Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons^™

Bicycle Tourism Plan For Economic Development: A Template For Rural Agricultural Towns And A Case Study For The City Of Winters, California, Marisa Rene Lee

Master's Theses

Bicycling is a method of tourism transportation that is healthy, non-invasive, environmentally responsible, and economically sustainable. It allows freedom, mobility, and sightseeing potential that is not made possible by other modes of transit. Thousands of bicycle tourists travel from all over the globe annually to explore California on touring bikes via established cycling routes and robust determination. Thousands of additional domestic and international visitors take weekend trips, plan family vacations, travel for business, or tour California from abroad, many of whom are excellent candidates for local and regional bicycle touring at a more gentle intensity level.

The increasing popularity and …

Conservation Through Limited Development: An Approach For Land Conservancies, Catherine Joy Tarone

Master's Theses

The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County is interested in determining the approach that it may take if it decides to pursue conservation and limited development as a strategy to preserve land. In using conservation and limited development, the Conservancy may put into practice its core values by employing this intensely-collaborative conservation tool and informing itself about development, conservation, collaboration and financing, in order to meet multiple community needs.

Information about the limited development process was collected from books, news articles and personal communications with professionals to determine its components. Each chapter of this report analyzes one component, putting …

Does Scenic Make Cents?, Sara Ann Sanders

Master's Theses

The stretch of California Route One (Highway 1) from the City of San Luis Obispo reaching north to the Monterey County line is one of the most scenic drives in the United States. This stretch of highway is a destination in its own right; so much so, the San Luis Obispo North Coast Scenic Byway is federally designated as an All-American Road, the highest scenic designation of any road or highway in the nation. There has been a history for funding the preservation and enhancement of these roads; however, it was removed in 2012. Even with the lack of current …

Neighborhoods, Proximity To Daily Needs, & Walkability In Form-Based Codes, Evan Evangelopoulos

Master's Theses

Form-based codes are evaluated with criteria often requiring additional clarification. To better identify form-based code evaluation criteria, this thesis identifies the major intentions of form-based codes from the literature and focuses on the first intention, quality of life. The form-based code literature relates quality of life to three principles with underlying parameters: neighborhood with a center and edge, proximity to daily needs, and walkability. Neighborhood refers to the identification of walkable districts of about .25 mile radius with a clear center and edge. Proximity to daily needs requires diversity of uses in proximity to residential uses so that residents travel …

The Relationship Between Bicycles And Traffic Safety For All Road Users, Jasmine A. Martin

Master's Theses

Over the past twenty years bicycle use as a mode of transportation has grown considerably in the United States. Other studies have examined the individual bicyclist’s risk in proportion to the growth in cycling across cities, a phenomenon referred to as ‘safety in numbers.’ This study expands from that research and examines the effect of cyclists on road safety for all road users.

The study examines the roles of bicycle modal split, a city wide analysis, and bicycle infrastructure, a site based analysis, in road safety outcomes. For the city based analysis, twenty years of crash data in 12 California …

Draft Environmental Impact Report: City Of Clearlake General Plan Update, Hannah Cha

Master's Theses

The City of Clearlake in northern California initiated its first general plan update in 2012.The City decided to do an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the general plan update in order to fulfill the California Environmental Quality Act’s (CEQA) requirements.The author wrote the Agriculture and Biological Resources sections of the EIR.She explains the CEQA process for a programmatic-level EIR, and summarizes the lessons learned and recommendations for CEQA.

