Digital Commons Network^™

Design Of A Green Community Located At West Santa Clara Street And Delmas Avenue In San Jose, Steven Ashe, Emelia Hamilton

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

A mixed-use land development and transportation system was designed for a nine (9) acre plot of land near downtown San Jose. The goal of this project was to design a safe, green, and attractive community for residents to live, interact with their neighbors, and enjoy the amenities within the community. The community includes an apartment complex, park, playground, picnic area, retail stores, and offices. The scope of work and analysis for this project included drainage design, earthwork calculations, street design, and traffic analysis. Low impact designs were used to reduce the amount of waste, pollution, and runoff for the project. …

Techno-Economic And Life Cycle Assessment Of Hydrothermal Processing Of Microalgae For Biofuels And Co-Product Generation, Andrew P. Bessette

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Traditional processing methods of algae to biofuels require dewatering after harvesting of the algae before the lipids can be extracted. This is typically the most energy intensive and therefore the most expensive step. Old Dominion University (ODU) has successfully utilized a flash hydrolysis (a kind of hydrothermal) process where proteins are solubilized into the liquid phase of product and the remainder lipid-rich, low nitrogen product is separated into a solid phase. The solid phase (lipid-rich) is then an ideal candidate for biofuel feedstock and the liquid phase, or hydrolysate, can be used for coproducts such as a source of nutrients …

Water Supply In Developing Countries, Jason K. Hawes, Ernest R. Blatchley Iii, Audrey Caprio, Andrew T. Kanach

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Zoning For People: Utilizing The Concept Of The Village, Kevin Leyden, Lorraine D'Arcy

Other

In this chapter, we propose it is time to re-think and re-imagine how we approach zoning. This is especially true for suburban developments. Today, especially in the United States, zoning in suburban areas is being used to segregate and separate the component parts of our communities into distinct zones which are spread out geographically and in most cases require the daily use of an automobile. The negative consequences of this form of development for health, community and the environment are discussed. Using a study of neighborhoods in Dublin, Ireland and its suburbs we examine how professionals and the public view …

Water Supply In Developing Countries: Student Experiences In The Dominican Republic, Albert Alwang, Margaret Busse, Audrey Caprio, Marieke Fenton, Jason Hawes, Andrew Kanach, Autumn Mcelfresh-Sutton

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

In 2010, the United Nations established access to safe drinking water as a basic human right; however, many areas around the globe still lack access. The interdisciplinary service-learning course “Water Supply in Developing Countries” was established at Purdue in 2012 to address the complex issue of water insecurity around the world. Over the past five years, the course has produced teams involving students from nursing, engineering, agricultural economics, biology, and food science working together to develop sustainable, community-scale drinking water treatment systems. In partnership with Aqua Clara International, the student team in 2017 established a drinking water treatment system at …

The Fate Of Fecal Indicator Bacteria In Passive Nitrogen Reduction Systems, Michelle B. Henderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The sustainability of water resources is an international and national concern. With increased human activity, water distribution on a global, regional, and local scale has been negatively impacted. Managing water resources also includes managing wastewater. A promising solution to the issues of water scarcity and distribution in the environment is the reuse of wastewater. Wastewater is produced from various sources (domestic, industrial, and commercial); however, if this water is able to be reused closer to the source of generation it could positively impact water distribution. In the United States, approximately 25% of domestic wastewater is treated in onsite wastewater treatment …

Considering Health In Us Metropolitan Long-Range Transportation Plans: A Review Of Guidance Statements And Performance Measures, Patrick A. Singleton, Kelly J. Clifton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Transportation influences health primarily and most directly through traffic safety, air quality, physical activity, and accessibility. Despite the importance of all four components, only safety and air quality are typically considered during institutionalized transportation planning processes. This paper assesses how health impacts are considered in transportation planning by focusing on the long-range transportation plans that US metropolitan planning organizations develop. We analyzed the content of current plans from 25 large regions, reviewing how policy guidance statements and supporting performance measures addressed health. Goals and objectives exhibited an incomplete perspective of transportation's effects on health, focusing on safety, accessibility, and air …

Correlating Methane Production To Microbiota In Anaerobic Digesters Fed Synthetic Wastewater, Kaushik Venkiteshwaran, K. Milferstedt, M. Fujimoto, M. Johnson, Daniel Zitomer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) between relative abundance values and digester methane production rate was developed. For this, 50 triplicate anaerobic digester sets (150 total digesters) were each seeded with different methanogenic biomass samples obtained from full-scale, engineered methanogenic systems. Although all digesters were operated identically for at least 5 solids retention times (SRTs), their quasi steady-state function varied significantly, with average daily methane production rates ranging from 0.09 ± 0.004 to 1 ± 0.05 L-CH₄/L_R-day (L_R = Liter of reactor volume) (average ± standard deviation). Digester microbial community structure was analyzed using more …

