Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Efforts To Promote Voting By Mail May Help Ensure Strong Voter Turnout Among Both Young And Old Voters In Cuyahoga County's Fall 2020 Election, Mark J. Salling Phd, Gisp

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Voting by mail (VBM) has been a well-established practice in the State of Ohio for many years before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Cuyahoga County's Fall 2016 election, for example, more than 193,000 voters (31.8% of all voters) chose the VBM option to cast their ballots.

Individual voter records are confidential. Yet in a previous Focus on Facts the author described a method to analyze publicly available voter records that produces reliable estimates to describe the demographics of who votes (race, age, neighborhood, etc.).

Figure 1 reveals how the use of VBM varied by age group among Cuyahoga …

Reliance On Voting By Mail Could Reduce Voter Turnout Among Black And Hispanic/Latino Voters In Cuyahoga County, Mark J. Salling Phd, Gisp

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Those who urge greater reliance on voting by mail (VBM) argue that VBM will help increase voter participation and reduce exposure for populations with greater risk for the COVID-19 disease. Yet an analysis of 2016 voting behavior in Cuyahoga County suggests that VBM could result in suppressing voter turnout among Black and Hispanic voters unless outreach to those populations can increase their confidence in, and preference for, using the postal service to cast their votes in the 2020 general election and beyond. This is a particularly important in the coming election due to the likely risk of exposure to COVID-19 …

Neo Grids Performance In 2020, Iryna Demko, Merissa Piazza, Iryna V. Lendel

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The Center for Economic Development identified 33 driver industries in the 2019 report titled “Northeast Ohio Front Runners: Groups of Regional Industry Drivers (GRIDs).” GRIDs are wealth-creating industries that pay high wages, have a robust regional specialization, and contribute to the economy through regional supply chains. However, in this year alone, the U.S. and Ohio economies have seen a trade war with China, retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, the collapse of oil prices, and mandatory business closings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These events contributed to the already ongoing cyclical repression, and impacted the wealth creation of Northeast Ohio’s (NEO)3 …

Vote By Mail By Race And Hispanic Ethnicity In Cuyahoga County, Mark J. Salling Phd, Gisp

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The current arguments to increase voting by mail rather than at the polls may result in suppressing voting by Black and Hispanic voters unless outreach to those populations can increase their confidence in and preference for using the postal service to cast their votes in the 2020 general election and beyond. This is a particularly important in the coming election due to the likely exposure to COVID‐19 at the polling places should the pandemic be still a significant health risk at places of congregation.

Thinking Like A Region In Northeast Ohio? Factors That Predict Local Government Participation In Collaborative Policy And Planning, Meghan Rubado, Joanna Ganning, Thomas Hilde, Wendy A. Kellogg

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Local governments in Northeast Ohio often collaborate with one another to provide services, pursue regional initiatives, and create regional plans. Collaborative arrangements can create efficiencies, save money, improve service quality, and boost regional vitality. But they also present costs and risks that leaders must weigh against potential benefits.

The Nasa Glenn Research Center: An Economic Impact Study Fiscal Year 2019, Iryna V. Lendel, Jinhee Yun, Courtney Whitman

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The NASA Glenn Research Center creates the benefits within the regional economy by engaging contractors from Northeast Ohio and Ohio, paying high wages to their employees who spent most of their income locally, and collaborating with local higher education institutions providing them with research grants and contracts. This study uses a multi-regional input-output (I-O) model to estimate the effect of NASA Glenn Research Center’s spending on the economies of Northeast Ohio (NEO) and Ohio. This model measures economic impact in terms of growth in output (sales), value added (output less intermediary goods), number of new and supported jobs, labor income, …

From Economic Slowdown To Recession, Iryna Demko, Iryna V. Lendel, Merissa Piazza

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The most recent recession, known as the “Great Recession,” began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. The recession affected the entire U.S., but its impacts were not uniform. Unfortunately, Ohio was a primary example of the recession’s iniquities as the recession lasted five months longer here compared to the rest of the nation. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, we face further uncertainty and another recession with economic activity contracting “sharply and abruptly” across the entire U.S. This research brief examines the state of the economy in the U.S. and Northeast Ohio pre-pandemic (2019) and provides an analysis of …

The Role Of Public Transportation In Youngstown, Iryna V. Lendel, Iryna Demko, Obed Pasha, Georgina Figueroa

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The Center analyzed the relationship between public transit availability and employment in the entry-level job hubs. Using a Poisson model for the Youngstown origin-destination matrix, we found that a 10-minute decrease in rush-hour travel times by public transit is expected to increase employment by almost 7%. This means that 224 more residents of each low-income census tract will have access to the entry-level job hubs in Youngstown. As transit agencies are experiencing major disruptions to normal operating procedures because of the COVID-19 pandemic, our findings show that without access to public transportation many people lose prospective employment.

