Infrastructure Commons^™

Southern Nevada Regional Industrial Study, Brookings Mountain West, Center For Business And Economic Research, Transportation Research Center

Policy Briefs and Reports

Recognizing the ongoing need to diversify the Southern Nevada economy, in 2023 GOED commissioned Brookings Mountain West, the UNLV Center for Business and Economic Research, and the UNLV Transportation Research Center to evaluate how Southern Nevada can leverage its geography and connectivity to neighboring states and metros at the megapolitan level to pursue industrial opportunities in the face of shifting global supply chains, diminishing developable land, the need for efficient management of the regional water supply, and the availability of unprecedented federal resources to support clean energy development, manufacturing, electrification of transportation systems, and supply-chain resiliency.

The study builds on …

Property Pillagers: Effects Of Dirty Urbanism, Chase Wilson, Kayli Clark

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

This podcast dives into American urbanism and its associated development targeting certain minority communities; the ill intentions to disrupt specific neighborhoods led us to refer to the practice as “dirty urbanism”. The pair of I-40 and Jefferson Street in north Nashville, alongside similarly treated areas across the United States, exemplify dirty urbanism. Exercising their raw power and ability to cover up to 90% of the costs, the federal government incentivizes the local governments to construct the highway system: a highway system used as a racially motivated tool to sever black-built urban fabrics. With the highways, vehicular space overrides …

The Rise Of Southern Nevada As A Cluster For Metropolitan Transit Technology Innovations, Arthur C. Nelson

Policy Briefs and Reports

Southern Nevada is emerging as the nation’s leader in private sector-driven innovations in transportation technologies. From the humble beginnings of a monorail system serving a portion of major hotel and gaming venues along the Las Vegas Strip, now supplemented by an array of people movers, Southern Nevada continues to attract transit innovations in tunneling, Hyperloop, and driverless vehicle delivery technologies. The region may soon anchor a high-speed rail system connecting Southern Nevada to Los Angeles. The purpose of this briefing paper is to frame the nature of this emerging transportation cluster and the opportunities this creates for Southern Nevada to …

Interstate 11: The Road To Prosperity In Nevada, Arthur C. Nelson

Policy Briefs and Reports

Interstate 11 (I-11) offers Nevada a unique opportunity to advance the economic development prospects of one of the state’s most economically challenged areas: Elko and eastern Nevada. Although the state used a qualitative system to choose a western route for I-11, this process may not have considered fully the costs of extending I-11 to Canada in a cost-effective manner or in a manner consistent with I-11 purposes, especially avoiding congested areas. This briefing report reviews the history and purposes of I-11; summarizes the I-11 route options; considers how I-11 might extend to Canada in a way that is consistent with …

Towards Creating Smart Cities In Nepal, Ambika P. Adhikari, Keshav Bhattarai

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Many urban centers in the world are seeking to become smart cities. Nepali city leaders are also aspiring to make their cities smart. A smart city basically has clever improvements made in three sectors of its operations: technological, human, and institutional. Globally, many cities have recently made impressive enhancements in at least one or more of these areas. Nepal’s National Planning Commission (NPC) in 2016 had released a concept paper on smart cities for Nepal, defining smart cities as sustainable, information and technology-based, with high quality services and replicable (NPC 2016). As most Nepali cities still operate with limited infrastructure, …

Urban Development In Nepal And The Impacts Of Covid-19, Ambika P. Adhikari, Keshav Bhattarai

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

The Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has created a public health crisis worldwide and is impacting the way we plan and design cities. While much is still being learned about Covid-19, we have seen that the virus spreads quickly and its fatality rate is also significant. The virus has already seriously impacted the global economies and most urban activities.

During pandemics, regular public interactions in the city can be the cause for spread of communicable diseases. In this context, urban planning should include approached to help mitigate the spread of virus. Designs of facilities should help the residents to physically distance themselves …

Tallahassee Central City Planning Study, Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department

City and Regional Planning -- Florida

Study on Developing Downtown Tallahassee

Designing Urban Policy For A Thriving New Jersey • New Jersey Urban Mayors Association Addresses Policy Priorities, Thomas Edison State University, Evan Weiss, New Jersey Urban Mayors Association

Urban Mayors Policy Center

Cities are the Solution, Not the Problem:

While decades of suburban development might suggest otherwise, New Jersey is at its core an urban state. It is dense, covered by one of the largest transit networks in the country and incredibly diverse. Every region of the state has great livable cities, with small, midsized and large cities all represented — most states are lucky to have just a handful. But, for decades, new jersey cities have too often been portrayed as problems that need to be fixed. As the economic and lifestyle preferences of future generations shift back toward cities and …

