Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Northeast Indiana Entrepreneurial Opportunity Survey Analysis, Ziona Austrian, Merissa Piazza, Eli Auerbach, Sunjoo Park, Joan Chase

Ziona Austrian

This survey report is associated with "Northeast Indiana Regional Analysis: Demographics, Economy, entrepreneurship and Innovation"

Rating The Cities: Constructing A City Resilience Index For Assessing The Effect Of State And Local Laws On Long-Term Recovery From Crisis And Disaster, John Travis Marshall

John Travis Marshall

Superstorm Sandy, the 2008 Iowa floods, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita all supply recent reminders that U.S. cities can no longer adopt an ad hoc approach to threats presented by climate change and natural hazards. The stories detailing long-term recovery from these disasters underscore that federal, state, and local governments are struggling to appreciate the legal tools and institutions necessary to implement the large-scale infrastructure, housing, and community development programs that climate change and more frequent natural disasters demand. This Article calls for development of a tool allowing succinct evaluation of the range of community capacities that will figure critically …

Walkability: To Quantify Or Not To Quantify, William W. Riggs

William W. Riggs

Academics and policy makers have developed quantitative approaches to judging how conducive a location is to walking. This has resulted in new terms like “walkability,” and the trademarked industry term Walk Score has entered the lexicon because of www.walkscore.com. The website rates one place against another, implying that some areas are a “walker’s paradise” and others are not. Some believe that the Walk Score provides a direct and replicable method to benchmark or measure walkability. While as a metric walkability indices typically use three key factors (proximity to goods and services, population dynamics and the concentration of street intersections, i.e. …

Law Of Thrive: Creating Sustainable Diverse & Inclusive Communities: Human Utility Business: Creating Sustainable Communities That Thrive, Robin Roberts

Robin A. Roberts

Walking Is A Right (Civil And Human), Robert Bullard

Robert D Bullard

PowerPoint opening keynote presented at the National Walking Summit in Washington, DC last month. Here is link to the Summit. http://walkingsummit.org/keynote-speakers . Some of themes include - walking as a right, "outdoor apartheid," "walking while black," and connecting nature walks and health (walking is good for the mind, body, spirit and soul) run through the talk.

Deadly Waiting Game: An Environmental Justice Framework For Examining Natural And Man-Made Disasters Beyond Hurricane Katrina [Abstract], Robert D. Bullard

Robert D Bullard

Presenter: Robert D. Bullard, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, Clark Atlanta University 1 page.

Wildlife In U.S. Cities: Managing Unwanted Animals, John Hadidian

John Hadidian, PhD

Conflicts between people and wild animals in cities are undoubtedly as old as urban living itself. In the United States it is only of late, however, that many of the species now found in cities have come to live there. The increasing kind and number of human-wildlife conflicts in urbanizing environments makes it a priority that effective and humane means of conflict resolution be found. The urban public wants conflicts with wildlife resolved humanely, but needs to know what the alternative management approaches are, and what ethical standards should guide their use. This paper examines contemporary urban wildlife control in …

Tracing A History Of Atlanta’S Public Transit, Joseph Hurley

Joe A. Hurley

No abstract provided.

Hidden In Plain Sight: Tehran's Empowering Protean Spaces, Sara Khorshidifard

Sara Khorshidifard

As a recent citizen I noticed Tehran's urge for new kinds of public spaces. So, I initiated a dissertation that outlined a call for "protean space." Cities need protean spaces as a means to empower people, places that offer social interaction and support--spaces that are safe, accessible, and intriguing. Protean spaces empower people to create places for personal and interpersonal relationships, make social connections, gain information, and build trust across varied networks. My dissertation examined how planning and design practices can enhance the possibility of protean spaces and therefore increase their number. While my research concerns Tehran, all cities benefit …

Community-Engaged Decision Modeling For Local Economic Development, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Sandeep Jani

Michael P. Johnson

This presentation contains current results from a research project to identify success metrics and decision opportunities for Boston Main Streets organizations. It represents an application of qualitative decision analytic methods for values and objectives design

Cargo Bikes As A Growth Area For Bicycle Vs. Auto Trips: Exploring The Potential For Mode Substitution Behavior, William W. Riggs

