Urban Studies Commons^™

The Mountain West: Affordable Housing Opportunities, Kaylie Pattni, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Housing & Real Estate

This fact sheet provides selected data pertaining to the Mountain West region from, The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, a 2018 report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The report includes statistics “based on data from the 2016 American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS). THE ACS is an annual nationwide survey of approximately 3.5 million addresses.”

Black Women At Work In Corrections In The Era Of Mass Incarceration: Documenting Demographic Changes In The New York City Department Of Correction, Carolyn Fisher

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Recent work has popularized the idea that mass incarceration arose in the wake of the civil rights movement to maintain the social and economic subordination of African Americans previously enforced under Jim Crow. This discussion has not accounted for the many black Americans working in corrections, particularly in large metropolitan jail systems. This paper documents the increase in black women working as correction officers and administrators in the New York City Department of Correction since the late 1970s and explores the implications of this growth on the strict racial argument about mass incarceration. Using administrative and archival sources, it argues …

Rezoning, Real Estate, And The Dynamics Of Displacement In Inwood, Damaly Gonzalez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis asks how New York City’s rezoning process combine with the dynamics of real-estate sales to create displacement pressures for low-income communities of color. A case study of the recent rezoning of Inwood, a neighborhood in upper Manhattan, in August 2018, will help to illustrate these dynamics. Through an analysis of building sales and extreme rent inflation embedded in a historical and contemporary analysis of zoning and the influence of real-estate developers and owners on these processes, this thesis paints a dire picture of the risks faced by the mostly-Dominican-American renters in Inwood. The principal contribution of the …

Criminal Arrests In Clark County, Nevada, By Jurisdiction 2006-2016, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

Criminal arrests in Southern Nevada are on a downward trend. Despite a record-setting influx in population across the Las Vegas Valley and the surrounding metro area, officers in each of Clark County’s police jurisdictions arrest fewer people every year. The present study utilizes the Arrest Trends Tool created by the Vera Institute of Justice and the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program to measure the number of arrests made over ten years for a variety of illegal activities, including drug abuse, violence and murder, property crimes, sex crimes, alcohol-related crimes, theft, white collar crimes, and other offenses. This data set …

Urban & Suburban Population Growth In The Mountain West, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Demography

This Fact Sheet summarizes and adapts the findings of the Brookings Institution’s report on population growth and loss in the nation’s top 87 largest cities and top 53 metropolitan areas. For the purposes of this Fact Sheet, the focus of the report is narrowed to 14 cities and 5 metropolitan areas located within the Mountain West region of the United States (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah).

Economic Innovation Group (Eig) 2018 Distressed Communities Index (Dci): Nevada Counties, Lauren Fousek, Caitlin Saladino

Economic Development & Workforce

This Fact Sheet highlights the Economic Distress Indicators (EDI) for the 17 counties within Nevada. Using the Economic Innovations Group1 DCI (Distressed Communities Index),2 the Tables that follow report EDI for each of the 17 counties in Nevada, grouped within two time-frames (2007-2011 and 2012-2016), and showing change over time. The data provides the opportunity to compare how the Great Recession affected communities across the nation and how the ongoing recovery is reshaping the economies and social networks of our nation.

Full Potential Of Future Robotaxis Achievable With Trip-Based Subsidies And Fees Applied To The For-Hire Vehicles Of Today, John Niles

Mineta Transportation Institute

As described by Grush and Niles in their textbook, The End of Driving: Transportation Systems and Public Policy Planning for Autonomous Vehicles, there are two distinct market states for the future of automobility as vehicles become increasingly automated. The first, Market-1, is comprised of all vehicles that are manufactured and sold to private owners and used as household vehicles. This private consumer fleet will—through automated driver assistance systems (ADAS)—be increasingly capable of hands-off operation, even self-driving in certain environments such as limited-access expressways. The second category, Market-2, represents all the vehicles made expressly for the service market, i.e., roboshuttles and …

Municipal Annexation Reform In Texas: How A Victory For Property Rights Jeopardizes The State’S Financial Health, Julie Polansky Bell

St. Mary's Law Journal

Municipal annexation is the expansion of city boundaries. The greatest motivator behind municipal annexation is maintaining and improving economic prosperity of the annexing authority. The issue of annexation involves a balance of rights between property owners and municipalities of the state. Historically, Texas cities had broad annexation authority under an involuntary annexation scheme. However, in recent years the power has shifted as lawmakers have given property owners greater control over the annexation process. This trend culminated in the passage of the Municipal Annexation Right to Vote Act (MARVA) by the 85th Texas Legislature, which severely limits annexation authority.

