Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Geospasial Indonesia: The Utilization Of Spatial Data Through Geographic Information Systems Across Indonesia In Various Environmental Contexts, Kaitlyn Bretz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Spatial planning and mapping in Indonesia have had a precarious history for the past several decades. Laws controlling the creation of maps for land use planning have fluctuated greatly between executive administrations and the country is still struggling to create a single, unified national map. With the One Map Policy the future of mapping is optimistic, but in the meantime spatial data analyses are lacking. Geographic information systems (GIS) is a computerized system for the capture, storage, querying, analysis, and display of spatial data, and is used predominately by the government, private companies, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) across Indonesia. Community …

A Roadmap For Reducing Gun Violence In America, Daniel Webster

Center for Policy Research

How do you reduce gun violence in America? It seems rather daunting. I’m going to take you through some key things I think we can do to have far less gun violence in America

Relocation, Resistance And Resilience: Squatter Community Responses To Government Intervention For Urban Development In Kathmandu, Reilly Brooks

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“Squatting,” or residing on public land illegally, is a modern urban phenomenon in developing countries. This phenomenon is attributed to rapid urbanization due to rural-to-urban migration, which leads to rising costs of living, exclusionary housing markets, a lack of affordable housing and urban inequality. Ultimately, unplanned urban growth encourages the formation and expansion of squatter settlements. These settlements are commonly characterized as slum due to the impoverished living conditions, highly congested spaces and lack of public services (water, sanitation, education, etc.) Without land certificates, squatters are denied their right to adequate housing and land security, which should be protected by …

Losing Values: Illiquidity, Personhood, And The Return Of Authoritarianism In Skopje, Macedonia, Fabio Mattioli

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

On May 17, 2015, over 50,000 people took to the streets of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia, protesting against Prime Minister Gruevski and his party, the conservative neoliberal Internal Revolutionary Organization of Macedonia (VMRO). After nine years of authoritarian government, it was the first significant demonstration in which the population demanded accountability for Gruevski's despotic system of rule. This dissertation is the story of how Gruevski's system of power was built and why it lasted for so long. I argue that a series of failing financial processes, which included the use of illiquidity, created the material and …

Clatsop County Latinos: A Demographic And Economic Profile, Marisa Zapata, Amanda Hudson

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Demographic change continues at an unprecedented rate across Oregon. In part driven by Latino population growth, the state’s future will include a population that only recently began to call Oregon home. Clatsop County is one area that is experiencing this population change (See Figure 1). Clatsop County has long remained ethnically homogenous. Yet, the rapid growth of the Latino population coincides at a time where the White population decreases in much of the county. There are few reports, describing the needs of the Latino population in the areas of planning and community. This report details several key demographic and economic …

Coastal Louisiana: Adaptive Capacity In The Face Of Climate Change, Tara Lambeth

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Extreme weather events can result in natural disasters, and climate change can cause these weather events to occur more often and with more intensity. Because of social and physical vulnerabilities, climate change and extreme weather often affect coastal communities. As climate change continues to be a factor for many coastal communities, and environmental hazards and vulnerability continue to increase, the need for adaptation may become a reality for many communities. However, very few studies have been done on the effect climate change and mitigation measures implemented in response to climate change have on a community’s adaptive capacity.

This single instrumental …

Surviving In The Land Of Opportunity: Outcomes Of Post-Crisis Urban Redevelopment In The United States, Brianna D. Foster

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

How we develop cities in the twenty-first century remains a subject of contentious debate worldwide. As neoliberal strategies are implemented in redevelopment projects, public safety nets are reduced and low-income communities of color in declining urban neighborhoods become particularly vulnerable. This multiple case study seeks to understand the experiences of post crisis urban redevelopment for low-income communities of color in 5 major U.S. cities. The data I analyzed include 101 short videos from the interactive documentary platform Land of Opportunity, documenting the process of post-crisis urban redevelopment in New Orleans, New York, Chicago, Detroit, and San Francisco. In doing so, …

No. 04: Supermarkets, Wet Markets And Food Patronage In Nanjing, China, Zhenzhong Si, Steffanie Scott, Cameron Mccordic

Hungry Cities Partnership

Although supermarkets have become a dominant food outlet for urban residents in developed countries, studies of food purchasing in developing countries such as China report a persistence of traditional food outlets, despite a proliferation of supermarkets over the past two decades. Yet, little is known about urban residents’ use of various food sources in the Chinese context. Building on the debate over the rise of supermarkets and the persistence of traditional food outlets, this paper analyzes the landscape of competing food sources including supermarkets, wet markets, restaurants, online food markets, urban agriculture and others. Based on the HCP citywide survey …

Black Gentrification Twice Removed: A Study Of Migration And Community Involvement In Washington, Dc, Janwin A. Zeegar-Holman

Capstone Collection

This paper is about Black people and community involvement against the backdrop of gentrification in Washington, DC, and possibility of Black-led neighborhood revitalization. My practicum in Southeast Washington DC compelled me to examine the ability of a Black person in Washington DC to sustain commitment to a community that they do not live in, and if Black people moving to gentrifying areas of Washington DC can help the predominantly Black non-gentrifying areas to gentrify on their own terms.

