Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

The Unmaking Of An Embargo: How Policy Entrepreneurs At The Individual, State, And National Levels Are Creating New Paths For Policy Change In Modern United States-Cuba Relations, Kyle C. Griffith

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the Cold War antagonisms of the twentieth century, the United States (US) championed greater global economic cooperation and an embrace of free market principles to encourage economic growth. Post World War II, passage of the Bretton Woods Agreement institutionalized this political agenda effectively establishing the rules of global commerce. The result has been increased economic participation and trade liberalization. One of the last remaining vestiges of Cold War hostility and impediments to trade is the US economic embargo of Cuba, in place since 1960. Increasingly seen as a policy failure, the US has taken steps in the past two …

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 …

Restoring The Mississippi River Delta In Louisiana Ecological Tradeoffs And Barriers To Action, Alison Maulhardt

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the Louisiana 2012 Coastal Master Plan’s ability to reconcile conflicting economic and ecological demands on coastal resources. The Louisiana Coastal Master Plan was unique in combining flood control and coastal restoration under one authority. However, the objectives of flood control and coastal restoration can be in conflict. The plan was also unique in its approach of restoration from a working coast perspective. However, the objectives of ecological restoration and economic productivity do not always agree. By conducting semi-structured interviews with major coastal stakeholders, this research will explore how the planning process has accommodated the views and values …

Urban Utopias And Suburban Slums: A Demographic Analysis Of Suburban Poverty And Reurbanization In American Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Isabelle Notter

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study examines 2000 and 2010 Census data to determine the resettlement patterns of urban and suburban residents in 23 American metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). Previous research discusses the development of an affluent suburbia, leaving postindustrial cities in decline. However, recent literature suggests the reurbanization of postindustrial cities by the creative class, a Return to the City movement fueled by middle class entrepreneurs, artists, and technocrats. Alongside reurbanization are increases in poverty, and racial and ethnic enclaves in suburbia. The literature shows these trends as two separate, independent processes. This study investigates the relationship between these processes within MSAs. Consistent …

Reflections Of Globalization: A Case Study Of Informal Food Vendors In Southern Ghana, Arianna J. King

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In the context of rapid urbanization, globalization, market liberalization, and growing flexibility of labor in the post-Fordist era, urban environments have seen economic opportunities and employment in the formal sector become increasingly less available to the vast majority of urban dwellers in both high-income and low-income countries. The intersectional forces of globalization, and neoliberalization have contributed to the ever-growing role of informal economic opportunities in providing the necessary income to fulfill household needs for individuals throughout the world and have also influenced social, cultural, and spatial organization of informal sector workers. Using a case study and ethnographic information from several …

Here I Am And Here I’M Not: Queer Women’S Use Of Temporary Urban Spaces In Post-Katrina New Orleans, Vigdís María Hermannsdóttir

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis builds on previous work on the relationship between queer identities and urban space. Drawing from an analysis of two recurring New Orleans-based queer women’s events, I examine how lesbians and queer women not only use but also actively produce social spaces of their own through participation in events organized specifically for lesbians and queer women. Using qualitative methods, I examine the ephemeral and transient quality of lesbian and queer women’s social spaces in post-Katrina New Orleans and the processes through which such spaces come into being. I argue that lesbian and queer women’s production of ephemeral social spaces …

Swamp Surburbia And Rebellion Against A Culture Of Crime: The Birth Of Black Skateboarding In The Big Easy, Aubrey Edwards

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This research addresses a significant gap in previous work on the formation of urban and suburban black skateboarding subcultures. By using data generated through oral histories, photographs, mapping, and literature review, this study explores why black youth initially began skateboarding in New Orleans in the mid-2000s. In contrast to the scholarly literature and local popular perception, this visual anthropological study aims to provide an alternative origin story of black skateboarding in Post-Katrina New Orleans, and to examine the continuing popularity of the sport within the young black community.

