Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Assessing The Potential Contribution Of Vacant Land To Urban Vegetable Production And Consumption In Oakland, California, Nathan Mcclintock, Jenny Cooper, Snehee Khandeshi

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

As urban agriculture grows in popularity, researchers are attempting to quantify its potential contribution to local food systems. We present the results of a vacant land inventory conducted in collaboration with the HOPE Collaborative, a multi-stakeholder, community-based initiative in Oakland, CA, USA. Vacant lots, open space, and underutilized parks with agricultural potential were identified using GIS and aerial imagery. Using visual interpretation, we identified 1201 ac (486.4 ha) of public land and 337 ac (136.4 ha) of private land that could potentially be used for vegetable production. Based on USDA loss-adjusted consumption data, we calculated the potential contribution of these …

Measuring The Performance Of Transit Relative To Livability, Marc Schlossberg, Jennifer Dill, Liang Ma, Cody Meyer

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This project sought to understand the relationship between urban form, transit service characteristics, and ridership measured at the stop level. Most previous work in this area has looked at these issues separately, by either linking system performance (e.g. on-time performance, cost, etc.) to ridership or exploring the connection between urban form (e.g. density) and transit use. This project synthesized these disparate approaches. While transit service characteristics (e.g. frequency, travel time, etc.) are important to help individuals reach their desired destinations, most transit users are pedestrians at the beginning and end of any transit trip. Therefore, focusing on the walkable zone …

New Census Data Show Poverty On The Rise In Oregon And Nationwide, Jason R. Jurjevich, Jack Byerly

Publications, Reports and Presentations

The U.S. Census Bureau’s latest Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), released in December 2012, show an increase in poverty in Oregon and nationwide from 2010 to 2011. During this period, the nation’s poverty rate rose from 15.3 percent ( /- 0.1 percent) to 15.9 percent ( /- 0.1 percent), while the rate in Oregon rose sharply from 15.8 percent ( /- 0.3 percent) to 17.3 percent ( /- 0.4 percent). Both the national and state increases are statistically significant. In 2011, Oregon had the sixteenth highest rate of poverty (tied with Oklahoma) among the fifty states and the …

Women's Actions And Reactions To Male Migration: A Case Study Of Women In San Juan Guelavía, Oaxaca, Mexico, Julie Boyles

Dissertations and Theses

Using a mixed methods, interdisciplinary case study approach, this research project explores the benefits, risks, and challenges of male migration for women who reside in San Juan Guelavía, Oaxaca, Mexico. In a unique approach in the field of migration studies, this project considers not only women whose husbands have migrated--absent husbands--but also the impact of male migration on women whose husbands have returned as well as women whose husbands have never left--anchored husbands. Women with returned husbands and even women with anchored husbands feel the threat, worry, and fear that male migration could, at an unknown point in the future, …

Developing An Oregon Access Management Best Practices Manual, Karen Dixon, Xiang Yi, Lacy Brown, Robert Layton

TREC Final Reports

This report reviews an Oregon research effort to develop an Oregon Access Management Best Practices Manual. In particular, this research effort develops a resource to help transportation professionals quantify safety and operational effects of various access management strategies, provide measurable criteria to evaluate these access management techniques, and identify data collection practices necessary to successfully perform these assessments. It is the expectation that this manual can be used by engineers, decision makers, and educators to help the transportation community better understand the appropriate application of access management strategies and how to quantify benefits of the various access management options. This …

Replication School: Scaling Social Innovation Through Dissemination Training, Jacen Greene, Cindy Cooper, Carolyn Mcknight, Impact Entrepreneurs, School Of Business Administration, Institute For Sustainable Solutions

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper describes a training methodology to scale social innovation through dissemination undertaken in 2012 by Portland State University’s (PSU) Impact Entrepreneurs for the award-winning social enterprise Digital Divide Data (DDD). It begins with descriptions of some commonly used terms in the field — social innovation, social entrepreneurship, replication, and impact sourcing — and illustrates how each of these concepts was integrated into the development and delivery of a training program for replication of Digital Divide Data’s impact sourcing model. Program outcomes are reviewed, including findings that dissemination training is a viable, cost-effective method for replicating successful social innovations.

