Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Washougal Waterfront (A Community Connected), Shannon Jamison, Sravya Garladenne, Michael Armstrong, Irene Kim, Julia Metz, Victor Caesar

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

The purpose of the Waterfront Vision Plan is to develop a community vision for the Waterfront that connects and complements the Downtown, supporting the creation of a local and regional identity for the City of Washougal.

Building on past outreach and planning by the Port of Camas-Washougal (Port) and City of Washougal (City), a team of Portland State University graduate students worked with the Port, City, and the community to craft the Waterfront
Vision Plan.

This project was conducted under the supervision of Sy Adler, Marisa A. Zapata, Gil Kelley, Matthew Gebhardt and Gregory Schrock.

Salem-Keizer Transit Flexible Service Plan, Darwin Moosavi, Brenda Martin, Cj Doxsee, Mike Sellinger, Lauren Wirtis, Matt Berggren

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

Capturing the Ride is an exploration of flexible transportation options for low-density communities in Salem and Keizer. The current transit system does not serve Keizer, South Salem, and West Salem well; each of these communities has areas with limited or no access to current bus routes. The project intends to provide a service that will better meet the communities’ transit needs than the current system. Over a five-month planning process, Paradigm Planning conducted extensive research and reached out to the public in Keizer, South Salem, and West Salem (herein referred to as the study areas) to determine what kind of …

Lessons From The Green Lanes: Evaluating Protected Bike Lanes In The U.S., Christopher Monsere, Jennifer Dill, Nathan Mcneil, Kelly J. Clifton, Nick Foster, Tara Goddard, Mathew Berkow, Joe Gilpin, Kim Voros, Drusilla Van Hengel, Jamie Parks

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report presents finding from research evaluating U.S. protected bicycle lanes (cycle tracks) in terms of their use, perception, benefits, and impacts. This research examines protected bicycle lanes in five cities: Austin, TX; Chicago, IL; Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, D.C., using video, surveys of intercepted bicyclists and nearby residents, and count data. A total of 168 hours were analyzed in this report where 16,393 bicyclists and 19,724 turning and merging vehicles were observed. These data were analyzed to assess actual behavior of bicyclists and motor vehicle drivers to determine how well each user type understands the design …

The Nasa Glenn Research Center: An Economic Impact Study Fiscal Year 2013, Iryna Lendel, Christopher Lohr

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

NASA Glenn is located at Lewis Field, a 300-acre site adjacent to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. NASA Glenn’s physical plant includes more than 150 buildings that contain a unique collection of world-class laboratories and test facilities. Since the groundbreaking for the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (forerunner to NASA) on January 23, 1941, more than $680 million has been invested in NASA Glenn’s physical plant. The estimated replacement cost is approximately $2.6 billion. The Lewis Field site and its Plum Brook Station, located in Sandusky, Ohio, is 50 miles west of Cleveland, each host …

Forming Cleveland: A Visual Arts, Craft And Design Industry Study: Full Report, Iryna Lendel, Candi Clouse, Merissa Piazza, Ellen Cyran, Fran Stewart, Nikki Glazer, Christopher Lohr, Andrew Lang

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” - Pablo Picasso

Art, as illustrated by Picasso’s quote, possesses the unique ability to cleanse our souls of everyday monotony. Given the transformative capabilities of art, we wondered how the arts could help revitalize a city, and, perhaps, revive an entire region. Can the same then be true for the “souls” of our cities, or even the collective soul of a region?

The Visual Arts, Craft, and Design (VACD) sector, encompassing a wide spectrum of creative endeavors, has an impact on all of us in often …

Forming Cleveland: A Visual Arts, Craft And Design Industry Study: Executive Summary, Iryna Lendel, Candi Clouse, Merissa Piazza, Ellen Cyran, Fran Stewart, Nikki Glazer, Christopher Lohr, Andrew Lang

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” - Pablo Picasso

Art, as illustrated by Picasso’s quote, possesses the unique ability to cleanse our souls of everyday monotony. Given the transformative capabilities of art, we wondered how the arts could help revitalize a city, and, perhaps, revive an entire region. Can the same then be true for the “souls” of our cities, or even the collective soul of a region?

