Digital Commons Network^™

Equitable Design Through The Urban Museum: Catalyzing Community Revitalization And Environmental Justice In The Sweet Auburn Historic District(The New Apex Museum), Day'zhanera King

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Have you ever heard of the Black Lives Matter Movement, or B.L.M.? B.L.M. was created as a response to the resurgence of racism and xenophobic hate-crimes against Black people and their communities, often at the hands of police. It was the hate crimes plus the scape-goating of Blacks add in poverty rates, the exponentially high Black unemployment rates, and the over policing of Black neighborhoods. B.L.M. is the modern activist response to the continuance of Richard Nixon’s War on Drugs, Bill Clinton’s crime bill and the massive, and the disproportionate incarceration of Black men. B.L.M. is the representation for what …

Exploring Park Quality In Urban Setting With Environmental Justice, Alternative Measurements, And Social Interaction, Shuolei Chen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

With rapid urbanization, urban green resources, such as parks have become important assets for quality of life in urban settings. Parks provide urban residents with both physical and psychological health benefits through various mechanisms such as physical activity and social interaction. Quality is an important non-spatial dimension of urban parks and has started to gain attention among researchers. To better understand park quality in an urban setting, additional knowledge should be explored. This dissertation studies the quality of urban parks from three different perspectives: 1) the equal distribution of park quality resources and its relationship to environmental justice issues, 2) …

Water, Waste, And Race: Designing For Change On The Shelby County Landfill, Elizabeth Peterson

LSU Master's Theses

Historically, landfills have been viewed through an environmental lens as sites for technical remediation, employing scientific or engineering strategies for testing, mitigation and capping. They are more rarely viewed as cultural landscapes, places with histories of habitation and use, or as potential sites for design. This thesis investigation examines the Shelby County Landfill in Memphis, Tennessee from a cultural landscape perspective, opening up a dialog and opportunity to think about this site and other waste sites in a more layered and culturally rich way.

This research contributes to discussions within the field of landscape architecture that present waste landscapes as …

The Siltcatcher: A Sediment-Capture System For Wetland Creation And Coastal Protection In Western Lake Pontchartrain, Andrew M. Wright

LSU Master's Theses

The West Lake Pontchartrain region faces a number of long-term environmental challenges due to anthropogenic climate disturbance and landscape modification, including sea level rise, increased storm surge risk, shoreline erosion, and wetland degradation. In response, this thesis applies recent research in the fields of landscape architecture and civil engineering to propose a dynamic, natural-systems solution for wetland creation and shoreline protection. The project envisions a series of breakwater-like structures in western Lake Pontchartrain positioned to slow water released from the nearby Bonnet Carré Spillway, causing suspended sediment to settle and create self-building and self-sustaining wetlands capable of keeping pace with …

Climate Change Adaptation In Highland Ecuador: Intersections Of Gender, Geography, And Knowledge In Farming Communities, Dinka Natali Caceres Arteaga

Latin American Studies ETDs

This dissertation uses a feminist political ecology perspective to explore the socioeconomic impacts of climate change in Ecuador, especially but not limited to the agriculture sector. It is based on the use of mixed methods that allowed the participation and validation of the local population, surpassing their role as beneficiaries to co-authors of this research.

The significance of this study relies on the position the local population holds in the fields of human geography, under a community local-planning perspective, as they attempted to collaborate in the process of adaptation to climate change by presenting analysis and calculation of an index …

Environmental Justice In Little Village: A Case For Reforming Chicago’S Zoning Law, Charles Isaacs

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

Chicago’s Little Village community bears the heavy burden of environmental injustice and racism. The residents are mostly immigrants and people of color who live with low levels of income, limited access to healthcare, and disproportionate levels of dangerous air pollution. Before its retirement, Little Village’s Crawford coal-burning power plant was the lead source of air pollution, contributing to 41 deaths, 550 emergency room visits, and 2,800 asthma attacks per year. After the plant’s retirement, community members wanted a say on the future use of the lot, only to be closed out when a corporation, Hilco Redevelopment Partners, bought the lot …

Rethinking Livability In Megacities: Applications Of Jane Jacobs’ Theories On Tokyo And Los Angeles, Kirara Tsutsui

Pomona Senior Theses

This senior thesis in Environmental Analysis compares critical infrastructure pieces in Tokyo and Los Angeles, on three discrete levels, with a particular focus on the pedestrian experience. As global population grows, with more people projected to live in urban cities more than ever, it is critical that we re-evaluate how we think about and “do” city-planning. Following Jane Jacobs’ theoretical framework, this thesis dissects what urban greenspaces, city neighborhoods, and sidewalks look like in LA and Tokyo. It analyzes, for each proxy, how two of the world’s most “developed” and largest cities have developed into the current landscape. Historical, cultural, …