This paper focuses specifically on Black individuals who have spent time in DC and proposed ways that Black non-gentrifying communities can revitalize …

The Ostroms' Commons Revisited, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Elinor and Vincent Ostrom spent most of their careers working in fields other than third sector studies. Even so, a significant amount of their work has implications for our field. Together they founded the Workshop on Political Theory and Policy at Indiana University and with students and colleagues built a large body of research and theory on a range of topics including self-governance, collaboration, co-production, polycentrism, federalism, and commons. The Ostroms, the Workshop and their networks of students and colleagues, also constitute an interesting example of one of their latest and most recent contributions, the knowledge commons. Their highly regarded …

No. 03: Urban Food Deserts And Climate Change In African Cities, Mary Caesar, Jonathan Crush

Hungry Cities Partnership

The underlying assumption in much of the Euro-American food deserts literature is that urban food deserts are dynamic spaces, expanding and contracting with the advent and withdrawal of supermarkets. This discussion paper argues that to tie such dynamism purely to the spatial behaviour of formal food retail outlets is both narrow and inappropriate in the African context, where the use of the food deserts concept requires a sophisticated understanding of the multiple market and non-market food sources, of the spatial mobility and dynamism of the informal food economy, of the changing drivers of household food insecurity and the local conditions …

Muslimska Församlingar Och Föreningar I Malmö Och Lund – En Ögonblicksbild, Leif Stenberg, Rickard Lagervall

Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

The Price Of Cosmopolitanism: Globalization, Class Structure, And Language Endangerment In Shanghai, Fang Xu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Over the last two decades, Shanghai has experienced an unprecedented transformation, as China’s economic globalization and urban expansion have increased rapidly. Looking beyond statistics and architectural spectacles, I examine a seemingly personal choice in Shanghai, speaking Putonghua Mandarin, the official language, or the Shanghai dialect. This study contextualizes the contested urban linguistic space, and illustrates the political, social, and cultural conditions in this China’s globalizing city.

Through archival research, fifty in-depth interviews, two hundred and fifty survey questionnaires, and ethnographic fieldwork in Shanghai in the fall and winter of 2013, I document the impact of three sets of state policies …

Interspace Encounters: Parkview Gardens, Madeline Marak

Graduate School of Art Theses

The undertaking to render an experience tangible reveals the inadequacy of the techniques and technologies of representation to transcribe the perception of ubiquitous, yet unnoticed, spaces in the urban environment. The work of Madeline Marak contemplates overlooked and forgotten spaces that are unnoticed by busy, preoccupied minds. The work advocates for slowing down… considering… and being present. This thesis refers to writer Rebecca Solnit and her anthologies on the subjects of walking, wandering, and getting lost to advocate for activities that preoccupy the mind and facilitate freethinking. The humanist geographer Yi-Fu Tuan is quoted in argument for a direct engagement …

From Empty Lot To Garden Plot: Urban Agriculture In Chula Vista, Jennifer E. Gutierrez

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project is an exploration of how agriculture can be incorporated into the fabric of the city of Chula Vista, which has both uniquely urban and suburban areas. The proposal is to integrate agriculture as a design tool to reconnect to the city’s agricultural past and as a model for cities of the future. First, I discuss Chula Vista’s history and contemporary context, including demographics. I review the existing urban agriculture policies Chula Vista has and compare them to other cities in California. The second part of the project is concerned with how to choose and develop a site for …

You Could Get Killed Any Day In Hollygrove: A Qualitative Study Of Neighborhood-Level Homicide, Kevin J. Brown

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

New Orleans experienced elevated homicide rates throughout the 30 years between 1985 and 2015. The city’s homicides were especially prominent in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. This study explored the lived experiences of residents from one such neighborhood, Hollygrove. Using qualitative methods of individual interviews, focus groups, and participant observation, the study explored homicide through three prominent theoretical lenses, Social Disorganization Theory, Subcultural theories, and Institutional Anomie Theory, to better understand the conditions in a high-homicide neighborhood that help to explain neighborhood-level violence. While existing theories of homicide causation have taken a predominately quantitative approach that compare high-homicide neighborhoods, I took an …

Perceptions Of Safety In Urban Spaces: The Fan District, Richmond, Va, Lindy C. Westenhoff

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This project identifies and spatially analyzes environmental factors that influence the perception of safety in populations of women within Richmond’s LGBT community. The project was conceived due to increasing calls for awareness about street harassment. Its purpose is to examine what physical factors, at the street level, increase or decrease feelings of safety or discomfort for women within this community.

