Infrastructure Commons^™

Characteristics Of Social Capital In Informal Housing Settlements, Lena Parsons

University Honors Theses

Many cities see growth of informal housing settlements as urban populations rise across the globe. Residents of informal settlements are observed to use robust networks of social capital to support themselves in an environment of resource scarcity and marginalization. This review synthesizes research examining characteristics of social capital in informal housing settlements, finding that (1) social capital influences residents' acquisition of basic needs, (2) the structure of social capital networks depend on the context of the settlement, and (3) the built environment of informal settlements has a cyclical relationship to their social capital networks. This synthesis concludes that formal solutions …

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 …

Estimating The Economic Impacts Of Transportation-Related Supply Chain Disruptions In The Post-Earthquake Environment, Divya Chandrasekhar, Sua Kim, John Downen, Joshua Spolsdoff

TREC Final Reports

Transportation systems play a critical role in maintaining supply chains for effective post-disaster recovery. Modeling the potential economic impact of transportation-related disruptions, therefore, is an important step to promoting pre-event community wide recovery and resilience planning. But existing supply chain and economic impact models are cost prohibitive and overly sophisticated for use by public sector entities with limited resources. There is also limited understanding of how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) adjust to post-disaster transportation disruption and how this experience influences their future preparedness for similar events. This project had two objectives: (1) to analyze the economic impact due to …

Interdependent Infrastructure As Linked Social, Ecological, And Technological Systems (Setss) To Address Lock-In And Enhance Resilience, Samuel A. Markolf, Mikhail Chester, Daniel A. Eisenberg, David Iwaniec, Cliff I. Davidson, Rae Zimmerman, Thaddeus R. Miller, Benjamin Ruddell, Heejun Chang

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Traditional infrastructure adaptation to extreme weather events (and now climate change) has typically been techno-centric and heavily grounded in robustness—the capacity to prevent or minimize disruptions via a risk-based approach that emphasizes control, armoring, and strengthening (e.g., raising the height of levees). However, climate and nonclimate challenges facing infrastructure are not purely technological. Ecological and social systems also warrant consideration to manage issues of overconfidence, inflexibility, interdependence, and resource utilization—among others. As a result, techno-centric adaptation strategies can result in unwanted tradeoffs, unintended consequences, and underaddressed vulnerabilities. Techno-centric strategies that lock-in today’s infrastructure systems to vulnerable future design, management, and …

Utrecht, Bike Capital Of The World, Martijn Rietbergen

PSU Transportation Seminars

Utrecht is a bustling, bicycle-friendly city in the Netherlands. Every day, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., over 125,000 cyclists ride to their work, school, university, public transport, shops or home through the city centre.

The municipality wants to make cycling even more attractive for these and other cyclists. Consequently, the bicycle is given precedence in the mobility policy of the municipality of Utrecht. We want to be the most bike-friendly city in the world. We want to keep our growing city livable, accessible and economically strong, and we are convinced that the bicycle can and should play a major …

Neighborhood Change And The Role Of Environmental Stewardship: A Case Study Of Green Infrastructure For Stormwater In The City Of Portland, Oregon, Usa, Vivek Shandas

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Throughout the history of cities, the ecological landscape has often been buried, removed, or taken for granted. A recent recognition that humans are part of the global ecosystem, and that human actions both cause and are affected by ecological change, brings with it an awareness of the value of nature in cities and of natural systems on which cities depend. The feedbacks between humans and their environment within an urban context can have profound implications for the growth of and change in cities, yet there is a limited understanding of the interactions between biophysical changes in cities and the implications …

Oregon Highway Cost Allocation Study: Carbon Tax Issue Paper, Portland State University. College Of Urban And Public Affairs. Northwest Economic Research Center

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

The basic insight behind carbon pricing is not new, and is based in mainstream economic theory. If market interactions are leading to the overuse of resources outside of the market, imposing a price on the overused resource will bring it into the market and increase efficiency. Currently, the negative impacts associated with the release of carbon through fossil fuel combustion is not incorporated into the market. By imposing a price on carbon, fossil fuel consumers are incentivized to reduce their fuel usage. This reduction in fuel demand is not necessarily associated with lower economic output. In fact, depending on the …

