Urban Studies Commons^™

The Politics Of Gentrification In Charlotte, Nc: A New South City Meets The Urban Realities Of 21st Century Prosperity., David Cole

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Excerpt from Introduction

In the Fall of 2017, Amazon Inc. opened an unprecedented nationwide bidding competition.[1] The huge online retailer was seeking a home for its second headquarters, dubbed “HQ2,” which could potentially include 50,000 high-paying jobs and billions of dollars of investment into a local economy.[2] The company completed a request for proposal (RFP) that detailed the baseline amenities that cities applying for the headquarters must have. This included Interstate access, a metropolitan population of over 1 million, an international airport, and the presence of a research university.[3]

“When One Shingle Sends Up Smoke”: The Summit Beacon Advises Akron About The Epidemic Cholera, 1849, Elizabeth Hall

Nineteenth-Century Ohio Literature

Elizabeth Hall explains the American cholera epidemic of 1849, with special attention to how cholera afflicted Akron, a booming canal town in Northeast Ohio. The article presents the full text of 1849 Akron newspaper articles on cholera and explains how their mix of good and bad information was published right before scientific breakthroughs in cholera research.

An Assessment Of The Sharing Economy And Its Policy Solutions Through The Lens Of Sustainability, Chloe An

Pomona Senior Theses

This senior thesis in environmental analysis explores the promise of sustainability of the sharing economy, its shortcomings from this positive potential, and possible policy solutions to help it reach its fullest, positive potential. At its core, the sharing economy enables shared access to goods and services that would otherwise sit in idle or underutilized capacity – popular platforms such as Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and craigslist all fall within the sharing economy. By enabling affordable and convenient access to goods that would otherwise sit idle, the sharing economy encourages maximal use of a good that already exists rather than seeking out …

The Need For Enhanced Physical Infrastructure In The United States, Tanvi Gandham

CMC Senior Theses

An examination of necessary infrastructure improvements in the United States.

The Effect Of Localized Density On Housing Prices In Singapore, Eric Fesselmeyer, Kiat Ying Sky Seah, Jonathan Ci Yi Kwok

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This paper measures how localized residential density impacts housing prices in Singapore. Using exogenous variation in residential density, we find that an increase in density causes non-trivial decreases in property values: a 10% increase in density decreases price per square foot by between 1.3% and 2%. To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first paper to measure this effect.Further, we find that the negative effect of density is biggest in magnitude for low density apartment projects and the magnitude is decreasing in the density of the project, and that the negative effect of density is increasing in magnitude …

“We’Re Being Left To Blight”: Green Urban Development And Racialized Space In Kansas City, Chhaya Kolavalli

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

In this dissertation, I explore ‘green’ urban development and urban agriculture projects from the perspective of residents of an African American majority neighborhood in Kansas City—who reside in an area referred to as a ‘blighted food desert’ by local policy makers. In Kansas City, extensive city government support exists for urban agricultural projects, which are touted not just as a solution to poverty associated issues such food insecurity and obesity, but also as a remedy for ‘blight,’ violence and crime, and vacant urban land. Specific narratives of Kansas City’s past are used to prop up and legitimate these future visions …

Empowering Portland's Youth To Choose Car-Free Mobility, Autumn Shafer, Jared Macary

TREC Project Briefs

Little is known from research about how to motivate youth to choose non-car mobility, especially specific Portland-area youth. Understanding the current attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of youth in relation to non-car mobility contributes to the sustainability of a long-term transportation system. Transportation system-related beliefs and behaviors of youth are likely to influence their willingness to access and support transportation services as adults. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s riders, bikers, walkers, voters, and transportation planners. Thus, it is important to develop age-appropriate messaging strategies and tactics that promote youth non-car mobility.

This project seeks to build on the sparse national and non-Portland …

Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership: Economic Impact Analysis -- January 2018 Update, Emma Willingham

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

The Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), founded in 1988, is a network of non-profit agencies staffed by industry professionals and consultants. Historically, MEP has sought to increase the competitiveness of small to mid-size enterprises (which as a group comprise 99% of all U.S. manufacturing firms) by providing expert guidance and access to resources. In recent years, the severe economic recession sparked increased interest in the strength of the manufacturing sector, due to its longtime status as one of the major drivers of the domestic economy. Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP), the Oregon branch of MEP, works to provide data-driven analysis …

Introduction To Data Science: Executive Summary, Liming Wang

TREC Project Briefs

This education project created the curriculum for a new course: Introduction to Data Science for Planners, Engineers, and Scientists. The course helps students and professionals tackle the challenges of processing high volumes of data.