General CEQA issues include fear of litigation and vague requirements for thresholds of significance.Additional CEQA issues include difficulty applying the same level of analysis to programmatic projects when the Environmental Checklist is …

City Of San Luis Obispo Open Space Vegetation Management Plan, Danielle Rose Althaus

Master's Theses

This Master’s Professional Project is focused on the development of a draft Vegetation Management Plan for the City of San Luis Obispo Open Space properties. The purpose of the plan is to provide a comprehensive document which identifies how the city is addressing wildfire preparedness in city-owned open space properties. Methods used in plan development include a literature review, content analysis, geographic information systems (GIS), a course audit, and consultation with city staff and other stakeholders. Each open space property is identified in the plan, describing its location, vegetation, topography, assets, access points, water supply, evacuation routes, historical fire data, …

Cayucos Community Health Plan, Jennifer Joyce Franich

Master's Theses

Recent, mounting research shows that chronic disease, the leading causes of death and primary driver of health care costs, cannot be effectively addressed through education or preventative health alone. A physical environment that promotes health—through access to healthy food, opportunities for physical activity, quality housing, transportation options, and safe schools—is an integral part of making our communities healthier. This research and accompanying Healthy Community Plans will serve as a way for the County to begin looking in-depth at the ways the built environment (our streets, parks, and neighborhoods) contribute or detract from the health of the community. Though the creation …

Public Art: Context & Process In San Luis Obispo, Ca, Kristin Ann Kiefer

Master's Theses

Public spaces are noted by historians, philosophers, planners, etc as being the lifeblood of civic centers, spaces that bring people in community together for a myriad of reasons. Recalling the ancient Agricola’s of ancient Greece to the modern version of malls and pedestrian plazas, these spaces are where social interactions occur, ideas are spread, and are open for all people to enjoy. Beautifying these spaces with public art and well-thought out design encourage the use of these spaces and work to empower those who use them. While the mode in which public art populates public spaces has changed, the notion …

Addressing Childhood Obesity Through The Built Environment: The Guadalupe Case Sudy, Sophia Y. Lai

Master's Theses

This project takes a look at the impacts of our built environment on obesity in children living in racial and ethnic communities in relation to city planning. The results of this project results in a comprehensive report to provide an in-depth look into understanding the important relationships between children’s health and the built environment and understanding the best practices and recommendations for improving health in Guadalupe.

Located in the Santa Barbara County, the City of Guadalupe is mainly an agricultural town with over 85 percent of its residents who are of Hispanic Origin. With almost half of its Latino population …

University Square Development Proposal, Tom Gregory Van Pelt

Master's Theses

The University Square Development Proposal (USDP) explores the redevelopment of the underutilized University Square site (the Site) in the City of San Luis Obispo (the City.) The Sites proximity to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), a university with significant student housing needs, makes it an ideal location for student housing. The City has also expressed interest in the Site, having identified it in the General Plan Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) update as a “Special Planning Area”. The LUCE proposes a new mixed-use typology on the Site that may include a mixture of multi-family housing, …

The Use Of Mobile Technology In Professional Planning And Local Government Practice, Kayla Gordon

Master's Theses

As advances in web and mobile technologies have rapidly changed the world of businesses, they have also begun to fundamentally change the way local governments understand and interact with their communities. In an effort to evaluate the use of online and mobile technology for government work, this thesis examines the use of mobile technology as a vehicle for local government practice, specifically looking at the field of urban planning. These opportunities have been broadened with the introduction of Internet-enabled mobile devices, as location-based information is used to increase awareness of user activity, movements and behaviors in real-time conditions and specific …

Pismo Beach Public Art Program, Garrett Tyler Norman

Master's Theses

Public art plays a significant role in communities around the world. It embodies a close relationship between the artist, the space in which it’s being exhibited, and the public. The development of this project examined various literary sources that demonstrated the importance of public art and how cities, artists, and community members may benefit from the incorporation of public art. This project included the framework for development of a Public Art Program for the City of Pismo Beach, California, which outlined the critical steps of a planning process and implementation of the program.

Latino Rhythms In Downtown Los Angeles: A Case Study Of The Social, Physical, And Economic Environment Of "La Broadway", Ulises Antonio Gonzalez

Master's Theses

In an attempt to practice inclusive planning, this research project explores whether Broadway Avenue functions as an ethnic commercial strip and identifies social, physical, and economic components that contribute to the Latino neighborhood/ barrio. Using pilot studies Loukaitou-Sideris (2000), Loukaitou-Sideris (2002), Rojas (1993), Manzumdar et al. (2000), Main (2007), and Fernando (2007) as a foundation, this research uses a single case study in addition to several research methods: 42 random surveys, literature review and analysis, site observations/pictures, and land use survey.