Ohio Workers And The Covid-19 Global Health Emergency, Joseph Andre, Robert Gleeson

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The global economy has never before experienced the scale of sudden economic shock that is now underway. This is unchartered territory. Although the U.S. has many economic policies and worker support programs designed to ease dislocation during recessions, these programs were not designed for the unique circumstances of this global pandemic.

The most important program for workers is Unemployment Insurance. The first chart in this report shows the unprecedented number of new applications for unemployment insurance filed by Ohio workers during the week of March 16th. If all applicants are awarded benefits, the second chart shows that the number of …

Shale Investment Dashboard In Ohio Q1 And Q2 2019, Andrew R. Thomas, Mark Henning

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report presents findings from an investigation into shale-related investment in Ohio. The investment estimates are cumulative from January through June of 2019. Prior investments have previously been reported and are available from Cleveland State University. Subsequent reports will estimate additional investment since the date of this report.

How The Midwest Can Lead The Hydrogen Economy: Matching Generation Assets To Distribution Markets In Planning Hydrogen Refueling Infrastructure For Trucking And Transit, Mark Henning, Andrew R. Thomas, Michael Triozzi, Peter Psarras

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles provide one important path to decarbonization in transportation, particularly for heavy-duty applications such as transit and trucking. Both fleet types face a common challenge in transitioning to low emission fuels: how to economically support one-to-one replacement of conventional diesel vehicles, especially with respect to range and refueling time. This study explores the regional assets along a major freight corridor from Pittsburgh to Minneapolis that could enable a hydrogen refueling infrastructure for transit agencies and long-haul trucking, the likely early adopters of low-emission hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. Among the assets available along this corridor are …

Good Jobs: Employment And Wages In Groups Of Regional Industrial Drivers, Iryna Lendel, Merissa Piazza, Iryna Demko, Matthew Ellerbrock, Emily Forsee

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Talent attraction and workforce development are urgent topics in Northeast Ohio, as many companies are finding it challenging to locate and attract necessary workers for open jobs. This dilemma spans across sectors: from the manufacturing industry finding appropriately skilled labor to professional services finding experienced IT staff. This research analyzes employment dynamics among Northeast Ohio (NEO) industries, so policymakers and economic development practitioners can utilize our findings and design programs to improve the economic conditions in the region. This report builds on The Center for Economic Development’s prior work, which identified NEO’s Groups of Regional Industry Drivers (GRIDs). These sectors …

"Don't Count Us Out!" Who Is Likely To Be Missed In The 2020 Census?, Mark J. Salling Phd, Gisp

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Targeted for April, the 2020 Census is around the corner. The Census Bureau, news media, state and local governments, and national and local non-profit organizations are all working hard to convince the public that responding to the Census is safe, confidential, and very important.

Yet we know some people will be missed. "Omissions" represent people who should have been counted but were not. In the 2010 Census the national rate of Omissions was 5.3 percent of total population, versus 3.5 in Ohio. Other national rates were: 9.3 percent for African-Americans; 7.7 percent for Hispanics; 3.8 percent for non-Hispanic whites; 8.5 …

Why Do We Still Conduct A Costly Census Of All U.S. Residents Every Ten Years?, Mark J. Salling Phd, Gisp

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Who hasn’t heard that the 2020 Census is upon us? The anticipation and anguish about missing large numbers of persons (again!) is in the news and on social media daily. The Census Bureau is posting daily news releases. Public officials and nonprofit leaders are rallying to get the word out about the importance of the decennial Census. Last year we saw widespread political opposition to the Trump administration’s attempt to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 Census form because opponents argued it would decrease participation within the Hispanic community.

