Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons^™

Evaluating Long-Range Transportation Plans For Mainstreaming Of Climate Adaptation Among Virginia Mpos, Sebastian L. Shetty

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the strides made towards addressing climate change through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategies, it has become increasingly apparent that attempting to mitigate the crisis in such a manner alone is insufficient. This thesis joins a growing body of research on how our societies must adapt to a changing climate, contributing more evidence on common barriers to adaptation and how they might be overcome. Through an attempt to evaluate the progress made towards mainstreaming, or integrating, climate change concerns into five Virginia MPOs’ long-range transportation plans (LRTPs), this study provides support for prior hypotheses around the potential for MPOs …

Evaluating Urban Parks Accessibility And Equity: A Case Study Of Hartford, Ct And New Haven, Ct, Natalie Roach, Mara Tu

Honors Scholar Theses

Public parks provide cities with environmental benefits, positive health effects, recreational opportunities, community building, educational spaces, and public amenities. However, certain populations have been systematically denied their fair share of these benefits because of unjust practices in the creation and maintenance of urban parks. With a lens of environmental justice, the goal of this research was to assess park quality and accessibility of two Connecticut cities, Hartford and New Haven, by gathering publicly available information as well as using GIS tools.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has an existing ParkScore rating system that evaluates the quality of a city’s …

An Analysis Of Selected Climate Action Plans In California, Christopher R. Dedo

City and Regional Planning

This project involves the research and comparison of seven cities’ climate action plans, each from its own region within California. The areas selected roughly represent major California regions, each with unique characteristics that will impact the characteristics of the climate action plan’s framework and contents. This analysis will identify similarities in framework and content among each plan, highlighting organizational differences, some generalized observations, and the consistency of topics covered and not covered within the plans. This project reviews the California Office of Planning & Research’s General Plan Guidelines Chapter 8, the California Office of Emergency Services’ California Adaptation Planning Guide, …

Climate Planning In Politically Conservative Cities: A Case Study Of Seven Climate Action Plans, Coleman Moore Frick

Master's Theses

Current research indicates that the potential risks associated with human-induced climate change are likely to increase in frequency and intensity. Although there have been several attempts, no effective international treaty or policy has been enacted by the United States with the purpose of combating this global issue. In the past decade, local climate action plans (CAPs) have emerged as a planning solution designed to reduce greenhouse emissions (GHGs). Previous studies have examined CAP attributes, but no research has focused solely on climate planning in politically conservative jurisdictions. This research finds that of 245 CAPs completed to date nationally, approximately 90 …

Building A Better Office Of Sustainability: Promoting Sustainable Change And Educational Outreach At Wku, Andrew Salman

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This research documented the transformation of the house at 503 Regents Ave. in Bowling Green KY into a model home of sustainability by the WKU Office of Sustainability as a case study. Using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Core Concepts, the benefits of weatherization (window upgrades, insulation, sealants) to the building, the addition of a solar energy array and utility grid intertie, and the transformation of the back yard into an edible landscape and community garden to mitigate stormwater flooding issues were assessed. Collaboration between the Office of Sustainability, students, university entities, and community members were encouraged …

The Role Of The Household In Urban Forestry As A Measure Of Urban Sustainability: A Matrix Of Action And Change, Anthony M. Rodriguez Ph.D.

Faculty Scholarship

The urban forest holds several important positions within the built and unbuilt environments. Those positions include economic, health, sustainability, quality of life measures, and overall protection of the environment, including air, water, and soil. The points are highlighted by Wolf (2005, 2007), McPherson (2005), and Rowntree & Nowak (1991). This research references the four socio-economic sectors; the public or government sector, for profit or market sector, philanthropic or nonprofit sector, and the household or private sector (Biggs & Helm 2007). The common purposes and role of each sector with respect to the urban tree cover takes on importance as they …

In Third Parties We Trust? The Growing Antitrust Impact Of Third-Party Green Building Certification Systems For State And Local Governments, Darren Prum, Robert Aalberts, Stephen Del Percio

Darren A. Prum

According to the American Institute of Architects, there has been a 50 percent increase in the number of municipalities with a green building program in place since 2007. And 24 of the country's 25 largest metropolitan areas are built around a city with green building legislation on its books. Reducing buildings' environmental impact is a noble - and critical - goal. But governments' reliance on private, third-party standard-setting organizations - and the rating systems that they promulgate - as the basis for that legislation may be legally problematic.

This Article reviews one of those potentially problematic bases: antitrust. In order …

Town Of Braintree - Monatiquot River Watershed Study, Benjamin D'Agostino, Elizabeth A. Englebretson, Carli Foster, Jeffrey Scott Fulford, Edward P. Haynes, Tracy Murphy, Sparky Vonplinsky, Eric Wojtowicz

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

Monatiquot River has played an important role in the Town of Braintree’s great industrial history. Over time, people’s relationship with the river has evolved from daily necessity and industrial utilitarian usage to scenery and recreational amenity. Currently, there is limited public physical access to the water and a lack of connection to regional greenway system. In addition, the extreme flood in March 2010 signified the prolonged urbanization impacts on floodplains and massive impervious surfaces in the watershed. Under the climate change effects, Braintree is likely to face more frequent and severe storms that affect safety and welfare of the increasing …

How The Grass Became Greener In The City: Urban Imaginings And Practices Of Sustainability, Cindy Isenhour

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

Far removed from a direct connection to the land and environmental feedback, most urban inhabitants have little choice but to rely on external sources of information as they formulate their understanding of sustainability. This reliance on analytical, scientifically produced, and highly technical sources of information—such as life-cycle analyses, carbon footprints and climate change projections—solidifies definitions of sustainable living centered on technological resource efficiencies while concentrating the power to define sustainability with experts and the industrial and political elite. Drawing on 14 months of ethnographic field work in and around Stockholm, Sweden, this paper explores how urban alienation shapes ideas about …

The Usher Plant Review And 8-Point Action Plan, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The Usher Plant is located on Arch Street off of Route 2 in Erving, Massachusetts in the center village of the town. The plant is a rich part of the social, economic, and cultural identity of the town and its residents. The Erving Paper Company occupied this plant from 1964 to approximately 1990, when the company consolidated and moved its operations leaving over one-hundred workers either displaced or unemployed and the Usher Plant vacant.

The closing of the Usher Plant approximately 10 years ago has had a tremendous impact on the community residents, as well as Erving's center village merchants …