Digital Commons Network^™

How Land Use Regulations Inform Sustainable Development: A Look At Commercial Development In Bakersfield, California, Darcy Marie Reed

Master's Theses

This research analyzes the relationship between local land use regulations and commercial development in the City of Bakersfield, California, specifically focusing on how the regulations are used to inform commercial development to be sustainable or not. This research contributes to similar research efforts through its contribution of the Sustainable Development Indicator Checklist, the tool used to measure sustainable development within the regulations as well as the built environment. Analysis of six case study locations falling under the C-B (Central Business), C-C (Commercial Center), and PCD (Planned Commercial Development) zone designations indicated the local land use regulations were not informing development …

Baby Boomer Living: Designing A Modern Continuing Care Retirement Community, Ryan Michael Wassum

Master's Theses

With the largest U.S. generation in the midst of retirement, the Baby Boomer cohort is vastly changing the senior housing landscape. As the housing market gradually improves and the development of senior housing chases the increasing demand, Baby Boomers are a highly selective cohort with more buying and spending power than their predecessors, are healthier and more active, and are demanding an unconventional modification of alternative senior housing. The “traditional” senior community is outdated and no longer seen as a viable choice for retirement, and new and innovated models have surpassed the old-fashioned establishments.

Among the innovative senior community models, …

A Complete Streets Analysis And Recommendations Report For The City Of Bakersfield, California, Sherie L. George

Master's Theses

Driven by California State legislation, the City of Bakersfield is taking steps to introduce Complete Streets to the community. Working in collaboration with the Bakersfield City Planning Department, this project was prompted by the CIty's forthcoming update of its Metropolitan Bakersfield General Plan Circulation Element, with purpose to meet the California Complete Streets Act (AB1358) requirement to plan for a balanced, multimodal transportation network. This professional project intends to provide Bakersfield city officials, staff, and residents with tools and information needed to assess and implement Complete Streets within the Community.

The project provides in depth background research on the Complete …

Auto-Motives: Unraveling The Riddle Of Alternative Transportation To School, Mikki Amano Mcdaniel

Master's Theses

Over the last 40 years, there has been a dramatic increase nationwide in the rate of children being driven to school in a private vehicle in the U.S., exacerbating problems from traffic congestion to childhood obesity. While many studies have focused on walking and cycling for the trip to school, few explore parental decision making and the interaction between all travel modes. This study conducts a survey of parents of children attending six elementary schools in San Luis Obispo regarding their children’s travel to school. It explores factors in mode choice, establishes local travel patterns for children, and describes parents’ …

The Role Of At Epistemic Community In Haitian Education Reform Post Earthquake 2010, Joy Okeefe

Master's Theses

This is a study of the role of an epistemic community involved in the policymaking of education reform in Haiti after the devastating earthquake of 2010. It uses Peter M. Haas' (1992) framework as a theoretical lens. According to Haas, epistemic communities are conceptualized as "a network of professionals with recognized expertise and competence in a particular domain and an authoritative claim to policy relevant knowledge within a domain or issue area" (3). The epistemic communities involved in the policymaking of the current education reforms specifically related to privatization in Haiti are identified and analyzed through the content analysis of …

Like Laws And Sausages: The Tale Of A Mere Portion Of The Process To Develop The South Broad Street Corridor Plan, Amy R. Lopez

Master's Theses

The processes to develop community plans share certain standard activities and stages while remaining distinctive and without pre-scripted procedures. This study documents the process that yielded the South Broad Street Corridor Plan June 2012 draft. The objective is to present the decision-making processes and their connections to the final plan document along with the plan document itself.

Becoming Cittaslow: A City's Journey To Becoming A Cittaslow Member, Megan Alexis Elovich

Master's Theses

The project will explore Cittaslow as an alternative to traditional urban development. Sprawl and consumption of non-local resources are discouraged with Cittaslow and preservation of culture and history become the tangible benchmarks of the community. It will explore the history of Cittaslow as a movement and an organization; as well as its influences on existing member cities and the criteria used to distinguish them from others. The City of San Luis Obispo is used as a case study to determine whether existing conditions measure up to Cittaslow criteria.

Policy And Practice Audit And Ghg Reduction Strategy Recommendations For The City Of Arroyo Grande, Cheryl Lynn Cochran

Master's Theses

In preparation for a Climate Action Plan, this policy and practice audit provides an overview of current city policies and practices with the potential to impact greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals. The audit builds upon information previously collected in a GHG emissions inventory report to identify policies that are consistent or inconsistent with emissions reductions goals. Preliminary GHG emissions reductions recommendations address policy gaps and opportunity areas in suggesting strategies to achieve GHG emissions reductions.

