Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

A Study Of Land Use Planning Practices And The Relationship Between Population Distribution And Transportation Infrastructure In Kathmandu, Nepal., Walter Suwal

Theses and Dissertations

This particular paper is meant to investigate planning in Kathmandu, Nepal specifically land use planning practices and the implications on the transportation network(s). Very early on in the research including existing land use (if any), and current transportation networks, it was clear that investigations must be made into the political and planning situation leading up to the modern era in Nepal. The overview of past political events is necessary to explain current planning trends and techniques, and also the mindset of the people of Kathmandu towards planning. Of course universal planning truths can be applied in various international contexts, but …

Accessibility Of Bay Area Rail Transit Stations: An Evaluation Of Opportunities For Transit Oriented Development, Kevin M. Fang

Master's Theses

Many groups have been pushing for a shift from automotive oriented transportation and land use, to transit-oriented transportation and land use. These groups have many valid reasons. However, just as it is fair to point out issues about auto travel, so too is it fair to see how transit performs at meeting certain goals. This paper examines the important characteristic of accessibility afforded to travelers. This is quantified through the calculation of accessibility indexes for stations, for the specific case of two existing rail systems and four proposed rail extensions in the San Francisco Bay Area.

As a whole, the …

Enhancement Plan For Downtown Cayucos, Ca, Rachelle Sarai Sneh Lopez

Master's Theses

An area can be torn by the competition between the preservation of its character and the desire for new development. Cayucos’ downtown area is recognized by both residents and visitors as a special place with a strong, small, coastal town feel. However, issues such as accessibility, public amenities, parking, maintenance, and general development needs have to be dealt with. This thesis deals with the issue of how to plan for change while maintaining the character of Cayucos, and presents an enhancement plan proposal for its downtown. The development of this plan was based on a research-based design methodology, which included …

Moving Towards Self-Reliance: Living Conditions Of Refugee Camps In Lebanon And Opportunities For Development, Dana Masad

Master's Theses

Refugee camps in Lebanon are harsh, continuously and rapidly deteriorating environments. In addition to poverty, numerous wars and the restrictions of civil rights, refugee camps that were not designed as a long-term settlement were made to accommodate their residents in addition to their descendents for a period that has lasted over 59 years. Since the establishment of the camps in 1948 the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have fallen victim to multiple wars and as a result most camps have witnessed major destruction of homes and infrastructure, and a few were entirely destroyed. Today, the planning and development of the camps …

Invasive Species Management Plan For Oswego Lake, Daniel Warren, Mark Sytsma

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

This Invasive Species Management Plan defines an overarching strategy for the Lake Oswego Corporation (LOC) to mitigate threats from invasive species to Oswego Lake. Invasive species pose a direct risk to recreational and aesthetic uses of the lake, critical LOC infrastructure, and ecological communities within the lake. The Plan is particularly concerned with two bivalve mollusks in the genus Dreissena: the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) and the quagga mussel (Dreissena bugensis). These mussels grow in dense colonies that damage watercraft and underwater structures as well as displace native species. A recent scientific report found that …

The Incorporation Of Direct Democracy : Populism And Initiative Practices As Contested Terrain, Larry Galizio

Dissertations and Theses

What are the democratic implications of the increasing professionalization of direct democracy?

The dissertation takes a critical approach to the "initiative-industrial complex" and offers a counter-thesis to prevailing scholarly research on the substantial growth in the use of political consultants in initiative campaigns. The political economic analysis approaches direct legislation campaigns and elections as constituent parts of a system of legitimation for the existing set of social relations.

An historical analysis reveals that the contemporary era of initiative activity rivals that of its frequent use during the populist and progressive eras; and that in the early 21st century direct legislation …

Working For The "Working River": Willamette River Water Pollution, 1926 To 1962, James Vincent Hillegas

Dissertations and Theses

Efforts to abate Willamette River pollution between 1926 and 1962 centered on a struggle between abatement advocates and the two primary polluters in the watershed, the City of Portland and the pulp and paper industry. Throughout the twentieth century, the Willamette was by far the most heavily populated and industrialized watershed in Oregon. Like many other of the world's rivers, the Willamette was an integral part of municipal and industrial waste removal systems. As such, the main stem of the river carried the combined wastes from sewage outfalls serving hundreds of thousands of people and millions of gallons daily of …