The case for accurate data about all U.S. residents …

Community Benefit Agreements: A Report For The City Of East Cleveland, Beth Nagy, Matthew Herman, Amber Knapp, Leah Pirrung, Stephanie Lawson, Tisha Barnes, Sy Castells, Cong Wang, Isabella Ziemak, Cameron Caputi, John Curran, Otis Hooper, Clifton Hopkins, Morgan Clark, Madison Hudy, Amanda Biller, Jacqueline Revier, Zach Kramka

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Dr. Beth Nagy, Assistant Lecturer of Urban Planning Practice at the Levin College, worked with her UST 489 Senior Seminar class to produce a report for the City of East Cleveland on community benefit agreements (CBAs). Students examined CBAs across major cities throughout the United States to provide the City of East Cleveland with case studies on the different ways CBAs are utilized in other communities, while exploring the successes and limitations such efforts have encountered. The final report was presented to East Cleveland Mayor Brandon L. King in February 2020.

Taking A Knee To “Whiteness” In Urban Teacher Education: An Abolitionist Stance, Anne Auburn Sheaffer

ETD Archive

In a qualitative narrative study of 11 urban teacher education faculty who teach courses that prepare teacher candidates for field immersions in metro-urban schools, I problematized “whiteness” by asking participants what it meant to them in the contexts of their work in contact zones were teacher candidates and K-12 students meet. The research was shaped as an abolitionist justice project (Tuck & Yang, 2018, p. 8) and considered how “whiteness” might be deconstructed and decentered in urban teacher education. Participants described whiteness as both fixed phenotype and historical and social construct which causes harm and which requires intervention. In scenarios …

People, Place, Process: Unpacking Local Efforts To Produce Social Sustainability, Hannah Lebovits

ETD Archive

This three-paper dissertation seeks to understand the factors that drive social sustainability in local contexts, giving attention to institutional efforts of local governments and nonprofit agencies as well as the interdependence between the built environment and collective action efforts. It marries two separate literatures, in public affairs and urban studies, by conceptualizing the relationships between the way spaces have been planned and designed to function and they ways they are lived in and governed. The first paper measures the relationship between modes of housing settlement within a city and the number of social sustainability policies a city adopts, finding a …

Parental Decision Making Regarding Cochlear Implant Use In School-Age Children: A Self-Determination Perspective, Myrita S. Wilhite

ETD Archive

Hearing parents of children who are deaf face many complex decisions that have life long ramifications. The first decision is whether or not to pursue cochlear implantation, which has become a physician preferred intervention recommendation for deafness. Cochlear implants can provide access to sound that improves auditory experiences. This provides optimism for the facilitation of academic, social, and communication development. The problem lies in the variability found in the consistency of the use of cochlear implants. Non-use and inconsistent use of the device is related to less than favorable speech, language, and academic outcomes. There is little understanding of what …

A Journey Toward Sustainable Behavior: A Project To Stimulate Reduced Electricity Consumption, Albert A. Bragg Jr.

ETD Archive

Housing organizations continuously face competition from other providers of low to moderate-income residential housing. That competition motivates those agencies to perpetually search for cost savings methods, which will enable them to continue providing supportive services to their residents. Additionally, the government has entrusted certain agencies with substantial funding that can inspire the organization to search for ways to demonstrate they are competent shepherds of those resources. Given that Alpha Homes’ residents do not pay their electric bills, the fundamental question guiding this research was: could a housing organization significantly reduce the average tenant electricity usage through a combination of resident-focused …

Green Spots In The Heart Of Town’: Planning And Contesting The Nation’S Widest Streets In Georgia’S Fall Line Cities, J. Mark Souther

History Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Racist Impact Of Redistributive Public Policies: Handout Versus Hand-Up, Mittie Davis Jones

Cultural Encounters, Conflicts, and Resolutions

Federal government policies, while benefitting some urban areas, have historically been detrimental to African-American people. Years of welfare and housing policies have placed central city residents, especially African-Americans, at a disadvantage which they have not overcome. Policies that once denied benefits to Black people, such as public welfare and federally-insured mortgages, morphed into stigmatized policies which, when available to Blacks, became obstacles to their advancement. These same policies enabled the majority White population to do what they were initially designed to do – provide a toehold during a period of temporary economic decline after which personal advancement was possible.

