Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Ecosystem Services Of Urban Tree Canopy For The Mitigation Of Climate Change: Measuring Carbon Sequestration And Understory Temperature Reduction Of Knoxville’S Urban Forest, Tyler Hounshell

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

In the future, the city of Knoxville, Tennessee will be impacted by climate warming due to anthropogenic climate change. Yet, the ecosystem services provided by urban tree canopy in Knoxville’s urban forest can help mitigate the effects of climate warming. In addition to improving air quality, regulating water flow, and reducing noise pollution, Knoxville’s urban forest serves as a carbon sink and sequesters carbon dioxide on an annual basis. Utilizing methods for calculating carbon sequestration by trees in urban and suburban settings developed by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the sequestration potential and its uncertainty is calculated until the year …

When Nature Invades: Resident Perceptions Of The Austerity-Driven "Rewilding" Of An Urban Park In Rock Island, Illinois, Christian S. B. Elliott

Anthropology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

In an era of rapid urbanization, changing climate, and increasing political division, parks represent increasingly important places for urban residents to interact with and feel connected to the natural environment and receive a number of mental and physical health benefits. Unfortunately, in an age of austerity politics, parks and recreation departments in Midwest Rust Belt cities often lack adequate funding to maintain such public spaces. Recently, the business-minded Rock Island, Illinois Department of Parks and Recreation has implemented a creative cost-saving management solution: “naturalizing” sections of its city parks. This interdisciplinary study uses a mixed methods approach to discover how …

Refugee Housing In Worcester: A Neighborhood Case Study Of Bell Hill, Tyler Seth Maren

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper examines refugee resettlement practices at the neighborhood level, asking what neighborhood characteristics are conducive to achieving positive integration and housing stability outcomes. Using data from a quantitative study of refugee resettlement case files from Ascentria Care Alliance as a foundation, this research takes the form of an analysis of the Bell Hill neighborhood in Worcester, MA, a major resettlement destination. Using Ascentria data, secondary data sources such as US Census data and the Worcester Assessor’s Database, and site visits, this paper constructs a profile of Bell Hill along four major dimensions: community characteristics, housing, social infrastructure, and physical …

Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances In Consumable Fish & Surface Waters Near Sites Using Aqueous Film-Forming Foams: Potential Risks, Suggested Regulatory Standards And Policy Approaches For Massachusetts, Tachalla Gibeau

Sustainability and Social Justice

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are emerging contaminants of concern with potential for adverse effects on both human and environmental health. Hence, long-chain PFAS compounds used in legacy aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) are being phased out, resulting in the stockpiling of them at various commercial installations. PFAS contaminated runoff from these facilities has the potential to contaminate nearby surface water bodies and the fish inhabiting them. An analytical approach was used to identify surface water bodies in Massachusetts that are habitats for fish susceptible to PFAS contamination and where said fish are also popularly consumed by locals – thereby representing …

Redesigning Our Conception Of Local Food Utilizing A Value-Based Approach, Heather Riesenberg

Sustainability and Social Justice

The goal of this study was to design a new method of evaluating and building local food systems which is based on a new conception of how we view local food. Beginning with a review of the current literature on how local food is defined and its apparent goals, I begin to pick apart the dated idea that local needs not be more complex than the 400-mile limit offered by the USDA. Utilizing the literature review, I bring together a host of values that local food seems to (want to) embody and use these to form a pathway toward the …

Mount Mazama Ash Offers Sustainable Solution For Ada Accessibility On Unpaved Trails, Matthew D. Sleep, Damian K. Matzen

TREC Project Briefs

National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) researcher Matthew Sleep of Oregon Tech investigated whether Mazama ash could be used in place of portland cement, as a natural pozzolan. Results indicate that it can—and unpaved trail surfaces made with Mazama ash are actually firmer and more durable than those made with portland cement alone. Such trails can provide a reliable surface for wheeled mobility devices.

Ada Accessible Trail Improvement With Naturally Occurring, Sustainable Materials, Matthew D. Sleep, Damian K. Matzen

TREC Final Reports

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides specific guidelines and requirements that must be met in terms of accessibility. However, in the case of unpaved trails, the requirements are less defined. An ADA trail must be firm, stable and slip resistant. Some compacted aggregate material may meet this definition, but degrade over time and can no longer be ADA compliant. The benefits of using unpaved surfaces for ADA trails include fit to the natural environment, cost, sustainability and environmental benefits such as increased permeability. If an unpaved surface can be improved with the use of an additive, more could be …

What Do 15 Years Of Travel Surveys Tell Us About Tod Residents?, Nathan Mcneil, Jennifer Dill

TREC Project Briefs

Does living in a transit-oriented development (TOD) actually change the way people travel? That’s the fundamental question that 15 years of research in Portland, Oregon seeks to answer. Since 2005, Portland State University has worked with Portland’s Metro regional government to survey occupants of buildings for which developers had received funding from Metro’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Program. Metro strategically invests in TODs to help more people live, work and shop in neighborhoods served by high-quality transit.