Arising: Hurricane (Superstorm) Sandy’S Impact On Design/Planning Professionals, Maxinne R. Leighton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Standing by my bedroom window, looking out at the ocean, a huge wave comes and swallows up my building. Everything around me is gone, including me. I wake up. I am 13 years old and living in the Coney Island Houses on Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. With ongoing anthropogenic changes to the natural environment such as sea level rise and intensifying storms, coastal communities, especially ones segregated by class and culture, are particularly vulnerable in this context that challenges a way of life, and in some instances, threatens that life's survival. This dissertation focuses specifically on what one massive …

Unaccepted Streets In Bayview Hunters Point: Addressing Spatial Injustice Through Public Open Space, Clare Blackwell

Scripps Senior Theses

Bayview Hunters Point is at the epicenter of environmental justice issues in San Francisco. The district has historically been the location of the city’s most polluting industries, as well as some of its poorest residents and its greatest concentration of public housing. As the city’s zoning developed over the twentieth century, the southeastern neighborhood on the bay became a patchwork of industrial and residential parcels of land, fueling spatial injustice, in particular a lack of access to public open space.

Increasing greenspace would likely address spatial injustice in Bayview Hunters Point. However, green gentrification–the consequence of resident displacement as a …

The University Greening Movement: Is Carbon Neutrality Enough To Avert A Climate Crisis?, Sean R. Finlay

Student Theses 2015-Present

Because of the impact that educational institutions have on the intellect of the American youth, universities play a crucial role in our nation’s path towards sustainability because of their ability to guide educational focus toward the well-being of the environment. Through a unified movement among these institutions called the “University Greening Movement”, or UGM, campuses are utilizing current technological breakthroughs to their advantage by implementing them into the structures and foundations of their campuses to reduce and even eliminate carbon emissions. However, as monumental as these technological advancements and this movement has been, the question arises of whether or not …

Sustainable Solutions, Fall/Winter 2020, Issue 41

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Intentionally Unsustainable Forms For Crisis Design: Planned Obsolescence, Daniel Hogan

Architecture Thesis Prep

The ShutDownDC protest that stopped traffic on Monday, September 23rd demonstrated a significant shift in the debate for climate justice. The movement targeted not only the culpable institutions but the physical infrastructures which both monumentalize and enable factors responsible for global climate change (in this case automobile infrastructure). This is a particularly relevant example of how built form not only reflects our cultural preferences for private transportation but also informs/enables the processes which are actively working against public good. In this example, road infrastructure is both a symbol and an active player in the game of continued environmental injustice.

This …

Environmentally Responsible Land Use, Spring/Summer 2010, Issue 22

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Communities, Fall/Winter 2010, Issue 21

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Environmental History, Fall/Winter 2009, Issue 19

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Global Sustainability, Fall/Winter 2005, Issue 11

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Environmental Justice, Spring/Summer 2004, Issue 10

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Consent Decrees, Fall/Winter 2017, Issue 35

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Carbon Neutral, Spring/Summer 2018, Issue 38

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Is Transportation Planning Effective? A Critical Review Of Long-Range Regional Transportation Planning In The United States, Razieh Nadafianshahamabadi

Civil Engineering ETDs

The Federal-Aid Highway Act requires urban areas with a population greater than 50,000 to create Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to ensure that funding for transportation projects and programs are based on a continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive planning process. A major responsibility of each MPO is the creation of a long-range transportation plan (LRTP) that addresses the transportation needs of a metropolitan region over the next twenty years or more. While long-range regional transportation planning goals have grown to include a wide range of concerns and technical methods for evaluating planning scenarios have advanced substantially over the past 50 years, there …

Noho2: North Hollywood Transit-Oriented Development, Caroline Chen

City and Regional Planning

As population in California continues to grow, the demand for high-density housing alongside alternative transportation in communities across the U.S. has been steadily increasing. North Hollywood, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, is one such community. This transit-oriented development (TOD) proposal capitalizes on the existing assets of the community while introducing new elements that meet local and regional demand and enhance the harmony of the public.