Math Skills That Don’T Add Up; A Comparison Between Eighth Grade And College Students, Nathan Barry, Angela Hollman, Dale Porter

The Professional Constructor

Among 34 participating countries within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United States performed below average in mathematics earning a rank of 27. The World Economic Forum (2014) ranks the United States 51 out of 144 countries scoring a 4.4 out of 7 (7 = excellent) in the quality of mathematics and science education. Although the United States’ competitive advantage and economic growth is directly connected to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers, only 28 percent of those students choose to major with these fields in college. In addition, 48 percent of students that choose to …

Embedding Systems Thinking Into Ewb Project Planning And Development: Assessing The Utility Of A Group Model Building Approach, Kimberly Pugel, Jeffrey P. Walters

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Amongst growing sociotechnical efforts, engineering students and professionals both in the international development sector and industry are challenged to approach projects more holistically to achieve project goals. Engineering service learning organisations must similarly adapt their technological projects to consider varying cultural and economic structures, ensuring more resilient social progress within development efforts. In practice, systems thinking approaches can be utilised to model the social, economic, political, and technological implications that influence the sustainability of an engineering project. This research assesses the utility of integrating systems thinking into Engineers Without Borders (EWB) project planning and development, thereby improving project impact and …

Improving Walkability Through Control Strategies At Signalized Intersections, Sirisha Murthy Kothuri, Andrew Kading, Edward J. Smaglik, Christopher Sobie

TREC Final Reports

As cities and communities nationwide seek to develop Complete Streets that foster livability and accommodate all modes, signal timing control strategies that include pedestrians in the operational decision process are gaining importance. This research tested several efficiency-focused pedestrian treatments – coordination, actuated-coordination, free operation, short cycle lengths – and safety-focused treatment including leading pedestrian intervals and Barnes Dance. Using a software-in-the-loop simulation, the operational impacts of these treatments on all users (vehicles, heavy vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians) at an intersection were evaluated. Results showed that among the efficiency-based treatments, free operation was most beneficial for reducing minor-street pedestrian delays. Both …

Solar Urban Planning: Addressing Barriers And Conflicts Specific To Renewable Energy Policy And The Current Field And Practice Of Urban Planning Within The Context Of A Changing Climate, Toryl P. Hanna

Capstone Collection

The world is in a period of rapid urbanization while experiencing unprecedented rise in global temperature as a result of climate change. Questions have been raised as to how strategies for urbanization will be able to address the fetish for energy, while halting carbon emissions produced by traditional energy sources for urban inhabitants around the world. First, this paper seeks to look to cities, at the intersection of solar energy and the field of urban planning, looking into the opportunities and challenges that are currently surfacing. Conflicts and barriers in traditional urban land use patterns emerge as a topic of …

Measuring Access To Employment To Guide And Evaluate Public Transit Service Planning In New Orleans, Kevin Harrison

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

New software and technology is making it easier than ever before for public transportation planners to evaluate how quickly residents can reach jobs and other destinations. Because in the past it was difficult to measure access to opportunities, these concepts remained primarily in the theoretical and academic realms of research. This thesis reviews methods that could be used to evaluate routine bus service improvements and performs a comparative analysis of different methods in the context of New Orleans. There are many different variables in how the analysis could be performed, but this thesis focuses on the role that time of …

Urban Water Project At Food Finders, Abby Zielinski

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Abby Zielinski is a sophomore in environmental and ecological engineering. In this article, she describes her community experience at Food Finders Resource and Education Center, which was associated with a course called Urban Water Projects.

Design And Implementation Of A Rest Api For The Human Well Being Index (Hwbi), Amber R. Ignatius, Kurt Wolfe, Rajbir Parmar, Jonathan Flaishans, Linda Harwell, Susan Yee, Tom Purucker, Mike Galvin

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Interoperable software development uses principles of component reuse, systems integration, flexible data transfer, and standardized ontological documentation to promote access, reuse, and integration of code. While interoperability principles are increasingly considered technology standards in software engineering, adoption by the environmental modeling community has been slow. We created an Application Programming Interface (API) for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Human Well-being Index (HWBI) model based on interoperability principles. The HWBI characterizes economic, social, and environmental services during years 2000-2010. For each county in the U.S., specific metrics (e.g., life expectancy, housing affordability, voter turnout) are used to calculate scores for eight …