Closing The Gap: Developing A Transportation Curriculum For The Oregon Young Scholars Program: Project Summary Report, Carla Gary, Bethany Steiner, Chuck Kalnbach

TREC Project Briefs

This OTREC educational proposal links experiential and transportation education from the University of Oregon with minority youth during the Summer ‘08 two-week session of the Oregon Young Scholar’s Program (OYSP). The grant provides OYSP an opportunity to create a transportation based curriculum during the Summer ‘08 program with the ultimate purpose of increasing minority interest and hopefully eventual employment in transportation related fields. OYSP was developed in 2005 to nurture the potential of marginalized minority students, to prepare these students for higher education, and to increase the awareness of their parents or caregivers about what it will take for these …

Development Of Mobile Mapping Technology To Facilitate Dialogue Between Transportation Agencies And The Public, Ken Kato, Marc Schlossberg, James Meacham

TREC Final Reports

The goal of this grant was to take the technological innovations for deploying survey instruments to mobile phones, developed under a previous OTREC grant, and publish them as globally accessible mobile applications (apps) for use in a variety of transportation planning settings. Under this grant, three applications have been developed for three distinctly different user groups. The first, JLA Involve, was developed and deployed for JLA, a Portland, OR.-based public involvement firm, to support their work with the City of Tualatin, OR., in updating their Transportation System Plan (TSP). The second was developed and deployed for the City of Eugene, …

Examining Consumer Behavior And Travel Choices, Kelly J. Clifton, Christopher Devlin Muhs, Sara Morrissey, Tomás Morrissey, Kristina Marie Currans, Chloe Ritter

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study represents a first attempt to answer a few of the questions that have arisen concerning multimodal transportation investments and the impacts of mode shifts on the business community. This research aims to merge the long history of scholarly work that examines the impacts of the built environment on non-work travel with the relatively new interest in consumer spending by mode of travel. This empirical study of travel choices and consumer spending across 89 businesses in the Portland metropolitan area shows there are important differences between the amounts customers spend on average at various businesses by their mode of …

The Necessity Of Changing What Is Possible: Implementing Large-Scale Wildlands Protection, David Johns

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Presentation on the Wildlands Project approach to conservation

Absence Of Evidence And Evidence Of Absence In The Effects Of Same Sex Marriage Laws On Rates Of Opposite Sex Marriage: Mutual Reinforcement Of Research, Scholarly Growth And The Classroom, Alexis Dinno

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentation will explore the question of whether legal recognition of same sex marriages affects state- rates of opposite sex marriages in the U.S., with attention given to statistical methods for equivalence testing.

Public Perceptions Regarding The Police Bureau And Crime In Portland, Oregon, Brian Renauer, Kimberly Barsamian Kahn, Kris R. Henning, Greg Stewart

Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute Research Briefs

On September 12, 2012 the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint in the Federal District Court for Oregon asserting that the City of Portland has engaged in a pattern and practice of unnecessary or excessive force against persons experiencing a mental health crisis. This survey is the result of a settlement agreement between Portland’s City Council and the DOJ which specified the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) develop a means of assessing public perceptions.

This report examines public perceptions of PPB across four content areas that are highlighted in the DOJ settlement agreement. Data for the report were …

Enhancing Bicycle And Pedestrian Education Through Curriculum And Faculty Development, Lynn Weigand

TREC Final Reports

This project was intended to provide relevant curriculum on bicycle and pedestrian transportation that can be used by planning and engineering faculty to integrate these topics into their course offerings. We developed a module-based curriculum for bicycle and pedestrian planning and design that is current, relevant to practice, and adaptable for use in a variety of course offerings in engineering and planning departments. We also procured 33 new publications for the Millar Library to support coursework on this topic. In addition, a proposal to pilot a faculty development workshop was funded, allowing us to provide training and resources to transportation …

Functional Analysis And Operations Review Of The Oregon Department Of Education, Masami Nishishiba, Shannon Grzybowski, Andrew Dzeguze

Center for Public Service Publications and Reports

In November 2012, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement with Portland State University’s (PSU) Center for Public Service (CPS). This agreement outlines the scope of work for CPS to perform a Functional Analysis and Operations Review of ODE. The Scope of Work includes:

1. Conduct interviews with key ODE personnel, Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ) legal advisors, Oregon Department of Administrative Services (DAS) staff, and education community key stakeholders. Interviews will be used to determine the extent to which existing ODE personnel have the understanding and tools needed to effectively perform their jobs consistent with …

The Paradox Of “Acting Globally While Thinking Locally”: Discordance In Climate Change Adaption Policy, Daniel A. Mazmanian, John L. Jurewitz, Hal T. Nelson

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

The paradox motivating this article is why California has acted globally by enacting a comprehensive mitigation policy to reduce the emissions of Greenhouse gases, a true public good since the benefits will be shared across the planet, but has not mustered the will to act locally through the adoption of an equally comprehensive adaptation policy for the state to protect its own public and private assets and interests. We attempt to explain the paradox by identifying what it is that differentiates climate change adaptation from mitigation, both substantively and politically. The paradox notwithstanding, we identify several imaginable adaptation policies and …