Various scholars write that barrios have unique physical, social, economic, and political attributes. A new aesthetic, art, symbols, …

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 …

City Of Los Angeles Arts District Form-Based Code, Ryan Jupiter Banuelos

Master's Theses

Los Angeles is experiencing a loss of inventory with Industrial land due to adaptive reuse and property conversion. The primary factors behind the conversions are

inconsistent land use regulations and a strong market

demand for residential property. In an effort to streamline land use regulation,

the city will create a new zoning code. In conjunction with the zoning update,

the purpose of this project will be to develop a form-based code for the Los

Angeles Arts District. The new land use regulation will explore methods to

preserve job producing industrial space and accommodate the growing

residential market in the area. …

City Of Merced Bellevue Community Plan, Patrick Gary Gilster

Master's Theses

The Bellevue Community Plan (BCP) was developed to be consistent with the Merced Vision 2030 General Plan, and is highly reflective of its policies, illustrative plans and guiding features, such as providing significant employment generating uses that would benefit from being in close proximity to the UC Merced campus. The BCP establishes a high-level planning framework that strikes a balance between certainty and flexibility by anchoring key land uses while allowing their size to adapt to changing market conditions in response to economic growth and the expansion of UC Merced. While the BCP provides a broad range of uses and …

Quantifying The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Of Hazards: Incorporating Disaster Mitigation Strategies In Climate Action Plans, Michael Germeraad

Master's Theses

Reconstruction after natural disasters can represent large peaks in a community’s greenhouse gas emission inventory. Components of the built environment destroyed by natural hazards have their useful life shortened, requiring replacement before functionally necessary. Though the hazard itself does not release greenhouse gasses, the demolition and rebuilding process does, and these are the emissions we can quantify to better understand the climate impacts of disasters.

The proposed methodology draws data from existing emission and hazard resource literature and combines the information in a community scale life cycle assessment. Case studies of past disasters are used to refine the methodology and …

Confused Spaces: Theatricality As A Device For Defining Different Types Of Public Space, Danton Christopher Spina

Master's Theses

Confused Spaces has come to the conclusion that theatricality can be a device for defining different types of public space. This book aims to define theatricality in architectural terms by taking principles from the disciplines of theater and urban design. It limits the scope of the definition to a specific set of elements of theatricality that include spectacle, transition, flexibility, and compactability. After attempting to define why these elements of theatricality are valid architectural concepts, the text then pushes to understand the experience that these elements can create. Through the use of historical and contemporary references, an argument for theatricality …

Benchmarking San Luis Obispo's Municipal Energy Use: An Audit Implementation Plan, Elizabeth Laura Pfafflin

Master's Theses

As energy cost and climate change become increasingly prevalent concerns in the planning world, more and more jurisdictions are creating energy efficiency and climate action plans. As of 2011, over 120 cities and counties around the United States had already completed climate action plans (Boswell, Greve, & Seale, 2012, p. 24). A major factor in reducing energy use, and subsequently greenhouse gas emissions, is in making buildings more energy efficient. According to the EPA, buildings account for 36 percent of overall energy use in the United States (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013).

Although many of these plans set target energy …

Effects Of Transit-Oriented Development On Affordable Housing, Job Accessibility, And Affordability Of Transportation In The Metro Green Line Corridor Of Los Angeles (Ca), Audrey M. Desmuke

Master's Theses

The premise of this study is that an understanding of catalysts and impacts of social and economic change in the Los Angeles Metro Green Line study corridor and an analysis of current planning policies can help identify how future planning policies may generate more ideal and positive outcomes for the study corridor. This study evaluated the conditions within the transit corridor with four selected station areas defined by a one-mile radius from each station. The stations that make up the transit corridor are along the Los Angeles Metro Green Line that runs east west between Redondo Beach and Norwalk. A …

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 …

City Of Los Angeles Cornfield Arroyo Seco Specific Plan: Parking Management Strategies, Miriam L. Thompson

Master's Theses

This study examines the state of off-street parking in the Cornfield Arroyo Seco Specific Plan (CASP) area of the City of Los Angeles. The focus is on discovering relevant strategies to strengthen the plans ability to reduce parking supply and demand.

