Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Measuring And Modeling Cyclists’ Comfort And Stress Levels, Miguel Figliozzi

PSU Transportation Seminars

Some researchers have tried to categorize cyclists’ levels of traffic stress utilizing facility or traffic data that can be readily measured in the field, such as motorized travel lanes, travel speeds, and type of bicycle infrastructure.

This seminar will present data and modeling results utilizing two novel data sources:

(a) real-world, on-road measurements of physiological stress as cyclists travel across different types of facilities and

(b) data collected utilizing a smartphone app called ORcycle (http://www.pdx.edu/transportation-lab/orcycle).

This presentation will discuss key findings and potential policy implications.

Sustainable Drainage Systems: Helping People Live With Water, Glyn Everett, Jessica Lamond, Anita T. Morzillo, Faith Ka Shun Chan, Annie Marissa Matsler

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Sustainable drainage systems or ‘Suds’ are increasingly accepted as an effective means of ‘making space for water’, adapting to possible climate change and helping communities become more flood and drought resilient. This study explores potential shifts in perception and attitude through Suds installation, development and habituation. Attitudes and awareness in communities in the USA and UK, where Suds have been in place for some time, were compared and contrasted, examining any evolution of beliefs and practices and wider community resilience. The principal finding was that there existed a lack of understanding about the existence and function of Suds. The paper …

Cyclist Path Choices Through Shared Space Intersections In England, Allison Boyce Duncan

Dissertations and Theses

In the last several years, there has been growing worldwide interest in making streets safer for all users--pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. One approach, shared space, is a traffic calming technique as well as urban design concept. This technique strives to fully integrate the roadway into the urban fabric by removing elements such as lane markings, curbs, and traffic signs. By removing these elements and creating a more plaza-like space, these sites become ambiguous and no user group as priority. The technique is relatively new, and the majority of existing research concerns pedestrians only. This mixed methods research focused on six …

Youthbuild Savannah: Helping At-Risk Young People, Rebuild Their Communities And Their Lives, Shauna-Lee Ruglass

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Hear best practices from the YouthBuild Savannah program and learn about how they recruit at-risk youth, keep them engaged during 9 months of programming and what pathways are made available to participants, once they graduate. Current YouthBuild students and/or graduates will share their stories of transformation and you will learn about YouthBuild USA, Inc. the national support center for the YouthBuild movement.

Youth workers, government officials, foundation staff, corporate and non-profit employees are all welcomed to join and learn about America’s best kept secret, the YouthBuild program.

The “Regulatory Fog” Of Opioid Treatment, Mary E. Wickersham, Stephanie Basey

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

Over 300,000 Americans depend on opioid treatment programs (OTPs), commonly known as methadone clinics, as the sole source of substances used to reduce their addictive cravings for prescription opioid and heroin. Though considered creatures of the federal regulatory process, OTPs are also regulated by state and local authorities and are required to maintain accreditation. The result of this complex and multi-layered regulation is a focus on rule and process, not on client outcomes or program performance. This research explores the effectiveness of state regulation within the context of “regulatory fog” in which the very regulations intended to standardize provision of …

United States Vs. China In Africa: The Policy Battle For Hearts And Minds And The Difference It Makes, Nicholas O. Alozie, Kathy Thomas

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

Using Pew’s 2013 Global Attitudes Survey data, we probe whether China is beating the U.S. in the battle for Africa’s hearts and minds, whose hearts and minds are being won over, and the potential import for African and Western strategic interests in the region. We find that Africans acknowledge both countries’ contributions as partners in development, have favorable opinions of both countries, and welcome strong ties with both; however, when the choices are stark, their strongest allegiance is to the U.S. Most Africans believe that China will dislodge the U.S. as the world’s superpower. Yet, if China’s African adventure is …

Learning In The Public Sector: Evaluation Of The Ssa Title Iv-E Intervention Program Of Virginia Department Of Social Services, Mohan P. Pokharel, Niraj Poudyal, Nabin Baral

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

Organizational learning has attracted both scholars and practitioners for decades, but the public sector has rarely been the focus for empirical investigation. We conducted a summative evaluation of the Social Security Act Title IV-E program to take stock of organizational learning in local level public sector service organizations in Virginia. We chose this case for scholarly investigation because it affords an opportunity to uniquely contribute to discovering learning constraints in public sector organizations. We used mixed methods to collect quantitative data on the monthly penetration rate (ratio of federal to state funding) from 2001 to 2006 and qualitative data generated …

