Digital Commons Network^™

Inequities In Urban Mobility In Portland: Understanding Community Vulnerability And Prospects For Livable Neighborhoods, Amy Lubitow

PSU Transportation Seminars

Gentrification and development are changing the face of many Portland neighborhoods. This talk will draw on data from focus groups and participatory mapping research with residents in SE and North Portland neighborhoods. The presentation will share findings on the patterns of movement reported by residents in gentrifying neighborhoods and will offer ideas and perspectives on how to plan for a sustainable future for all Portlanders.

Environmental Justice/Urban Initiative Project: Summer Internship With Massachusetts Department Of Environmental Protection, Tiancheng Ouyang

Sustainability and Social Justice

This report serves as a detailed description of my internship at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) in Worcester, MA, during the summer of 2016. The internship was proposed by Brian Postale, the Urban Compliance Initiative Project Coordinator as a way to automate the integration of GIS data and the computation of data used for visualization purposes. The purpose of this paper is to describe the structure of the organization, my responsibilities as an intern, and my assessment of the internship.

The internship proved to be a precious experience and provided the opportunity to apply and enhance my knowledge …

Understanding And Addressing Governance Dysfunction And Unsustainable Development In The Illegal Gold Mining Region Of Madre De Dios, Peru, Phyllis Duff

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper endeavors to explore the link between dysfunction in governance systems and persistent challenges to sustainable development in the illegal gold mining region of Madre de Dios, Peru. Through the use of stakeholder narratives, field observations and literature review, four questions were examined: 1) What are the existing social and environmental conditions in the case study area? 2) What are the existing relationships amongst stakeholders, and how do these illustrate dysfunction of the existing system of governance? 3) What gaps and/or deficiencies in the existing system are revealed by stakeholder narratives, and what are their visions for an alternative …

Contextualized Education In Global Schools: Conceptualizing School Systems In A Global World, Loren Guerin

Sustainability and Social Justice

Education has been prioritized by global agencies as a universal right and current trends in the United Nations global benchmarks and development agencies call for education for all and a set of global values to guide educational policy and practice. This paper aims to problematize the current understanding of schooling and educational systems in a globalized world while demonstrating the need to move away from a global curriculum based on homogenized values and towards a contextualized education system. By looking at the evolution of Western Education, the use of education by colonial powers, and an in depth case study of …

Evaluating The Distributional Effects Of Regional Transportation Plans And Projects, Kristine Williams, Aaron Golub

TREC Final Reports

Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) have long been required to consider the equity implications of their regional transportation plans and processes. Funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities, this research aims to provide additional guidance to MPOs on how to evaluate distributional equity in regional plans and projects. The report begins with an overview of federal requirements related to equity in transportation planning. We then synthesize contemporary methods for measuring transportation equity and the distributional effects of plans and projects from a review of the literature and MPO plans and studies. The report concludes with exploratory case studies of …

Usage Of Green Spaces At The University Of Cape Coast By Non-African Foreign Students, Yaw Asamoah, Ishmael Mensah, Osman Adams, Paul Baidoo, Akosua B. Ameyaw-Akumfi, Collins Adjei Mensah Dr.

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Universities all over the world have green spaces (GS) as an integral part of their campuses because of the significant benefits derived from them. Aside enhancing the image of universities, GS influence the academic performance of students by reducing stress. This paper examines the preferences and uses of green spaces on UCC campus by Non-African foreign students (NAFS). Data was collected through in-depth interviews, observations and by the use of Arc-GIS 10.1 software. Sixteen NAFS were interviewed during the second semester of the 2013/2014 academic year. It was found out that the usage of GS was influenced by factors such …

Gentrification And Displacement: An Environmental Justice Challenge For Social Work In Urban Environments, Eileen M. Brennan, Kevin Jones, Ryan Elizabeth Bender

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This chapter presents a lesson which includes a case study highlighting the social, economic, and environmental injustices associated with the gentrification of Northeast Portland, Oregon, US. The reader will then engage in an exercise, which includes reviewing the suggested video clip and news article segment highlighting experiences of families caught up in gentrification in Northeast Portland. Finally, the reader will work through the associated questions and activities to achieve the learning outcomes.

