Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons^™

The Relationship Between Separated Bicycle Lanes And Bicycle Crashes In Denver, Colorado, Wonsun Chang

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Cyclists feel more comfortable when they ride in a bike facility separated from traffic. Therefore, cyclists tend to prefer separated bicycle lanes over other lanes. It follows that cities are increasing the installation of separated bicycle lanes for bicycle utilization and bicycle safety. However, previous research has proven that separated bicycle lanes cause more crashes. Through empirical study, this paper examined the impact of both separated bicycle facilities and shared roads on bicycle crashes and which is safer or dangerous among methods of the separation. This study deals with bicycle accidents in Denver from 2013 to 2019. This research creates …

Long-Term Changes Of Open-Surface Water Bodies In The Yangtze River Basin Based On The Google Earth Engine Cloud Platform, Yue Deng, Wei-Guo Jiang, Zhenghong Tang, Ziyan Ling, Zhifeng Wu

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

The spatiotemporal changes of open-surface water bodies in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB) have profound influences on sustainable economic development, and are also closely relevant to water scarcity in China. However, long-term changes of open-surface water bodies in the YRB have remained poorly characterized. Taking advantage of the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform, this study processed 75,593 scenes of Landsat images to investigate the long-term changes of open-surface water bodies in the YRB from 1984 to 2018. In this study, we adopted the percentile-based image composite method to collect training samples and proposed a multiple index water detection rule …

Digitally-Mediated Practices Of Geospatial Archaeological Data: Transformation, Integration, & Interpretation, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Kristin Landau

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Digitally-mediated practices of archaeological data require reflexive thinking about where archaeology stands as a discipline in regard to the ‘digital,’ and where we want to go. To move toward this goal, we advocate a historical approach that emphasizes contextual source-side criticism and data intimacy—scrutinizing maps and 3D data as we do artifacts by analyzing position, form, material and context of analog and digital sources. Applying this approach, we reflect on what we have learned from processes of digitally-mediated data. We ask: What can we learn as we convert analog data to digital data? And, how does digital data transformation impact …

Generative Suburban Frameworks: Emerging Architect-Guided Optimization Workflows Within Suburban Mass Production, Chris Reeh

Masters in Architecture Program: Theses

The mass production of single-family housing has led to a number of overlooked design problems, including enormous physical footprints, subpar construction, and hastily installed infrastructure (Florida 2017). The continued growth of this development strategy has decreased the disparity of the building type, which also undergoes far less design consideration than other building typologies. Solutions to these issues have been oriented around concepts of modular construction and prefabricated elements. These ideas have typically remained in conceptual design stages, and when actualized they tend to lack the simplicity, speed, or cost of current residential construction practices. Additionally, several of these approaches could …

Combating Zombie Subdivisions In Teton Valley, Idaho, Taylor Cook

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

This research examined the history, background, and viable solutions to deal with zombie subdivisions in the Teton Valley area (Teton County, Idaho). Overdevelopment, lack of responsible zoning code enforcement and the 2008 economic recession are just some of the key factors that contributed to the ongoing dilemma of zombie subdivisions in the Teton Valley. The current and past long-range plan for Teton County, Idaho was reviewed and analyzed to understand the workings and planning mechanisms that were and are currently set in place. Zoning code, Idaho state statutes and development agreements between Teton County officials and developers, were closely reviewed …

Detection Of Linkage Between Solar And Lunar Cycles And Runoff Of The World's Large Rivers, Zhijun Dai, Jinzhou Du, Zhenghong Tang, Suying Ou, Samuel Brody, Xuefei Mei, Jietai Jing, Shoubing Yu

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

It is an ongoing concern that global hydrological cycle can be likely intensified under context of climate change and anthropogenic actions. Here, our results show that the solar and lunar periodic motions (SLPMs) have substantial impact on the runoff of the world's large rivers. We estimate that SLPMs can produce a change of the world's large rivers runoff by as much as 6.7%. Although climate models suggest that the increased frequency of extreme events is attributed to anthropogenic activities, it is out of our expectation that as much as 73% and 85% of the extreme flood and drought events (based …