Research has shown a causal relationship between planning policies and the oversupply of parking. An auto-centric approach to land use and urban form creates societal problems such as traffic congestion, air pollution, inflated development costs, and hostile pedestrian landscapes. Further issues that are directly associated with parking include: poor water quality, neighborhood livability, and ambient temperature. Additionally, an overabundance …

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, …

The Development Of An Electronic Data Collection Tool And Comparison Of The Electronic And Manual Methods Of Land Use Inventory, Wesley M. Catanzaro

Master's Theses

An important component of Planning Information Systems for municipal planning agencies is a comprehensive land use inventory that provides information on the location, distribution, and intensity of land uses throughout a community. This data is a necessary prerequisite for the informed creation of planning documents such as General Plans, Specific Plans, Housing Inventories, and Climate Action Plans. Beyond location, distribution and intensity of land uses, planners may also wish to incorporate additional information at the parcel level, such as the number of housing or commercial units, building condition, and/or access and connectivity to adjacent streets. Because some of this information …

Urban Agriculture Stormwater Management In California Cities, Rachel L. Cohen

Master's Theses

Cities within California are beginning to incorporate urban agriculture into their land use designations. Prompted by residents and local organizations, cities are hoping to capture the benefits that urban agriculture provides. Research has shown that urban agriculture renews and beautifies neighborhoods, provides healthy food choices, increases public health, has the potential to help with stormwater runoff, creates jobs, and fosters community. In the last few years, several California cities have made headlines as they have adopted new zoning codes that include urban agriculture.

In reviewing these new zoning codes and exploring the topic of urban agriculture, it became evident that …

San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority: Recommendations For Future Service Demand, Alexander J. Fuchs

Master's Theses

Transit agencies at all levels of government monitor trends in services, operations, and ridership using performance indicators. Federal and state agencies use these performance indicators in the appropriation of funds to transit agencies. Public transportation is subsidized through federal, state and local programs while only a portion of the operating expenses are covered through rider fares. In order to gather information on riders and travel patterns, transit agencies primarily focus on current transit riders, many of which are transit dependent populations. By definition, these populations use public transit services as the primary or only means of transportation. As a result, …

Planning For A Coastal City: San Clemente's Local Coastal Program, Atousa Zolfaghari

Master's Theses

This professional project assesses current conditions and regulations within San Clemente’s Coastal Zone, and provides recommendations to the City and California Coastal Commission through a draft Land Use Plan. The amended Land Use Plan will be included in the certified Local Coastal Program, which will govern decisions that determine the short and long-term conservation and use of coastal resources within San Clemente’s Coastal Zone.

Local Coastal Programs (LCPs) are planning guides used by local governments for development within the Coastal Zone. They contain goals and policies for development and protection of coastal resources throughout coastal cities and counties in California. …

Greyfield Development In Vallejo, California: Opportunities, Constraints, And Alternatives, Jonathan Peter Atkinson

Master's Theses

Greyfield Development in Vallejo, California: Opportunities, Constraints, and Alternatives is a Project that determined that the regulatory framework and presence of underutilized commercial land make Vallejo, California the ideal community to facilitate Greyfield Development. The Project reviewed existing literature, determining that there are …

What Comes After The Boom? Baby Boomers In Santa Maria, California A Market Study For People's Self Help Housing, Elizabeth Anne Brighton

Master's Theses

This Master’s Project is separated into two parts: the introduction and background informing an affordable senior housing market study, and a market study prepared for People’s Self Help Housing (PSHH). The introduction begins by providing current and future trends for seniors at the national and state levels. This includes discussion of the “Baby Boomer” age cohort and their rapid growth and potential impact to the housing market. The introduction then describes challenges facing developers of affordable senior housing. These challenges include the type, location, and funding sources for future senior housing projects. All federal funding sources for affordable senior housing …