Capacity To Implement Performance Measurement In Small Nonprofits, Claire C. Knox, Xiaohu Wang

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

The use of performance measurement systems in the nonprofit sector has gained momentum in the last decade; however, little is known about the implementation of these systems in small to midsized nonprofit organizations. By performing a pathway case study of nine nonprofit organizations, we apply a capacity-building framework to examine performance measurement implementations designed by a performance management consulting team. This study offers a detailed description, in some cases using nonprofit leaders’ own words, on how this approach may work in small to midsized nonprofits. The results are used to develop research propositions on leadership, technical competency, feasible execution, and …

Neighborhoods Of Opportunity: Developing An Operational Definition For Planning And Policy Implementation, Kelly L. Patterson, Robert Mark Silverman, Li Yin, Laiyun Wu

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

This article synthesizes existing literature to examine the emerging concept of neighborhoods of opportunity and places it in the context of past efforts to define neighborhood opportunity. Place-based and people-based approaches to urban revitalization and community development are linked to this concept. The place-based approach focuses on promoting inner-city revitalization in order to create neighborhoods of opportunity and the people-based approach focuses on connecting people to opportunities that already exist in the regions where they live. These approaches are examined in relation to how they influence emerging models for siting affordable housing in both distressed inner-cities and more opportunity rich …

Editor's Introduction: Urban Planning, Performance Measurement, Evaluation And Policy Implementation Strategies, Andrew I.E. Ewoh

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

The Journal of Public Management and Social Policy concludes its twenty-second volume with a collection of articles that examine issues pertaining to urban planning, performance measurement, evaluation and policy implementation strategies. It begins with a discussion on the emerging concept of neighborhoods of opportunity in urban planning and concludes with a continuing dialogue on the regulatory fog of opioid treatment programs in multi-layered and complex enforcement environments.

Edged Out: Location Efficient Housing And Low Income Households In The Portland Region, Andrée Tremoulet, Ryan Dann

PSU Transportation Seminars

Transportation costs are typically a household’s second largest expense after housing. Low income households are especially burdened by transportation costs, with low income households spending up to two times as much of their income on transportation than higher income households (Litman, 2013).

Thus, access to location efficient housing is especially important to low income households, including those who use a housing voucher to help pay for housing costs.

This seminar presents the results of a two-year project supported by the Portland region's four public housing authorities to design and test tools to help people with housing vouchers find location efficient …

The Global Rise Of Megacities, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

By 2050, two out of three people on Earth will live in cities, many in megacities with over 10 million residents. Planning must be done today to manage inevitable infrastructural and social tensions

Sites Prioritization Of Commercial Solar Photovoltaic Systems Using Gis Resources In Massachusetts, Zifeng Li

Sustainability and Social Justice

ABSTRACT SITES PRIORITIZATION OF COMMERCIAL SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS USING GIS RESOURCES IN MASSACHUSETTS ZIFENG LI

My summer internship at SolarFlair Energy Inc. was conducted from May 20 to August 21 in 2015, where I cooperated with two supervisors for my work; Dodge A. Travis and Daniel T. Greenwood. I was working as a Geographic Information Science analyst to help generate business and sell commercial solar panel systems. By using available GIS databases to assess viable sites for solar installations, analyzing sites using and prioritizing potential sites through multi-criteria analysis, I successfully generate business lists for a variety of towns in …

The Economic Impact Of Oregon City’S County Seat Status, Mike Paruszkiewicz, Jeff Renfro, Peter Hulseman, Emma Willingham

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

Impact analysis discussing the economic role of county presence in Oregon City.

