Geography Commons^™

Paradoxes And Potential Of Tourism Development In Nicaragua, Cody J. Silveira

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation research evaluates the successes and challenges of tourism integration and expansion as both a broad human development strategy and a catalyst for local populations to achieve greater economic and social opportunities. The country of Nicaragua serves as the primary case study for such an evaluation due to its relatively recent promotion and expansion of tourism through government led incentives and oversight. As a case study, Nicaragua is a country whose tourism industry remains nascent, yet commands great economic potential and influence, which can serve as an example for future tourism development initiatives for developing countries in the region …

A Geospatial And Machine Learning Framework For Forecasting Ground Level Ozone Pollution, William J. Keenan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The major detrimental health effects of ground-level ozone (GLO) pollution make it imperative that both policy makers and ordinary citizens have access to high accuracy, high-resolution forecasts of their local area. Recently, advancements in computing power have made it possible to apply artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to a variety of big data modelling problems, including GLO forecasting and estimation. Of these AI methods, deep neural networks (DNN) have demonstrated the highest accuracy due to their ability extract non-linear relationships from high dimensional, noisy data inputs.

This research effort uses novel data sources, namely NOAA’s High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) meteorology …

Foreign Object Debris: A Spatial Analysis Of Wildlife At Seatac Airport, Eli Elias

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This study investigates the relationship between birds and prey within the airport environment at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEATAC). In 2023, instances of bird and prey activity near Runway 16C/34C were recorded using Foreign Object Debris (FOD) detection radar. The study stems from the importance of safety within the airport environment and analyzing these relationships to better protect people and mitigate aircraft damage. Runway 16C/34C is the runway of focus as it is the only runway equipped with FOD detection radar. Temperature and rainfall averages acquired from the National Weather Service (NWS) were also used to expand this analysis. The results …

Visualization Of Indiana And Northern Long-Eared Bats Using Spline Surfaces To Enable Targeted Land Management, Devin Escue

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This project introduces a Bat Visualization Tool to help manage habitats for threatened bat species while considering broader ecosystem dynamics. It integrates data from acoustic bat surveys at the Corriell Nature Preserve in Iowa. The tool attaches spatial context to non-spatial survey data, weights species calls based on statistical p-values, and creates visual bat species distribution maps using spline surfaces. It also generates future survey locations based on these patterns. By using geospatial analysis and statistics, the tool identifies priority areas for conservation actions, focusing on factors like forest composition, roosting preferences, and land cover types that affect bat habitat …

Spatial Analysis Of Transgender And Gender Diverse Students’ Mental Health And School Board Policies In Colorado And Montana, Elizabeth Heiny

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

As the number of policies impacting transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people increase among school boards, understanding the impacts these policies have on mental health is important. These policies can be positive or negative. Using geographic information systems (GIS) to analyze where better mental health and TGD impacting policies are correlated can offer clear results on where students mental health is affected by these policies in Colorado and Montana. This study found that TGD impacting policies did not explain the majority of variation in mental health index score. Positive or negative correlations between the mental health index and policy positivity …

Gis-Based Dashboard For Data Analysis And Visualization At The Water Hub In Franschhoek, South Africa, Liliana Rosa Simon

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This capstone project analyzes the land use change in the Franschhoek Valley, South Africa, and implements this information into an ArcGIS Experience Builder Dashboard. The development of an ArcGIS Experience Builder is utilized as a tool for improved spatial data communication at The Water Hub. An increase in urban development in the informal settlement upstream of the Stiebeuel River in the catchment basin north of the Water Hub research institute is found. The capstone uses geographic information systems, remote sensing, and ArcGIS Experience Builder to integrate spatial data into the Water Hub’s standard operating procedures. It highlights the importance of …

Understanding The Nuances Of Transit Accessibility: Temporal And Spatial Resolution, And Neoliberalism, Joe Chestnut

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores accessibility via public transit through several lenses. In doing so, some of the lesser known nuances of accessibility are better understood. These nuances are explored in several ways. First, various demographic variables and their relationship to accessibility to jobs via public transit are modeled at a fine spatial resolution in an exploratory analysis across several cities in the United States. Next, temporal and spatial resolution and their impacts on accessibility to jobs via public transit are analyzed and quantified in several cities across the United States. Finally, the relationship between neoliberalism and public transit accessibility is explored …

How Well Do Nature-Based Solutions To Climate Change Address Gender Equity?, Stephanie Efua Yamoah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the climate crisis continues to deepen, there have been calls for adaptation and mitigation approaches that rely on nature-based solutions. These solutions are approaches that offer the potential to reduce and remove greenhouse gas emissions. Examples include forest restoration, coastal wetland conservation, and no-till agriculture, among other practices. In this thesis, I employ an intersectional feminist political ecology perspective to critically examine the integration of gender equity within such nature-based solutions. I make two interrelated arguments using a qualitative methodology and an intensive case study of three projects in Ghana. First, I argue that women’s participation in nature-based solutions …