William W. Riggs

Cargo bikes are increasing in availability in the United States. While a large body of research has continued to investigate traditional bike transportation, cargo bikes offer the potential to capture trips for those that might otherwise be made by car. To investigate this, data from a survey of cargo bike users are evaluated using descriptive and inferential statistics. The survey queried how use and travel dynamics of characteristics with the hypothesis that cargo bike ownership has the potential to contribute to mode substitution behavior. From a descriptive standpoint, 68.9% of those surveyed changed their travel behavior after purchasing a cargo …

The Ada Lovelace Woman Of The Year In Nolatech Award, Nominee, Michelle Thompson

Michelle M. Thompson

Nominees for the first Ada Lovelace Prize are New Orleans women who have displayed or fostered technological innovation. Ada Lovelace was a woman instrumental in laying the earliest cornerstones of computer science. The award honors the achievements of New Orleans leaders who exemplify the technical foresight and intuition that so characterized all of Lovelace's endeavors.

Decision Science For Housing And Community Development: Localized And Evidence‐Based Responses To Distressed Housing And Blighted Communities: Wiley Interview, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Jeffrey Keisler, Senay Solak, David A. Turcotte, Armagan Bayram, Rachel B. Drew

Michael P. Johnson

This is an interview with staff at John Wiley & Sons regarding my book "Decision Science for Housing and Community Development: Localized and Evidence‐Based Responses to Distressed Housing and Blighted Communities" that was published by Wiley in 2015. It describes the motivation for the book, essential knowledge my co-authors and I would like each reader to take away from the book, and our assessment of the book's contribution to research and practice.

Tax Incentives And Housing Investment In Low-Income Neighborhoods, Matthew Freedman

Matthew Freedman

This paper examines how tax incentives to promote housing investment affect communities by exploiting the lottery structure of Missouri’s Neighborhood Preservation Act (NPA). The NPA offers tax credits to homeowners and developers that improve or expand the owner-occupied housing stock in low-income areas. Taking advantage of the random assignment of NPA tax credits and detailed property-level data, I find that the program increases construction activity modestly. There are positive but highly localized spillovers on neighbors’ investment behavior. Spillovers on property values are larger in geographic scope, implying important roles for both neighbor interactions and amenity effects in local housing markets.

Decision Science For Housing And Community Development: Localized And Evidence‐Based Responses To Distressed Housing And Blighted Communities, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Jeffrey Keisler, Senay Solak, David Turcotte, Armagan Bayram, Rachel B. Drew

Michael P. Johnson

Uno Professor To Participate In White House Citizen Science Forum, Michelle Thompson

Michelle M. Thompson

No abstract provided.

Tools For Evaluating And Monitoring The Effectiveness Of Urban Landscape Water Conservation Interventions And Programs, Diana T. Glenn, Joanna Endter-Wada, Roger Kjelgren

Diana T. Glenn

We investigated ways to evaluate landscape water use to help cities more effectively direct water conservation programs to locations with capacity to conserve. Research was conducted in connection with a landscape irrigation evaluation delivered through a city-sponsored Water Check Program. Research efforts led to development of several assessment and monitoring tools including: Landscape Irrigation Ratio (LIR), Participant Outcome Evaluation Tool, and Program Evaluation Tool. We utilized these tools to identify locations with capacity to conserve water applied to landscapes, compare water use before and after the water check, and evaluate Water Check Program effectiveness. We found the LIR approach successfully …

Sector Inmobiliario Y Debilidad De La Zona Euro, Jaime Luque

Jaime P. Luque

No abstract provided.

American Zoo: A Sociological Safari, David Grazian

David Grazian

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of Competitive Industrial Structure And Regional Manufacturing Employment Change., Joshua Drucker

Joshua Drucker

Ten Years After Katrina: New Orleans’ Recovery, And What Data Had To Do With It Open Data Matters Most When The Stakes Are High, Michelle Thompson

Michelle M. Thompson

WhoData.org was mentioned in the article. The author, Denice Ross (@denicewross) is a New Orleanian since 2001, and currently serves as a Presidential Innovation Fellow. Before joining federal government, she spent four years as Director of Enterprise Information at the City New Orleans, and previously, nearly a decade at The Data Center, a nonprofit whose mission is to democratize data.