Use Of Cycling Paths Along The Morogoro Brt Line, Ford Sanger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the urban population continues to increase rapidly in Dar es Salaam it will become increasingly important to find sustainable means of urban transportation. With planned infrastructure improvements in the city to help alleviate traffic congestion, bicycles, which represent a largely underutilized form of urban transportation, have the potential to play a large role in the future of the city. Through background research, direct observations, community surveys, and interviews, both formal and informal, this study sought to understand the impact of the recent addition of bike lanes along the first phase of the Dar Bus Rapid Transit line. It was …

Issue Brief: Saving By Mitigating, University Of Louisville, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Natural disasters can cause loss of life, inflict damage to buildings and infrastructure, and have devastating consequences for a community’s economic, social, and environmental well-being. Hazard mitigation means reducing damages from disasters.

Local governments have the responsibility to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens. Proactive mitigation policies and actions help reduce risk and create safer, more disaster-resilient communities. Mitigation is an investment in your community’s future safety, equity, and sustainability.

The South Kelso Revitalization Plan, Ashley Harris, Aaron Lande, Chris Myers, Beth Otto, John Verssue, Kate Williams

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

The city of Kelso has a rich history based in a strong community ethic, hard-working people, and an economy deeply rooted in the bounty of the natural environment. This economy has changed over the last several decades, however, and the difficult transition has left its mark on the community. South Kelso in particular- one of the four neighborhood quadrants- is battling its fourth generation of disinvestment and widespread poverty. To help the City revitalize South Kelso, the aim of the South Kelso Revitalization Plan is to give voice, strength, and direction to the concerns and priorities of the South Kelso …

Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli

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

Climate change, understood as a statistically significant variation in the mean state of the climate or its variability, is the greatest environmental challenge of this generation (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001). Marshfield is already being affected by changes in the climate that will have a profound effect on the town’s economy, public health, coastal resources, natural features, water systems, and public and private infrastructure. Adaptation strategies have been widely recognized as playing an important role in improving a community’s ability to respond to climate stressors by resisting damage and recovering quickly.

Based on review of climate projections for the …

Neighborhood Crime And Travel Behavior: An Investigation Of The Influence Of Neighborhood Crime Rates On Mode Choice – Phase Ii, Christopher Ferrell, Shishir Mathur

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

A Decision-Support Framework For Using Value Capture To Fund Public Transit: Lessons From Project-Specific Analyses, Shishir Mathur, Adam Smith

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Compressed Natural Gas (Cng) Transit Bus Experience Survey: April 2009—April 2010, R. Adams, D. B. Horne

Publications (T)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) commissioned this survey to collect and analyze experiential data from U.S. transit agencies with varying degrees of compressed natural gas (CNG) bus and station experience. This information helps DOE and NREL determine areas of CNG transit bus success and priority areas for which further technical or other assistance might be required to enable success.

Clean Vehicle Education Foundation (CVEF) staff and subcontractors developed a battery of questions and identified 10 transit agencies to represent all U.S. transit agencies that use CNG buses, accounting for the diversity in …

Roads: Leading Indicators Show Ramp-Up In Activity, Shishir Mathur, Kunal Katara

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Suburban Transit Oriented Developments On Residential Property Values, Shishir Mathur, Christopher Ferrell

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Neighborhood Crime And Non-Auto Mode Choice, Shishir Mathur, Christopher Ferrell, Emy Mendoza

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Housing Silicon Valley: A 20 Year Plan To End The Affordable Housing Crisis, Shishir Mathur, Alicia Parker

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

High-Speed Rail Projects In The United States: Identifying The Elements Of Success Part 2, Allison Decerreno, Shishir Mathur

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Haverhill Street Corridor Study: Methuen, Massachusetts, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The City of Methuen’s Department of Planning and Community Development hired a team of students from the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Master’s in Regional Planning studio class to examine the growth impacts of a potential highway interchange reconfiguration. Exit 46 of Interstate 93 in Methuen is a failed interchange, and will likely be reconfigured in the next ten years. Methuen, a middle class city of 44,000 midway between Boston, MA and Manchester, NH, is currently experiencing significant growth pressures. The reconfigured interchange will only add to these pressures.