In the first part of the project, survey data was collected from volunteer participants, members of either Diversity Richmond, downtown Richmond’s local LGBT resource center, or Madison Equality, the LGBT student organization at James Madison University. Using blank paper maps …

Gifts Among Strangers: The Social Organization Of Freecycle Giving, Sofya Aptekar

Publications and Research

The Freecycle Network, with its millions of members gifting objects to strangers, is a stalwart fixture of the increasingly popular sharing economy. Unlike the wildly profitable Airbnb and Uber, the Freecycle Network prohibits profit-making, or even barter, providing an altruism-based alternative to capitalist markets while keeping tons of garbage out of landfills. Why do millions of people give through Freecycle instead of selling, donating, or throwing away items? Utilizing participant observation of two overlapping Freecycle groups and a survey of their members, I investigate motivations for giving and the social norms that guide it. I find that while members of …

Does Crime Correlate With Fear?: Analyzing The Spatial Relationship Between Perceptions Of Safety And Crime Using Sketch Maps And Geographic Information Systems (Gis) In The Main South Neighborhood Of Worcester, Ma, Marina Khananayev

Sustainability and Social Justice

The relationship between reported crime and residential perceptions of safety is understudied and inconclusive due to its highly complicated nature. This study seeks to narrow this gap by using sketch maps collected from residents about their safety and crime data. Two methods, one visual, the other statistical (Bivariate LISA), were tested using data from sketch maps drawn by about 95 survey respondents and crime data spanning three years (2011-2014). Data was disaggregated by gender, age, and length of residency. Visual analysis of results show that perceptions of safety occur at a fine scale. Respondents marked sketch maps at varying scales …

"Refugee Industrial Complex," Neoliberal Governance Within The Resettlement Industry And Its Effects: Is An Alternative Structure Possible?, Amira F. Al-Dasouqi

Sustainability and Social Justice

Within the current political climate and discussions surrounding displacement, refugee resettlement is a ‘hot-button’ issue. While working at one of the largest resettlement agencies in New England, the author began to analyze how power itself is structured within the Refugee Resettlement Industry (RRI) nationally. This paper argues that the RRI is embedded within neoliberal governance and can be better understood and improved with this understanding. The author argues for the term “Refugee [Resettlement] Industrial Complex,” to more adequately understand the ways that power is enacted through the current structure, and how it inhibits social justice work rooted in advocating for …

No. 02: Approaching Sustainable Urban Development In China Through A Food System Planning Lens, Zhenzhong Si, Steffanie Scott

Hungry Cities Partnership

After more than two decades of rapid urbanization, Chinese cities now face severe sustainability chal- lenges in terms of balancing economic viability, social justice, and environmental protection goals. While various types of planning have long been adopted to cope with these challenges, food as a centrepiece of daily life and of social and economic activity in cities has rarely been considered as a focus of urban planning in China, despite a lot of recent attention to food waste and food safety concerns. China’s food policy is largely fragmented in terms of its multiple regulatory agencies and diverse policy goals. Amid …

No. 01: Hungry Cities Of The Global South, Jonathan Crush

Hungry Cities Partnership

The recent inclusion of an urban Sustainable Development Goal in the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda represents an important acknowledgement of the reality of global urbanization and the many social, economic, infrastructural and political challenges posed by the human transition to a predominantly urban world. However, while the SDG provides goals for housing, transportation, land use, cultural heritage and disaster risk prevention, food is not mentioned at all. This discussion paper aims to correct this unfortunate omission by reviewing the current evidence on the challenges of feeding rapidly-growing cities in the Global South. The paper first documents the magnitude of the …

The Effect Of Athletic Stadiums On Communities, With A Focus On Housing, Dominique Wilkins

Sustainability and Social Justice

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this research is to examine the role of athletic stadiums in the gentrification of minority neighborhoods. New athletic stadiums have increasingly been constructed in low- and moderate- income areas with high minority populations, and results in the displacement of that community’s longstanding residents. This paper uses Census and American Community Survey (ACS) data as part of a case study of the Washington Nationals Stadium in Washington DC; the data shows that within a few years of construction, the community that previously boasted an affordable housing stock and a high low-income minority population is replaced with high-income, …

Impromptu Domesticity: Housing Adaptations By The Marshallese In Springdale, Ar, Kera Lathan

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study analyzes the relationship between people and their spatial environment through the lens of cultural practices and experiences. By using theories of cultural identity and activity patterns to compare spatial usage in two differing circumstances, this study will help to better understand the spatial needs of Marshallese living in Springdale, Arkansas.

