Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Reviewers And Referees, Mssj Staff

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 23, Full Contents, Mssj Staff

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Senior Editor's Note, Kenneth D. Colburn Jr.

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors, Mssj Staff

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Gentrification And Racial Transformation In One Neighborhood In The City Of Cincinnati During The Great Recession, Evelyn D. Ravuri

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

This article examines the process of gentrification and racial transition in one neighborhood in Cincinnati between 2000 and 2016. Madisonville (Tract 55) was defined as a racially integrated middle-class neighborhood in the 1970s. In the early 2000s, substantial private and public investments in the neighborhood initiated the process of gentrification and an in-migration of wealthier (mostly white) residents. This revitalization of Madisonville coincided with the Great Recession of 2008 and with a massive exodus of the middle-class African American population. Median housing values and median rent in Madisonville increased significantly between 2010 and 2016, indicating that cost of living had …

Sustainable Tourism For Destinations: Insights From The Gstc Destination Criteria 2.0 For Sustainable Tourism, Jonathon Day, Jennifer Lenore Romanchek

Tourism Insights

This analysis of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s Destination Criteria 2.0 organizes criteria into five categories of activity: Planning, Policy, Programs, Performance Management, and destination team development and management.

A Terror To The People: The Evolution Of An Outlaw Gang In The Lower Midwest, Randy Mills

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The details of the heretofore unexamined Reeves Gang may serve as an important case study of violence and lawlessness in the Lower Midwest in the decades following the Civil War. Unlike the “social bandits” such as the Jesse James and Dalton Gangs of the Middle Border region, most outlaw gangs made little attempt to get along with locals. These groups ruled by fear and typically fell afoul of vigilante hangings and shootings— a one-act play, if you will. The Reeves Gang, the focus of this study, would come to be atypical, their tale turning into a three-act play, moving from …

Documenting Current Practices Of Accommodating Linguistic Needs Of Deaf Defendants, Beau Shine

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Deaf defendants are an underexamined population in criminal justice research, and very few studies have examined their involvement in the criminal justice system. In addition, research on accommodating the linguistic needs of deaf defendants is sparse. Failure to accommodate the linguistic needs of deaf defendants presents several concerns, including disparate treatment and violations of ADA-guaranteed rights that may lead to inadmissible evidence, dismissals of cases, and not-guilty verdicts, as well as lawsuits and litigation, all of which create additional strain on an already overburdened system. The current study combines previous research on deaf defendants with the findings of data gathered …

Colonizationism Versus Abolitionism In The Antebellum North: The Anti-Slavery Society Of Hanover College And Indiana Theological Seminary (1836) Versus The Hanover College Officers, Board Of Trustees, And Faculty, J Michael Raley

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

In March 1836, nine Hanover College and Indiana Theological Seminary students, almost certainly including Benjamin Franklin Templeton, a former slave enrolled in the seminary, formed an antislavery society. The society’s Preamble and Constitution set forth abolitionist ideals demanding an immediate emancipation of Southern slaves with rights of citizenship and “without expatriation.” Thus they encountered the ire of Hanover’s Presbyterian trustees—colonizationists who believed instead that free blacks and educated slaves, gradually and voluntarily emancipated by their owners, should leave the United States and relocate to Liberia, where they would experience greater opportunity, equality, and justice than was possible here in the …

Canopy Cover, Impermeability, And Green Space In Pennsylvania Redlined Neighborhoods, Alyssa A. Cassini

Student Publications

Previous studies have explored the relationship between redlining and canopy cover by using percent canopy cover. This data type can miss low-density trees that are common in urban areas, differences between parks and street trees, and differences in the size of the green space. With a distinction between parks and street trees, we are able to determine what types of green space redlined communities have access to, since different types of green space have different kinds of impacts on the community. This study aims to analyze the relationship between previously redlined Pennsylvania neighborhoods and their current canopy impermeability, using high …

Views That Matter: Race And Opinions On Climate Change Of Boston Area Residents, Lorena M. Estrada-Martínez, Paul Watanabe, Katsyris Rivera-Kientz