(Mis)Communicating With Geographic Information System Mapping: Part 1--Choosing Units Of Representation, Rodrigo Cantarero, Maria Deguzman, Sarah Taylor, Soo-Young Hong, Jeong-Kyun Choi

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

Extension professionals are increasingly using geographic information system (GIS) technology to develop and inform programs and services. In this article, we use a mapping exercise to demonstrate how the unit of data can be applied and inadvertently misrepresented in GIS mapping. We contrast the use of counts, percentages, and location quotients with the same data and the resulting divergence in maps. The discussion addresses ideal circumstances for using each unit of data. Overall, the article illustrates the need for Extension professionals to be cognizant of the benefits and limitations of various units of data to avoid miscommunication when using GIS …

(Mis)Communicating With Geographic Information System Mapping: Part 2—Determining Data Cutoffs, Rodrigo Cantarero, Maria Deguzman, Sarah Taylor, Soo-Young Hong, Jeong-Kyun Choi

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

The increasing use of geographic information system (GIS) technology in various fields suggests the need for professionals, including those in Extension, to be mindful of communicating data accurately and effectively. This article examines approaches to creating classes or groupings within data as well as the weaknesses of each approach. Data break units discussed in the article include equal intervals, quantiles, and units resulting from natural breaks. Ideal situations for each type of data break are presented. The article emphasizes the need for Extension professionals to consider the effects of data grouping to avoid miscommunication when using GIS mapping.

Social Media Communication By Local Governments And Its Implications For Urban Planning, Leiming Zhao

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Social media has altered traditional communication and enriched traditional social networks. In addition to its use for personal communication and business marketing, social media has also been proved to be a valuable tool for urban planners and managers. However, there are relatively few studies about how social media communication may inform the design of urban master plans. The objectives of the thesis are to understand how the city governments have used social media to engage with the general public on urban planning issues, and assess if social media contents can be used to inform urban planning. The 10 top digital …

An Evaluation Of Public Open Space In Downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, Karl Dietrich

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Public open space provides many benefits to a downtown area. Among the benefits are economic growth, social connectivity, health, and helping to create an identity for a city. As many cities continue to sprawl outwards, it is important that their downtown areas create a sense of place so that businesses and people stay and visit. Public open spaces can help provide that much needed sense of place. This study examines whether the “public space index” designed by Vikas Mehta (2014) is effective at evaluating public open spaces. This was done by using four public open spaces (Foundation Garden, Tower Square, …

Safe, Efficient Self‐Driving Cars Could Block Walkable, Livable Communities, Daniel P. Piatkowski

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

As a driver and a cyclist, I initially welcomed the idea of self-driving cars that could detect nearby people and be programmed not to hit them, making the streets safer for everyone. Autonomous vehicles also seemed to provide attractive ways to use roads more efficiently and reduce the need for parking in our communities. People are certainly talking about how self-driving cars could help build more sustainable, livable, walkable and bikable communities. But as an urban planner and transportation scholar who, like most people in my field, has paid close attention to the discussion around driverless cars, I have come …

Rural Sense: Value, Heritage, And Sensory Landscapes: Developing A Design-Oriented Approach To Mapping For Healthier Landscapes, Judith Van Der Elst, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Lily Díaz-Kommonen

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Landscape design needs a novel value system centred on human experience of the landscape rather than simply on economic value. Design-oriented research allows us to shift the focus from mechanistic paradigms towards new sensemaking approaches that value both the sensual and the cognitive in human experience. To move in this direction, we investigate cultural and natural aspects of sensory experience in rural landscapes, arguing that: (1) rural (non-urban) regions offer diverse sensory experiences for optimising human health; and (2) spatial interconnectedness between rural and urban areas means that healthy rural regions are critical for urban development. Our key argument is …

Measuring Landscape Performance: Case Study Investigation, Hannah Michelle Lopresto, Brandon Zambrano, Catherine De Almeida