The Visual Arts, Craft, and Design (VACD) sector, encompassing a wide spectrum of creative endeavors, has an impact on all of us in often …

Water Resources Shaping Ohio's Future: Water Efficiency Manual For Industrial, Commercial, And Institutional Facilities (Presentation), Serena Alexander, Wendy A. Kellogg, Iryna Lendel, Andrew R. Thomas, Nicholas C. Zingale

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Water Resources Shaping Ohio's Future: Water Efficiency Manual For Industrial, Commercial, And Institutional Facilities (Report), Serena Alexander, Wendy A. Kellogg, Iryna Lendel, Andrew R. Thomas, Nicholas C. Zingale

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Light-Rail Transit On Traffic In A Travel Corridor, Reid Ewing, Guang Tian, Allison Spain

TREC Final Reports

This study seeks to quantify the effect of the University TRAX light-rail line on traffic near the University of Utah, providing quantitative data that can be used to shape future transportation policies aimed at reducing traffic congestion, energy consumption, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and parking costs. Travel demand models have long been used to estimate and evaluate the effects of transportation improvements, like LRT investments, on network travel flows and times as part of long-range planning studies, using four-step models or more sophisticated urban simulation studies. However, these are usually ex ante studies. Few ex post evaluations have been …

Street Portals: Urban User Interface 'Test Bed' Prototype For Bike Shares, Jason Germany, Philip Speranza

TREC Final Reports

The objective of this research project is to develop a user interface “test bed” to measure the role of touchscreen kiosks with community connectivity. This interface test bed will apply the knowledge of interface design to the domain of public transit kiosks, with a particular focus on bike share stations. The value of this research is the ability to generate user feedback between community members using urban experiences. Safety, effectiveness and community connectivity of public transit is enhanced with this information interface.

This report explains the test bed kiosk’s design, physical build, and hardware and software testing. User interaction studies …

The Development Of Low-/No-Emission Electric Vehicle Infrastructure In The Portland Metro Region: A Roadmap, John Macarthur, Peter Murchie, George Beard

TREC Final Reports

The shift from combustion engines to low- and no-emission electric vehicles is underway and gaining momentum. During the last year, Oregon has become an active player in the electric vehicle arena, with a number of promising relationships and activities in the early stages of formalization. With additional thought, effort and strategy Oregon can seize the opportunity to become the national leader in the adoption and incorporation of new vehicle platforms and mobility strategies into the fabric of urban life and the built environment. Oregon is currently actively engaged in relationships with international automotive companies and local businesses and utilities interested …

In Harm's Way: How Philadelphia's Urban Renewal Practices Steered Marginal People To Marginal Land, Katera Ya'shea Moore

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The dumping of locally unwanted land uses (LULUs) on marginal communities has been well documented, however environmental justice scholars have rarely written about how marginal groups have come to occupy their landscapes, particularly when natural hazards lie beneath.

This dissertation research focuses on a broad definition of the environment that includes the built, social, and physical. I am interested in extending Logan and Molotch's Growth Machine theory to consider how the political and economic elite guided the urban renewal process to place particular communities on particular landscapes, despite the presence of a flooding hazard. To understand this issue, I examined …

Water For Santa Cruz County: Nonprofit Advocacy And Public Policy, Matthew Alexander Orbach

Master's Theses

This professional Masters project involved turning the Sustainable Water Coalition (SWC), an unincorporated group of Santa Cruz residents advocating the work of the two local water agencies, into a California Nonprofit Corporation and an IRS recognized 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. This paper examines the biophysical, human, and institutional systems surrounding water use in Santa Cruz County, California, and the roles that a nonprofit advocacy organization can play within that framework. These roles are illustrated through an exploration of citizen involvement and advocacy in the comparative cases of the scwd² Desalination Program in Santa Cruz, California, and a proposed wastewater …

Oceano Community Health Plan, Eugene Phillip Brennan

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Oceano Community Health Plan

