Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons^™

Efficacy Of Oil And Gas Production Site Remediation In U.S. Arid/Semi-Arid Regions, Skye Ontiveros

Architecture and Planning ETDs

Oil and gas production (OGP) is expanding, paralleled by its polluting leaks and spills (LS), and outpaced by its waste. This raises the question: Does remediation of LS occur effectively when needed to protect the environment and public, particularly in major producing regions like arid/semi-arid regions (ASAR), which account for approximately 72% of US oil and 42% of gas production? To answer, a review of the eight largest national remedial laws, sourced from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), identified 14 OGP exemptions for remedial determinants (RDs): factors affecting remedial frequency and efficacy (e.g. LS monitoring and chemical disclosure). An …

Pavements And The Urban Heat Island Effect: A Network Analysis Of Research Trends And Knowledge Structure, Fouzieh Rouzmehr, Saman Jamshidi

Architecture Faculty Research

The urban heat island (UHI) effect is one of the most pressing challenges associated with rapid urbanization. It arises primarily from the replacement of natural vegetation with impervious surfaces, alterations in surface energy balance, and heat emissions from human activity. Mitigating these drivers has become a global priority, particularly in fast-growing cities. Pavements play a central role in UHI intensification due to their large surface coverage, low albedo, and capacity to retain heat. This study adopts a bibliometric approach to systematically map the knowledge structure and research trends in pavement-related UHI studies. A dataset of 834 publications from Web of …

Village Of Hope: Moving Away From The Conception Of Temporary To Permanent Shelter In Haiti, Korine Dorval, Ehsan Sheikholharam Ma

Symposium of Student Scholars

Around the world, 1.6 million people lose their homes every week. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center estimates that 1 million people were internally displaced in Haiti as of the end of 2024.

In Haiti, displacement repeats in a cycle driven by gang violence and natural disasters. Today, as the situation grows worse, the solution is still centered on refugee camps. Architecture seems to intervene only in emergency relief without addressing long-term stability.

This design research examines how architecture can contribute to reducing gang violence by facilitating the transition from temporary to permanent shelter in Haiti. This paper challenges assumptions about …

Transportation Practitioners' Reflections On Addressing Transportation Barriers For Vulnerable Populations In Nebraska, Aysan Esmaely

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

This study examines transportation planning practices and challenges in Nebraska, with particular attention to how planners and agencies address the needs of vulnerable populations. Using a qualitative approach, thirty-five transportation planners, practitioners, and service providers were interviewed. Participants were selected based on their professional in transportation planning and service delivery. The study explores what institutional and funding barriers planners and practitioners face, and what strategies they consider most effective for improving access and inclusion. Findings reveal that limited funding, fragmented authority, and the absence of a coordinated regional planning framework significantly constrain transportation development across Nebraska. While metropolitan areas such …

Bridging Conservation And Planning: State Wildlife Action Plans Analyzed Using Wildlife Value Orientation, Ciara Nelson-Forcade

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Wildlife conservation in the United States has transitioned from managing resources for human use to prioritizing ecosystem preservation and species protection. However, the ways in which conservation values and attitudes are reflected in state-level policy documents remain insufficiently examined. This thesis investigates how Wildlife Value Orientations (WVO) are expressed within State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs). Using a qualitative content analysis and flexible coding approach, fifteen SWAPs representing all eight U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regions were analyzed to identify conservation themes, value orientations, and structural characteristics such as plan length, departmental budgets, and political context. Findings reveal that most plans …

Evaluating The Preparedness Of Local Zoning Regulations For Flood Risk Reduction In The Most Affected Local Jurisdictions In Nebraska, Md Asaduzzaman Noor

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Flooding has profound social, economic, and environmental impacts on local communities, and zoning plays a critical role in mitigating these risks. The 2019 Nebraska floods, among the most severe in the state’s history, highlighted the urgent need to strengthen local preparedness and mitigation strategies. This study assesses the extent to which local zoning regulations in Nebraska’s most affected jurisdiction, including rural areas, address flood risk reduction. A systematic review of 117 zoning ordinances from counties, cities, towns, and villages, we applied a structured analytical framework encompassing regulatory and permitting policies, voluntary and incentive-based measures, and nature-based solutions. The results show …

Bridging Conservation And Disaster Recovery: A Dual Study On Wetland Program Plans Evaluation And Midwest Post Disaster Recovery Assessment, Rao Nargis Jahan