UCARE: Research Products

Participating in the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s 2018 Case Study Investigation has been an incredibly informative experience for our research team at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We are eager to shine a spotlight on the landscape performance of two Great Plains projects: P Street Corridor, a revitalized downtown streetscape in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park, a waterfront redevelopment in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Working on the post-occupancy study of both projects has been extremely beneficial in understanding how reclaiming underutilized sites can create high-performing landscapes. Both are public projects in urban settings with primary goals of transforming formerly unpleasant, …

Analyzing The Impact Of Incentive Programs On Retention Of Family Practice Providers In Rural Nebraska, Andrew J. Pedley

Community and Regional Planning Program: Professional Projects

Rural populations in Nebraska are generally older, less affluent and suffer from more chronic diseases than their urban counterparts. To address these disparities, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Office of Rural Health oversees incentive programs that compensate providers for costs associated with education in exchange for time worked in shortage areas. This report examines the impact that these incentive programs have on the retention of family medicine providers in Nebraska using survival analysis methodologies. The findings of this report indicate a positive correlation between participation in incentive programs and workforce retention of family medicine providers.

Advisor: Yunwoo …

Seventy-Five North Developments: A Holistic Approach To Improving Northeast Omaha, Fabiola Alikpokou

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

The concentration of public housing in high-poverty neighborhoods has many negative impacts; it limits educational opportunities for kids, leads to increased crime, causes poor health outcomes, hinders wealth building, and decreases investments (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2013). Northeast Omaha exhibits many of these issues. North Omaha is not only home to many of the city's minority persons, but also home to one of the most impoverished Black communities in the United States (Cordes, Gonzalez, & Grace, 2011). The Omaha-Council Bluffs area was ranked 14 for the highest African-American poverty rate out of 100 most populous metro areas …

A Spatiotemporal Analysis To Identify Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities In Nebraska, Sangho Lee

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

This study aims to identify the geographic locations of “naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs)” and whether there were spatiotemporal patterns of naturally occurring retirement communities in Nebraska for the time periods of 2000 to 2010, and to 2015. As the American population continues to age, older people generally prefer to live in their own homes for later years of life, instead of moving into assisted living. These demands have resulted in the increase of elderly populations who are “aging in place”. Nevertheless, there have been few spatiotemporal analyses about the distribution patterns of elderly households in terms of NORCs for …

Road Diet Feasibility Analysis For Nebraska, Brandon L. Purintun

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Many rural towns and cities throughout Nebraska have experienced consistent population decline over the past 50 years, and the highway system once built to accommodate hoped-for growth is not serving the population as well as it could. These towns and cities would benefit from implementing a road diet conversion on their main highways. Within rural communities, road diets are an increasingly popular method of improving safety along major arterials through the reduction of excess capacity in favor of increasing refuge areas for turning vehicles. A typical application might be the restriping of a four-lane undivided highway into a three-lane highway …

Wetland Conservation Effects Result In Enhanced Playa Functionality In The Rainwater Basin, Nebraska, Hong Zhang

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

This study assessed the functionality level of wetland hydrology, hydrophyte and soil conditions, and then identified the restorable potential of conserved playas. The distribution of hydrology and hydrophyte were geospatially examined through annual tracking the quantity and quality of wetlands on historical hydric soil footprints under different conservation programs in the Rainwater Basin (RWB) in Nebraska, USA during 2004-2015. The results show that the historical hydric soil footprints with the conservation programs had significantly higher functionality of ponded water and hydrophyte than non-conserved wetlands. The yearly average of ponded water areas within footprints varies at 12.59% for the Waterfowl Production …

An Application Of Economics & Environmental Planning: The Impacts Of Variable Rate Irrigation Technology On Net Farm Income, Hannah Jones, Zhenghong Tang, Karina Schoengold, Yunwoo Nam, Dana Varner