Using Historic Glacial Data And Gis To Predict Mount Rainier National Park’S Glacial Future, Daniel Kincaid

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Will Washington state have glaciers 100 years from now (year 2124)? Due to generally warmer weather glaciers are largely in retreat globally, including the glaciers in Washington state. In Washington state summer glacial meltwater plays a vital role in the survival of wildlife and is needed for human purposes that include recreation, power generation, drinking, agricultural, and industrial. This project looked at the most resilient glaciers in Washington state, the glaciers at Mount Rainier National Park. Historic measurements were used in an exponential growth calculation to project the amount in acres each glacier at Mount Rainer will advance or retreat …

We Need To Talk About Airbnb, Jean Lavigne

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Scale-Dependent Effects Of Urban Canopy Cover, Canopy Volume, And Impervious Surfaces On Near Surface Air Temperature In Portland, Or, Carson Ralls

Geography Masters Research Papers

Cities are significantly warmer than their surrounding rural environments. Known as the ‘urban heat island effect’, it can affect the health of urban residents and lead to increased energy use. Although this effect is extensively researched, less is known about how landscape characteristics within cities affect local temperature variation. With a warming climate and the need for heat mitigation strategies becoming more urgent, having a finer detailed understanding of the effects on temperature is critical to guide proper management policies. This study examined how tree canopy cover, canopy volume, and impervious surface cover affect daytime near surface air temperature, and …

Wasted Space: Using Parking Lots & Vacant Land To Improve Neighborhood Completeness, Ryan Martyn

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

This study conducts a spatial analysis of Portland, Oregon, focusing on leveraging underutilized areas like parking lots and vacant land—termed "wasted space"—to improve the city's completeness. Central to this investigation is the concept of a "complete neighborhood," characterized by access to daily necessities within convenient active transportation trip. This comprehensive idea encompasses walkability, equitable access to services, and sustainability.

This paper aims to redefine the concept of a complete neighborhood with precision and delve into its implications. The research looks at five regional, town, and neighborhood centers as defined by the city of Portland. These centers act as pivotal hubs …

“Salmon Don’T Have Time For Us To Fix The Climate”: The Politics Of Climate Change And Dam Breaching On The Lower Snake River, Zanna Stutz

Geography Undergraduate Senior Theses

This thesis examines the politics of climate change and dam breach on the Lower Snake River. Located in Southeastern Washington within the Columbia River Basin, the four Lower Snake River dams (LSRD) have long been a source of political and legal controversy. While dam proponents advocate for services that they provide, which includes hydropower, navigation, and irrigation, others contend that their environmental impacts, particularly on salmon and steelhead, make them legally, environmentally, and morally irresponsible. Within this space, I specifically investigate how climate change has influenced the environmental politics and conflicts that surrounds dam breaching, further exploring how competing values …

“I Had To Go There For My Own Safety” Negotiations Of Access And Autonomy Among Dc Birth Settings, Elizabeth Avery Borgmann

Geography Undergraduate Senior Theses

Childbirth experiences are shaped by spatial context. This study considers the relationships between access to, selection of, and experiences with labor and delivery care among Black birthing people in Washington, DC. Informed by Reproductive Justice and reproductive geographies frameworks, I employ a mixed methods GIS design that integrates mapping of potential spatial access with qualitative analysis of community members’ lived experiences. On the quantitative side, nearest-neighbor and 2-step floating catchment area analyses reveal an east-west gradient of potential spatial access to labor and delivery wards, with low access concentrated in predominantly Black and low-income census tracts of Wards 5, 7, …

Remote Sensing-Based Analysis Of Urban Heat Islands And Historical Housing Discrimination In Boston, Ma, Lily Gray

Geography Undergraduate Senior Theses

Since 2020, annual average temperatures for Boston, Massachusetts, have ranked within the top 10 hottest years, with 2021 becoming Boston’s hottest year on record (Northeast Regional Climate Center, 2023). Heat is more extreme in urban areas because of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, a temperature difference between urban and suburban areas. This effect is visible between neighborhoods within urban areas, as more densely built regions are often multiple °C hotter than greener areas (Marando et al., 2021). Neighborhoods affected by discriminatory housing policies are often correlated with higher temperatures, which can disproportionately expose certain groups to heat-related hazards. This …

