Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Last Of The Bronx Giants: Mayoral Control, School Reform, And The Fate Of Bronx High Schools, Ben Delikat

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Disaster From Above: New York City Teachers' Perceptions Of School Reform, Elizabeth Baker

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

This Land Is My Land: The Evolution And Future Of Urban Homesteading In The United States, Emma Brennan

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Smart Phone Weight-Mile Tax Truck Data For Supporting Freight Modeling, Performance Measures And Planning, Katherine E. Bell, Miguel Andres Figliozzi

Student Research Symposium

Oregon is one of the few states that currently charge a commercial truck weight-mile tax (WMT). This research serves to evaluate ancillary applications for a system developed by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to simplify WMT collection. The data collection system developed by ODOT – Truck Road Use Electronics (TRUE) - includes a smart phone application with a Global Positioning System (GPS) device and microprocessor. The TRUE data has enormous advantages over commercial truck GPS data used in previous research due to its level of disaggregation and its potential to differentiate between vehicle and commodity types. This research evaluates …

Unpacking Producer / Consumer Relationships In Ethical Markets: A Look At Portland's Diy Sector, Renée Bogin Curtis

Student Research Symposium

This presentation analyzes ethical consumption practices in alternative markets with a sector-specific focus evaluation of indicators and impacts. The paper reviews qualitative research conducted on Portland’s artisan economy with a focus on the independent or do-it-yourself (DIY) craft sector and presents follow up methods. General findings demonstrate ways market perceptions of sector participants reveal value-driven practices, illustrate impacts on production (through the role of place), and highlight impacts of market practices on producer accountability and consumer choices. Specific findings indicate drivers of the DIY market include integrity of production and consumption, communitarian values, minimal concern about competition, and attitudes of …

Healthy Snack Availability Near High- And Low-Income Urban Schools, Hayley Pickus, Nancy Findholt, Betty T. Izumi, Thuan Nguyen

Student Research Symposium

Children’s snacking habits are influenced by their immediate food environments. Increasingly, findings show that factors such as corner stores near schools are related to obesity. This study was conducted in preparation for a larger, community-based participatory research project to create "healthy snacking zones” near schools in a rural Oregon county. The objective was to assess healthy snack availability in stores located within a half mile radius of high- and low-income elementary and middle schools in Portland, Oregon. Using Geographic Information Systems, convenience and food stores were selected and classified as either high- or low income based on % eligibility to …

Bicycle-Specific Traffic Signals: Results From State-Of-The-Practice Review, Sam R. Thompson, Christopher Michael Monsere, Miguel Andres Figliozzi, Peter Koonce, Gary Obery

Student Research Symposium

This poster presents the results of a survey of North American jurisdictions with known installations of bicycle-specific traffic signals and a review of available engineering guidance. Surveys were sent to agencies in 21 jurisdictions (19 in the United States and two in Canada) that requested detailed engineering aspects of the signal design such as placement, mounting height, lens diameter, backplate color, type of actuation, interval times, use of louvers, and performance. We reviewed guidance documents produced by the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO); American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO); Transportation Association of Canada (TAC); the …

Portland-Vancouver Ultra-Ex: Evaluating Relationships Between Governance And Environmental Quality In Urban Ecosystems, J. Alan Yeakley, Sally Duncan, Steve Bollens, Connie P. Ozawa, Vivek Shandas, Heejun Chang, Marion Dresner, Sean N. Gordon, John A. Harrison, Jeffrey D. Kline, Anita T. Morzillo, Noelwah R. Netusil, Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, Mark Stephan, Paul R. Thiers

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Portland-Vancouver Urban Long Term Research Area (ULTRA-Ex) is a multidisciplinary project aimed at understanding the feedbacks between human and natural systems in urban settings. The ULTRA-Ex project is seeking to answer the overarching question: How do human governance and biophysical systems respond interactively to both press and pulse disturbances in urban socio-ecological systems?