Community and Regional Planning Program: Professional Projects

Restoring playa wetlands back into predominantly agricultural landscapes has been a pressing issue for decades. The Nebraska Rainwater Basin Joint Venture (RWBJV) and its partners represent a wide variety of private and public groups who are offering solutions to this problem, while helping farmers maximize net farm income. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln partnered with the RWBJV on a project to determine how Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) technology would impact the profitability of farm management operations, while allowing the preservation of adjacent wetland areas. This study conducted an economic analysis that compared net farm income for producers that had participated in …

The Historic Preservation Program In Lincoln, Nebraska And Nomination Of The South Bottoms Neighborhood As A Landmark District In Lincoln, Nebraska, Benjamin Callahan

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Across the nation, thousands of historic properties are preserved, protected, and visited each year. These historic properties and historic preservation programs work to highlight historically significant places, by not only recognizing the past, but also by working to protect the significant sites into the future so they will continue to serve as reminders and examples of the historical events that have made it notable. Currently, the Historic Preservation Program in Lincoln, Nebraska recognizes over 1,400 properties as Local Landmark Sites or Districts within Lancaster County. Through this locally organized program, these properties receive a greater level of protection and financial …

Assessing Hazard Vulnerability, Habitat Conservation, And Restoration For The Enhancement Ofmainland China’S Coastal Resilience, Muhammad Sajjad, Yangfan Li, Zhenghong Tang, Ling Cao, Xiaoping Liu

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

Worldwide, humans are facing high risks from natural hazards, especially in coastal regions with high population densities. Rising sea levels due to global warming are making coastal communities’ infrastructure vulnerable to natural disasters. The present study aims to provide a coupling approach of vulnerability and resilience through restoration and conservation of lost or degraded coastal natural habitats to reclamation under different climate change scenarios. The integrated valuation of ecosystems and tradeoffs model is used to assess the current and future vulnerability of coastal communities. The model employed is based on seven different biogeophysical variables to calculate a natural hazard index …

Mapping Quality Of Life In Nebraska: Population Distribution By Race, Ethnicity, And Age, Sarah Taylor, Maria Rosario T. De Guzman, Grant Daily, Rodrigo Cantarero, Soo-Young Hong, Aileen S. Garcia, Jeong-Kyun Choi, Yan Xia

Mapping Quality of Life in Nebraska

KEY POINTS

This section details key points from the data on racial, ethnic, and age groups across Nebraska.

RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIES IN NEBRASKA

• The proportions of Nebraska’s racial and ethnic minority populations tend to be smaller by 4% (i.e., Asian) to 8% (i.e., Black or African American, Hispanic/Latino) than those of the US, except for the Hawaiian and Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaska Native populations (i.e., smaller only by 0.1% to 0.2%).

• Nebraska’s urban areas, which comprise 73.1% of the Nebraska population, have higher numbers of racial and ethnic minorities than suburban or rural areas. …

An Examination Of Midwestern Us Cities’ Preparedness For Climate Change And Extreme Hazards, Qiao Hu, Zhenghong Tang, Martha Shulski, Natalie Umphlett, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Frank E. Uhlarik

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

The increasing occurrence of extreme weather and climate events raised concerns in regard to hazard mitigation and climate adaptation. Local municipal planning mechanisms play a fundamental role in increasing a community’s capacity toward long-term resiliency. This study employs the content analysis method to evaluate the 95 selected cities located in the US Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VII and examine how these local plans, including local comprehensive plans (CPs), hazard mitigation plans (HMPs), and local emergency operations plans (EOPs), prepare communities for climate change and possible extreme events. Results indicate that local plans delineated multiple resources and diverse strategies to …

Mapping Quality Of Life In Nebraska: Migration Rates, Aileen S. Garcia, Rodrigo Cantarero, Grant Daily, Maria Rosario T. De Guzman, Jeong-Kyun Choi, Soo-Young Hong, Sarah Taylor

Mapping Quality of Life in Nebraska

KEY POINTS AND IMPLICATIONS

Nebraska is a state that is not often viewed as affected significantly by mobility and migration. As a state, the net migration rate of 1.1 from 2015 to 2016 is fairly low compared to others like Florida (16.0) or Nevada (14.4). However, data from this report suggests that there is, in fact, substantial movement of people moving in and moving out; as well as pockets within the state where there is higher than average influx of both domestic and international migrants.

