can be used 1) to inform policy decisions …

Health, Transportation And Bicycling: Connecting The Dotted Lines, Jennifer Dill

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Powerpoint presentation by Jennifer Dill at the Dudley H. Davis Center, University of Vermont, on November 17, 2010. Reviews current research on the relationships beetween health, transportation policy and bicycling. Discusses the role of psychology, thoeries of planned behavior, and future developments.

Evaluation Of Bike Boxes At Signalized Intersections [Presentation], Jennifer Dill, Christopher M. Monsere

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

A presentation summarizing findings of a study on the effectiveness of bike boxes at signalized intersections. Presentation delivered to the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Conference in Minneapolis, MN, Oct. 7-10, 2010.

Demonstrating The Benefits Of Green Streets For Active Aging: Initial Findings, Jennifer Dill, Margaret B. Neal, Vivek Shandas, Gretchen Luhr, Arlie Steven Adkins, Darin Lund

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This project will help demonstrate how sustainable ("green") streets contribute to the well-being of a community, including the physical and mental health of older and younger adults, along with the environment and economy. The project will collect data in Portland, OR neighborhoods to answer the following research questions: Are residents living near sustainable streets more physically active in their neighborhood? Do residents living near sustainable streets interact with neighbors more and demonstrate higher levels of neighborhood social capital? What are residents’ opinions of sustainable streets? Are there variations in responses to sustainable streets by age or other demographics? In particular, …

Long-Term Evaluation Of Individualized Marketing Programs For Travel Demand Management, Jennifer Dill, Cynthia D. Mohr

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research examines the use of individualized marketing as a transportation demand management (TDM) strategy, using the City of Portland's SmartTrips program. This research project has two specific aims: (1) to evaluate whether the benefits of these individualized marketing programs continue to at least one year after the project ends; and (2) to examine whether the theory of planned behavior (TPB) can help explain the behavior changes identified. Surveys of residents conducted one or two years after the original program found that the share of daily trips made driving alone, walking, and bicycling were comparable to that found in the …

Why Farm The City? Theorizing Urban Agriculture Through A Lens Of Metabolic Rift, Nathan Mcclintock

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Urban agriculture (UA) is spreading across vacant and marginal land worldwide, embraced by government and civil society as source of food, ecosystems services and jobs, particularly in times of economic crisis. ‘Metabolic rift' is an effective framework for differentiating UA's multiple origins and functions across the Global North and South. I examine how UA arises from three interrelated dimensions of metabolic rift—ecological, social and individual. By rescaling production, reclaiming vacant land and ‘de-alienating’ urban dwellers from their food, UA also attempts to overcome these forms of rift. Considering all three dimensions is valuable both for theory and practice.

Associations Between Street Connectivity And Active Transportation, David Berrigan, Linda Williams Pickle, Jennifer Dill

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Past studies of associations between measures of the built environment, particularly street connectivity, and active transportation (AT) or leisure walking/bicycling have largely failed to account for spatial autocorrelation of connectivity variables and have seldom examined both the propensity for AT and its duration in a coherent fashion. Such efforts could improve our understanding of the spatial and behavioral aspects of AT. We analyzed spatially identified data from Los Angeles and San Diego Counties collected as part of the 2001 California Health Interview Survey. Results: Principal components analysis indicated that ~85% of the variance in nine measures of street connectivity …

The Portland Region In 2010: Taking Stock And Looking To The Future, Sheila A. Martin

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

A presentation on regional demographic and economic trends made to the Multnomah County Commission in February 2010.

Land Use Innovation: Experiences In The Adoption Of Land Use Policies To Promote Active Living, Jennifer Dill, Deborah A. Howe

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Obesity continues to be a major public health problem in the United States. As of 2007, 28.8% of adolescents were either overweight or obese. The rise in obesity may, in part, be attributable to declines in physical activity (PA) levels. In 2007, only 34.7% of adolescents met the national PA guidelines. Since PA levels decrease between childhood and adolescence, the middle school transition is a particularly vulnerable period that warrants special attention. In 2003, Somerville, Massachusetts organized an Active Living by Design (ALbD) partnership to promote community- wide active living through promotion activities (maps), policy changes, programs to engage immigrant …