In consultation with the client, the studio team focused its analysis on …

All Party Oireachtas Committee On The Constitution Ninth Progress Report, Tom Dunne

Reports

Ireland, like many other countries with high rates of economic growth, is urbanising rapidly. There has been considerable emphasis on planning for this through the National Development Plan, the National Spatial Strategy, development guidelines and other measures. Through these the state intends that a proper planning process will lead growth rather than leaving it to market forces to drive development in what are regarded as undesirable directions. The latter it is feared will lead to unsuitable social, economic or physical outcomes. Unintended results have flowed from the implementation, or flawed implementation of many of these policies and have given rise …

Mill Redevelopment In Rural Massachusetts Why There? And Not Here?, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The purpose of this work is to identify both the obstacles and successful strategies of mill redevelopment in rural Massachusetts. While redevelopment has occurred in the historic industrial corridors of the Blackstone and Merrimac rivers, it has been largely absent in rural areas of Massachusetts. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to explain the forces that have acted as a catalyst for mill redevelopment in these areas, and examine why that has not occurred in rural New England. Our research has found that there are several obstacles that exist in rural areas that make mill redevelopment particularly challenging. However, …

Providence Place: The Development Of A Downtown Mall, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

This study examines the history of urban mall development in the United States and the role of such sites in widespread revitalization efforts that are intended to protect the city from further decline and bring it back to its once thriving existence, before the mass relocations to the suburbs.

Providence Place in downtown Providence, Rhode Island is the primary focus of the study which has three objectives. The first objective is to analyze the development patterns of suburban malls in the Providence region. The second is to identify the economic factors that prompted the development of a large scale downtown …

The Valley Of Innovation Springfield Biotechnology Summary Report, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The Valley of Innovation is a new industrial region that is being formed as the result of recent technology transfers and significant growth in the biotechnology sector. The region includes part of western Massachusetts along with Central Connecticut and runs from north to south along the I-91 corridor, following the general borders of the Connecticut River Valley. The region extends from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, through Springfield, Massachusetts, and continues past Hartford, Connecticut, to New Haven, and down I-95 towards New York State.

Currently in embryonic form, the region has the potential to grow rapidly. It is nurtured …

The Revitalization Of The Morningside Neighborhood, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The purpose of this project was to provide the Morningside Neighborhood Action Council (MNAC) with reuse options for sites within the Morningside Neighborhood. The two connected goals were to develop reuse options for vacant buildings and lots and for the soon to be vacated Berkshire County House of Corrections and Jail.

Methods the studio team employed in this project include literature review, interviews, field work, inventorying and mapping. These methods allowed the studio team to gain a proper understanding of the issues, needs and desires of the neighborhood and to make recommendations based on them.

The studio team found 11 …

A Critical Assessment Of Master Plans, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

We would like to thank the following individuals for their support and guidance throughout the course of this project.

Our Client:

Mr. Stephen Smith, Executive Director of the Southern Regional Planning and Economic Development District

Our Professors:

John Mullin, PhD., AICP

Rick Taupier, PhD.

David Winsor, AIA

The Purpose of this report is to evaluate master plans for the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District. This project stems from Massachusetts Executive Order 385, which requires planning agencies to review their plans and policies regarding land use and growth management, and to make them as consistent with one another as …

The Implications And Development Of Telecommunications, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandates that personal wireless companies develop their systems so that adequate service is provided to the public. Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 governs federal, state and local government oversight of siting of "personal wireless service" facilities (Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, 1996). The FCC published a Fact Sheet in April of 1996 which summarizes the key provisions of section 704. The summary is as follows:

Local zoning authority over the placement, construction., and modification of personal wireless service facilities is maintained by the Act. However, zoning may not:

1. discriminate between different personal wireless …

Creating A Strong Image For The Economic Enhancement Of Downtown Ayer, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The recent closure of Fort Devens has had an undeniable impact on business in downtown Ayer, Massachusetts, deflating both the town's population level and its economy. Downtown business in Ayer has traditionally served several surrounding communities, and it is fundamental to the survival of Ayer' s economy that this business continue to thrive. Facing a future that will lack the economic boost formerly associated with Fort activity, business owners and the town must make a greater effort to attract downtown commerce. In the midst of these changes, residents and business owners have participated with town officials in planning for the …

Looking At Market Square: Toward A Development Concept For Chicopee Center, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

This report presents a series of marketing and economic development strategies for the central business district in Chicopee Center known as the Market Square area. The City of Chicopee, along with the cities of Holyoke and Springfield, is part of the urban center of the Pioneer Valley region. Like many older industrial cities, and like many cities with a small downtown area, Chicopee finds its economic fortunes at an ebb. Although Chicopee is certainly not a city in distress, it is believed that steps should be taken to ensure that the Market Square area does not slip into serious decline. …