Three Questions For Community Engagement At The Crossroads, Kevin Kecskes, Kevin Michael Foster

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

Unfortunately, a decade of “calls to action,” begun by the Kellogg Commission’s report on university engagement and the 1999 Wingspread Declaration on Renewing the Civic Mission of the American Research University, has not produced a flowering of transformed institutions….This is not because engagement does not work….And it is not for lack of knowledge on how it can be implemented….Rather, engagement is difficult work. It gets to the heart of what higher education is about and as such, it requires institution-wide effort, deep commitment at all levels, and leadership by both campus and community. (Brukardt, Holland, Percy, & Zimpher, N., 2004, …

Educating For The Twenty-First Century, Judith A. Ramaley

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

In his first inaugural speech, President Obama declared that "our schools fail too many" and an essential component of laying "a new foundation for growth" will be "to transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. " Concerns about our nation s position in the global education race have led to a focus on college completion. Policymakers and foundations are setting goals for degree completion and are pressing colleges and universities to shorten the degree programs offered, address the barriers to degree attainment, rethink how best to help underprepared students be successful in …

Revisiting Equity: The Hud Sustainable Communities Initiative, Lisa K. Bates, Marisa Zapata

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

In 1974, Norman Krumholz boldly called on planners to advocate for equity in public resource allocation and administrative practices. In 2010, the Obama administration’s HUD-DOT-EPA Sustainable Communities Initiative—specifically in the form of the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant

(SCRPG)—renewed this call for equity. But our review of the responses by thirteen grantees proved disappointing. The plans put forth by award winners recycle many of the activities from the Cleveland Policy Plan (CPP) without employing its overarching mission. Instead of boldness, we are left with a stark reminder about the lack of progress made since the City of Cleveland incited planners …

Oregon’S Electric Vehicle Industry, Jenny H. Liu, Jeff Renfro, Scott Stewart

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

In 2012, Drive Oregon and the Portland Development Commission (PDC) commissioned the Northwest Economic Research Center (NERC) to undertake a study of Oregon’s existing EV cluster. This report has two goals: define what we mean when we talk about an EV cluster in Oregon, and characterize and measure the existing EV cluster in order to identify Oregon’s strengths and opportunities.

Clackamas County 2011-2012 Diversity Assessment (Phase I), Masami Nishishiba, Amanda Shannahan, Bonnie Crawford, Chad Stover, Wongkang Lee

Center for Public Service Publications and Reports

Clackamas County conducted its first diversity assessment in 2001. Since then, the County has taken significant steps to promote diversity within the organization, including the creation of a Diversity and Inclusion Manager position. This 2011-2012 assessment is the first phase of the County’s attempt to evaluate its current diversity climate and the effectiveness of its diversity efforts.

Results in this report are based on data collected from February to April 2012. In July 2012, after the data collection of this phase I assessment process, the Clackamas County Board of County Commissioners adopted a resolution titled ”Valuing Diversity in Clackamas County.” …

A Study Of Emergency Service Provider Costs For Chronically Homeless Persons In Washington County, Oregon, Scott Stewart, Janai Kessi

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

Individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Washington County are a growing community challenge. Services provided to the homeless population have tended to focus on providing support in cases of emergency, and by doing so are unlikely to address the root causes of homelessness. There is a growing recognition nationally that concentrating on provision of emergency services might be both inefficient and unnecessarily expensive. Recognizing these issues locally, Vision Action Network (VAN) and its partners have taken the initiative to both better understand homelessness in Washington County and to encourage progress toward its solution. As one part of that effort VAN …

Contesting The North Williams Traffic Operations And Safety Project, Amy Lubitow, Thaddeus R. Miller

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The North Williams Traffic Safety Operations Project, overseen by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), was proposed in 2010. With an initial budget of $370,000, the project was designed to reduce conflict between buses, bicycles and motor vehicles on North Williams Avenue and improve the overall safety and accessibility of the street. As is common practice, PBOT’s first step in this project was to organize a stakeholder advisory committee (SAC) of interested business owners, neighborhood association representatives, residents, and key stakeholders living or working along North Williams Avenue who would be tasked with advising the city on the project. However, …

Making Accessibility Analyses Accessible: A Tool To Facilitate The Public Review Of The Effects Of Regional Transportation Plans On Accessibility, Aaron Golub, Glenn Robinson, Brendan Nee