“Revisiting TODs,” the latest installment in this research, is led by Nathan McNeil, a research associate in PSU’s School of Urban Studies & Planning, …

Potential Of Existing And Proposed Bicycle Facilities To Link Multiple Origin And Destination Needs For Non-Motorized Travel In San Luis Obispo, Sheridan Nansen

City and Regional Planning

The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential of linking multiple origins and destinations for efficient non-motorized travel in San Luis Obispo, California. The city currently has seventy-five miles of bicycle infrastructure with the intention to add thirty-five more miles to create a more functional bicycle network and foster an increase in bicycle trips taken.

Many cities in the United States are following their European counterparts in the push towards more sustainable forms of transportation by promoting bicycling, walking, and the use of public transit. Recently, we have seen an increase in both local and national legislative efforts …

Bike And Pedestrian Safety Planning: Excelsior/Outer Mission District, Alexandra Lee-Gardner

City and Regional Planning

San Francisco’s Outer Mission and Excelsior districts host a vibrant community of small business owners and residents from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. The neighborhood is known for its diversity and sense of community. However, lack of adequate infrastructure and high-speed roadways has created great safety concerns within the community. In the last five years, the Excelsior/Outer Mission area had 828 collisions, nine of which were fatal (Transbase, n.d.). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has identified nearly 14 miles of streets in the project area that are on the City’s high injury network, meaning collisions there are highly …

Spacing Of Emergency Service Facilities And Their Effects On Response Time Efficiency, Annora Khaw

City and Regional Planning

Transportation planning is important for the safety and functionality of every growing city. Planners must think analytically about the decisions they make and consider long term costs and benefits. As San Francisco continues to be a major hub for businesses, population is expected to increase significantly. This projected growth, along with the city’s susceptibility to earthquakes and fires, raises a major concern for the safety of the public. That is why in 2010 and then again in 2014, residents in the city approved an earthquake safety bond to improve and replace neighborhood police and fire stations that were evaluated to …

Roses From Concrete: A Walkability Plan For The Rosewood Neighborhood, Timothy Martinez, Shreya Jain, Matthew Cramer, Gwynn Mackellan, Sarah Bermudez, Walle Brown

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Workshop Projects

Roses from Concrete is a walkability plan for Portland Metro’s Rosewood neighborhood, created by Walk & Roll Consulting (W&R). This plan seeks to address the challenges of being a pedestrian - emphasizing youth and older adults, in the historically disinvested Rosewood neighborhood. This is accomplished by providing tools for analyzing existing infrastructural deficiencies, research-based recommendations for contextualized capital improvements, and compiled perspectives from local residents and professionals, in order to catalyze improving the lives of people who live, walk, and roll within the Rosewood neighborhood.

From Economic Slowdown To Recession, Iryna Demko, Iryna V. Lendel, Merissa Piazza

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The most recent recession, known as the “Great Recession,” began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. The recession affected the entire U.S., but its impacts were not uniform. Unfortunately, Ohio was a primary example of the recession’s iniquities as the recession lasted five months longer here compared to the rest of the nation. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, we face further uncertainty and another recession with economic activity contracting “sharply and abruptly” across the entire U.S. This research brief examines the state of the economy in the U.S. and Northeast Ohio pre-pandemic (2019) and provides an analysis of …

‘Living In A State Of Filth And Indifference To … Their Health’: Weather, Public Health And Urban Governance In Colonial George Town, Penang, Fiona Williamson, Katrina Proust

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article explores the development of public health infrastructure in George Town, Penang, before the 1930s. It argues that the extreme weather of the tropical climate led to a unique set of health challenges for George Town’s administrators, as the town grew from a small British base to a multi-cultural and thriving port. Weather and public health were (and still are) integrally connected,although the framing of this relationship has undergone significant shifts in thinking and appearance over time. One lens into this association is the situation and expression of these elements within municipal structures.During the nineteenth century, government departments were …

Pitching Change: Micro-Community Of Higher Learning, Christopher Chaphe

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Being around sports growing up has given me some experiences that have shaped who I am today. Playing and watching sports is a common activity amongst my friends and family. These events spark engagement and camaraderie between us. The stadium in which these sports are played within are a key component to this engagement. They bring people together to enjoy and root on your favorite teams along side thousands of other fans.