Brew To Bikes: Portland's Artisan Economy, Charles H. Heying

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Brew to Bikes: Portland's Artisan Economy explains how post-industrial economic transformations have created a space for artisan enterprises to flourish. Dissatisfied with passive consumption, many residents of Portland, OR take matters into their own hands. Associate Professor of Urban Studies Charles Heying noticed these local artisans prospering all over the city and set out to study their thriving economy. Profiling hundreds of local businesses, and with an eye on Portland's unique penchant for sustainability and urban development, Brew to Bikes is about everything from bike manufacturers to microbreweries, from do-it-yourself to traditional crafts. A treatise to local, ethical business practices, …

Integrating Education, Evaluation & Partnerships Into Large-Scale Sustainable Stormwater Management Programs, Vivek Shandas, Anne Nelson, Carine Arendes

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Integrated stormwater management using green infrastructure shows promise in saving money and mitigating environmental impacts caused by urban development. Equally important are the potential community benefits, including better understanding of ecological systems, increased access to urban green spaces, safer and healthier neighborhoods, and informed residents that are equipped to take action to improve watershed health. As a partnership between the City of Portland Environmental Services, Portland State University, and residents of the Tabor to the River (T2R) neighborhood, we conducted a survey to understand the role of civic ecology in green infrastructure projects. The survey results indicate a high interest …

Manufactured Home Parks: Norcs Awaiting Discovery, Andrée Tremoulet

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper examines manufactured home parks as a type of naturally occurring retirement community and considers the potential for adding social service programs (NORC-SSP) to enable further aging in place. An analysis of six focus group interviews with 48 residents found that the physical and social environment promoted a sense of safety and community, and that this housing option was an intentional lifestyle choice. Risks included the possibility of bad management and park closure. Manufactured home parks were found to offer an attractive option for exploring a NORC-SSP model that builds on residents' assets and community capacity.

Urban Universities: Anchors Generating Prosperity For America's Cities, Sheila A. Martin

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper articulates the value and role of urban universities as anchor institutions and engines of metropolitan success. Founded on their long-term commitment to the metropolitan areas they inhabit, the power of urban universities is magnified by strong collaboration with their traditional partners in government and the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. By expanding the number and scope of these broad-based, robust partnerships supported by targeted federal investment?urban universities can help lead our cities and metropolitan regions to long-term competitiveness, environmental sustainability, and enduring vitality as healthy, high-quality communities.

The Winners In China’S Urban Housing Reform, John R. Logan, Yiping Fang, Zhanxin Zhang

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Housing reform in China has proceeded on two tracks: privatization of public housing and development of a new private housing sector. During this period of transition, rents have remained relatively low in the remaining public housing, and purchase prices offered to occupants of public housing have been well below market prices. Although these rents and prices are partly based on known formulas, there is considerable variability in how much people pay for similar apartments. This study uses 2000 Census data to estimate the housing subsidy received by the remaining renters in the public sector and purchasers of public housing, based …

Rural Transit In Oregon: Current And Future Needs, Jennifer Dill, Margaret B. Neal

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of the research reported was to identify the current status and needs for general public transportation in Oregon’s rural areas, as well as opportunities and barriers (e.g., funding, governance issues, and leadership) to expanding services over a 20 year period. Oregon is a largely rural state. This lack of density poses problems for the provision of public transit, whether through fixed route or demand response service. People living in the rural areas and who lack cars and access to public transportation are at a strong disadvantage. With no access to these transit resources, they may be limited to …

A Brief Portrait Of Multimodal Transportation Planning In Oregon And The Path To Achieving It, 1890-1974, Carl Abbott, Sam Lowry

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This project was designed to outline transportation chapters of a planned written history of Oregon land use planning, written in ways that would make the transportation planning profession relevant to a popular audience. The writing would focus on stories from the profession, and on historical facts and events in Oregon transportation planning history that would surprise or enlighten popular reading audiences. Technology transfer would occur through publication of one or more written pieces of work.

The result is a topical and historical tale entitled "A Brief Portrait of Multimodal Transportation Planning in Oregon and the Path to Achieving It, 1890-1974." …