The Croatian Community Of Southeastern Louisiana: Immigration, Assimilation And The Retention Of Ethnic Identity, Renee Danielle Bourgogne

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This work is a study of a community of Croatian immigrants to Southeast Louisiana in the twentieth century. Drawn from a multidisciplinary approach that included spatial analysis of settlement patterns, quantitative analysis of seafood industry data, the records of voluntary associations, and guided by the oral histories of men and women of Croatia who immigrated to Louisiana, this work reveals a community that has managed to maintain close ties despite its distribution both in urban New Orleans and rural coastal Louisiana through links created by and supportive of the state’s seafood and restaurant industries. The study points out how the …

Crescent City Nightingales: Gender, Race, Class And The Professionalization Of Nursing For Women In New Orleans, Louisiana, 1881-1950, Paula A. Fortier

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Through the examination of primary sources largely overlooked by historians, this dissertation traces the professionalization of nursing in New Orleans, Louisiana, from 1881 to 1950 while placing this localized history within the context of national trends. In the late nineteenth century, nursing developed into a middle class profession for women inspired by the careers of Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton. This dissertation investigates the process by which women became professional nurses while a complex intersection of issues related to gender, race, and class at times advanced, and at other times, hindered their progress towards professionalization. New Orleans serves as a …

Through The Eyes Of The Homeless, Aisha M. Soto

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

When reviewing the entire project from start to completion, I can honestly say, Through the Eyes of the Homeless is a play about ten women and their plight. It illustrates their dealings with everyday issues of hurt, disappointment, abuse, love, and hope. I believe the true impact of this play is the undeniable prayer for help and hope within each monologue. Despite the horrors that are unveiled and released through hidden secrets, the undertone of betterment is truly resonating. My own expectation for this play is simply to strike awareness and understanding in the eyes of the people. It is …

Fifty Years Of Weathering The Storm: Are The Louisiana Gulf Coastal Parishes Prepared For Another Major Hurricane?, Danielle L. Boudreau

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study examines ten major storms that have affected Louisiana in the last fifty years, beginning with Hurricane Betsy in 1965. The goal is to determine if the nine coastal parishes are prepared adequately for another major hurricane impact. It examines storms that have affected the state physically, in terms of property and ecological damages. It also considers storms that provided non-physical influences, by way of mitigation policy changes and social, economical, ecological, and political policy alterations. The main focus is on the transformations, if any, of social vulnerability in light of emergency preparedness in the areas impacted, particularly along …

Parcel-Level Green Stormwater Management Policy: What New Orleans Can Learn From Philadelphia’S Parcel-Based Utility Fee, Spence Riggs

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan promotes the ideology of integrating green infrastructure into the City’s water management strategy to cultivate resiliency. In order to develop enough green infrastructure to have a significant impact on the hydrological functioning of the area, New Orleans officials are investigating different options for encouraging property owners to manage their stormwater on-site. Philadelphia Water Department’s parcel-based stormwater utility fee has been offered as a model for working within the constraints of the municipal government’s regulatory authority to increase the water retention capacity of individual properties. This thesis provides an analysis of Philadelphia Water Department’s …

“Put The Church Right There”: A Study Of The Inclusion Of Congregational Structures Within New Urbanist Developments, Matthew L. Pierce

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Beginning with the development of Seaside (Walton County, FL), Kentlands (Gaithersburg, MD), and Laguna West (Elk Grove, CA), New Urbanist developments have set aside parcels for civic structures, many of which now house congregations. Using interviews with developers, planners, and church officials, this thesis examines the rationale behind including congregations within New Urbanist developments in four southeastern states (Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina). The expectations of New Urbanist developers largely mirror those found within key New Urbanist texts: congregational structures help create a legible landscape through typological architecture and conspicuous siting while providing space for public gathering. The …

Bus Shelters As Shared Public And Private Entities; And Bus Shelter Advertising Contracts (Bsacs), A Product And Source Of Global Change: An Overview, History, And Comparison, Alexander Depriest

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The transit shelter, the space where riders make the transition from open space to more controlled buses and trains, is in many cases the site of a public-private transaction. Here, government agencies contract private companies to build and maintain shelters in exchange for governmental allowance of advertising in these locations. This dual purpose—the shelter serves concurrently as protection for transit users and as a moneymaker—means the space is contested, with economic and social needs often at odds. Bus shelter advertising contracts (BSACs), increasingly operated by large corporations, have resulted in widespread networks of bus shelters; observing these renders processes of …

The Exercise Of Power : Counter Planning In Palestine, Husni S. Qurt

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In the beginning of the 2000s, Israeli policies in the West Bank shifted from policies of control to policies of separation, which in turn led to the Transformation of West Bank communities into isolated urban islands. Current plans prepared for Palestinian localities by Palestinian planning institutions most often address these isolated islands without taking into account the Israeli-controlled areas surrounding these localities. Palestinians envision the entire West Bank as a contiguous area that will eventually form part of the Palestinian national state. However, most Palestinian plans take the boundaries imposed by Israel as a given and plan only for areas …