Land-Use Governance And Indigenous Engagement In Arctic Alaska And Norway: Successes, Current Gaps, And Paths Forward, Ningning Sun

Environmental Studies Senior Theses

This study aims to analyze the land use governance structures and the role of Indigenous engagement in Alaska and Norway using a comparative approach, with special focus on successful practices, current gaps, and paths forward to achieve equitable governance. Extractive land uses, such as oil and gas extraction and the construction of wind farms, have mixed impacts on Indigenous communities and lead to social and legal issues such as land use conflict and environmental injustice. Previous research has studied land use governance in Arctic countries with regard to Indigenous Peoples, yet there is a lack of literature that spans Alaska …

Spatial Targeting Of Irrigation Development And Water Resource Management To Mitigate Vector-Borne Disease, April Frake, Brad Peter, Grivin Chipula, Joseph Messina

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Scaling irrigated agriculture is a global strategy to mitigate food insecurity concerns. While expanding irrigated agriculture is critical to meeting food production demands, it is important to consider how these land use and land cover changes (LULCC) may alter the water resources of landscapes and impact the spatiotemporal epidemiology of disease. Here, a generalizable method is presented to inform irrigation development decision-making aimed at increasing crop production through irrigation while simultaneously mitigating malaria risk to surrounding communities. Changes to the spatiotemporal patterns of malaria vector (Anopheles gambiae s.s.) suitability, driven by irrigated agricultural expansion, are presented for Malawi's rainy and …

L'Aquila: In The Mountains Of Abruzzo, Jean Lavigne

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Navigating Shrinking Cities: Towards Coordinated Urban Development From The Perspective Of Flow And Network, Yuzhou Chen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As cities worldwide undergo rapid but uneven changes, proposing smart and sustainable urban development strategies has been a popular interdisciplinary research in the 21st century. In particular, the phenomenon of shrinking cities characterized by economic recession and population decline is becoming increasingly severe in developed countries and even developing countries. In the real world, research focusing on individual shrinking cities often neglects the interconnectedness between cities within the network formed by flows. Therefore, coordinating the development strategies for multiple closely connected cities, especially for shrinking cities, is a step up from focusing on individual cities.

This dissertation aims to propose …

Shifting Forms: Queer Placemaking Amidst Neoliberalism In New York City Through Art, Colin J. Donnelly

Geography Undergraduate Senior Theses

This project explicates how queer people produce space for themselves through art in New York City amidst the prevalent neoliberal frameworks that have existed since the 1980s. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with queer artists and nonprofit workers, participant observation in art spaces, and close reading of art compiled through archival work, I explore sites of presentation (places in which art is displayed) and modes of presentation (how specific artists decide to present their art). I analyze museums and nonprofit spaces, and engage with queer artists that create what I consider to be site-specific art. I zoom in on spatial art …

An Assessment Of Equity, Compounding Disasters, And Climate Change In Hazard Mitigation Planning For The Portland Metro Region, Chris Lower

Geography Masters Research Papers

Hazard mitigation plans (HMPs) are strategic documents or policies developed by governments, communities, and organizations to identify risks and reduce the impacts of natural and human- made hazards. These plans aim to minimize loss of life, property damage, and disruption from floods, wildfires, snowstorms, heatwaves, and other disasters. While useful, these plans infrequently and unevenly address the lived experiences of marginalized populations who bear the disproportionate impacts of recurrent disasters. Technocratic planning goals exacerbate these impacts by failing to center inclusive and equity-focused approaches, thus eroding the resilience capacities of many vulnerable groups including the poor and communities of color. …

Retail Investors' Activity And Climate Disasters, Marinela Adriana Finta

Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics

We analyze the effects of climate disasters on retail investors’ trading activity. Results show that retail investors trade significantly less during and around climate disasters, and retail buyers exhibit higher returns than sellers. Climate disasters weaken the positive return predictability of the past month’s order imbalances while strengthening it for the past six month’s order imbalances. In the short run, firms within climate disaster counties with retail net buying underperform those with negative imbalances. Instead, in the long run, firms within and outside climate disaster counties with positive order flows outperform those with negative order flows. Finally, the estimates on …

Elevating The Rre Framework For Geospatial Analysis With Visual Programming Platforms: An Exploration With Geospatial Analytics Extension For Knime, Lingbo Liu, Fahui Wang, Xiaokang Fu, Tobias Kötter, Kevin Sturm, Weihe Wendy Guan, Shuming Bao