Education For Sustainable Development- The Irish Construction Sector And The Need For A Sustainable Approach, Conor Mcmanus

Masters

This study explores the path to be taken towards achieving Sustainable Development. It examines the impact the construction industry has on the environment as a result of a knowledge and skills gap and considers how our present way of thinking facilitates this. It then goes on to show how a change in construction education can bring about change in the industry and facilitate the implementation of sustainable development. The study examines how the singular emphasis on technology, the introduction of the ‘expert’ into the domestic building process and the narrow focus on operational energy conservation raises questions about Ireland's present …

Getting To Net Zero Energy Buildings: A Holistic Techno-Ecological Modeling Approach, Mehdi Alirezaei

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Buildings in the United States are responsible for more than 40% of the primary energy and 70% of electricity usage and greatly in CO2 emission by about 39%, more than any other sector including transportation and industry sectors. This energy consumption is expected to grow mainly due to increasing trends in new buildings construction. Rising energy prices alongside with energy independencies, limited resources, and climate change have made the current situation even worse. An Energy Efficient (EE) building is able to reduce the heating and cooling load significantly compared with a code compliant building. Furthermore, integrating renewable energy sources in …

The Effects Of Commuter Rail On Population Deconcentration And Commuting: A Salt Lake City Case Study, Joanna Ganning, Mercedes Beaudoin, Simon Brewer, Keuntae Kim, Keunhyun Park

TREC Final Reports

All transportation systems have the ability to transform human settlement patterns, which can affect a range of social, economic and environmental issues. Considering investments in rail infrastructure have increased in recent decades (Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2007; Israel & Cohen-Blankshtain, 2010), it is important for planners and researchers to understand how these rail systems influence land use, metropolitan development patterns, and population migration. The following paragraphs summarize the studies and their findings.

The Effects of Commuter Rail Establishment on the Relationships between the Built Environment, Travel Behavior, and Residential Self- Selection (RSS): To help regional and transportation planners better understand …

Integrating Freight Into Livable Communities, Kristine M. Williams, Alexandria Carroll

TREC Final Reports

Where livability is a goal of the planning process, freight runs the risk of not being considered except as an afterthought or as something to be excluded. Yet, freight is an integral part of local economic development. Because economic prosperity is a key characteristic of livable communities, freight must be incorporated into the planning process. This study explores the relationship between freight and livability through a comprehensive literature review and case study research. The final report includes a menu of strategies and case study perspectives that highlight the importance of transportation and land use integration, interagency coordination, and context-sensitivity in …

Analysis Of Mobility Impact For Implementing Complete Streets, Marino Esteban Calderón Díaz

Masters Theses

Traffic simulation of the Western Michigan University campus and Downtown Kalamazoo to propose changes in the traffic flow and urban design are described. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the traffic mobility impact when incorporating the concept of Complete Streets in Downtown Kalamazoo. This project analyzes alternatives to improve traffic mobility for Stadium Drive, which includes new road geometry and roundabout. It also proposes wider sidewalks for pedestrians, bicycle lanes, and a designed landscape that enhances the genius loci. Bicycles are an ecofriendly means of transportation and the city of Kalamazoo lacks a safe path for bicyclists …

Learning From Cinara: Exploring The Depths Of Participatory Water Engagement In Cali, Colombia, Zachary T. Strickland

Honors College Theses

Located within the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia, CINARA is an academic institution, comprised of both engineers and social scientists, that has almost three decades of experience regarding participatory approaches to water supply and environmental sanitation. In this paper, I argue that CINARA’s work is important due to its emphasis on meaningful community participation that significantly involves communities in decisions on technical matters that are usually allocated exclusively to “experts.” Furthermore, the valuation of social considerations and non-technical knowledge found amongst CINARA’s engineers stands in distinct contrast to traditional development practices and engineering mindsets. This paper will go on …

Osmosis Alive – Algae Water Filtration System, Adrik Gurganus, Htet Htet Soe, Jonathan Baird, Liam Beckett, Nick Vautravers, Parker Swensen, Tucker Johnson

PSU High School Innovation Challenge

Goals: Our goals of this project was to:

• Obtain an energy efficient, self-sufficient system to help reduce waste and money, and reuse and recycle water. To have a successful, natural, and more self-sufficient filtration system, using algae.
• To use algae and other plants as an efficient way to filter water.
• To create a water filtration system that is organic and would have 0 waste.
• To use the water in the best and most efficient way possible, and to reduce energy and coal/oil consumption (water turbine)
• To make our community cleaner and greener, and reduce carbon footprint, pollution, and environmental impact. …

