Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Reaching Non-Work Destinations: Accessibility And Its Impacts On Travel Behavior, Sai Sun

Theses and Dissertations

As people’s daily activities are diverse, having access to various opportunities is important. However, the existing body of accessibility literature places great emphasis on job accessibility; research on non-work accessibility is limited. To fill the gap, this dissertation examines accessibility to four types of non-work opportunities (healthcare, retail, recreation, and food services) by three transportation modes (automobile, transit, and walking) as well as their impacts on travel in the Milwaukee region. This dissertation examines accessibility disparities across different racial/ethnic groups and income groups in Milwaukee County by comparing weighted average accessibility and overlaying spatial distribution of accessibility with population distributions. …

The Evergreen Challenges Of Healing: An Evaluation Of Urban Green Space In Harambee, Kacee Ochalek

Theses and Dissertations

Urban green space initiatives have emerged in low- and middle-income cities as a solution to disinvestment, the production of more positive public health metrics, and a tool of community engagement. While the production of urban greening provides ample room for applause, The City of Milwaukee’s Healing Spaces Initiative model regarding the ongoing construction of green space and the implementation of maintenance creates challenges that perpetuate racist capitalistic notions of the neoliberal project. This paper presents reports from participant observation, document analysis, and 17 qualitative interviews with representatives of the City of Milwaukee, community partners, garden leaders, and residents. The data …

The Development Of Do-It-Yourself Skateparks In Contemporary Urban Environments, Emmy A. Yates

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to introduce the reader to Do-It-Yourself (DIY) skateparks by sharing how they come to fruition, how they thrive, and are destroyed in urban landscapes. The goal of this thesis is to document a thorough understanding of how DIY skateparks are organized and managed in contemporary urban environments. Exploring the relationship DIY skateparks have with mental maps, informal rules, subcultures, and legal frameworks can help the reader understand the ways that DIY skateparks impact the urban environments around them. Looking at two well-known and frequented DIY skateparks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – ‘National DIY’ and ‘Estabrook …

Waqf In Transition: Tracing Local Institutional Change During The British Mandate In Palestine, Zachary Murray

Theses and Dissertations

The British Mandate’s actions of state-building in Palestine were informed by a Zionist-Western modernist envisioned past of Palestine. This state-building ideology was embedded within much of the bureaucracy of the Mandate’s system and infringed on numerous Palestinian institutions such as Waqf. Waqf was disenfranchised in particular through the implementation of urban development programs, like town planning and archaeological regimes, which sought to support the British-Zionist recasting of Palestine.

This thesis aims to show how the British’s ideology of Palestine informed the Mandate’s internal polices and actions which infringed on the rights of waqf. This was done through two axes of …

Norm And The People, Jacqueline N. Wade

Theses and Dissertations

Norm and the People is a 90-minute hybrid film about the Minister and activist Norman Eddy and the work he and other activists did in Spanish Harlem from the 1940s through his death in 2013. The film is told through interviews, archival photos and videos, reenactments, and puppets.

Purpose Built Communities: A Concentrated Urban Poverty Intervention, Shannon R. Bergman

Theses and Dissertations

This collective case study research evaluated how the concentrated urban poverty revitalization model administered by Purpose Built Communities (PBC) works to mitigate or eliminate intergenerational poverty and create thriving neighborhoods. There are 5 elements to the PBC revitalization model: (a) mixed-income housing, (b) a cradle-to-college educational accountability system, (c) focus on community health, (d) a tightly defined geographic neighborhood, and (e) the assignment of a Community Quarterback (CQ). This research demonstrated iterative improvements in the socioeconomic well-being of adults and children from the inception of the revitalized community. This was evaluated by adult employment rates, childhood educational achievement, and health …

Metamosque – Envisioning The Mosque As A Virtual Public Space, Alaa Albarazy

Theses and Dissertations

Historically, the mosque was not only a space for a communal prayer but also a place for building a community. Today, however, with conflicts and diseases fragmenting society, people are less able to gather physically in large spaces. Out of necessity, people rely on technology to get together and interact virtually. In this context, my research challenges the notion of the mosque as a physical space, proposing, instead, its extension into virtual space. Recent global events pose the question: Can the metaverse offer an opportunity for the mosque to reassert itself as a public space. I propose that a MetaMosque …

Evaluating Long-Range Transportation Plans For Mainstreaming Of Climate Adaptation Among Virginia Mpos, Sebastian L. Shetty

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the strides made towards addressing climate change through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategies, it has become increasingly apparent that attempting to mitigate the crisis in such a manner alone is insufficient. This thesis joins a growing body of research on how our societies must adapt to a changing climate, contributing more evidence on common barriers to adaptation and how they might be overcome. Through an attempt to evaluate the progress made towards mainstreaming, or integrating, climate change concerns into five Virginia MPOs’ long-range transportation plans (LRTPs), this study provides support for prior hypotheses around the potential for MPOs …