Green Infrastructure And The Sustainability Concept: A Case Study Of The Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan, Jessica Fisch

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability has been touted as an ideal in city and environmental planning in recent decades, evolving to include environmental, economic, and equity-focused goals. While much has been written about these ideals, it remains unclear how their inherent tensions and challenges affect planning practice. This thesis analyzes these goals as they are perceived and prioritized in The Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan, a regional water management plan released by Waggonner and Ball Architects in September 2013, utilizing interviews with architects involved in the plan’s development, staff at agencies involved in green infrastructure implementation, and advocacy groups involved in and affected …

New Orleans Producers: Directing The Regional Food System One Informal Contract At A Time, Emily Nichols

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Large corporations largely control food production and distribution in the global food system and have generated a desire for locally produced food. Although small independent producers still contribute to regional food systems, there is little understanding about how they distribute and market their products. This thesis uses both semistructured interviews to investigate the distribution practices of urban, family, and regional producers in the New Orleans region and discourse analysis to disclose how localist discourse shapes producers marketing practices. The discourse analysis discovered that the web presence of local New Orleans restaurants, farmers, and Crescent City Farmers Market targeted concepts that …

Louisiana's Water Innovation Cluster: Is It Ready For Global Competition?, Stephen C. Picou

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The rapid growth of Louisiana's coastal restoration science and technology assets is paralleled by the growth of business resources to fulfill myriad project needs. Many institutions and organizations in Louisiana seek to further develop the state's research, education, engineering and related restoration assets into a globally competitive set of industries with exportable expertise and products that help the state capitalize on its water challenges. Globally, similar efforts are identified (and often branded) as water technology innovation clusters (or more simply water clusters). This paper explores the phenomenon of the development of water clusters by public-private partnerships and initiatives, nationally and …

Contested Road Space: Public Narratives And Bus Rapid Transit In Indore, India, Lucien V. Bruno Iv

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has a demonstrated capacity to improve safety, mobility and accessibility for multiple types of road users. In India, where road safety is an ongoing problem, the national government has supported cities’ efforts to implement BRT as a cost-effective tool to improve urban travel. The case of Indore’s iBus attests to the cultural and institutional barriers that Indian cities may face in gaining public support for BRT. After a contentious implementation process, the High Court ruled to open the dedicated bus lane to private automobiles, resulting in drops in ridership and increases in accidents and travel delay. …

Moving Motherly: Raising Children In The Low-Wage Hospitality Industry, Anna E. Hackman

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In the hospitality industry, women with children are in a unique position. Government deregulation of corporate labor practices, the exit of manufacturing overseas, and the rise of the service sector economy in the United States has contributed to the development of a surplus, low-wage labor force. Tourism is one subset of this labor force that deserves further attention. Although there is substantial literature on the structure of low-wage labor in tourism economies (Herod and Aguiar, 2006), as well as the impacts on work-family balance (Liladrie, 2009), a less explored topic is the impacts hospitality labor has on mothering. The purpose …

Sistas On The Move: An Ethnographic Case Study Of Health And Friendship In Urban Space Among Black Women In New Orleans, Valerie A. Mcmillan

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Black women are disproportionately affected by adverse health conditions, such as obesity and heart disease. For example, more black women currently die from complications associated with diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure than any other ethnic group in the United States (Gourdine 2011). There are however, increasing numbers of everyday black women who defy these statistics and are positive role models for all women. One such group of women is the New Orleans chapter of Sistas On The Move (SOTM), an all-female running group that emphasizes the importance of black women’s health and builds community around physical activity. Through …

The Streets Are Talking: The Aesthetics Of Gentrification In Two Downriver New Orleans Neighborhoods, Tara E. Foster

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1970s, when neoliberal policies and changing consumer patterns began remaking cities, scholars have conducted research about gentrification. In New Orleans, these studies have helped explain the demographic and economic shifts in some neighborhoods. However, there has been limited focus on the built environment aspects of gentrification in New Orleans, specifically the interpretation of the external aesthetic shifts in streetscapes as part of the gentrification process. This thesis examines the relationship between these aesthetics, primarily graffiti and street art, and the gentrification process, as perceived by various stakeholders in two New Orleans neighborhoods: St. Roch and Bywater. Using empirical, …

The Privatization Of Hazard Mitigation: A Case Study Of The Creation And Implementation Of A Federal Program, Alessandra Jerolleman