How Endogeneity Matters In Framing Legalization: A Case Study Of Urban Self Help Groups In Ethiopia, Bisrat Kabeta

Sustainability and Social Justice

The future of an estimated 20,000 Self Help Groups (SHGs) in Ethiopia is uncertain because they lack legal status and, therefore, are unable to access funds and service for their members. The Government of Ethiopia (GoE) does not recognize the SHGs as unique development groups, but only offers to register them as Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) or cooperative societies, which are solely economic entities that serve more narrow functions than SHGs do. There has not been any coherent explanation for why the SHGs need a formal status, but should not register as anything but SHGs. From May to August …

Worcester, Ma Bike Share Feasibility Study, Corinne Jachelski

Sustainability and Social Justice

The Worcester, MA Bike Share Feasibility Study was conducted to determine whether the City of Worcester is suitable for a city wide bike share. This study includes a general history of bike shares; their benefits based on major categories of social, environmental, economic, and transit; and overview of demographic composition of Worcester. Several cities of similar population size to Worcester that have implemented bike share systems are reviewed as context for system size. Other completed bike share feasibility studies informed the methods employed in this study, as well as provided more information broadly and specifically about all of the elements …

Hillsboro School District: District-Wide Enrollment Forecast 2016-17 To 2030-31, Portland State University. Population Research Center

School District Enrollment Forecast Reports

The tables following this brief summary contain results of a demographic study conducted for the Hillsboro School District (HSD) by the Portland State University Population Research Center (PRC). Forecasts of district‐wide enrollment annually from 2016‐17 to 2030‐31 under low, middle, and high growth scenarios constitute the core information requested by the District. Additional tables present information compiled in the course of developing forecasts, including recent population, housing and school enrollment trends.

North Clackamas School District Population And Enrollment Forecasts 2016‐17 To 2025‐26, Portland State University. Population Research Center, Charles Rynerson, Scott Stewart, Nicholas Chun

School District Enrollment Forecast Reports

This report presents the results of a demographic study conducted by the Portland State University Population Research Center (PRC). The study includes analysis of population, housing and enrollment trends affecting the North Clackamas School District (NCSD) in recent years and forecasts of district-wide and individual school enrollments for the 2016-17 to 2025-26 school years.

A Taste For Transit? Analyzing Public Transit Use Trends Among Youth, Anne E. Brown, Evelyn Blumenberg, Brian D. Taylor, Kelcie Ralph, Carole Turley Voulgaris

Journal of Public Transportation

In the past decade, there has been much talk about a decline in driving among youth. This study examined whether this decline is associated with an increased reliance on public transit. To address this issue, 2001 and 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) data were used to analyze the relationship between age and transit use. Findings indicate that although young adults are more likely to ride transit than older adults, transit use among youth can be explained largely by (1) life cycle factors common among young people but unlikely to persist as they age, (2) higher levels of transit use …

The Effects Of Access And Accessibility On Public Transport Users’ Attitudes, Subeh Chowdhury, Kasey Zhai, Asif Khan

Journal of Public Transportation

This study investigates existing users’ attitudes towards public transport from two perspectives. First, the effects of accessibility to various destinations and ease of access to terminals on public transport users’ attitudes are determined. Second, the contribution of social norm, as an information source, in the formation of users’ attitudes is assessed. A user-preference survey was undertaken in Auckland, New Zealand, at two terminals. Data were analyzed using ordinal and logistic regression models. Findings showed that residential density and quality of the built environment, particularly safety, have an effect on the number of pedestrians who access a terminal. Accessibility to various …

Beyond The Fringe, Carl Abbott

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reviews the book: Lincoln Bramwell. Wilderburbs: Communities on Nature’s Edge. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2014. Andrew Needham. Power Lines: Phoenix and the Making of the Modern Southwest. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2014.

Seeking Solutions To Long-Term Public Engagement In Rapidly Diversifying Communities: A Case Study In Washington County, Oregon, Meg Merrick, Andrée Tremoulet

Institute of Metropolitan Studies Publications

This paper explores the challenges in engaging a rapidly diversifying public in county government decision-making. The State of Oregon recognized the importance of meaningful public engagement by naming it as the first goal of its landmark statewide land use planning system adopted in 1973. Washington County, which is part of Portland’s tri-county metropolitan region, is geographically large, historically white but, in recent years, rapidly diversifying. It is also largely suburban and includes the region’s largest unincorporated communities. In addition, Washington County includes significant agricultural activities and small rural communities.

Want To End Rental Bias? Start Building More Social Housing., Lorcan Sirr

Media

When the rent supplement was introduced in 1977 for people in financial need within the private rented sector, the intention was that it would be temporary. Almost 40 years on, it is stillwith us.