Transportation Cost Index: A Comprehensive Performance Measure For Transportation And Land Use Systems And Its Application In Or, Fl, And Ut, Liming Wang, Jenny H. Liu

TREC Final Reports

MAP-21 and state laws are placing increasing emphasis on using comprehensive transportation performance measures that include mobility, safety, economy, livability, equity, and environmental to guide transportation decision-making. One of the toughest challenges keeping DOTs and MPOs from adopting comprehensive measures in the decision process is the lack of performance measures allowing consistent comparison of multimodal performance over time and across geographic areas. This project advances a transportation cost index (TCI) initially proposed by Oregon DOT from a proof-of-concept stage to implementation and operational use at the state, MPO, and community levels. After pilot tests and early adoption in Oregon, we …

Cultivating (A) Sustainability Capital: Urban Agriculture, Eco-Gentrification, And The Uneven Valorization Of Social Reproduction, Nathan Mcclintock

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Urban agriculture (UA), for many activists and scholars, plays a prominent role in food justice struggles in cities throughout the Global North, a site of conflict between use and exchange values, and rallying point for progressive claims to the right to the city. Recent critiques, however, warn of its contribution to gentrification and displacement. The use/exchange value binary no longer as useful an analytic as it once was, geographers need to better understand UA’s contradictory relations to capital, particularly in the neoliberal Sustainable City. To this end, I bring together feminist theorizations of social reproduction, Bourdieu’s “species of capital”, and …

Development And Environmental Injustice In Malaysia: A Story Of Indigenous Resistance In Sarawak, May Tay '17

EnviroLab Asia

In 2008, the Federal Government of Malaysian announced an initiative to build 20,000 megawatts of mega dams along a 320km corridor in Sarawak. Named the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), the scheme would create one of five regional development corridors throughout Malaysia, and was part of the government’s strategy to make the state of Sarawak ‘developed’ by 2020 through industrialization and renewable energy development (Recoda). Of the mega dams planned for construction by 2020, three have been completed, with construction for the others underway and the construction process frequently delayed by resistance from local indigenous communities. Indigenous tribe members …

Hydropower, Oil Palm, And Sustainability, Fernando Salud '17

EnviroLab Asia

This reflection touches on the writer’s experiences during the EnviroLab Asia Clinic trip in early 2016 to Borneo, Malaysia and Singapore. The reflection involves two events: a visit to a blockade protesting the construction of a hydroelectric dam and a meeting with the sustainability department of Wilmar, one of the world’s leading palm oil producers. The first event comments on the tension between the need for renewable energy and the destruction of the natural environment and communities due to the particular energy generation technology chosen. This event highlighted the importance of understanding the societal constraints a technology is being installed …

Table Of Contents: Volume 1: Oil Palm In Southeast Asia: Culture, Politics, And Sustainability

EnviroLab Asia

No abstract provided.

Adaptation And Power, Elizabeth Weinlein '17

EnviroLab Asia

Academic knowledge of some of the inequities and injustices embedded in economic development was given greater depth and significance after the EnviroLab Asia clinic trip to Southeast Asia; the same was true result occurred after the group’s meeting with Dyack activists.

Narratives About Energy, Megaprojects, And The Ecology Of Tropical Rivers: The Baram River Dam Project, Marc Los Huertos

EnviroLab Asia

The conflict between development goals to build dams for hydroelectricity and indigenous peoples in Sarawak was set in motion in the 1970s. In spite of the potential ecological damage, hydroelectric development has been justified by developed and developing countries for decades. These impacts include changes in river geomorphology, water quality, and habitat value and access. Moreover, in the Bakun and Baram river watersheds, the Dayak people of Sarawak have poignantly demonstrated the socio-ecological disruption. For the time being, the construction of the Baram Dam has been halted.

Institutional Responses To Pressures For Sustainable Palm Oil, Stephen Marks, Justin Lauw '18, Shivang Mehta '19, Fernando Salud '17

EnviroLab Asia

As the two leading palm oil producing countries, Indonesia and Malaysia have come under external pressures to limit deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions related to land use conversion for oil palm cultivation. We examine various institutional frameworks that have emerged to mediate these pressures. These frameworks can be distinguished by their geographic scope—domestic, region, and global—as well as by the nature of control—private, non-profit, and governmental. The frameworks have taken the form of sustainability certification systems from non-profit organizations or governments, corporate sustainability policies, or the setting through global or bilateral negotiations of voluntary national targets for limiting deforestation or …

Indigenous People, Development And Environmental Justice: Narratives Of The Dayak People Of Sarawak, Malaysia, Elizabeth Weinlein '17

EnviroLab Asia

Focusing on the indigenous people of Sarawak, this article explores the authors learned biases as well as the dispelling of myths through hands on experiences in Malaysia. Over the period of a couple days, it becomes apparent that the indigenous people in Sarawak are not victims of systems of oppression, but survivors who continue to fight for their land rights and livelihoods.