Sidewalks To Nowhere: A Tool To Prioritize Pedestrian Improvements, Ho Yan Lai

Master's Theses

Walkability as a concept that captures the ability to walk from one place to another has multiple dimensions. Between traversability to being a proxy for better urban places, there are also numerous measurements of walkability that attempts to quantify certain or all aspects of walkability. It is, however, unclear, through a review of available literature, how these measurements of walkability relate to each other statistically. This methodology focuses on generating a framework for analysts to evaluate and prioritize pedestrian infrastructure. WalkScore™ (WS), HCM Pedestrian Level of Service (PLOS), Average Nodal Degree (AND), and Intersection Density are the four metrics selected …

Community-Based Healthcare | Interlace Of Biophilic Design In Outpatient Facilities, Joshua Robinson

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis questions how architects can redesign typical healthcare typology in response to the medical and sociological needs of the community while integrating the measures of wellness and biophilic design. By redefining architectural programs within a wellness clinic, this can allow the facility to prioritize the communities needs through non-medical determinants. The research will look at both the social and medical needs of a community, along with the Seven Standards of Wellness as defined by the Well Building Standard and The Fourteen Patterns of Biophilic Design as defined by the Terrapin Bright Green, to develop a connection between the facility …

Decoding The Jolly Green Giant: An Analysis Of Green Gentrification In The Context Of Rails-To-Trails Policy, Lorin R. Carter

Planning Dissertations - Archive

Recent urban public policies and planning initiatives have resulted in increased efforts to improve stewardship of our limited natural resources (sustainability), increase defenses against natural stressors (resiliency), while also seeking to prevent and remedy unequal environmental burdens placed on minority, elderly, and lower-income communities (environmental justice). This research seeks first to evaluate how the intersection of these policies combine to create the urban phenomenon of Green Gentrification, where the intended effect of these actions is to improve environmental characteristics and infrastructure, but they often result in the displacement of original citizens and culture the improvement sought to help (Gould & …

Reconnecting With Nature: Developing Urban Spaces In The Age Of Climate Change, Steffen Lehmann

Architecture Faculty Research

Climate change is occurring around us and impacting on our daily lives, meaning that we have to deal with our cities in a different way. There is also increasing awareness of the need for daily contact with green spaces and the natural environment in order to live a happy, productive and meaningful life. This reflective essay tells the narrative of how urbanisation has been disconnecting humans from nature. Non-sustainable, non-resilient patterns of urbanisation, along with the neglect of inner-city areas, have resulted in fragmentation and urban decline, led to a loss of biodiversity, and caused the deterioration of ecosystems and …

Learning From California: Highlights From Crp Studios 2017/2018 Ay

Focus

No abstract provided.

Urban Water Scarcity In Sana'a, Yemen, Aliza Herzberg

Focus

This essay is based on Aliza Herberg's final paper for the CRP Department's Cities in a Global World taught by Dr. Laura Tate in the Winter quarter of 2018. Open to all majors, the class explores the social and economic implications of urbanization and the international political economy on global cities, such as authenticity, gentrification, migration, social and environmental justice, and urban security. Students also assess global challenges through specific case studies, such as the one discussed by Aliza in this essay.

Tree Density And Diversity In Hong Kong’S Public Housing Estates: Fromprovision Injustice To Socio-Ecological Inclusiveness., Louis Shing Him Lee, C.Y. Jim, Allen Hao Zhang

Faculty of Design & Environment (THEi)

Socio-economically underprivileged urban communities might suffer from restricted access to urban forests. Environmental injustice research on urban greenery in Asian cities is lacking. Public housing estates in Hong Kong, accommodating low-income households and over half of the 7.45 million population, were investigated for injustice in tree provision. Two clustering schemes used socio-economic and ecological characteristics to classify 93 estates. Factor analysis of 14 socio-economic variables identified four factors related to deprivation, namely ageing population, overcrowding, working poor with high academic qualifications, and marginalised language minorities. Principal component analysis of six ecological indices returned two components related to tree density and …

Exploring Transit-Based Environmental Injustices In San Gabriel Valley And Greater Los Angeles, Bailey Lai

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis attempts to disentangle the multilayered interactions between Greater Los Angeles’s history, its built environment, and its inequitable treatment of different peoples, focusing on how transportation in surrounding suburban communities like San Gabriel Valley has developed in relation to the inner city of Los Angeles. Greater Los Angeles contains a long, winding trajectory of transit-based environmental injustices, from the indigenous societies being overtaken by the Spanish missions, to the railroads and streetcars boosting the farmlands and urban growth of Los Angeles, leading into the decline of transit and rise of automobile-oriented suburbia. Within the San Gabriel Valley, the suburban …

Building Bridges: Examining Race And Privilege In Community Economic Development: Introductory Overview, Priya Baskaran, Renee Hatcher, Lynnise E. Pantin

Faculty Scholarship

The country has been in economic recovery since the Great Recession in 2007. Home prices have since stabilized after the mortgage and foreclosure crisis that followed the Recession. In late 2017, the federal government passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, leading to a surge in corporate earnings. As of the time of this writing, major stock indicators are at all-time highs, and interest rates are low. But corporate indicators and interest rates do not paint the entire picture. Most of the economic recovery is in affluent, predominately white parts of the country, while distressed areas inhabited by people of …