Faculty Publications

Reproducibility, replicability, and expandability (RRE) have emerged as fundamental concerns in the realm of scientific research and development. Wherein, devising effective solutions for RRE within geospatial analysis stands out as a particularly critical challenge that demands immediate attention. Although there has been an evolution from basic reproducibility of code and data to a more comprehensive cyberinfrastructure, this integrated solution is still grappling with issues of limited user accessibility, steep learning curves particularly in coding skills, and difficulties in achieving collaboration with other data science platforms This study proposes a framework that combines open-source GIS with visual programming platforms, grounded in …

Stacked Noise Reduction Auto Encoder–Ocean: A Novel Personalized Recommendation Model Enhanced, Bixi Wang, Wenfeng Zheng, Ruiyang Wang, Siyu Lu, Lirong Yin, Lei Wang, Zhengtong Yin, Xinbing Chen

Faculty Publications

With the continuous development of information technology and the rapid increase in new users of social networking sites, recommendation technology is becoming more and more important. After research, it was found that the behavior of users on social networking sites has a great correlation with their personalities. The five characteristics of the OCEAN personality model can cover all aspects of a user’s personality. In this research, a micro-directional propagation model based on the OCEAN personality model and a Stacked Denoising Auto Encoder (SDAE) was built through the application of deep learning to a collaborative filtering technique. Firstly, the dimension of …

Moral Responsibility And Other Visceral Attitudes Of Western Michigan University Students Toward Food Waste, Quinn Heiser

Masters Theses

Despite the large number of people that go hungry on a regular basis in America, food waste remains a looming issue, globally and nationally. Both American college students and the universities themselves contribute a large portion to the national food waste totals. A dichotomy that is especially curious is the difference between students who live on-campus and whose main source of meals is the dining centers, versus students who live off campus and rely mainly on groceries to make meals independently. However, food waste has seldom been studied in the context of the fact that college is a major transition …

Cocoa Production In The Era Of Crude Oil Economy: The Case Study Of Ondo State, Nigeria., Hakeem Shina Lamidi

Masters Theses

Nigeria's cocoa industry has been faced with obstacles that include a lack of adequate infrastructure, little or no research and development efforts for weather-related challenges and pest control, limited financial support for cocoa farming startups, absence of modern farming techniques, an aging agricultural workforce, and decrepit cocoa trees all of which have contributed to the decline in the production of cocoa by Nigeria. The Nigerian government's failure to prioritize agricultural policies and support farmers instead of relying on oil exports exacerbates these issues. While it is assumed that countries endowed with abundant natural resources, including oil, like Nigeria, would naturally …

Gathering Gardens: Identifying Land For Community Gardens In Portland, Aswatha Raghunathasami, Gail Chastain, Alan De Anda-Hall, Tyler Smith, Elias Peters

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

The project’s ultimate goal was to create at least 5 new community garden sites in the city of Portland for people to grow their own culturally relevant foods. To focus on parts of the city with some of the highest equity and food security needs, Agate chose to narrow the project scope to neighborhood areas located east of SE 57th Ave. Through direct engagement with the community, the team developed a site inventory for new potential community garden locations, as well as recommendations for optimal garden management, inclusion, and longevity. The community gardens are expected to be established by APANO …

Agricultural Groundcover Update May 2024, Justin Laycock

Natural resources published reports

• In May, over 9% (1,410,000 ha) of the arable farmland in the south-west of Western Australia had less than 50% vegetative groundcover, which is inadequate to prevent wind erosion.
• Northern grainbelt had the highest risk of wind erosion and over 26% of this farmland had inadequate groundcover, predominantly found on landscapes known for sandy soils.
• About 1.3% (208,900 ha) of arable land had a high to very high risk of wind erosion because groundcover was less than 30%. Half of this land was in the West Midlands Ag Soil Zone.

Agricultural Groundcover Update April 2024, Justin Laycock

Natural resources published reports

• In April, over 12% (1,876,000 ha) of the arable farmland in the south-west of Western Australia had less than 50% vegetative groundcover, which is inadequate to prevent wind erosion.
• Northern grainbelt had the highest risk of wind erosion and over 26% of this farmland had inadequate groundcover, predominantly found on landscapes known for sandy soils.
• About 1.5% (238,900 ha) of arable land had a high to very high risk of wind erosion because groundcover was less than 30%.

Green Gold: The Akkoub’S Settler Ecologies, Irus Braverman

Journal Articles

The akkoub (Gundelia tournefortii) is a thistle-like plant so precious in Palestinian cuisine that it is often referred to as “green gold.” The risks, as well as the mystique, surrounding the akkoub have only intensified since the state of Israel designated this plant as protected under the Nature and Parks Protection Act. The story of the akkoub as depicted in this article illustrates the three tenets of “settler ecologies”: the regime of environmental protections enacted by the settler state that furthers its domination of the natural landscape and its dispossession of local and Indigenous communities. The first and …