How Do Stressed Workers Make Travel Mode Choices That Are Good For Their Health, Safety, And Productivity?, Liu-Qin Yang, Brad Wipfli, Lee Cyr, Kristina Marie Currans, Liming Wang

TREC Final Reports

It is well recognized in transportation and psychology research that commuting stress has consequences for commuters' travel safety, home environment, and work performance. Little research has addressed questions involving the possible interdependence between work stress, family stress, and commuting stress: Do workers having many demands from work and family life get more stressed out from a stressful commute? Or do stressed workers try to cope with work and non-work stress by choosing more relaxing travel modes?

This proposal integrates the perspectives from transportation, psychology, and health science by focusing on the relations between commuting stress, commuting mode choice, and consequences …

Responsible Pet Ownership: Dog Parks And Demographic Change In Portland, Oregon, Matthew Harris

Dissertations and Theses

Dog parks are the fastest growing type of park in U.S. cities; however, their increasing popularity has been met with increasing criticism of pets in public space. Dogs have shown to be a deep source of neighborhood conflict, and the provision of dog parks, or off-leash areas, is a seemingly intractable controversy for city officials. In 2003, Portland, Oregon established a network of 33 off-leash areas which remains the second largest both in count and per capita in the country. The purpose of my research is to understand the public debate over off leash dogs during the establishment of Portland's …

Of Rats And Men, Thomas S. Walsh

Capstones

This capstone is a data-driven investigation into New York City's rat problem. By using publicly available government data to map rat activity in NYC, I identified several socio-economic variables that correlate with rat populations at the community district, borough, and city-scale. I used these findings (mainly that rat problems are linked to lower incomes) as the basis of an investigation, which includes interviews with residents, experts, and city officials. Prof. Bobby Corrigan, urban rodentologist and formerly with the NYC Department of Health criticizes the city's efforts for the first time on the record.

https://thomasseiyawalsh.wixsite.com/ratstone

Health Starts In The Home: An Assessment Of Efforts To Improve Occupant Health Through Healthy Building Materials In San Francisco’S Affordable Housing, Staci Hoell

Master's Projects and Capstones

Americans spend 90% of their lives indoors, and much of this time is spent at home, surrounded by building materials that typically have added chemicals like flame retardants, highly fluorinated compounds, and antimicrobials. Recent research has linked these chemicals to adverse health outcomes such as asthma, endocrine disruption, cancer, neurodevelopmental issues, and reproductive problems (Bayer et al., n.d.; Green Science Policy Institute). Furthermore, these chronic health conditions disproportionately affect low-income populations. Fortunately, substantial efforts in research, practice, and policy are working to reduce the use of these potentially harmful chemicals in building materials, particularly in San Francisco’s affordable housing sector. …

Hair Is The Root Of A Revolution: How Black Women Are Embracing Their Identity With Hair, Shanel Dawson

Capstones

For years, black women have been demeaned for their features; their noses, complexions and hair. Straight hair and wavy hair have been considered “good hair.” And for centuries these ideas have been perpetuated by images in the media, cultural messages and even policies in schools and professional settings.

Today black women, nationwide, are rejecting straightening chemicals and embracing their natural hair as a point of pride. I spoke with several black women who are attempting to distance themselves from these negative narratives by honoring their roots.

For black women in America, hair has been the easiest way to connect on …

Improving Bicycle Crash Prediction For Urban Road Segments, Krista Nordback, Sirisha Kothuri, Wesley Marshall, Geoff Gibson, Nick Ferenchak

TREC Final Reports

The 2010 Highway Safety Manual (HSM) provides methods for predicting the number of motor vehicle crashes on various roadway facilities. However, it includes only a rudimentary method for predicting the number of bicycle-related crashes. Despite research demonstrating that bicycle volume is an important factor in estimating number of bicycle crashes, the method does not include the volume of bicyclists using the roadway. To remedy this, this project will investigate the potential of various simplified methods to include bicycle volumes in future versions of the HSM. By studying locations where bicycle traffic volumes, motor vehicle traffic volumes, bicycle collisions, and roadway …

The Impact Of Casino Revenue-Sharing On Tourism Efforts In Niagara Falls Usa: 2006-2016, Anthony L. Astran