Just Research, Ki’Amber Thompson '18

EnviroLab Asia

The trip to Malaysia Borneo was an eye-opening experience that reinforced the need for researchers to listen to the indigenous peoples and to integrate their knowledge and understanding of place into any scientific, political, or policy analyses designed to restore the impact of deforestation and dam projects in the region.

Democracy In The Dark: An Energy Democracy Model Centering Property And People, Feby Boediarto

Pitzer Senior Theses

The United States’ electric macro-grid provides electricity for all people to sustain our lifestyle. The current governing institutions that generate our electricity limit community representation, causing procedural injustice particularly to communities of color. This thesis is a contribution to the Energy Democracy literature, describing a community-based electricity model that includes two components: property and people. I argue to include an in-depth study of John Locke’s theories on property, in addition to Elinor Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development Framework to promote local knowledge in understanding how physical space and governing bodies strengthen the Energy Democracy movement. In addition, I utilize the …

Uncovering The Progress Of Planning For Vulnerability To Sea-Level Rise & Coastal Storms: A Plan Evaluation Of Norfolk, Va & New York City, Eric K. Borchers

Theses and Dissertations

In response to recent storms like Superstorm Sandy and sea-level rise influenced by climate change, cities, particularly those located at the coast, have taken initiative to combat these growing threats with adaptive urban planning. Although civilians residing in susceptible neighborhoods are often the most vulnerable socioeconomically, there has been minimal evidence that planning has accounted for the characteristics of vulnerability. This thesis evaluates the recent planning efforts and vulnerability of Norfolk, VA and New York City to gauge the progress being made toward reducing citizen vulnerability and raising adaptability and preparedness. The most recent peer-reviewed research is consulted to forge …

The Potential And Limits Of Extended Producer Responsibility: A Comparative Analysis Study, Jessica Bass

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis draws on the concept of product stewardship and its focus on incorporating all of the actors in a product’s lifecycle into steps to take responsibility for waste management. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) recognizes the producer’s distinct potential to consider and drive change in waste management. Producers often serve like mediators between the design and use phases of a product’s lifecycle. Through EPR policies, the producer takes on the costs of ensuring safe end-of-life waste disposal. In this way, EPR can be expected to help relieve the public of some of the costs of waste disposal, and to support …

Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors, Please: Transit Equity, Social Exclusion, And The New York City Subway, Taylor Novick-Finder

Pitzer Senior Theses

The history of transportation planning in New York City has created disparities between those who have sufficient access to the public transportation network, and those who face structural barriers to traveling from their home to education, employment, and healthcare opportunities. This thesis analyzes the legacy of discriminatory policy surrounding the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and city and state governments that have failed to support vital infrastructure improvement projects and service changes to provide multi-modal welfare to New York’s working poor. By exploring issues of transit equity as they pertain to the New York City subway system, this thesis raises the …

Community Gardens: Exploring Race, Racial Diversity And Social Capital In Urban Food Deserts, Jennifer F. Jettner

Theses and Dissertations

Study purpose. The study examined race and racial diversity in community gardens located in Southern urban food deserts, as well as the capacity of community gardens to generate social capital and promote social justice. Methods. A mixed-methods approach was used to describe characteristics of gardeners and community gardens located in urban food deserts, and test Social Capital Theory hypotheses. A convenience sample of 60 gardeners from 10 community gardens was obtained. Data was collected using surveys and semi-structured interviews. Analyses. Univariate and bivariate statistics were used to describe gardeners and gardens. Leader rationales for garden characteristics were analyzed using thematic …

Race, Class, And Gentrification Along The Atlanta Beltline, Natalie Camrud

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines issues of affordability and gentrification in neighborhoods around the Atlanta BeltLine. The BeltLine is a Transit Oriented Development project that is an adaptive reuse of an old freight rail corridor circling the city of Atlanta. The rapid new development occurring along the BeltLine is gentrifying neighborhoods and displacing communities. This thesis examines past urban redevelopment projects in Atlanta to see what the affects were on marginalized communities, and how the BeltLine is either similar or different to past development initiatives.