The N-Word : Comprehending The Complexity Of Stratification In American Community Settings, Anne V. Benfield

Honors Theses

The N-word’s remarkable durability, combined with American’s willingness to find uses for this epithet, illustrate the extent to which racial unease continues to permeate our culture. Its various definitions and spellings are continuously debated by academia, creating a dynamic topic for sociological evaluation. Overall, the N-word is alive and mobile, fluid and engraved in the American psyche, as a symbol. Some propose to condemn the word, while others attempt to rehabilitate and convert its meaning from a negative slur to a gesture of solidarity. The controversial debate of the N-word can be examined from multitudinous sociological theories, encompassing elements of …

An Assessment Of Natural Resources Management Conflicts In The Working Landscapes Of Mediterranean Turkey (Turkiye): Koprulu Kanyon National Park, Nedim Kemer

Open Access Dissertations

Environmental conservation and natural resources management are critical global issues of the 21st century. The management of protected public lands emerges as a challenge particularly in developing countries because of the biophysical and socio-cultural importance of these lands. These lands are often referred to as 'working landscapes' where the natural systems and the collective actions of local residents have shaped one another in well-balanced interactions for generations. The working landscapes of the Köprülü Kanyon National Park (KKNP) in Turkey have provided the case study for this dissertation. Eleven villages exist within the park with a total of approximately 7,100 residents. …

Impacts Of Climate Change And Urban Development On Water Resources In The Tualatin River Basin, Sarah Praskievicz

Dissertations and Theses

Potential impacts of climate change on the water resources of the Pacific Northwest of the United States include earlier peak runoff, reduced summer flows, and increased winter flooding. An increase in impervious surfaces, accompanied by urban development, is known to decrease infiltration and increase surface runoff. Alterations of flow amount and pathways can alter water quality through dilution or flushing effects. I used the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Better Assessment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint Sources (BASINS) modeling system to investigate the relative importance of future climate change and land use change in determining the quantity and quality of …

Organization By Form: Applying Systems Theory To Urbanization, Michael Patrick Howe

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

I have come to believe that the core of our declining physical, mental and community health dwells in the current practice of land use based development. Although today's land use codes began as a legitimate response to protect people's health and welfare it has since devolved into an unsustainable process. The failure of land-use zoning is rooted in an informational disconnect created by the segregation of land into distinct uses while offering generic design standards. Whereas the current mode of land use-based zoning results in an unpredictable physical form, Form-Based Codes foster a connection between the individual to the available …

Residential Foreclosures' Impact On Nearby Single-Family Residential Properties;A New Approach To The Spatial And Temporal Dimensions, Timothy F. Kobie

ETD Archive

This dissertation analyzes the impact that foreclosures have on neighboring property values. It focuses on foreclosures' impact based upon face blocks, not straight-line distances and it also incorporates time and the use of spatial statistics. Findings from this study show that properties in the foreclosure process longer have a greater negative impact on nearby property values than properties with more recent foreclosure filings. The first negative impact is not seen until a year after the filing. Therefore, policy responses need to be as swift as possible in preventing any negative impact on neighboring property values and should not focus on …

Economic And Social Networks;Impacts On Regional Economic Outcomes And Concentrations, Gil-Hwan Park

ETD Archive

The Republic of Korea's efforts to accelerate the development of its economy in the aftermath of an extremely destructive civil war led to the concentration of capital and activity in areas that resemble the growth poles described by Perroux (1950) and Hirschman (1958). These poles led to an extreme centralization of economic activity and people in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA). More than 48 percent of the GDP, 90 percent of the headquarters of major firms, and 48 percent of the population is concentrated in 11.8 percent of the Republic's land (2006 figures). Despite the agglomeration economies, the national government …

The Influence Of Organizational Culture On Sustainable Competitive Advantage Of Small And Medium Sized Establishments, Best Business Practices For Achieving World-Class Status, The Link Between Business & Region, Wael H. Ramadan

ETD Archive

This is a three-essay dissertation that examines the effects of objective aspects of business organizational culture and the region on objective measures of the outcomes of sustainable competitive advantage. The first essay examines the association of objective aspects of business organizational culture on objective measures of sustainable competitive advantage. The first essay recommends that firms increase the number of training hours devoted annually to each employee and increase the percentage of production employees participating in empowered work teams. The second essay describes a conceptual model and provides recommendations for best business practices for manufacturing firms that realize the ultimate ability …