This presentation provides early observations and findings from the PV ULTRA-Ex project.

Urban Studies: Ecodistrict Research, Ethan Seltzer

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentation focuses on the central ideas of EcoDistricts

Medical Metropolis: The Impacts Of The Healthcare Industry On Rochester, Minnesota, Agata J. Miszczyk

Geography Honors Projects

Specialized-function cities are dominated by one or two related industries that comprise the majority of the economic base of the area. Rochester, Minnesota is a prime example of such a city. The case of Rochester challenges much of conventional theory regarding economic diversification and spillovers of different economic systems. This case study presents new ideas regarding these spillovers and the success of specializations, as well as provides an in-depth analysis of the affect the Mayo Clinic - a premier medical facility – has on the local infrastructure and economy. This study illustrates how the healthcare industry has shaped Rochester's urban …

Game Change: What Have We Learned? Pt. 1, William J. Antholis, Robert E. Lang, William E. Brown, David F. Damore, Helen R. Neill, Bradley S. Wimmer

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Who We Are, What We Do, Where Are We Going

Brookings Mountain West is a partnership between UNLV and the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution.

Goals and Objectives

Create high-quality, independent, impactful programs, publications, and activities that address issues of critical importance to greater Las Vegas and the Intermountain West region.

Serve as a platform to bring ideas and expertise together and facilitate local, metropolitan, and state discussions about the West’s future.

Enhance local, regional, and state research and public policy discussions.

Gardens Are A Physical Manifestation Of Culture: Postmodern Public Parks Of The Twenty-First Century Will Be Built On The Infrastructure Of The Industrial Age, Steven W. Grant

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

Gardens are not simply arranged trees, lawns, walkways, fountains and ponds. They are a physical expression of the values and beliefs of culture. Adapting industrial age infrastructure into public parks is a reflection of culture in the postmodern age as much as the cloister garden expressed theology in the middle-ages, the sensuous garden expressed the humanism of the Renaissance, the Baroque garden expressed autocratic power, the neo-classical garden expressed reason, and the picturesque garden expressed awe of nature. The postmodern postindustrial public park of today is being built on the infrastructure of the industrial age; it is an expression of …

Does The Endowment Effect Influence Outcomes In Takings Cases? An Exploratory Look At Some Important Cases And Suggestions For Additional Research, Rayman Mohamed

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

The endowment effect predicts that people value losses more than gains. I examine whether the effect sheds light on courts’ takings decisions. My findings include the following: (1) regulations that emphasize losses rather than gains are more likely to survive judicial review; (2) endowments can include comprehensive plans, development plans, permits, etc; (3) both governments and landowners can acquire endowments to sway courts in their favor; (4) occupying land creates a strong endowment; and (5) implementing plans helps to cement endowments. I suggest research that examines more cases, hypotheses that emerge from my analyses, and characteristics of the effect related …

Boise City-Nampa Msa Employment And Industry Analysis, Susan Mason, John Van Dyke, Pengyu Zhu, Debbie Kaylor, Phil Gardner

Urban Studies and Community Development Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report is the first component of a four-part study on skills alignment of Boise State University graduates and Boise City-Nampa Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) employers. This report frames the local economic and social environment through a demographic and socio-economic comparative analysis of the Boise City -Nampa MSA and 20 peer MSAs across the western United States. An employment analysis of the Boise City-Nampa MSA at the industry sector and industry sub-sector is also provided, identifying how the industry composition has changed following the Great Recession, which industries show area competitiveness through resilience to employment loss, if not growth, as …

Factors Affecting Students Walking To School: Case Study Of Two Middle Schools In Lincoln, Nebraska, Nivin S. Khalil

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Physical activity, including walking, can be a very healthy and sustainable mode of transportation. Children walking to their schools can get a lot of benefits from acquiring good habits that can be carried through their adulthood. Also, walking to school can reverse the trend of increasing obesity rates among children in the United States. This study is trying to identify the effect of urban form, presented in the distances between residences and schools, on the children’s behavior whether they walk to school or not depending on different urban forms around their schools. Two middle schools in Lincoln, Nebraska were selected …