Public Administration Master’s Projects

This qualitative case study examines the intersection of a Native-owned casino, revenue-sharing with its host community, and the impact of tourism marketing efforts vis-à-vis funds provided to the community’s tourism agency. Specifically, this report studies downtown Niagara Falls USA from the time period between 2006 and 2016, and seeks to determine whether and how funds from Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino boosted tourism marketing efforts by Niagara Tourism & Convention Corporation (NTCC). Background research and a series of elite interviews with city officials and tourism agency leaders uncovered overall positivity in terms of growth in Niagara Falls USA’s tourism efforts …

Lgbtq+ Nondiscrimination Laws In Kentucky., Christopher M Wales

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the political and demographic obstacles facing the Fairness movement in Kentucky in regards to local employment protection ordinances for LGBTQ+ persons (Fairness Ordinances). Using case studies on recent Fairness debates in Berea and Bowling Green, this thesis explores the concern some Kentuckians have about LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination ordinances in their communities. From these cases studies, it can be concluded that many of the concerns espoused by opponents of Fairness are simple scare tactics with no evidence supporting their claims. This thesis then utilizes a logistical regression to uncover what demographic characteristics increase the odds of a municipality possessing …

Economic Growth Or Economic Development? An Examination Of Local Government Objectives Through Citizen Well-Being Framework., Mohd Mobin Khan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Economic development is considered one of the key functions and responsibilities of Federal, State, and local governments in the United States. However, most of the policies and strategies related to economic development, regardless of their focus or funding, have a strong role of municipalities for their implementation. Within local governments, economic development efforts often seem to not truly focus on the aspects of ‘development,’ but can rather be characterized as focused on economic ‘growth’ and measured in terms of economic activity generated. Job creation and the enhancement of tax base or revenue are considered two of the most important goals …

Breaking Barriers To Bike Share: Insights From Bike Share Users, Nathan Mcneil, Jennifer Dill, John Macarthur, Joseph Broach

TREC Final Reports

This report seeks to provide more information about lower-income people and people of color who engage in bike share, including why they choose to become members, how they use the system, and how they benefit. The report looks at current and past bike share members, along with those who were involved in some type of equity-based outreach program. The findings draw from a survey intended to reach lower-income and/or people of color known to have engaged in bike share, either through membership or participating in events such as organized rides, in the same three cities studied in the resident report …

New Probe Data Sources To Measure Cycling Behavior And Safety, Christopher Cherry

PSU Transportation Seminars

Emerging probe data sources from smartphones on on-board devices are able to measure behavior of cyclists with very high resolution. From this, for the first time, we are able to measure relatively precise behavior that allows new insights into exposure, route choice, safety behavior, or technology choice. Probe data, merged with other data sources, can begin to develop a more complete picture of cyclists on-road behavior.

This presentation will offer examples of analyses done to investigate cyclists behavior using app-based and on-board GPS data in the context of individual cyclists behavior (i.e., app users) and behavior of bikeshare users (i.e., …

Assessing The Impact Of Land Use And Travel On Carbon Dioxide Emissions In Portland, Oregon, Zakari Mumuni

Dissertations and Theses

The negative consequences of sprawling metropolitan regions have attracted attention in both academia and in practice regarding how to better design settlements and alter travel behavior in a quest to curtail vehicle emissions. Studies that have attempted to understand the nexus between land use, travel and vehicle emissions have not been able to address the issue of self-selection in a satisfactory manner. Self-selection occurs when households choose their residential location based, in part, on expected travel behavior. This non-random experience makes the use of traditional regression frameworks that strongly rely on random sampling, unsuitable. This replication study's purpose was to …

"Naturally Occurring" Or "Until Market Speculation Starts": Investigating The Precarity Of Affordable Rental Housing And The Potential For Displacement Along Planned Transit Lines, Lisa K. Bates

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

New transit infrastructure is a double-edged sword for low-income renters: one the one hand, increased mobility supports access to jobs and critical services; but if transit-oriented development fails to include and preserve affordable housing, they may be pushed out by rising rents. The question of whether public investments spur gentrification and displacement have created intense controversy around planned transit extensions in our region. My research on precarious rental housing illuminates the specific mechanisms of housing displacement and challenges for housing affordability in the single-family/duplex and the large multifamily rental market. The loss of low-cost housing is occurring even without new …

Evaluation Of Roadway Reallocation Projects, Miguel Figliozzi

TREC Project Briefs

This NITC study offers a new methodology for evaluating the before-and-after effects of roadway space reallocation projects.