Texas municipalities …

Factors In Refugee Resilience Building During Humanitarian Response, Rachel Starner

Capstone Collection

If countries hosting refugees want to build resiliency and reduce dependency on foreign relief, humanitarian response and local development need to be addressed simultaneously, and collaboration at all levels of stakeholders needs to take place in planning and decision making. Additionally, innovation and strong leadership are strong factors in creating and leading new ideas as funding and world leadership dynamics change, especially with traditional leaders such as the US and the UN losing influence. Observations made at the Mahama Refugee Camp in Rwanda as well as existing document analysis reflect these traits by active efforts of camp administrators and humanitarian …

Have You Seen The Poop Fairy?, Sergio Lozoya

Architecture and Planning ETDs

This research seeks to understand the effectiveness of the There is no Poop Fairy campaign through a public survey of dog owners. The There Is No Poop Fairy campaign was initiated in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2014, with the goal of getting dog owners to pick up and properly dispose of their dogs’ waste. The Rio Grande is contaminated with E. coli bacteria that originates in part from dog waste, which is carried to the river through storm water. Levels of E. coli in the Rio Grande have decreased dramatically within the past few years, coincident with the campaign. The …

Public Safety Trends In Map Communities And Matched Comparison Areas. Map Evaluation Update Number 3., Sheyla A. Delgado, Richard A. Espinobarros, Gina Moreno, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

This is the third of six updates presenting interim findings from the evaluation of the NYC Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP). As part of an evaluation of the New York City Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP), researchers from John Jay College of Criminal Justice collaborated with survey specialists from NORC at the University of Chicago to track key outcomes in MAP developments and matched comparison sites. Using the NYC Open Data portal and data from NYPD and SPARCS, the research team looked to see if the presence of MAP showed initial impacts in crime and victimization …

The Portland Adu Market: Conditions, Costs, Drivers, Incentives, Northwest Economic Research Center, Institute For Sustainable Solutions

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

This report was researched and written by the Northwest Economic Research Center of Portland State University (PSU) in collaboration with the Institute for Sustainable Solutions (also at PSU) in order to explore the potential for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to increase housing affordability in the Portland metropolitan region. Additionally, this report seeks to broadly assess the efficacy of the City’s SDC fee waiver for increasing affordability by increasing the rental housing supply.

In October and November of 2017, ISS conducted an online survey of ADU owners and occupants, the results of which constitute the most exhaustive collection of data regarding …

Best Training Practices For Probation Officers And Staff Toward Building A More Sophisticated, Fair, And Effective System Of Juvenile Justice In San Diego County, Carissa Carrasquillo

Ethnic Studies Senior Capstone Papers

This report illustrates how probation leadership, officers, and staff in San Diego County can adopt best training practices to address and alleviate incidents in juvenile detention facilities and build a sophisticated, fair, and effective system of juvenile justice. The goal of implementing best training practices for probation officers and staff is to build a knowledgeable workforce to better serve youth and families and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. This report analyzes how innovations in management and the introduction of new programs has proven effective through research- and evidence-based practices and direct community involvement. In particular, …

Poetic Representation Of Immigrant Bengali Women From Queens, New York: A Qualitative Exploration Of Narrative In Relation To Physical And Cultural Migration, Tabashshum J. Islam

Publications and Research

Poetic Representation of Immigrant Bengali Women from Queens, New York: A Qualitative Exploration of Narrative in Relation to Physical and Cultural Migration is a qualitative poetic inquiry and collaborative creative writing project. Five participants were interviewed and invited to engage in a collaborative writing process with the themes of immigration, cultural negotiation, and oral family history. All participants identified as college-educated Bengali women with a connection to Queens, New York, as well as being an immigrant or relative of an immigrant in the United States. From transcriptions of one-on-one interviews and personal notes, research-poetry was created to center on the …

Training As Restructuring: Cases From Entry-Level Healthcare And Manufacturing Workforce Training In Eastern Connecticut, Shelley Buchbinder

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since the 1980s, capital mobility and state restructuring have increased precarity in older industrial regions, such as eastern Connecticut (CT). These changes reconfigured labor markets, changing the work available, including the types, conditions, and skills required. Greater responsibility devolved onto poor and working-class people to navigate a labor market with insufficient living-wage work with 42.4% of jobs pay under $15/hour (Tung, Lathrop, & Sonn, 2015). Entry-level healthcare and manufacturing are two avenues for sub-baccalaureate, living-wage employment. Employment and Training (E&T) prepares people for entry-level jobs; it is a politically popular response to restructurings (Lafer, 2002; Laney et al., 2013). How …