Voices Of Cully: A Case Study Of The Living Cully Weatherization And Home Repair Project 2.0, Lucy J.T. Cultrera

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Cully neighborhood is situated in the Northeast quadrant of Portland, Oregon. It is 2.75 square mile plot of land and home to roughly 13,000 people. In addition to being one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Portland, it is the most densely populated, with the smallest amount of parkland per capita. Over the last two decades, home value has increased 203% in Cully, compared to a 90% citywide increase. Amidst these development trends are stories of incredible resilience, resistance and activism from the affected community. My project is a case study of one anti-displacement initiative, which was developed and …

Oceans Of Space, Stephanie Steinbrecher '16

EnviroLab Asia

"Oceans of Space" relates my observations of the 2016 EnviroLab Asia Clinic Trip to Singapore and Sarawak, Malaysia. In this meditation, the concept of space serves as a lens to examine assumptions of geopolitical, historical, and philosophical positioning—regionally and globally. At the center of my inquiry is EnviroLab's connection to the Dayak communities in Baram, Sarawak. This region is experiencing dramatic social and ecological change as a result of industrial development. By triangulating my subjective impressions of this space, various knowledge systems, and the qualitative data EnviroLab gathered in Southeast Asia, I aim to untangle some paradoxes that complicate the …

Regulation Of Recreational Marijuana In Small Cities And Counties In Colorado, Katherine Nesse, Colin Victory

SPU Works

In November 2016 the number of states where recreational marijuana sales are legal increased to eight. Thousands of cities and counties are now on the front lines of regulating these new land uses. Local governments in Colorado, the first state to implement recreational marijuana legalization, are models for jurisdictions in other states. We study counties and municipalities in the eight micropolitan statistical areas in Colorado to learn how they regulate recreational marijuana businesses. We reviewed codes, ordinances, and other documents of 43 local governments and interviewed planners in a third of these jurisdictions. These places were purposefully selected and reflect …

Ethnobiology In The City: Embracing The Urban Ecological Moment, Marla R. Emery, Patrick T. Hurley

Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

More than half the world's human population resides in cities (United Nations Economic and Social Affairs Population Division 2015). Unpacking this singular statistic, it becomes clear that people come to live in urban environments via numerous routes. Some have lived in cities all their lives and are descendants of city dwellers. In other cases, cities spread and encircle them (Hurley et al. 2008; Unnikrishnan and Nagendra 2015). Increasingly, rural residents are national and transnational migrants to cities, pushed by armed conflict, natural disasters, and economic need or opportunity (United Nations Economic and Social Affairs Population Division 2013). In the case …

Public Transit Equity Analysis At Metropolitan And Local Scales: A Focus On Nine Large Cities In The Us, Greg P. Griffin, Ipek N. Sener

Journal of Public Transportation

Recent studies on transit service through an equity lens have captured broad trends from the literature and national-level data or analyzed disaggregate data at the local level. This study integrates these methods by employing a geostatistical analysis of new transit access and income data compilations from the Environmental Protection Agency. By using a national data set, this study demonstrates a method for income-based transit equity analysis and provides results spanning nine large auto-oriented cities in the US. Results demonstrate variability among cities’ transit services to low-income populations, with differing results when viewed at the regional and local levels. Regional-level analysis …

Analysis Of Professors’ Perceptions Towards Institutional Redevelopment Of Brownfield Sites In Alabama, Berkley Nathaniel King Jr.

Dissertations

This study was conducted to analyze professors’ perceptions on the institutional redevelopment of brownfield sites into usable greenspaces. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2011) refers to brownfields as sites, (either facility/land) under public law § 107-118 (H.R. 2869), which are contaminated with a substance that is classified as a hazard or a pollutant. Usable greenspaces, however, are open spaces or any open piece of land that is undeveloped, has no buildings or other built structures, and is accessible to the public (EPA, 2015).

Open green spaces provide recreational areas for residents and help to enhance the beauty and environmental quality …

Social Learning Through Stakeholder Engagement: New Pathways From Parcipitation To Health Equity In U.S. West Coast Hia, Nicole Iroz-Elardo, Moriah Mcsharry Mcgrath

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

While some contend that extensive public engagement activities are necessary to meet Health Impact Assessment (HIA) practice standards, other work suggests that an HIA of any type hasthe potential to inform decision-making in ways that embody HIA’s value of democracy (Cole & Fielding, 2007; Harris-Roxas et al., 2012; Negev, 2012). These divergent perspectives on how to realize democracy through public participation represents an area of evolving debate in the ongoing development of HIA practice in the US. Looking to the relatively diverse HIA practice on the west coast of the US, we explore the interplay between engagement strategies and HIA …