Assessing The Impacts Of Federal Forest Planning On Wildfire Risk Mitigation In The Pacific Northwest, Usa, Alan A. Ager, Michelle A. Day, Karen C. Short, Cody R. Evers

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

We analyzed the impact of amenity and biodiversity protection as mandated in national forest plans on the implementation of hazardous fuel reduction treatments aimed at protecting the wildland urban interface (WUI) and restoring fire resilient forests. We used simulation modeling to delineate areas on national forests that can potentially transmit fires to adjacent WUI. We then intersected these areas with national forest planning maps to determine where mechanical treatments are allowed for restoration and fire protection, versus areas where they are prohibited. We found that a large proportion of the national forest lands (79%) can spawn fires that burn adjacent …

Differential Health And Social Needs Of Older Adults Waitlisted For Public Housing Or Housing Choice Vouchers, Paula C. Carder, Gretchen Luhr, Jacklyn Nicole Kohon

Institute on Aging Publications

Affordable housing is an important form of income security for low-income older persons. This article describes characteristics of older persons waitlisted for either public housing or a housing choice voucher (HCV) (previously Section 8) in Portland, Oregon. 358 persons (32% response rate) completed a mailed survey with questions about demographics, health and housing status, food insecurity, and preference for housing with services. Findings indicate that many waitlisted older persons experienced homelessness or housing instability, poor health, high hospital use, and food insecurity. Public housing applicants were significantly more likely to report lower incomes, homelessness, and food insecurity than HCV applicants. …

Oregon City School District Enrollment Forecasts 2015‐16 To 2024‐25, Portland State University. Population Research Center, Charles Rynerson, Scott Stewart

School District Enrollment Forecast Reports

This report presents a range of three scenarios of district‐wide enrollment forecasts by grade level for the Oregon City School District (OCSD) for the 10 year period between 2015‐16 and 2024‐25. Each enrollment forecast scenario is related to population forecasts that incorporate different assumptions about growth within the District, with the primary differences being the contribution of net migration to the District’s population and age distribution. Individual school forecasts consistent with the middle range scenario are also presented for the 10 year period.

Cleveland Works: Employment Trends, 2014 To 2015, Richey Piiparinen, Jim Russell

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Center for Population Dynamics Quarterly Brief: March 2016

Walking Mediates Associations Between Neighborhood Activity Supportiveness And Bmi In The Women's Health Initiative San Diego Cohort., Jordan A. Carlson, Rosemay A. Remigio-Baker, Cheryl A M Anderson, Marc A. Adams, Gregory J. Norman, Jacqueline Kerr, Michael H. Criqui, Matthew Allison

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether walking mediates neighborhood built environment associations with weight status in middle- and older-aged women.

METHODS: Participants (N=5085; mean age=64 ± 7.7; 75.4% White non-Hispanic) were from the Women's Health Initiative San Diego cohort baseline visits. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were measured objectively. Walking was assessed via survey. The geographic information system (GIS)-based home neighborhood activity supportiveness index included residential density, street connectivity, land use mix, and number of parks.

RESULTS: BMI was 0.22 units higher and the odds ratio for being obese (vs. normal or overweight) was 8% higher for every standard deviation …

Comprehensive Community Housing Study And Needs Analysis, Kathryn W. Hexter, Kirby Date, Charlie Post, Molly Schnoke, Ellen Cyran

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

In the fall of 2014, the City of Kent (“city” or “Kent”), in partnership with Kent State University (“KSU” or “university”), engaged the team composed of Allegro Realty Advisors and Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs Centers for Community Planning and Development and Economic Development (collectively the “consulting team”) to create a Comprehensive Community Housing Study and Needs Analysis (“study”). As stated in the request for proposals, the study has three objectives:

• Provide data that can guide public policy decisions in the area of housing and identify proposed action items that can be implemented to …

Park Management Gis Intern In New York City Department Of Park & Recreation, Dongjun Zhou 3125032

Sustainability and Social Justice

My park management GIS internship with New York City Department of Parks & Recreation took place during June and August 2015, where I primarily worked under the guidance of Terese Flores, the park manager for the borough of Manhattan. My internship responsibility was assisting the Park Manager with park improvement project that primarily involved asset mapping for park properties, field data collecting and entry, budget devising as well as park staff coordinating. According to the requirement of GISDE program at Clark University, the content of this report mainly covers three aspects of this internship: the introduction for the mission and …