In general, migration trends in the state mirror national trends of “rural flight” where people …

Analyzing Communities In Black America: How Urban And Regional Planners Can Plan For Prosperous Black Communities, Tatiana Height

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

The black community in the United States has evolved out of a unique set of circumstances which have led to few black neighborhoods being able to prosper. Considering the negative influences on the black community such as wide-spread discrimination, mass incarceration, concentrations of poverty, and poor housing quality this community requires unique considerations to prosper. Given that only 10% of urban and regional planners are black, this research is meant to be a guide for urban and regional planners at large to plan in such a way that allows black communities to thrive. The results of this research indicate that …

Evaluating Mobile-Based Citizen Science In Increasing Citizen Participants In Environmental Management, Wenqi Ou

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Mobile-based citizen science as thriving citizen education tool increases the non-expert citizen involvement in the scientific world by encouraging the public upload nature observation to assist scientific research while learning scientific knowledge. Mobile-base citizen science as social media has potential to facilitate citizen engagement in the environmental management. Based on the conceptual framework of citizen science incorporation with environmental management, large users in the program foster the citizen involvement in the environmental management. Research here applies SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threats) analysis to evaluate mobile based citizen science regarding data management, citizen participation, and partnership. It revealed the current status …

Influence Of Street Trees On Roadway User Safety, Maggie Harthoorn

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

This thesis aims to understand trends of trees in transportation planning and to determine if street trees have a negative or positive influence on crash frequency and severity. As roadways become more walkable and livable, they become safer. Street trees are a vital component of this trend. Planners must understand the impacts of trees on roadway user safety as they work to reduce crash risk. Although spatial analysis suggests there may be a negative relationship between trees and crash frequency, correlation models find a significant correlation between trees and crash severity, but no significant correlation between trees and crash frequency. …

Housing Availability, Accessibility And Affordability For Nebraska's Rural Aging Populations, Jordan G. Grummert Rasmussen

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Rural America and the nation as a whole has entered a phase of significant demographic change, as the number of Americans over the age of 65 is estimated to double by 2050. Nebraska counties and the state are, too, experiencing this shift in the age demographic. As the population ages, consideration must be given to the housing options for older adults, specifically those who reside and wish to remain in rural areas.

While broad consideration is given to either population aging or housing in rural areas, there is limited county level analysis adjoining these demographic and housing realities. This study …

Geological Principles Illustrated In The Art Along The Antelope Valley Hiker/Biker Trail – The Big X (Salt Creek Roadway/Antelope Valley Parkway) South To Q Street, Robert Diffendal, Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

When the weather is good (and even sometimes when it isn’t) I occasionally walk around the periphery of the UNL city campus, often over the lunch hour, now that the trails and the sidewalks allow one to walk a complete circuit. The walk along Antelope Creek from the Big X to Q Street is beautiful. The designers of the project made nice art works on the floor of the creek and on the retaining walls on the valley sides that add to the beauty of nature.

I am a geologist and wondered about some of the art and its meaning …

Flood Plan Management: An Evaluation Of Nebraska’S Comprehensive Plans For Flooding, Rashad J. Moxey

Community and Regional Planning Program: Professional Projects

This study examined Comprehensive Plans for 53 Nebraska communities to determine how well 60 indicators of flood risk information were incorporated. The indicators were divided into three categories, factual base information, goals and actions and implementation. The majority of plans were created by independent firms as Nebraska does not require state-level oversight. Detailed review of each community plan identified general areas of weakness and opportunities for improvement. The average number of indicators present in the 53 plans was 4.84. None of the three categories was found to be well represented. Indicators per category showed low overall representation; Factual Base 12.0%, …