2015 Annual Report Transportation Research Center For Livable Communities, Western Michigan University, University Of Texas Arlington, Wayne State University, Utah State University, Tennessee State University

Transportation Research Center Reports

Table of Contents

• Messages from the Director and Representatives
• TRCLC Mission and Objectives
• Center Personnel
• Research Investigators
• Consortia
• Our Research
• List of Research Projects
• Highlighted Projects
• Technology Transfer and Outreach Activities
• Student Awards
• Upcoming Events

Comparing Mode Shares For Non-Residential Destinations In Urban And Suburban Environments, Tasnia Subrin

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

To ensure facility for multimodal transportation is one of the most important concerns in today's transportation sector, with initiatives being taken to make multimodal transportation popular. The built environment variables have a strong relationship with transportation mode choice, but whether that relationship holds true in urban and suburban neighborhoods in the same manner has not been considered. Using data for three non-residential land uses, this research explores whether the built environment variables in suburban areas influences mode share like it does in urban areas. We used survey data conducted at the establishments regarding respondents' travel characteristics from a previous study, …

Exploring Pedestrian Responsive Traffic Signal Timing Strategies In Urban Areas, Sirisha Murthy Kothuri

Dissertations and Theses

The role of walking in the development of healthy, livable communities is being increasingly recognized. In urban areas, intersections represent locations where different modes converge, and are often viewed as deterrents to walking. This is due to the unwarranted and often unnecessary delays imposed by signal timing policies for pedestrians and increased potential for conflicts. Traditional signal timing design prioritizes vehicles over pedestrians leading to undesirable consequences such as large delays and risky pedestrian behaviors. Pedestrians are accommodated in a manner that is designed to cause least interruption to the flow of motor vehicles. This lack of pedestrian accommodation at …

Approach To Flood Mitigation - A Post Sandy Study In New Jersey Meadowlands Area, Banshari Datta

Theses

In the last decade the continuous change in the climate has resulted in an increased frequency of natural catastrophic events and the magnitude of their impact. The immense damage caused by such events brought to light the vulnerabilities of the impacted communities. Coastal communities are alarmingly vulnerable due to flood and storm surge impacts such as those caused by super storm Sandy in 2012. In order to mitigate this risk, the communities need to look beyond the short term recovery measures, and build a sustainable community by implementing long term mitigation measures. The objective of this thesis is to investigate …

Integrated Sustainability Decision-Making Framework, Michael Paul Cole

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Integrated Sustainability Decision-Making Framework (ISDMF) is an 'ideal case' framework developed at the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) from 2012 to present to provide the most comprehensive and concise sustainability strategy and decision-making template available.

Sustainable decision-making improves community Quality of Life, but is often beyond the reach of the majority. A framework that is most approachable, actionable, and adoptable can accelerate convergence on and continued operation of a sustainable solution. Research confirms that published frameworks continuously emerge, and are infinite in number. Iterations benefit from prior work, and contribution occurs when an 'ideal case' is envisioned, best …

Issue Brief: Saving By Mitigating, University Of Louisville, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Natural disasters can cause loss of life, inflict damage to buildings and infrastructure, and have devastating consequences for a community’s economic, social, and environmental well-being. Hazard mitigation means reducing damages from disasters.

Local governments have the responsibility to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens. Proactive mitigation policies and actions help reduce risk and create safer, more disaster-resilient communities. Mitigation is an investment in your community’s future safety, equity, and sustainability.

Social Capital And Walkability As Social Aspects Of Sustainability, Shannon H. Rogers, Kevin H. Gardner, Cynthia H. Carlson

Civil & Environmental Engineering

The concepts of sustainability and sustainable development are frequently described as having three main components, sometimes referred to as the three pillars or the triple bottom line: environmental, economic, and social. Because of an historical focus in the sustainability field on correcting environmental problems, much consideration has been given to environmental issues, especially how they interface with economic ones. Frequently mentioned but rarely examined, the social aspects of sustainability have been considered the weakest and least described pillar. After a brief review of existing concepts and theories, this paper uses a case study approach to examine the third pillar more …

Social Capital And Walkability As Social Aspects Of Sustainability, Shannon Rogers, Kevin Gardner, Cynthia Carlson

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

The concepts of sustainability and sustainable development are frequently described as having three main components, sometimes referred to as the three pillars or the triple bottom line: environmental, economic, and social. Because of an historical focus in the sustainability field on correcting environmental problems, much consideration has been given to environmental issues, especially how they interface with economic ones. Frequently mentioned but rarely examined, the social aspects of sustainability have been considered the weakest and least described pillar. After a brief review of existing concepts and theories, this paper uses a case study approach to examine the third pillar more …