The analysis uses two in-depth interviews to establish a base of qualitative data to understand the unique needs of this specific population. Through constructs such as spatial fluidity, sharing culture, and ability to adapt to new spatial practices, the two cases are compared to one another in order …

“La Guerra De Los Centavos” Y Contratos Sociales: Los Impactos Del Desarrollo Del Sistema Intermodal De Transporte Urbano En Loja, Ecuador / "The War Of The Cents" And Social Contracts: The Impacts Of The Development Of The Intermodal Urban Transportation System In Loja, Ecuador, Will Yetvin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El propósito de este estudio fue investigar el Sistema Intermodal de Transporte Urbano (SITU) en la ciudad de Loja, Ecuador. El contenido del estudio se basa en mis observaciones y entrevistas durante mi tiempo trabajando con la Unidad de Transporte del Municipio de Loja, y en fuentes bibliográficas relacionadas con los temas de transporte urbano, transporte sostenible, bus de rápido tránsito y gobiernos descentralizados. Además, utilicé un tesoro de documentos internos del Municipio y el Consorcio. Mi análisis es influenciado por el marco conceptual de desarrollo sostenible.

Este informe es organizado alrededor de tres temas vinculados pero distintos; 1) Un …

Detroit Health Department: Lead Report 2016, Abdul El-Sayed, Alex B. Hill, Haifa Haroon

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

The Epidemiology team at the Detroit Health Department rigorously stress- tested Detroit’s lead numbers. The findings suggest a true decline in EBLL levels rather than a decrease in lead testing or a change in the characteristics of the children who are being tested.

Eating In East Harlem: An Assessment Of Changing Foodscapes In Community District 11, 2000-2015, Cuny Urban Food Policy Institute At The Cuny School Of Public Health And Health Policy, Nicholas Freudenberg, Melissa Fuster, Diana Johnson, Marissa Sheldon, Michele Silver, Apoorva Srivastava, Janet Poppendieck, Ashley Rafalow, Nevin Cohen

Publications and Research

The report analyzes changes in five domains -- food retail, food insecurity and food benefits, institutional food, food and nutrition education, and diet-related health conditions -- in East Harlem from before the election of Michael Bloomberg through the first two years of the de Blasio Administration. Its goal is to assess the ways in which food environments in East Harlem have improved, stayed the same, or worsened in this 15-year period in order to inform setting food policy goals for the next 5, 10 or 15 years.

Although East Harlem is blessed with a multitude of organizations and individuals dedicated …

The Insecure City: Space, Power, And Mobility In Beirut, Kristin V. Monroe

Anthropology Faculty Book Gallery

Fifteen years after the end of a protracted civil and regional war, Beirut broke out in violence once again, forcing residents to contend with many forms of insecurity, amid an often violent political and economic landscape. Providing a picture of what ordinary life is like for urban dwellers surviving sectarian violence, The Insecure City captures the day-to-day experiences of citizens of Beirut moving through a war-torn landscape.

While living in Beirut, Kristin Monroe conducted interviews with a diverse group of residents of the city. She found that when people spoke about getting around in Beirut, they were also expressing larger …

Youthbuild Savannah: Helping At-Risk Young People, Rebuild Their Communities And Their Lives, Shauna-Lee Ruglass

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Hear best practices from the YouthBuild Savannah program and learn about how they recruit at-risk youth, keep them engaged during 9 months of programming and what pathways are made available to participants, once they graduate. Current YouthBuild students and/or graduates will share their stories of transformation and you will learn about YouthBuild USA, Inc. the national support center for the YouthBuild movement.

Youth workers, government officials, foundation staff, corporate and non-profit employees are all welcomed to join and learn about America’s best kept secret, the YouthBuild program.

Differential Health And Social Needs Of Older Adults Waitlisted For Public Housing Or Housing Choice Vouchers, Paula C. Carder, Gretchen Luhr, Jacklyn Nicole Kohon

Institute on Aging Publications

Affordable housing is an important form of income security for low-income older persons. This article describes characteristics of older persons waitlisted for either public housing or a housing choice voucher (HCV) (previously Section 8) in Portland, Oregon. 358 persons (32% response rate) completed a mailed survey with questions about demographics, health and housing status, food insecurity, and preference for housing with services. Findings indicate that many waitlisted older persons experienced homelessness or housing instability, poor health, high hospital use, and food insecurity. Public housing applicants were significantly more likely to report lower incomes, homelessness, and food insecurity than HCV applicants. …