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The regional transportation planning process in the United States has not been easily opened to public oversight even after strengthened requirements for public participation and civil rights considerations. In the effort to improve the public review of regional transportation plans, this paper describes the construction of a proof-of concept web-based tool designed to analyze the effects of regional transportation plans on accessibility to jobs and other essential destinations. The tool allows the user to analyze disparities in accessibility outcomes by demographic group, specifically income and race, as required by civil rights-related planning directives. The tool makes cumulative-opportunity measures of the …

Increasing The Relevance Of Research To Underserved Communities: Lessons Learned From A Retreat To Engage Community Health Workers With Researchers, Heather Angier, Noelle Wiggins, Jessica Gregg, Rachel Gold, Jennifer E. Devoe

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article presents information on a community retreat developed to seek input from community health workers (CHWs) to increase the relevance of our research to underserved communities in Oregon. Retreats facilitating dialogue between researchers and CHWs could yield important insight to enhance the significance of research for communities.

Public Contact With And Perceptions Regarding Police In Portland, Oregon, Brian Renauer, Kimberly Barsamian Kahn, Kris R. Henning, Greg Stewart

Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute Research Briefs

On September 12, 2012 the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint in the Federal District Court for Oregon asserting that the City of Portland has engaged in a pattern and practice of unnecessary or excessive force against persons experiencing a mental health crisis. This survey is the result of a settlement agreement between Portland’s City Council and the DOJ which specified the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) develop a means of assessing public perceptions.

The first report generated by the research team examined general attitudes of residents. This second report focuses on an area pertinent to the DOJ …

Top-Down Nationalism In Post-Soviet Kazakhstan, Annie M. Scriven

Geography Masters Research Papers

Kazakhstan was the most multi-ethnic country to emerge from the former Soviet Union and the only one to have its titular ethnicity as a minority. This paper examines the top-down nationalism that has occurred since independence in 1991. The government of Kazakhstan has used elements of the theories of nationalism and territoriality in their effort to build a strong and unified post-Soviet national identity. The role of language, treatment of minorities, changing demographics, and the multi-ethnic nature of Kazakhstan make this a difficult task.

Oral Care & Asian And Pacific Islander Communities In Oregon, Amira Caluya

Center to Advance Racial Equity Publications and Reports

This report attempts to describe the current knowledge of oral health care access within Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities in Oregon based on secondary data from the Oregon Health Authority’s Smile Survey 2007, Smile Survey 2012; and the Coalition of Communities of Color’s 2012 report, The Asian and Pacific Islander Community in Multnomah County: An Unsettling Profile. To be clear, the 2012 survey report draft is cited most, as the 2012 survey reported more data on children of color compared to the 2007 survey. This paper also attempts to highlight the multifaceted aspects of access to care …

Motivating Men Who Have Sex With Men To Get Tested For Hiv Through The Internet And Mobile Phones: A Qualitative Study, Magaly M. Blas, Luis A. Menacho, Isaac E. Alva, Robinson Cabello, Edwin Roberto Orellana

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) have the highest HIV prevalence in Peru, yet they are underserved by traditional preventive programs. In Peru, the Internet and mobile phones have emerged as an effective and convenient tool to reach this population.

Methods and Findings: From October 2010 to February 2011, we conducted eight focus groups with gay identified MSM (closeted and out-of-the-closet) and with self-identified heterosexual MSM in order to identify key features and preferences to be used to tailor culturally-appropriate messages that could be delivered through Internet and mobile phones to motivate MSM to get tested …

Short Text Messages To Motivate Hiv Testing Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Qualitative Study In Lima, Peru, Luis A. Menacho, Magaly M. Blas, Isaac E. Alva, Edwin Roberto Orellana

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: The objective of this study is to identify features and content that short message service (SMS) should have in order to motivate HIV testing among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Lima, Peru.

Methods: From October, 2010 to February, 2011, we conducted focus groups at two stages; six focus groups were conducted to explore and identify SMS content and features and two additional focus groups were conducted to tailor SMS content. The text messages were elaborated within the theoretical framework of the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills model and the Social Support Theory.

Results: A total of …

Policies To Eliminate Racial Disparities In Education: A Literature Review, Ann Curry-Stevens, Analucia Lopezrevoredo, Dana Peters

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In response to an increasing need to understand the reach of the literature and the research undertaken on initiatives to eliminate racial disparities, a literature review was initiated in 2012 for the Eliminating Racial Disparities Collaborative within the All Hands Raised initiative to improve academic outcomes for students in Multnomah County. This was an expansive undertaking – and at the end, we have drawn upon about 160 different articles, some of which were meta-analyses of an array of publications in a particular field.

The first section in this report is a summary document that details each policy-based recommendation in this …