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Wetlands provide essential ecological, social, and economic benefits for our society. In the United States, states and tribes play crucial roles in wetland protection, restoration, and management. However, no research has systematically measured state-level wetland planning efforts towards national conservation goals. This study is the first to comprehensively evaluate how state-level Wetland Program Plans (WPPs) align with national missions, particularly the "no-net-loss" of wetlands goal. Our research assesses the EPA-approved state-level WPPs from 42 out of 50 states in the United States during the period from 2015 to 2024. Using a protocol of 30 indicators across five categories, this study …

Flood Resilience Through Working-Land Conservation: Assessment Of Wetland Inundation Dynamics Across Wrp, Wma, Wpa, Padus And Crp Lands In Nebraska (2018–2024), Pranjay Joshi

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

This study first confirms whether Nebraska’s wetlands are still functioning hydrologically in ways that reduce flood impacts. Wetlands are known to lessen flood damage by storing water, slowing runoff, and moderating peak flows, but these benefits depend on the wetlands’ ability to maintain inundation and saturation through time. Many wetlands across the state have undergone drainage, hydrologic alteration, or isolation from surrounding watersheds, raising uncertainty about their present-day functioning. Using seven years of Sentinel-2 imagery processed in Google Earth Engine, this research establishes a clear, long-term record of inundation patterns across thousands of wetland parcels. This analysis verifies which wetlands …

Care Starts Before Entering The Clinic – A Holistic Approach To Assessing Primary Care Access At Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Cory E. Hauptman

All Theses

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is the world’s largest military treatment facility and the primary provider of healthcare to the military, their families, and military retirees in the Washington DC area. The federal government is legally bound to provide access to primary healthcare services to Tricare enrollees within a 30-minute travel time of their residences. This time constraint has only been applied to the transit period from a patient’s residence to the base where the care is provided and has not accounted for the time it takes a patient to get to the clinic once they arrive at the …

Building Roads To Engagement: A Survey Of Post-Secondary Community Engagement Education In Transportation, Meghan E. Kolin

Master's Theses

Community engagement is a critical part of the urban planning process for both academics and practitioners, but transportation planning’s significant technical knowledge requirements and focus on special interest groups make such engagement difficult. As such, college- and graduate-level transportation planning programs must include significant education about public participation practices. However, little research exists regarding how community engagement is taught in these programs or how well this education prepares students for real-world practice. This research is aimed at filling this gap by answering two questions: first, how transportation-focused post-secondary programs in the United States conduct community engagement education; and second, whether …

Working With Local Government Planning Staff: The Need-To-Know Basics, Kimberly K. Gerhart-Fritz

Civil Engineering Professional Development Seminar

Many civil engineers will need to interact with local government during their careers. Understanding WHAT local government planners do and WHY they do it can make that process much easier to navigate, for all involved.

Revitalizing Rural Grocery Stores In Northern New Mexico: A Community Handbook, Emily Arasim

Student Publications

Rural grocery stores are cornerstone institutions that are central to the health and well-being of their communities - not only providing food, but also serving as spaces of economic development, cultural and historic preservation, social connection, and resilience. In response to the loss of many rural stores over recent decades, the ‘Revitalizing Rural Grocery Stores in Northern New Mexico’ handbook brings together community histories, political analysis, and practical strategies to support their protection and resurgence. The handbook shares findings on the multi-faceted importance of rural grocery stores and the causal factors in their loss; maps and photographs documenting the condition …

Pause For Thought – Exploring Ai Error In The Assessment Of Industrial Sustainability Reports, Jake Mooney, Colm Tormey, Cillian Gleeson, Shane Hoban, Dylan Kirby, Christine Nangle

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

No abstract provided.

Planning For Solar Equity: Zoning And Land Use Strategies For Community Solar Gardens In Rural Minnesota, Mahmoud Othman

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

This project examines how land use planning and zoning can support equitable deployment of community solar gardens (CSGs) in rural Minnesota counties and townships. Although Minnesota is widely regarded as a policy leader in community solar, most solar arrays are concentrated in metropolitan areas with greater planning capacity and demand. By contrast, rural jurisdictions must navigate dispersed populations, limited staff, and competing agricultural land uses. Focusing on Clay, Stearns, and Chisago Counties, the study analyzes local ordinances and related land use policies to understand how community-scale solar is defined, sited, permitted, and decommissioned.