Stadiums today are becoming a remarkable instrument to generate communal spirit besides marketing, recruiting and hosting games for universities. The iconic design of these stadiums has become more …

Revisiting Tods: How Subsequent Development Affects The Travel Behavior Of Residents In Existing Transit-Oriented Developments, Nathan Mcneil, Jennifer Dill

TREC Final Reports

Portland State University has worked with the Portland Metro regional government periodically since 2005 to survey occupants of buildings for which developers had received funding from Metro’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Program. This research extends upon the prior TOD surveys in Portland by revisiting a set of developments with a second wave of surveys to understand how the travel behavior of TOD residents may change over time, and what factors influence change in travel patterns. The second-wave surveys, coming 8-13 years after the baseline surveys, include five TODs in the west-side Portland suburbs of Hillsboro and Beaverton, two TODs in East …

Discovering Synergies Among Sustainable Rating Systems In Green Roof Analysis, Kanaan Hardaway

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

As awareness has grown of the impacts the built environment has on the natural environment and the human psyche, methods to create more sustainable living environment have been developed. Green infrastructure is well-known for its environmental benefits. Emerging literature suggests green infrastructure have aesthetic qualities conducive to mental restoration, as well. To analyze the multi-benefits of green infrastructure, a green roof is studied for its aesthetic qualities and its impact on LEED, SITES, and WELL certification. A questionnaire was administered to individuals on the University of Arkansas campus to quantify human perceptions and attitudes toward a green roof on a …

The Impact Of Extreme Heat On Environmental Justice Communities In California: Assessing Equity In Climate Action Plans, Karishma S. Becha

Master's Projects and Capstones

Climate change projections suggest extreme heat events will be more frequent over the next few decades. Extreme heat has both negative environmental and social impacts as it affects energy security, public health by increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses and stresses food and crop supply through prolonged droughts. The impacts of extreme heat will also disproportionately affect communities of low economic status. Because of this, there is a need for better climate action plans that can adapt to and mitigate the impacts brought upon by extreme heat that does not disproportionately impact vulnerable communities. This research analyzed local government Climate …

Competitive Ratios For Online Multi-Capacity Ridesharing, Meghna Lowalekar, Pradeep Varakantham, Patrick Jaillet

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In multi-capacity ridesharing, multiple requests (e.g., customers, food items, parcels) with different origin and destination pairs travel in one resource. In recent years, online multi-capacity ridesharing services (i.e., where assignments are made online) like Uber-pool, foodpanda, and on-demand shuttles have become hugely popular in transportation, food delivery, logistics and other domains. This is because multi-capacity ridesharing services benefit all parties involved – the customers (due to lower costs), the drivers (due to higher revenues) and the matching platforms (due to higher revenues per vehicle/resource). Most importantly these services can also help reduce carbon emissions (due to fewer vehicles on roads). …

Pig Iron To Wrought Iron: Lake Oswego's Transformation From Iron Smelting To The Privatization Of Oswego Lake, Mathew K. Ragsdale

Young Historians Conference

The paper focuses on the interaction between Oregon's public trust doctrine, city ordinances, and private interests surrounding access to Oswego Lake. Areas of study include the early development of Lake Oswego with its prominence in the Oregon iron industry, and its transition from industrial town to weekend retreat to affluent suburb between the late 1800s and mid 1900s. The Lake Oswego Corporation has claimed power over all aspects of the lake, a notion disputed by Oregon's strong public trust doctrine. The city, whose duty is to all residents, has used the lake as a public asset while restricting access to …

A No-Crash Course In Vision Zero Data, Anamaria Perez

PSU Transportation Seminars

Vision Zero was adopted unanimously by Portland City Council in 2015 with the goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries on Portland streets in a way that is equitable, accountable, and data-driven. But what does it mean to be data-driven? And should we stop there?

In this presentation, learn how Portland’s Vision Zero Action Plan was developed and how the Vision Zero team is using data to move into a future where all Portlanders can travel safely, regardless of the travel mode they use. Explore the datasets used in Vision Zero implementation and the challenges that come with them. …

216— Using Rochester’S Family Public Housing In The “Crescent Of Poverty” As A Catalyst For A Solar Initiative, Christopher Miller

GREAT Day Posters

Both the climate crisis and poverty rates in US cities have increased rapidly, with few solutions. This research examines the relative solar potential in public housing developments in Rochester, NY, specifically in the area of concentrated poverty called the “Crescent of Poverty.” Also examined are societal benefits that an inclusive solar/sustainability movement provides for Rochester. Rochester is a mid-sized, diversely populated city with an overall poverty rate >30% and a childhood poverty rate >50% (Murphy, 2018). These alarming rates have contributed to the creation of the “Crescent of Poverty”, where the majority of family public housing developments are located. Solar …