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the role of the private and public sectors in hazard mitigation, an important part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) performance requirements from the Stafford Act. Hazard mitigation is the effort to reduce societal impacts from natural disasters by reducing their risk to people, property and infrastructure; before hazards occur. The goal of the work is to contribute to the literature examining the national trend towards privatization and reliance on the free market economy for the provision of government social services, through such public management movements as the “New Public Management” (NPM) of the 1980s and …

A Gateway For Everyone To Believe: Identity, Disaster, And Football In New Orleans, Brandon D. Haynes

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to analyze the dynamic processes of collective identity by examining the relationship between New Orleans and its professional football team, the Saints, after Hurricane Katrina. Much of the discourse written on American professional sports focuses on economic transactions between player and franchise or franchise and city. This study explores sports from a cultural perspective to understand the perceived social values provided to the host community. This case study spans the years from 2006 to 2013 and discusses several major events, including the Hurricane Katrina disaster, the reopening of the Superdome, the Saints winning a …

How Have Community Land Trusts Used The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit? Case Studies From Athens, Ga And Park City, Ut, Michael S. Lostocco

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Public and private actors have suggested using the community land trust (CLT) model as a remedy for a number of housing related issues. This is based primarily upon the documented successes of CLT homeownership programs. Some caution that the growth of CLTs and the increased use of the CLT model beyond homeownership may stretch organizations beyond their capacity or force them to consider how to provide stewardship and community control. The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) has been used by a handful of CLTs and there are reasons to believe that more CLTs may utilize it in the future. This …

Risk, Oil Spills, And Governance: Can Organizational Theory Help Us Understand The 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill?, Evelyn Cade

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico awakened communities to the increased risk of large-scale damage along their coastlines presented by new technology in deep water drilling. Normal accident theory and high reliability theory offer a framework through which to view the 2010 spill that features predictive criteria linked to a qualitative assessment of risk presented by technology and organizations. The 2010 spill took place in a sociotechnical system that can be described as complex and tightly coupled, and therefore prone to normal accidents. However, the entities in charge of managing this technology lacked the …

Uses And Perceptions Of The Neighborhood Open Space, Romain Cheynet

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the uses and perceptions of the population of the East Carrollton Area in New Orleans so as to evaluate the possible outcomes of urban design intervention and policy changes. Using GIS, field notes, structured interviews and a population survey, this research evaluates how much the built environment influences the uses of the neighborhood open space. Subsequently, it evaluates how the neighborhood open space is perceived as a place as opposed to a transportation infrastructure.

Overall, the built environment affects the experience of the residents when they perform leisure activities in the neighborhood open space. Major deterrents to …

Cycling In The Crescent City: An Exploration Of The Spatial Variation In Bicycle Commuting In New Orleans, Emilie S. Bahr

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the spatial variation in bicycle commuting across New Orleans. It identifies where in the city bicycle commuting is most and least prevalent. It also explores factors that are promoting and discouraging utilitarian bicycling. A review of existing literature on variables found to influence transportation bicycling is conducted, and a survey is disseminated to residents across the city to determine some of the motivations for and obstacles to transportation bicycling locally. Additionally, case studies are compiled pertaining to two neighborhoods falling on opposite ends of the bike-commute spectrum. These include analysis of socio-economic and demographic data; an evaluation …

The Diffusion Of Geospatial Technologies Among Louisiana Assessors, Craig A. Johnson

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The diffusion of geospatial technologies, including Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Computer Aided Mass Appraisal Systems (CAMA), among Louisiana Assessors has been slowed by limited resources, a lack of communication and slow innovation decision processes. This research considers analysis of the speed of adoption, identifies the key players in decision making and the issues that influence the process based upon the theory of the diffusion of innovation developed by Dr. Everett M. Rogers (1995). The research data collected from online surveys, field visits and interviews of Louisiana Assessors between 2007 and 2013 was compared to identify factors that spurred or …

They Took My Bedroom: A Case Study Of Eminent Domain In New Orleans, Jared E. Munster

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Of the many powers granted to federal, state, and local governments through the Constitution of theUnited States, eminent domain is possibly the strongest and most imposing, at least as it relates to citizens’ property rights. This dissertation explores several large-scale public undertakings inNew Orleansduring the period from 1929 to 2011 in which the application of eminent domain was necessary to accomplish the government’s goals. This research window will allow the analysis of eminent domain applications from the construction of the Municipal Auditorium through the new medical center projects spurred by the flooding associated with Hurricane Katrina. This timeframe also allows …