Who Cares About School Quality?; The Role Of School Quality In Household Preference, School District Choice, And Willingness To Pay, Youngme Seo

ETD Archive

School quality is considered a key factor affecting homebuyers' location choices and willingness to pay. Previously, many studies found that school quality plays a critical role in determining housing prices and location choice. School quality is positively capitalized into housing prices. Households are willing to pay for school quality, in particular, school outcomes such as test scores and performance index. However, there is a view that willingness to pay for school quality is different based on household demographics and socioeconomic status (SES). The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate heterogeneous preference for school quality, school district choice, and willingness …

Residential Property Tax Abatement;Testing A Model Of Neighborhood Impact, Doreen Swetkis

ETD Archive

Using a quasi-experimental research design, this study examines the relationship between residential property tax abatement for new construction, and urban neighborhoods in four Ohio cities. Neighborhoods were defined as census tract. The purpose of this research is to determine if there is a statistically significant relationship at p < .05 between residential property tax abatement programs for new construction and several different measures of neighborhood outcomes. The neighborhood outcome measures can be grouped under the broad concepts of increased private investment, blight removal, decreased criminal activity, and property tax equity. Subsequent questions investigated are the direction of these relationships and the existence of a threshold level at which point relationships become significant. The utilization of a comparable comparison group addresses the counterfactual scenario. Independence of samples tests and multivariate cubic regression are employed to answer the research questions. Results indicate that there are no discernable effects between residential property tax abatement and the indicators of neighborhood change as defined in the study. Second, there appears to be no threshold at which the number of tax abated residential units becomes significantly associated with the indicators of neighborhood change. Third, there were no significant differences on the indicators of neighborhood change between subject and comparison groups. In essence, there are no effects from residential tax abatement policy seen at the neighborhood level

A Benefit/Cost Analysis Of Three Student Enrollment Behaviors At A Community College;Dropout, Transfer And Completion Of An Associate's Degree/Certificate, G. Robert Stuart

ETD Archive

This dissertation seeks to increase our understanding of the factors that lead to student success at community colleges. Using data on a cohort of students enrolled at a two-year college, this dissertation presents the results of a longitudinal analysis. Citing the results of several persistence studies as well as the literature on sub-baccalaureate job markets, this dissertation constructs a hybrid model of student persistence. This model combines Tinto's theory of student dropout behavior with human capital theory to derive a benefit/cost model of student enrollment behavior. Several hypotheses are developed regarding the relationship between various benefits and costs and students' …

Health And The Nature Of Urban Green Spaces, May Elizabeth Carter

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Recognition that city-dwelling people can benefit from contact with nature is not new. The urban open air movement of the 19th century advised retention of greenways and development of urban parks and gardens to stop disease spread through lack of fresh air, poor sanitation and overcrowding. Now, in the early 21st century, urban green spaces are under threat from inner city infill projects and clearing of remnant vegetation to accommodate suburban sprawl.

While much literature discusses positive health benefits of contact with nature, few studies explore explicit pathways between urban green space and health, despite mounting concern that disassociation between …

Community, Conversation, And Conflict: A Study Of Deliberation And Moderation In A Collaborative Political Weblog, Samantha Isabella Soma

Dissertations and Theses

Concerns about the feasibility of the Internet as an appropriate venue for deliberation have emerged based on the adverse effects of depersonalization, anonymity, and lack of accountability on the part of online discussants. As in face-to-face communication, participants in online conversations are best situated to determine for themselves what type of communication is appropriate. Earlier research on Usenet groups was not optimistic, but community-administered moderation may provide a valuable tool for online political discussion groups who wish to support and enforce deliberative communication among a diverse or disagreeing membership.

This research examines individual comments and their rating and moderation within …

Eminent Domain: The Unintended Consequences Of Kelo, Tracy Lynn Bower

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In recent years, local governments in the United States have increasingly used eminent domain to promote economic development, raising concerns among property-right advocates over what those advocates view as unlawful, or what should be unlawful, takings of private property in order to benefit another private property owner. This philosophical and legal dispute reached a crisis point in the 2005 United States Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London. In that decision, the court narrowly upheld a Connecticut Supreme Court ruling granting the City of New London permission to redevelop land that had been seized from existing homeowners …