Sustainable Solutions Lab

A growing body of research finds that climate change places a disproportionate burden on communities of color in the United States. In spite of this evidence, important discussions taking place about climate change- such as how it is experienced, which policy solutions are most critical, and how we can prepare for and adapt to its impacts- often leave out the voices of the very communities most affected. In Massachusetts, for instance, numerous statewide surveys have gathered information about residents ' attitudes and beliefs about climate change, but to date, no studies have been designed to include the views of a …

Data And Information As Our New Transport Infrastructure: An Exploration Into How The Modern Transport System Is Being Shaped By Information Communication Technology, Adam Davidson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is focuses on the role that data and information has in creating and altering behavior related to transportation. To do so, it lays out a theoretical model of technological transition and then follows it up with three case studies. The theoretical model provides a structure to consider how different actors in our transportation ecosystem – users, firms, policy actors – mix with technological evolution to uphold or incrementally recreate our transportation landscape. The case studies stand on their own to highlight important findings about how data and information are impacting transportation scenarios, but collectively reinforce the theoretical models. …

Paradox In The Bayou: Development And Displacement In America’S Wetlands, Allison Oliver Haertling

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The bayou communities situated at the southern ends of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana possess a rich and uniquely diverse cultural heritage. However, economic factors, combined with environmental issues such as land loss from oil and gas dredging, subsidence, and rising seas, have spurred significant migration “up the bayou” in recent decades, threatening the loss of these cultures and leaving behind a population that is growing increasingly more vulnerable. This study investigates the current and anticipated social, physical and fiscal impacts of persistent land loss and population decline on lower Terrebonne Parish, as well as planning strategies for maintaining existing infrastructure and …

You Are Resilient: Trauma-Informed, Strengths-Based Treatment For Low-Ses, Urban Youth, Courtney Molina

Dissertations

The focus in this review was to explore the benefits and optimal use of trauma-informed, strengths-based care for the therapeutic treatment of low-socioeconomic status (SES), urban youth. Specific focus was given to evidence-based research on the treatment of emotional and behavioral dysregulation among low-SES, urban youth. The review was guided by the following research questions: How can emotional and behavioral dysregulation be symptoms of trauma among low-SES, urban youth; What makes trauma-informed and strengths-based care optimal for the treatment of low-SES, urban youth with dysregulation; and What are clear guidelines for providing trauma-informed, strengths-based care to low-SES, urban youth with …

Evaluation Of Best Practices For Urban Water Conservation And Water-Smart Growth Implementation In Utah, J. Ivy Harvey Thomson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Policies and programs have been utilized throughout the United States (U.S.) to reduce water use as a strategy to ensure sufficient water supplies for future demand. As governmental leaders and policy makers face increasing freshwater scarcity and supply unpredictability, along with rising costs and decreased federal funding, Best Practices (BPs) in water conservation are increasingly important to facilitate decision-making in choosing which strategies to employ. This project uses policy analysis to review and summarize various BPs, referencing both academic and professional literature. National fixture efficiency standards enacted in 1992 are credited as among the leading factors reducing indoor water use …

Campus Design And The Community College Experience: An Exploration Of Stress, Belonging And Scholarly Identity, Vanita Naidoo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This mixed methods research study examines factors that influence the development of scholarly identity at a community college campus. It uses survey methods and a focus group with undergraduate students at the Bronx Community College (BCC) campus to examine how campus design relates to a sense of belonging, the process of reflection, and the development of a scholarly identity. Academic attrition and low performance are challenges at urban community colleges. The study aims to address how campus design, specifically green space, impacts undergraduate students at a community college. It seeks to better understand the experience of the diverse student population …

Hijab In The Indonesian National Struggle, Mangesti Rahayu

International Review of Humanities Studies

Fashion and history cannot be separated, because fashion is one indicator of a change in culture, civilization, behavior, and certain identities. Vice versa, changes and developments in fashion are influenced by conditions at the time the fashion is developing, both the social, cultural, political, religious, economic and others. Fashion that is developing in Indonesia is Muslim fashion. One part of Muslim clothing is the hijab, headgear worn by Muslim women. Hijab is not only part of religious observance, hijab is already part of fashion and we can examine the hijab style of a society from its historical period. We can …

Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances In Consumable Fish & Surface Waters Near Sites Using Aqueous Film-Forming Foams: Potential Risks, Suggested Regulatory Standards And Policy Approaches For Massachusetts, Tachalla Gibeau

Sustainability and Social Justice

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are emerging contaminants of concern with potential for adverse effects on both human and environmental health. Hence, long-chain PFAS compounds used in legacy aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) are being phased out, resulting in the stockpiling of them at various commercial installations. PFAS contaminated runoff from these facilities has the potential to contaminate nearby surface water bodies and the fish inhabiting them. An analytical approach was used to identify surface water bodies in Massachusetts that are habitats for fish susceptible to PFAS contamination and where said fish are also popularly consumed by locals – thereby representing …

Redesigning Our Conception Of Local Food Utilizing A Value-Based Approach, Heather Riesenberg

Sustainability and Social Justice

The goal of this study was to design a new method of evaluating and building local food systems which is based on a new conception of how we view local food. Beginning with a review of the current literature on how local food is defined and its apparent goals, I begin to pick apart the dated idea that local needs not be more complex than the 400-mile limit offered by the USDA. Utilizing the literature review, I bring together a host of values that local food seems to (want to) embody and use these to form a pathway toward the …

Pitching Change: Micro-Community Of Higher Learning, Christopher Chaphe

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Being around sports growing up has given me some experiences that have shaped who I am today. Playing and watching sports is a common activity amongst my friends and family. These events spark engagement and camaraderie between us. The stadium in which these sports are played within are a key component to this engagement. They bring people together to enjoy and root on your favorite teams along side thousands of other fans.

Stadiums today are becoming a remarkable instrument to generate communal spirit besides marketing, recruiting and hosting games for universities. The iconic design of these stadiums has become more …

Discovering Synergies Among Sustainable Rating Systems In Green Roof Analysis, Kanaan Hardaway

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

As awareness has grown of the impacts the built environment has on the natural environment and the human psyche, methods to create more sustainable living environment have been developed. Green infrastructure is well-known for its environmental benefits. Emerging literature suggests green infrastructure have aesthetic qualities conducive to mental restoration, as well. To analyze the multi-benefits of green infrastructure, a green roof is studied for its aesthetic qualities and its impact on LEED, SITES, and WELL certification. A questionnaire was administered to individuals on the University of Arkansas campus to quantify human perceptions and attitudes toward a green roof on a …

The Impact Of Extreme Heat On Environmental Justice Communities In California: Assessing Equity In Climate Action Plans, Karishma S. Becha

Master's Projects and Capstones

Climate change projections suggest extreme heat events will be more frequent over the next few decades. Extreme heat has both negative environmental and social impacts as it affects energy security, public health by increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses and stresses food and crop supply through prolonged droughts. The impacts of extreme heat will also disproportionately affect communities of low economic status. Because of this, there is a need for better climate action plans that can adapt to and mitigate the impacts brought upon by extreme heat that does not disproportionately impact vulnerable communities. This research analyzed local government Climate …

Decision-Support System For Lid Footprint Planning And Urban Runoff Mitigation In The Lower Rio Grande Valley Of South Texas, Javier Guerrero, Taufiqul Alam, Ahmed Mahmoud, Kim D. Jones, Andrew Ernest

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

To address regional flooding in the United States, federal and state agencies are adopting strict drainage policies in any large-scale commercial development within the watershed boundary. The conventional approach of implementing a wet detention pond (WP) reduces the land cover and causes operation and maintenance challenges eventually. The present study developed a decision-support system (DSS) in the Lower Rio Grande Valley region of South Texas for optimal selection of Best Management Practices (BMPs) by substituting a portion of the WP footprint with three regionally promising low-impact development practices, namely, porous concrete pavement (PCP), bioretention (BR), and bioswale (BS). Source Load …