Three Cities Fire And Emergency Services Project, Portland State University. Hatfield School Of Government. Center For Public Service, Kent S. Robinson, Robert Winthrop, Phil Keisling

Center for Public Service Publications and Reports

Fairview, Troutdale and Wood Village, and all other Oregon cities, are responsible for providing their citizens with fire and emergency medical (EM) services. Rather than establish internal city fire departments, the Three Cities entered into an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to purchase services from the City of Gresham in March 2006. These services include fire suppression, fire prevention, emergency medical services, and hazardous materials response (2005 Fire Service IGA). Under this IGA, the Three Cities collectively reimbursed Gresham $2.705 million for FEMS in 2012-2013. The current IGA will expire June 30, 2015, and the Three Cities are preparing to review their …

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 …

A Capping Case Study: Integrating Freight Rail Into A Community Setting, Jeff Schnabel, Tristan Brasseur

TREC Final Reports

This investigation seeks to explore specific design solutions that could potentially enhance the capabilities of heavy rail facilities while increasing their safety and reducing their environmental and community impacts.

Using Portland's Brooklyn Rail Yard as the study site, this case study explored the potential of structural platforms (caps) built above the existing rail yards to provide development space for expanding rail capacity and rail related activities. The potential for capping to reduce /eliminate conflicts between rail and non-rail uses will also be investigated. Finally, the various designs were presented for caps at the rail yard.

Capping projects (the development of …

Impact Of Public Transit Investment On Travel Pattern And Land Use, Jaturapat Bhiromkaew

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Transportation and land use are believed to be highly correlated and therefore indivisible from each other. Transportation improvement shapes pattern of land use. In tum, land use pattern causes changes in ways of how people travel. Because of relative lower transportation cost with easy access to automobiles, many firms and households have relocated in low-density areas. The number of automobile and the demand to travel have also increasingly dominated transportation system. This fact results in traffic congestion and environmental concerns. Due to the increasing congestion level and environmental concerns, many public transportation agencies have paid a considerable attention on the …

Performance Of The Housing Market In Abudhabi City And The Government Housing Policies, Nasser Saif Almansoori

Dissertations and Theses

This research examines the government housing policies and the performance of the housing market in AbuDhabi City. AbuDhabi City and other cities in United Arab Emirates were among the poorest cities in the world about thirty years ago but the new wealth from oil production which started during the early 1960s changed that fact completely. AbuDhabi City, the capital of U.A.E., experienced the most dramatic change in the country as it went through a massive urban transformation. Housing the city's rapidly growing population became among the top priorities of the government and this led to the adoption of many housing …

A Pathway To Sustainability, Patricia Scruggs, Ethan Seltzer, Portland State University. Institute Of Portland Metropolitan Studies

Institute of Metropolitan Studies Publications

This workbook is meant to provide basic information and options for developing a strategy within your own community. Since economic, environmental, social, and political aspects differ from town to town, there is no magic wand for developing a sustainable community effort. There are, however, common processes which have been used by communities across the country that can provide a foundation for local efforts.

Establishing Practical Limits To Crime Control Through Environmental Design, Gerald Dennis Brock

Dissertations and Theses

There are myriad approaches to control crime that are currently being advocated by one group or another in contemporary American society. These range from punitive programs of incarceration to global kinds of social intervention to change societal "root causes" of crime. One of the proposals which attracted much attention in the 1960's was the crime control through environmental design perspective hinted at by persons such as Jane Jacobs and developed in detail by Oscar Newman. The idea of defensible space is straightforward: certain kinds of environmental design can have a significant deterrent effect on crime and criminals. The recent literature, …

Expenditures For Urban Services In Tigard: An Update, Larry Conrad, Sheldon Edner

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This Study analyzes Tigard's expenditures for FY 82-83, FY 83-84, and FY 84-85 in a manner comparable with that produced as part of the Washington County Urban Service Study (Phase I).

Total City expenditures for urban services increased by $98.42 per capita (Cur rent Year $) during the study period. A large portion, $75. 84 per capita (Current Year $), of this increase is attributable to Capital and Debt Service expenditures associated with LID 1 s and the Civic Center project. The increase in operational expenditures accounted for only $22.58 per capita (Current Year $). This increase is the result …