Evaluation Of Roadway Reallocation Projects: Analysis Of Before-And-After Travel Speeds And Congestion Utilizing High-Resolution Bus Transit Data, Miguel A. Figliozzi, Travis B. Glick

TREC Final Reports

The traditional process of identifying corridors for road diet improvements involves selecting potential corridors (mostly based on identifying fourlane roads) and conducting a traffic impact analysis of proposed changes on a selected roadway before implementing changes. The evaluation of roadway reallocation projects should include the analysis of traffic volumes, level of service, speeds, queue lengths and bus operations. There are tools and equipment to evaluate effectively traffic volumes and level of service changes in before-and-after studies. However, the detailed evaluation of speed and queue length distributions along a segment are significantly more cumbersome. In addition, the exhaustive evaluation of bus …

Using The Planning Process To Mitigate Climate Change, Keith Bartholomew

TREC Project Briefs

This research evaluates how Oregon’s SB 1059 and California’s SB 375 have integrated climate change mitigation strategies into local planning processes, and seeks to understand how transportation planning can help slow climate change.

Preserving Housing Choice And Opportunity: A Study Of Apartment Building Sales And Rents, Seyoung Sung, Lisa K. Bates

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

NOAH sales show precariousness of this rental housing at a regional scale.

• Active transactions of multifamily rental properties have been disproportionately NOAH. There have been over two thousand transactions of NOAH buildings in the Portland metro area from 2006 to 2017 — over 68,000 units of housing. These sales are accelerating, with over 20 percent occurring in just the last 18 months.
• Sales prices for multifamily rental properties have increased substantially, making preservation of affordable rents more challenging. Regionally, the average sale price increased by 78 percent between 2010 and 2017; during this period there was a 43 percent …

Accessing Blue Spaces: Social And Geographic Factors Structuring Familiarity With, Use Of, And Appreciation Of Urban Waterways, Melissa Haeffner, Douglas Jackson-Smith, Martin Buchert, Jordan Risley

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Are urban waterways amenities, and if so, are there inequities in household access? While urban waterways represent a potential site for access to nature within the urban environment, there have been few studies on the accessibility and interactions with water features in particular, what we refer to as “blue spaces." This study drew on a sample of households in Northern Utah living in neighborhoods with a nearby river or canal to ask if local waterways provide positive impacts to households and if proximity to them increased the likelihood of households spending time at them and being familiar with them. We …

Deconstruction In Portland: Summary Of Activity, Emma Willingham, Peter Hulseman, Mike Paruszkiewicz

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

On October 31st, 2016, the City of Portland instituted an ordinance requiring the deconstruction of all residential homes and duplexes built prior to 1917 or possessing a historical designation. Deconstruction is a relatively new industry, and with this local regulatory encouragement, several new contractors became certified to participate in the expanded market. This report provides background on the industry, largely from the 2016 report researched and written by the Northwest Economic Research Center (NERC) in anticipation of the requirement, and an examination of what has occurred in the year following the ordinance’s passage, using deconstruction and demolition permit data and …

Building Planner Commitment: Are California’S Sb 375 And Oregon’S Sb 1059 Models For Climate-Change Mitigation?, Keith Bartholomew, David Proffitt

TREC Final Reports

California’s Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act (SB 375) and the Oregon Sustainable Transportation Initiative (SB 1059) have made them the first states in the nation to try and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using the transportation-planning process. Evaluating how these pioneering laws have changed local planning processes – as well as plans themselves – in each state provides insight into the laws’ effectiveness at changing development patterns in a way that reduces GHG emissions, without waiting decades to see the effects in the built environment. Both states’ laws require metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and the municipalities that comprise them …

Webinar: Transportation Benefits Of Parking Cash-Out, Pre-Tax Commuter Benefits, And Parking Surtaxes, Allen Greenberg, James Choe, Sonika Sethi, Colleen Stoll

TREC Webinar Series

The vast majority of employers provide their employees free parking at work, which encourages employees to drive alone. Multiple strategies exist to level the playing field between travel modes and allow employees to select the travel option most beneficial to them without suffering a financial penalty. The U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration sponsored a study to understand the effect parking cash out, pre-tax commuter benefits, and parking surtaxes can have on congestion, emissions, and other driving-related externalities. The study is part of the Administration’s ongoing efforts to increase awareness of solutions to address the transportation issues affecting communities …