Rogue Transfer & Recycling Transfer Station Index: Synopsis, Northwest Economic Research Center

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

Rogue Transfer and Recycling, LLC (“RTR”) is a solid waste and recycling facility that collects and transfers solid waste and recycling materials from the Southern Oregon region. Currently RTR’s revenue and expenses are reviewed by Jackson County, Oregon in periodic rate reviews, with rates being adjusted in interim years by applying the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). RTR requested that Northwest Economic Research Center (NERC) conduct detailed research and develop a new indicator – based on independent, reliable, and timely data – that more closely tracks RTR’s changes in total expenses per ton than the CPI. …

“Paying” The Way For A Better Bart Future: A Call For Better Enforcement Of Fare Evasion Policies And Strategic Planning At Bart, Ethan S. Tan

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system has undoubtedly shaped the way the San Francisco Bay Area operates today. BART has molded itself to becoming a popular form of transportation for citizens of the area. However, numerous problems have arisen in recent years in regard to the overall “healthiness” of the BART system with its ex-aging fleet of trains, undertrained staff, lack of BART Police presence, rampant illegal drug use, etc. which has made BART unpopular with riders. The root cause of these problems through, is the lost revenue through “stolen” rides. At any one of BART’s 48 stations in …

Access To Opportunity Project: Final Report, Shawn Flanigan, Emily Lieb, Lisa K. Bates, Raphael Bostic, Sheryl V. Whitney

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This project’s goal is to lift up promising approaches, suggest new strategies and encourage honest conversations that result in public policy solutions to income and racial segregation and poverty. The overarching question that motivates this work is:

• What are effective policies and strategies that promote access to high-opportunity amenities for low-income families?

As a first step, the researchers surveyed efforts on the ground in the metropolitan areas encompassing Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and San Diego, California, to determine whether there were any candidates for deeper study. We selected these three metropolitan areas for several reasons. First, prior interaction revealed that …

Pedpdx: Addressing Equity Through Citywide Pedestrian Planning, Michelle Marx, Francesca Patricolo

PSU Transportation Seminars

Pedestrian safety and access is an equity issue. In Portland, inadequate pedestrian infrastructure and traffic safety concerns disproportionately impact low-income communities and people of color. The City is attempting to rectify these inequities through PedPDX, Portland’s new citywide pedestrian plan (anticipated for adoption in Spring 2019). PedPDX prioritizes sidewalk and crossing improvements and other investments, policies, strategies and tools to make walking safer and more comfortable across the city.

Come learn about the strategies PedPDX is using to address transportation equity in Portland, including establishing a data-based prioritization for citywide pedestrian investments, identifying roadway and behavioral characteristics most closely …

Odot Highway Cost Allocation Study Review: Challenges In Including Regional Revenues, Northwest Economic Research Center, Thomas Potiowsky, Emma Willingham, Katelyn Kelley, Devin Bales

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

This report, written for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) by Portland State University’s Northwest Economic Research Center, outlines the challenges that regional revenue collection poses for ODOT’s biennial Highway Cost Allocation Study (HCAS). The HCAS assesses the relative burdens of light and heavy vehicle classes on state infrastructure, in relation to the amount of revenue that said vehicle classes generate. In other words, it ensures that light vehicles and heavy vehicles are “paying their share” of state transportation expenditures.

Differences in vehicle traffic or differential impacts to vehicle classes are the root cause of most of the problems that …

Why Is The Black Population Of Central Brooklyn, The Mecca Of Black Nyc, Diminishing?, Jamell N.A. Henderson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This research looks at three possible reasons that might help to explain this unfortunate exodus. The first approach is through health and examines trends in environmental, mental and physical (general) health. I will explore statistics involving the health and well-being of Central Brooklyn, how the environment plays a disparate role in the poor health and lack of access to services of its African-American residents in comparison to other regions in Brooklyn. The second task is to ask how economics or “racial capitalism” plays a role by looking at gentrification, cooperative economics, and the income inequality in Black Central Brooklyn. The …

Measurement Plan And Analytic Strategies For Evaluating The Mayor’S Action Plan For Neighborhood Safety. Map Evaluation Update Number 2., Jeffrey A. Butts, John Roman, Angela Silletti, Anthony Vega, Wogod Alawlaqi

Publications and Research

This is the second of six updates presenting interim findings from the evaluation of the NYC Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP). As part of an evaluation of the New York City Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP), the John Jay College Research and Evaluation Center was asked to create the measurement framework and analytic strategies to evaluate the MAP initiative. Using multiple data sources and onsite observations and interviews, the team aims to understand the relationship between the MAP efforts and the expected outcomes of those efforts.