Phillip Brennan

Recent, mounting research shows that chronic disease, the leading causes of death and primary driver of health care costs, cannot be effectively addressed through education or preventative health alone. A physical environment that promotes health—through access to healthy food, opportunities for physical activity, quality housing, transportation options, and safe schools—is an integral part of making our communities healthier. This research and accompanying Healthy Community Plans will serve as a way for the County to begin looking in-depth at the ways the built environment (our streets, parks, and neighborhoods) contribute or detract from the …

Gis Tools For Bicycle Network Analysis And Planning, Mike Lowry

PSU Transportation Seminars

This presentation is a showcase of various GIS tools developed for bicycle network analysis and planning. The showcase includes a tool for assessing community-wide bikeability, a tool for forecasting bicycle volumes based on street topology, and a tool for evaluating different bicycle improvement plans in terms of exposure to danger situations for bicyclists. The tools will be demonstrated with case study data. The presentation will include a review of the Highway Capacity Manual Bicycle Level of Service and a discussion about using bicycle and pedestrian data collected through citizen-volunteer count programs.

Cultivating Portlandia: A Mixed-Method Study Of Residential Urban Agriculture In Portland, Oregon, Nathan Mcclintock, Mike Simpson, Dillon Mahmoudi, Jacinto Pereira Santos

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research Question:

• What is the scale and scope of residential urban agriculture (UA) in metro Portland?
• How does the practice of UA vary spatially?
• How do gardeners' motivations and practices vary along socioeconomic lines?

The “Community Entertainment District” Designation As A Tool For Urban Redevelopment In Cincinnati, Ohio, Whitney Mcintyre Miller, Julie Cencula Olberding

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Many urban neighborhoods in the United States have experienced an exodus of businesses. Their Main Streets—once consisting of bustling restaurants and stores—are now marked by “for rent” signs and boarded windows. Some community leaders have given up, but others are actively trying to bring businesses back. In Cincinnati, Ohio, several neighborhoods are starting to use the community entertainment district (CED) designation to attract entertainment and arts establishments. This paper presents an evaluation of the implementation and early impacts of the CED in one neighborhood, which may be insightful to leaders in other urban areas in Ohio and beyond.

City Of Concord Complete Streets Plan Data, William Riggs

City and Regional Planning

Bicycle & pedestrian volume data from May 7 & 8, 2014 gathered as a part of by CalPoly San Luis Obispo students. data gathering and analysis for the City of Concord Streetscape Assessment. A data summary map is available on Google at: https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zUgcypEGSusE.kTpGu2CWK_OE.

Capturing The Ride: Exploring Low-Density Flexible Transit Alternatives In Salem-Keizer, Darwin Moosavi

PSU Transportation Seminars

Current fixed-route transit service provided by Salem-Keizer Transit is inefficient in the low-density neighborhoods of West Salem, South Salem, and Keizer. The lack of sidewalks, non-gridded circuitous streets, and large single-family residential lots all contribute to a lack of ridership. As a result, traditional fixed-route transit service is not cost-effective in these areas. Through a five month planning process, a group of Portland State University graduate students, better known as Paradigm Planning, tackled the task of addressing this problem in each of the three study areas. Paradigm’s planning process explored mode and route options in order to produce a plan …

Feasibility Study Of Consolidating Public Safety Answering Points In Highland Heights, Lyndhurst, Mayfield Heights, Mayfield Village And Richmond Heights, Ohio, Daila Shimek, Kyle Johnson, Eugene Kramer, Charles Post

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This study found that – based on certain configurations of communities and cost considerations – it is economically viable to consolidate public safety answering points (PSAPs) in Highland Heights, Lyndhurst, Mayfield Heights, Mayfield Village and Richmond Heights, Ohio. When comparing 2012 staffing and noncapital costs to estimated staffing and noncapital costs for a consolidated PSAP, the consolidated PSAP would provide an estimated collective reduction in staffing and noncapital costs of ranging from $775,400 to $1.19 million. When comparing 2012 staffing and noncapital costs to estimated staffing and noncapital costs for a consolidated PSAP – plus costs for additional staff to …

Where Design Meets Occupant Engagement: Studying The Importance Of Occupant Engagement For Green Buildings, Leed And Pomona College, Chelsea Fried