Public Participation In Brownfield Redevelopment: The Role Of Public Participation In State Administered Voluntary Cleanup Programs, Erik Simon

All Dissertations

One of the key redevelopment tools for brownfield sites in the United States is the use of state administered Voluntary Cleanup Programs (VCP). These programs offer development entities the opportunity to cleanup and/or remediate the effected site in exchange for protection from liabilities. Public participation is a common component of such programs and each state has differing levels of policies and activities. This research investigates the different levels of public participation through state administered VCPs and seeks to understand how those different levels can affect cleanup and/or remediation plans for respective brownfield sites. The results show that there is a …

Gentrification And Displacement Study: Implementing An Equitable Inclusive Development Strategy In The Context Of Gentrification, Lisa K. Bates

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study focuses on the effects on the housing market, particularly the loss of affordable housing. It builds upon earlier studies to consider a broader interpretation of displacement that encompasses not just when a household is forced to move by conditions that affect the dwelling, but also to take into account changes in the neighborhood as a whole. These neighborhood changes can result in a neighborhood’s inability to provide basic services that make it impossible to continue residency as a “voluntary” response. Housing in Portland is almost exclusively produced by the private sector, with a limited public sector role through …

Recommendations To The City Of South Portland, Related To Phase 2 Of The Energy Action Plan, Karen Purinton

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

South Portland’s Energy Action Plan (EAP) has not been updated since the completion and approval of the most recent South Portland Comprehensive Plan in October 2012. The current EAP has three phases, of which the first has been partially implemented, calling for energy and other resource conservation practices to be put in place in all City departments. Phase 2 is concerned with how the municipality can engage and incentivize businesses within the City to address energy use and efficiency, and is discussed in three sections below. Phase 3, yet to be drafted, will address residential opportunities for decreased energy use …

Research And Development Of A Land Use Scenario Modeling Tool, John Gliebe, Hongwei Dong, Josh Frank Roll

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) Transportation Planning and Analysis Unit (TPAU) developed a land use modeling tool called the “Land Use Scenario Developer in R” (LUSDR). LUSDR is a modeling tool, written in the “R” language, that may be used to predict and analyze regional land use changes probabilistically, creating a distribution of possible outcomes. It is designed to be integrated with travel demand modeling programs, making it potentially valuable for analyzing the interaction between transportation and land use when assessing various growth-policy and socioeconomic assumptions. This project is Phase 2 for Research and Development of a Land Use Scenario …

Living Cities: The Integration Initiative In Cleveland, Ohio- Greater University Circle Community Wealth Building Initiative: Evaluation Executive Summary Year 2, Ziona Austrian, Kathryn Hexter, Candi Clouse, Serineh Baboomian

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Geotechnics And Regionalism: The Lineage Of Thought From John Wesley Powell To Benton Mackaye, Nikkilee Cataldo

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

John Wesley Powell and Benton MacKaye, each developed exceptionally comprehensive and innovative regional planning visions that had a great deal in common. They both were Jeffersonian idealists, who considered those who tilled the soil and worked the land for primary production a class of men above all the rest.

This paper will explore some of the fundamental theory behind the work of both Powell and MacKaye, as well as examples of the plans that they developed. It will become clear that the two men were working from very similar theoretical vantage points, though in relatively different socio-political eras. It will …

Creative Capitalization: A Strategic Investment Plan For The Crescent City Community Land Trust, Department Of Planning And Urban Studies, University Of New Orleans

Planning and Urban Studies Reports and Presentations

This report outlines an investment strategy to guide the Crescent City Community Land Trust (CCCLT) in the use of its capital investment fund, the Crescent City Futures Fund. The Fund will provide seed money for development projects in order to incentivize public and private entities to invest funds in projects that target low-to-moderate income (LMI) residents. Since the Fund’s monies are limited, it is imperative that the CCCLT identify those development projects that allow it to most effectively accomplish its objectives. To that end, this investment strategy includes three components that are intended to help the CCCLT evaluate and decide …