Solar regulations are systematically coded for key …

Rewilding The Built Environment: Navigating Economic, Political, And Social Barriers To Urban Ecological Restoration, Carly E. Smith

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

Urban rewilding offers a nature-based approach to restoring ecological processes in cities while advancing climate resilience, biodiversity, and public well-being. Unlike conventional green infrastructure, rewilding allows ecosystems to develop with minimal intervention, emphasizing succession, complexity, and long-term adaptability. This paper examines the political, economic, and social factors that frame how rewilding is understood and implemented in urban planning. Governmental frameworks often prioritize order, predictability, and short-term results, making it difficult to accommodate the uncertainty and ecological complexity that rewilding requires. Economic models struggle to capture its long-term value, frequently overlooking ecosystem services or reconciling competing land uses. Social perceptions of …

Assessing Thermal Comfort In A Landmark Urban Park: A Case Study And Methodological Framework Of Alamo Square In San Francisco, Usa, Xiwei Shen, Yuqian Guo, Quiyi Yang, Wenwen Cheng, Mingze Chen, Xiayuanshan Gao, Sihua Cheng, Ling Wang

Architecture Faculty Research

Urban green spaces are increasingly challenged by climate stressors, yet strategies for climate-adaptive renewal are often difficult to evaluate in culturally and historically significant sites. This study exames Alamo Square in San Francisco, a globally recognized tourist landmark parkas a single-case analysis of how incremental reforestation and shading interventions influence human activity patterns and thermal comfort. This study integrates geotagged social media data (Flickr/Instagram), ENVI-met microclimate simulations, and spatial statistical analyses (Kernel Density Estimation, hot spot analysis). Focusing on Alamo Square’s reforestation initiativeaimed at doubling tree density with drought-tolerant species-the research reveals that pre-intervention activity clustered densely near the iconic …

Tangible And Design Assistance In Historic Preservation Courses To Assist Communities In The Recuperation Of Their Existing Built Cultural Resources In New Mexico, Francisco Uviña-Contreras

Faculty Publications

The presentation proposed for the NCBDS 41 Conference to be hosted at the School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) Department at the University of New Mexico (UNM) concerns the arduous work in the Historic Preservation and Regionalism (HP+R) Program in this institution. This significant opportunity to present courses in the HP+R Program aims to "exchange and disseminate information and ideas concerning preservation education and its relationship to community engagement and its connections to its historical past." This issue is particularly relevant in the context of the NCBDS 41 Conference, which touches on aspects of the "Pedagogy in Cultural Heritage through …

Combatting Road Accidents And Fatalities : The Colonial State, Voluntary Organisations, And Road Safety In Northern Rhodesia, 1940s-1964, Mbozi Santebe

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) experienced an increase in the use of motor vehicles from the late 1920s. Consequently, there was a rapid increase in the occurrence of road accidents from the 1940s onwards. The rise in cases of accidents attracted attention of the colonial state and other stakeholders that embarked on measures to improve road safety. Using a corpus of archival sources, this article examines the measures that the colonial state and voluntary organisations undertook to improve road safety in Northern Rhodesia from the 1940s to 1964. It contributes to scholarly works on the use of motor vehicles in Africa …

Dynamics Of Infanticides Among The Ngoni Of Tanzania, 1850s-1916, Andrew S. Kasambala, Oswald J. Masebo

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Infanticide is one of the key factors in explaining changes in human populations since the antiquity. This paper examines dynamics of infanticide practices among the Ngoni of Tanzania from the late pre- colonial to the end of German colonial rule in 1916. Relying on primary and secondary sources, it argues that while infanticide remained a critical problem in Songea from the 19th century to the end of German colonialism in 1916, the context in which it was practiced and the interventions devised to alleviate it changed over time. While it was primarily practiced in Songea by pre-Ngoni communal based clans …

Criteria For Rejecting Ideas In African Philosophy : A Historical And Epistemological Analysis, Eric C. Mgalula

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

The rejection of African ideas remains a pivotal debate in African philosophy, centring on tensions between universalist epistemologies and culturally specific criteria. This study synthesizes fragmented discussions into a cohesive framework, interrogating when and why African ideas may be deemed inadequate. It critiques contemporary African scholarship that rigidly adheres to indigenous traditions under decolonial and nationalist imperatives, advocating instead for a balanced approach that harmonizes intellectual rigor with cultural authenticity. Through a historical analysis of key thinkers—from Tempels and Hountondji to Wiredu and Oyewumí—this article historicizes the evolution of evaluative criteria in African philosophy, challenging colonial legacies and romanticized traditionalism. …