Pomona Senior Theses

A building is not independent from the people who inhabit it. Humans play an important role in determining the resource consumption of buildings. This thesis argues that it is essential for rating systems like LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), that promote green building to include occupant engagement as an important part of the sustainable building equation. Occupant engagement, which includes connecting residents to the sustainable capacity of their buildings, has the potential to lead to reductions in resource consumption and to create a culture of sustainability and awareness. Through a case study of Pomona College strategies for occupant …

The Reclamation Of Public Parks: An Analysis Of Environmental Justice In Los Angeles, Allison Rigby

Scripps Senior Theses

People who live in cities are far more likely to suffer the physical and psychological effects of urban environments--high noise levels, automobile emissions, toxic industrial waste, crowded living conditions, and a general scarcity of open space. Combating these issues, public parks do more than provide recreational space. They are fundamental to any efforts focusing on urban revitalization, social justice, and sustainability. In downtown Los Angeles, public parks are rare, especially in low-income communities. Several new public parks have reclaimed abandoned land, unwelcoming spaces, and the City’s brownfields. After years of intense private use and neglect, spent land has been reinvigorated …

Connecting Urban Residents To Their Watershed With Green Stormwater Infrastructure: A Case Study Of Thornton Creek In Seattle, Washington, Lisa A. Beem

Scripps Senior Theses

Connecting Urban Residents to Their Watersheds with Green Stormwater Infrastructure: A case study of Thornton Creek in Seattle, Washington.

Pedestrian Safety And Culture Change, Ron Van Houten

PSU Transportation Seminars

This session will describe the process and results of a NHTSA study that showed a change in driver culture of yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks on a citywide basis. The research won the Pat Waller award from the National Academy of Sciences, Transportation Research Board in January of this year. The approach to changing road user behavior focused on an integrated approach that include Enforcement, Engineering, and Educational efforts that were designed to be dovetailed together and that included a social norming component. Additional information will be provided on engineering solutions that can facilitate changes in pedestrian level of service …

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 …

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. …

Analytical Efficiencies Through The Integration Of Modeling And Simulation Tools, Steve Perone

PSU Transportation Seminars

Linking planning and operations is vital to improving transportation decision making and the overall effectiveness of transportation systems. In this seminar Steve will discuss data and modeling methods supported by the PTV Vision software suite to facilitate integrated planning for operations.

The 2014 National Community Summit On Green Infrastructure: Summary Report, Stuart Mendel, Justin Glanville, Julie Quinn

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report presents key points from each dialogue session, as well as overall themes from the Summit as a whole. These key points and themes were synthesized by dialogue facilitators and representatives from CSU, NEORSD and EPA. In addition, this report presents narrative versions of the lead presentations for each session. These are meant to serve as case studies of best practices to address each session topic.

Highlights From The Green Lane: A Comprehensive Evaluation Of Protected Cycling Facilities, Christopher Monsere, Jennifer Dill

PSU Transportation Seminars

Cycling is on the rise across the U.S. and its popularity has grown beyond the usual leaders - Portland, OR, Seattle, WA, Davis, CA, Minneapolis, MN and Boulder, CO. New York City, NY Chicago, IL and Washington, DC are among those cities making significant investments in bike infrastructure in recent years and have realized substantial growth in people taking to the streets on two wheels. This presentation will summarize some results from our comprehensive assessment of the safety, operations, economic impacts, user experience, and perceptions of new protected bikeways in 5 cities U.S. cities (Austin, TX; Chicago, IL; Portland, OR; …

A Spatial Assessment Of The Go Bg Transit Services In Bowling Green, Kentucky, Frank Aryee

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The decision to live in a particular place, accept a job at a distant location, where to go shopping or purchase groceries, and many other similar decisions are all largely influenced by the availability of transportation. As such, it is important that everyone who requires transportation can have access. However, certain population segments, such as low income earners, are less likely to own cars due to the cost involved. There are others who may be impaired physically or have other difficulties that may prevent them from driving. Access to transportation is essential for people of all backgrounds and social statuses. …