Political Feasibility Of Implementing Smart Growth Development Strategies In The Monterey Bay Area, Kristin Mckee

Master's Theses

Development over the past sixty years has created patterned growth and expansion outward from city centers, separating residences from commercial areas and employment centers. This separation of land uses has increased automobile dependency, which increases vehicle miles traveled and associated greenhouse gas emissions. California Senate Bill 375 mandates the development and implementation of a “Sustainable Communities Strategy” in order to plan regional land use and transportation in a coordinated fashion. In coordination with this effort, the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) is developing the Regional Implementation Plan for Smart Growth Development Strategies, which entails the identification of smart …

City Of San Luis Obispo Monitoring Program And Procedures For Inclusionary Housing, Shannon Marie Blomst

Master's Theses

The Monitoring Program for all Inclusionary housing units in the City of San Luis Obispo is a needed component to the Affordable Housing Program. It ensures eligible households are occupying the affordable units and those that are renting are being charged according to the Affordable Housing Standards. Within the City’s Municipal Code it specifies monitoring and management of inclusionary units shall be done, however this hasn’t happened until now.

This professional project provides a needed analysis of the current affordable housing stock. It examines multiple case studies that look at exemplary designed affordable housing units as well as implemented monitoring …

A Formative Evaluation For A Food Choices Intervention In A Mississippi Delta Community: A Focus Group Of Rural African American Adolescents, Jovan Chantrell Eugene Williams

Master's Theses

A needs assessment should be conducted to plan effective interventions. This study used a qualitative research approach to examine the eating patterns, food purchasing and preparation skills and practices, barriers and facilitators of dietary change, social and contextual influences on food choices, and preferences for communication and presentation channels and styles of low-income rural African American adolescents. Seven focus groups were conducted with a total of 33 participants, 21 girls and 12 boys, aged 13-18. Adolescents were grouped by age and gender. A moderator, who was trained in focus group methodology, conducted the session using a focus group discussion guide …

City Of Mcfarland Land Use Element Update, Jeffrey James Ballantine

Master's Theses

The City of McFarland, CA is in the process of updating its General Plan and identified updating the land use element as the first step in this process. This land use element consists of a land use diagram, land use standards, and goals, policies, and programs. These components of the document are based upon community feedback as well as upon analysis of case studies and state and regional guidelines. The final plan accommodates for increased residential densities, a mixture of adjacent land uses, a greenbelt, and large areas of land adjacent to Highway 99 for commercial and industrial use.

Parking Management For Silicon Valley–A Guide For Planners, Decision Makers, And The General Public, Tracy Wang

Master's Theses

The crisis of climate change has jumpstarted a renewed interest in environmental sustainability. The growing awareness of the problem and the ensuing intense search for solutions called for a scrutinizing reexamination of the relationships between transportation, land use, and greenhouse gas emissions. Major publications such as The High Cost of Free Parking by Donald Shoup in 2005, and Parking Management, Strategies, Evaluation and Planning by Todd Litman in 2008, have identified parking as a crucial link. Parking issues are intrinsic to planning because parking facilities are a major land use type that affects how we design and build our commercial …

Emerging Trends In Greenhouse Gas Thresholds Of Significance For Use Under The California Environmental Quality Act, Nancy E. Mathison

Master's Theses

This study determined the state of the practice and emerging trends in developing greenhouse gas (GHG) thresholds of significance for use under the California Environmental Policy Act (CEQA). To describe the adopted, proposed or considered approaches for developing thresholds of significance by air districts and the thought processes behind these decisions, information was obtained through surveys and phone interviews from twelve employees of air districts in California, State agencies, and consultants that are considered experts on this issue. The results of this study include a comparison matrix of the approaches of the three air districts that have adopted or proposed …

Orizaba Urban Design Plan, Timothy J. Kelly

Master's Theses

The site area for the Orizaba Design District is located in central Long Beach, California. Historically the physical development of the area has been heavily influenced by the existence of the Pacific Electric Railroad, which has a right-of-way running diagonally through the site. With the existence of the railroads, as well as the Districts proximity to the Port of Long Beach and major thoroughfares, the area has developed as an industrial site.

Despite the industrial nature of the area, starting in 2007 a small group of creative business owners, including architects, graphic designers, interior designers, and others, started to locate …

City Of Patterson Sustainability Plan, Colin Brian Clarke

Master's Theses

This Master’s Thesis / Professional Project is a Sustainability Plan developed for the City of Patterson, California. The Patterson Sustainability Plan (PSP) was developed concurrently with the General Plan Update, and will be presented to the City for adoption within a year. The Sustainability Plan will help inform decision-making by way of its Goals and Actions for implementation to improve community sustainability. Before the plan was developed, background research was conducted that included a Best Practices Review to assess what other cities are doing to address sustainability, a Needs Assessment to evaluate existing conditions in Patterson and determine its unique …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Micro-Hydropower Projects In Nepal, Shradha Upadhayay

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Tahoe : Bridging The Economic Gap, Gabriel Reuben Valle

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Factors That Deter Jews From Affiliating With Organizations In The Jewish Community, Janice Sands-Weinstein

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

Anna Letitia Barabauld's Poetic Vision: Community, Imagination, And The Quotidian, Carrie Ann Woods

Master's Theses

With the publication of her Poems in 1773, favorable reviews welcomed Anna Letitia Barbauld into the literary world. However, Barbauld has traditionally been left out of English literature anthologies, condemned to the murky depths of obscurity. Why has this talented British poet of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries been undeservedly marginalized? Perhaps she has never achieved the status of a major literary figure because her impulse towards community places her outside the mainstream Romantic tradition dominated by the "egotistical sublime." In the poetry of William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and John Keats, an …