The …

Food Deserts In Urban Areas, Regina Bellian

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

This paper illustrates the issue of food deserts faced by urban areas in three parts. Part one focuses on defining food deserts and what exactly the term denotes as well as who is affected by their present existence socially, physically, and economically. Part two presents research on some of the current policies and programs in place to address the issue of food deserts and discusses a few of the difficulties in implementing them. These approaches are then further analyzed for effectiveness in varying regions. Part three explores a handful of alternative methods to combat this urban issue in order to …

Before The New Street: Opportunity Corridor Residents And Jobs, 2017, Robert Gleeson, Joseph Andre

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The Ohio Department of Transportation is constructing the final portion of “the Opportunity Corridor.” This new 4-6 lane city street in Cleveland will connect I-490 at the 55th Street exit to University Circle by way of 105th Street, which was extended as part of this multi-stage project. The new street will improve commute times for University Circle workers and improve access to the distressed neighborhoods along its path.

Shale Investment Dashboard In Ohio Q3 And Q4 2018, Andrew R. Thomas, Mark Henning

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report presents findings from an investigation into shale-related investment in Ohio. The investment estimates are cumulative from July through December of 2018. Prior investments have previously been reported and are available from Cleveland State University. Subsequent reports will estimate additional investment since the date of this report.

Gradual Growth In Regional Collaboration In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Roland Anglin, Rene Kizys

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

For many, regionalism is the answer to managing city challenges brought about by metropolitan sprawl. Yet regionalism is defined in many ways. Proponents tend to recommend regional tax sharing and/or increased coordination and sharing of services.

For the most part, such efforts have not progressed very far in Northeast Ohio. But the context for local autonomy has changed. Jurisdictions that were fiscally sound now find they are not immune from fiscal constraints.

The first Levin Regional Cooperation Survey, conducted in late 2018, examines regional collaboration efforts in city management and operations among the 57 municipalities in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

An Analysis Of The Association Between Changes In Ambient Temperature, Fuel Economy, And Vehicle Range For Battery Electric And Fuel Cell Electric Buses, Mark Henning, Andrew R. Thomas, Alison Smyth

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report evaluates the effects of changes in ambient temperature on the fuel efficiency and range of zero emission buses. The report relies on data that was made available from transit agencies that have deployed hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric zero-emission buses. This analysis shows that the fuel economy and range of electric drive buses may vary significantly with changes in outdoor temperature. In planning zero emission fleet development strategy, it is important for transit agencies to understand how their zero-emission bus’s performance may change with temperature. The effects of temperature change on range may be particularly important in …

Estimating Social Costs For Various Fuel Strategies For Transit Buses, Mark Henning

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

An analysis of the social cost of pollutant emissions for a selection of fuel pathways among heavy duty transit buses using Argonne National Laboratory’s Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREET) model and federal guidelines on the social cost per unit mass for major pollutants.

The State Of Rural Northeast Ohio, Iryna Demko, Samuel Owusu-Agyemang

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This research brief focuses on industries in eight rural NEO counties: Ashland, Ashtabula, Columbiana, Erie, Huron, Richland, Tuscarawas, and Wayne. These counted produced $30 billion of output and employed 300,000 people in 2018. Output growth in rural NEO counties has outperformed urban NEO and Ohio – much of this growth can be attributed to the Utica Shale development. Tuscarawas county surpassed output growth in all other counties in NEO.

Levin Regional Cooperation Survey, Roland Anglin, Rene Kizys

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Regionalism is defined in many ways. Some define it by regional tax sharing and consolidating local units of government into a larger city/county statutory governing arrangement that may encourage equity and efficiency. Notable examples of this include Indianapolis and its “Unigov” consolidation with many surrounding towns, municipalities; as well as the City of Nashville and Davidson County in Tennessee. Other consolidations are bilateral city-to-city policy setting arrangements, such as the Metro Council, that determine growth and development policy for the Twin Cities, Minneapolis-Saint Paul. This study proceeds on the belief that regionalism can also be defined in functional terms based …

Oil And Gas As A Driver Of The Regional Economy: Updates, Iryna Lendel

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The economic trends in Northeast Ohio (NEO) over the last 20 years are typical of the Midwest region, with a positive increase in output outpaced by the state of Ohio, and the United States. The double recessions of 2001 and 2007-2009 show a deeper output decline in NEO than in comparable Midwest regions and the United States. Traditionally, industries with high regional specialization that have a competitive advantage and drive regional economies are called economic base industries. Groups of Regional Industry Drivers (GRIDs) are part of the economic base of a region. The Oil & Gas GRID accounts for less …