The Socio-Economic Impact Of The Disproportionate Occurrence Of Asthma In The State Of Mississippi: Should Reporting Be Mandated?, Lolita D. Gray, Jahniah Grimsley, Jabria Pearson

Journal of Health Ethics

The state of Mississippi continues to experience a disproportionate occurrence of asthma among its citizens and various associated socioeconomic impacts. The objective of this study seeks to gauge the perception of the participants in regards to this asthma disparity. Specifically, research questions seek responses to following: 1) Will mandated, systematic reporting of asthma occurrences among socioeconomically disadvantaged communities effectively address the asthma disparity and lead to a better quality of life? and 2) Will mandated, systematic reporting of asthma increase the socioeconomic impact among these communities? This cross-sectional study employs a case study methodology utilizing various research techniques, i.e. interviews, …

Applying Community-Oriented Policing As A Method To Counter Far-Right Extremism, Brian Warren

Student Research

Far-right extremism is a growing problem in the United States. Attacks by radical right organizations are increasing and represent a significant portion of all domestic terror incidents. However, current approaches to deal with far-right extremism are failing and require a different approach to address this problem. A potential solution to stymie future attacks would be to shift the way that police departments are conducting their operations. A community-oriented policing (COP) strategy would allow law enforcement to target extremists in a way that fosters positive relationships with communities as well as gain critical intelligence and insight into these radical movements. This …

The Battle To Increase Nevada’S Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard; An Insight Into Rps Policy Changes., Alondra Regalado

Student Research

Climate Change Greenhouse gas emissions from industrialized societies have changed the temperature of the earth’s surface, atmosphere, ocean and climate systems. Although scientists have been aware of the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change as early as the 1970’s, world leaders have been slow to react and implement proactive policies. As federal administrations and national leaders abdicate their leadership in mitigating climate change, the responsibility to implement proactive policies now lies with local bodies, such as states, private companies and individuals.

Overview Nevada’s abundant renewable energy resources have made the state a target for the growing renewable energy …

Motherhood Wage Penalty, Ashley Schobert

Student Research

Women in the United States have made monumental strides in recent decades to increase their participation in both higher education and the workforce. As it currently stands, young women are beginning to acquire bachelor’s degrees and professional degrees at higher rates than men and are entering the labor force at record numbers. Aside from these vast societal shifts, a staggering problem remains as the gender gap in pay fails to effectively close. The persistence of the wage gap can be primarily attributed to one significant factor: having children. The motherhood wage penalty occurs when women experience a drop in earnings …

The Benefits Of A Grant For Police Worn Body Cameras, Tanner Castro

Student Research

Police monitoring and accountability are important moral and economic issues within our nation. The problems that surround police accountability serve as the cause of issues regarding high rates of court cases having to deal with police misconduct, the issue of a nature of hostility surrounding police officers, and the social issue of police brutality. In order to help mitigate several of these problems, policy must be constructed in order to increase the rates at which we monitor police officers and hold them accountable.

Monetarily, the courts have a problem of having to deal with cases involving police misconduct. Due to …

The #Vegasstrong Rallying Cry: How A Hashtag Came To Define A City’S Resilience, Miranda R. Barrie

Student Research

The mass shooting that occurred in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017, left a place infamous for its neon lights in complete and total darkness. In a city that projects an image of the ideal adult playground, tragedy peels back the facade built by advertising agencies and tourism authorities. The world, perhaps for the first time, was able to see the people behind the image of a sinful strip. During the hours following the horrific events that occurred the night of October 1st, the Las Vegas community came together to grieve, heal, and find a path forward. Using the rallying …

Business Improvement Districts And Enhanced Service Districts, Kaitlyn Dey

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

In an Enhanced Service District (ESD) property managers are required to pay a license fee, and the money from that license fee is used to fund extra security, marketing, and cleaning programs. ESDs patrol a huge chunk of Portland’s public space.

Despite their significant role in managing public spaces, oversight for ESDs is very limited. The city government collects the assessed fees and gives it to the overseeing organizations to spend. There are no oversight measures for these organizations mandated by law.

Collaborative Planning And Equity, Sarah Mercurio

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

Our research on collaborative planning and equity attempts to understand how collaborative planning and policy decisions are made, and to pinpoint where an equity lens might transform normative procedures into a practice of anti-oppression, agonism, and advocacy.

Collaborative planning is a dominant theory in planning in which multiple stakeholders come together to deliberate on common concerns and apply consensus building and public participation methods to make policy decisions. The approach seeks to balance power among participants and increase public engagement.