Negotiating Neoliberalism: Community-Based Organizations And The Production Of Urban Place, Caroline S. Devany

Geography Honors Projects

Focusing on two community-based organizations’ roles in producing urban place, this thesis contributes to the “New Urban Politics” literature that explores the neoliberal governance of space. Synthesizing participant observation, informant interviews and ideas introduced in Henri Lefebvre’s Production of Space my thesis explores the possibility of aesthetic practices rooted in everyday life to create alternate subjectivities of people and place. While both organizations engage urban governance in ways that do not directly contest neoliberalization, they each affirm participants as agents in the production of urban place in ways that can destabilize the marketization of everyday life.

21st Century Evangelism And Church Growth Approach To Reach Urban Professionals In North America Metropolises, Ralph Baeza

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The call of Christ, as He stated in Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:7-9, John 20:21 and Acts 1:8, is to be a continuous command to follow, in order to reach the different peoples group of the world including the urban professionals in North America metropolises. Based on surveys sent to Christian leaders in church congregations and professionals in the secular workplace along with the associated research in the subject, this thesis project reviews the Great Commission call to pursue urban professionals in metropolises, examining their lifestyle environment, past and current trends to reach them, biblical principles that can turn …

Living Cities: The Integration Initiative In Cleveland, Ohio- Greater University Circle Community Wealth Building Initiative: A Report Of System Changes And Their Outcome Measures Year 2, Ziona Austrian, Kathryn Hexter, Serineh Baboomian, Candi Clouse

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Living Cities Integration Initiative: Cleveland, Ohio- Greater University Circle Community Wealth Building Initiative: Year 2 Programs & Project Report, Candi Clouse, Ziona Austrian, Kathryn Hexter, Serineh Baboomian, Joe Andre

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Living Cities: The Integration Initiative In Cleveland, Ohio- Greater University Circle Community Wealth Building Initiative: Formative Report Year 2, Kathryn Hexter, Ziona Austrian, Candi Clouse

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Economic Impact Of Green Infrastructure Maintenance, Merissa Piazza, Candi Clouse

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The Center for Economic Development (the Center) at the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University prepared this report for LAND studio. The objective of this report is to present an economic impact of the green infrastructure maintenance of the future green infrastructure investments that the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) will undertake. LAND studio will use this study as a component to a broader study of best practices in green infrastructure maintenance, the needs of the sector, and to develop a foundation for the creation of a green infrastructure maintenance education and workforce training program.

The …

Financing Public Solar Projects: California Public Jurisdictions' Experiences In Acquiring And Financing Solar Photovoltaic Installations, Dana M.C. Hoffman

Master's Theses

More efficient technologies, state laws as well as environmental, social, and political pressures have all contributed to placing solar acquisition on the agenda for California’s public entities over the last half decade. But a key question for these frequently cash-strapped jurisdictions is how to utilize public dollars and lands, and how to leverage incentives to obtain solar PVs. As an alternative to outright purchase, a promising financing option made available to jurisdictions in recent years is ownership by a third party, usually the solar company, including various forms of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA’s) and leasing. Due in part to state …

The Legislative Purposes And Intent Of The Common Levy In Nebraska’S Learning Community, Matthew L. Blomstedt

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this historical study was to establish the purposes and intent of the common levy in Nebraska’s learning community. The development of this unique regional educational structure consisting of eleven school districts in the Omaha, Nebraska metropolitan area is central to the study. The research detailed the context of the decisions made by the Nebraska Legislature to establish and implement the learning community law from 2005 and 2012. Specifically, the study focused on the establishment of a regional tax base, the common levy, as a response to boundary and finance instability that persisted in the Omaha area. The …