Community Involvement To Address A Long-Standing Invasive Species Problem: Aspects Of Civic Ecology In Practice, Rebecca W. Dolan, Kelly Harris, Mark Adler

Rebecca W. Dolan

Invasive non-native species (INS) are found in every city around the globe, but their impacts in urban settings as biological agents of visual pollution that block views of natural landscapes and disconnect citizens from nature are not as often addressed as comprehensively as their impacts in natural areas or agricultural settings. The multiple impacts of INS in cities make them ideal candidates for aspects of Civic Ecology Practice, where local environmental stewardship action is taken to enhance green infrastructure and community well-being in urban and other human-dominated systems. We present details of a community driven program focused on removal of …

Book Review: How To House The Homeless. Edited By Ingrid Gould Ellen And Brendan O'Flaherty. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2010, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

No abstract provided.

Building Back Tremé Using Ppgis To Evaluate Neighborhood Stability, Michelle M. Thompson Phd, Gisp, Brittany N. Arceneaux, Elizabeth G. Major

Dr. Michelle M. Thompson, GISP, FRGS

The Historic Faubourg Tremé community of New Orleans is leading the community strategic planning process through the efforts of their neighborhood association. With the help of WhoData.org, a public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS) project that was implemented in 2009, residents and volunteers from Project Homecoming are gathering the necessary parcel-level data to support new visions to recapture, maintain, and plan for change. The on-the-ground surveys use the WhoData PPGIS models for surveying commercial development activity, property conditions and other quality of life issues. As a neighborhood still in the midst of recovery after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, community leaders …

100 Most Cited Articles In Urban Green And Open Spaces: A Bibliometric Analysis, Mehdi Rakhshandehroo, Mohd Johari Mohd Yusof, Nader Ale Ebrahim, Ali Sharghi, Roozbeh Arabi

Nader Ale Ebrahim

Researchers have contributed significantly to the development of the subject of urban green and open spaces (UGOS) in both practical and fundamental aspects. As the number of citations indicates a paper and author’s competency, the online web of science (ISI) was browsed to identify the 100 most cited papers in the field of UGOS from 1980 to 2013. Papers were analyzed for authorship, journal sources, publishers, institutions, countries, year of publication, categories, and author keywords. The total number of citations was compared to the average number of citations per year. From 1105 UGOS papers returned, the maximum number of citations …

Reyner Banham, Mike Davis, And The Discourse On Los Angeles Ecology, Jonathan P. Bell

Jonathan P. Bell

UrbDeZine, July 14, 2015.

Who Benefits From Environmental Regulation? Evidence From The Clean Air Act Amendments, Antonio Bento, Matthew Freedman, Corey Lang

Matthew Freedman

Data And Analytics For Neighborhood Development: Smart Shrinkage Decision Modeling In Baltimore, Maryland, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Justin Hollander, Eliza D. Whiteman

Michael P. Johnson

Many older cities in the United States confront the problem of long-term decline in population and economic activity resulting in blighted conditions that make conventional revitalization initiatives unlikely to succeed. Smart shrinkage, a planning approach that emphasizes alternative land uses while preserving quality of life, offers a way for cities to remain desirable places to live and work. However, there is little research on empirical methods to support planning decisions consistent with smart shrinkage. We present results from two studies with planners from the City of Baltimore that provide novel insights regarding ways in which planners can perform vacant property …

An Empirical Study On The Relationship Between Sustainability Performance And Business Competitiveness Of International Construction Contractors, Yongtao Tan, Jorge Ochoa, Craig Langston, Li-Yin Shen

Craig Langston

With expectations for resource efficiency and climate change adaptation in the construction industry, there is an increasing need for contractors to implement sustainable practices. Such action will burden contractors with additional costs that will lower their economic performance. There are few research studies on how sustainability relates to a firm's competitiveness. This paper represents an empirical study of the relationship between sustainability performance and business competitiveness of international construction contractors. An inverse U-shape relationship between contractors' sustainability performance and their international revenue, and a U-shape relationship between contractors' sustainability performance and their international revenue growth was discovered. The findings can …

Tables On Black Alone Population In The Us States _ Geography States _ 2000 To 2020, Michael A. Rodriguez Ph.D., Joy Semien

Joy Semien

Information demonstrates black alone population based on 2000, 2010, 2015, and 2020 predictions.