Environmental Justice In Little Village: A Case For Reforming Chicago’S Zoning Law, Charles Isaacs

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

Chicago’s Little Village community bears the heavy burden of environmental injustice and racism. The residents are mostly immigrants and people of color who live with low levels of income, limited access to healthcare, and disproportionate levels of dangerous air pollution. Before its retirement, Little Village’s Crawford coal-burning power plant was the lead source of air pollution, contributing to 41 deaths, 550 emergency room visits, and 2,800 asthma attacks per year. After the plant’s retirement, community members wanted a say on the future use of the lot, only to be closed out when a corporation, Hilco Redevelopment Partners, bought the lot …

Adaptive Injustice: Responsibility To Act In The Plastics Economy, Katie Conlon

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

How can plastic material be reduced, reused, repurposed, or salvaged so it is kept out of rivers, oceans and ecosystems in general? Social awareness about the impacts of plastic pollution is growing, and creative, social solutions to the ‘plastic menace’ are popping up globally. Every day, one can read about the latest, innovative method for managing plastic waste at the local level: plastic PET bottles stuffed with plastic-film food wrappers to make ‘ecobricks;’ paving roads with plastic waste; making yoga-wear out of marine plastic pollution; weaving plastic into tote bags; using a 3D printer to make plastic into products for …

The Tale Of Two Community Gardens: Green Aesthetics Versus Food Justice In The Big Apple, Sofya Aptekar, Justin S. Myers

Publications and Research

There has been a vibrant community gardening movement in New York City since the 1970s. The movement is predominantly located in working class communities of color and has fought for decades to turn vacant land into beneficial community spaces. However, many of these communities are struggling with gentrification, which has the potential to transform access to and use of community gardens in the city and the politics around them. Drawing on separate multi-year ethnographic projects, this article compares two community gardens in food insecure communities in Queens and Brooklyn: one that is undergoing gentrification and one that is not. We …

A Backbone Organization For Denver Based Environmental Justice Organizations 5280 For Environmental Justice, Allison Finnegan-Kihega

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Environmental injustices in Denver follow the same patterns that are seen throughout the country, which is that low-income People of Color are, relative to White people, disproportionately impacted by poor air and water quality, food deserts, displacement, and a phenomenon known as urban heat islands. The literature review conducted for this proposal revealed that despite the 2019 U.S Census Bureau indicating that Denver is 80.9 percent White, 29 percent Latino, and 10 percent Black, neighborhoods with predominantly Black and Latino residents are the neighborhoods experiencing environmental injustices in Denver.

For this project proposal, a literature review was conducted along with …

Exploring Low-Carbon Bus Options For Urban Brt Systems: The Case Of Amman, Rana Imam, Seong-Cheol Kang, Diana Quezada

Journal of Public Transportation

Being able to provide high-quality, metro-like transit service at a fraction of the cost of other options, bus rapid transit (BRT) has been viewed as one of the most cost-effective public mass transport systems suitable for urban areas. Considering significant amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutant emissions are attributed to the transport sector, deploying low carbon buses for BRT systems should be of high priority. With a view to promoting low carbon buses instead of diesel buses for a BRT system currently being planned in Amman, Jordan, this paper evaluates several low carbon bus options – hybrid, plug-in …

Urban Renewal Or Urban Legend? Re-Historicizing Human-River Relationships Disrupted By Displacement Before And Now In Los Angeles, Jamie Sophia Helberg

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis speaks to how historical and on-going colonization of the river has consistently traumatized the relationship disadvantaged communities have had with the Los Angeles River. By historicizing those relationships, I argue that current use of human-centered market-based strategies to revitalize the river only furthers serial displacement of disadvantaged communities and will not adequately achieve sustainability. Using Frogtown as a case study, I also explore methods of resiliency to “green gentrification," an agent of neocolonialism along the river. In studying the placemaking practices implemented in Frogtown, I problematize notions of gentrification as “natural” and "necessary" for river revitalization. Elements of …

Author Biographical Notes, Mssj Staff

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.