The Population Health Outcomes And Information Exchange (Phoenix) Program - A Transformative Approach To Reduce The Burden Of Chronic Disease, Steven J. Korzeniewski, Carla Bezold, Jason T. Carbone, Shooshan Danagoulian, Bethany Foster, Dawn Misra, Maher M. El-Masri, Dongxiao Zhu, Robert Welch, Lauren Meloche, Alex B. Hill, Phillip Levy

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

This concept article introduces a transformative vision to reduce the population burden of chronic disease by focusing on data integration, analytics, implementation and community engagement. Known as PHOENIX (The Population Health OutcomEs aNd Information EXchange), the approach leverages a state level health information exchange and multiple other resources to facilitate the integration of clinical and social determinants of health data with a goal of achieving true population health monitoring and management. After reviewing historical context, we describe how multilevel and multimodal data can be used to facilitate core public health services, before discussing the controversies and challenges that lie ahead.

2019 Annual Population Report Tables (April 15, 2020), Portland State University. Population Research Center

Oregon Population Estimates and Reports

The population data in the 2019 annual report tables were compiled by the Population Research Center, Portland State University, 4/15/2020.

The tables in this workbook present the 2019 population estimates produced by the Population Research Center, Portland State University. The July 1 estimates of total population for counties and cities and towns were certified December 15, 2019.

Some tables include the U.S. Census Bureau's decennial Census counts and historical population estimates produced by our Center, and other tables include calculations of change since Census 2010. Also included are population estimates for broad age groups and 5-year age groups; the estimates …

Decision-Support System For Lid Footprint Planning And Urban Runoff Mitigation In The Lower Rio Grande Valley Of South Texas, Javier Guerrero, Taufiqul Alam, Ahmed Mahmoud, Kim D. Jones, Andrew Ernest

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

To address regional flooding in the United States, federal and state agencies are adopting strict drainage policies in any large-scale commercial development within the watershed boundary. The conventional approach of implementing a wet detention pond (WP) reduces the land cover and causes operation and maintenance challenges eventually. The present study developed a decision-support system (DSS) in the Lower Rio Grande Valley region of South Texas for optimal selection of Best Management Practices (BMPs) by substituting a portion of the WP footprint with three regionally promising low-impact development practices, namely, porous concrete pavement (PCP), bioretention (BR), and bioswale (BS). Source Load …

Lulusan Pendidikan Vokasi Dan Probabilitas Bekerja Di Sektor Intensitas Digital Tinggi, Dhea Rizky Amelia, Diahhadi Setyonaluri

Jurnal Kebijakan Ekonomi

As technology alters the way organizations work, the need for labor adjustment which more adaptable to technological changes has risen in high digital intensive sectors. However, vocational graduates face difficulties regarding this situation as their vocational school failed to equip them with advanced technological skills. Based on signaling and human capital investment theory, this problem can be solved by increasing education and training. Using 2015 and 2018 Sakernas data and logit regression, the result shows that vocational engineering and technology graduates have the highest probability to work in HDI sectors. however, working in a HDI sector cannot be associated with …

Moving Toward Equitable Transit-Oriented Developments By Integrating Transit And Housing, Hongwei Dong

PSU Transportation Seminars

Prior studies show that transit-oriented developments (TODs) increase property values and raise property tax revenue. Property owners reap economic benefit from TODs and public officials use it as evidence to justify the high cost of rail transit. However, renters, who rely on transit more than homeowners, may have to pay higher rent to live in TODs. The location affordability index at the neighborhood level suggests that renters can also benefit from TOD by saving money on transportation costs. Recent studies at the individual level, however, found little evidence that living in TODs reduces transportation expenditure. Using rental data scraped from …

"A State Sponsored System Of Segregation": Examining The Contemporary Impact Of Redlining, Caroline Howard

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

The west side of downtown Jacksonville is home to historically black neighborhoods which for over a century were economically thriving. However, if you were to visit those areas today you would be greeted by vacant lots, abandoned buildings and a large homeless population. In the 1930’s predominantly black neighborhoods of Jacksonville were marked as hazardous areas unfit for loans: a process known as redlining. The Economic Innovation Group’s Distressed Community Index will be analyzed to determine if there is a correlation between redlining and the disproportionate economic hardship of historically black areas to predominantly white areas of Jacksonville. Utilizing GIS …

The End Of Zero Returns And The Last Dollar: Can New York State Create A Collective Store Of Value, Crowdsource Wealth, And Fund Its Colleges And Universities Using Cryptocurrency?, Edward Lehner

Publications and Research

This brief personal statement, citing the previous work of the Bronx Community College Cryptocurrency Research Laboratory (BCC Lab), advocates for a private New York State Money to fund New York State’s public higher education. Attempting to shed most of the academic language and the formalities of research-driven writing, this short statement frames two distinct arguments. The first contention is that New York State residents need a means by which to store value outside of the traditional banking and financial systems due to massive Federal Reserve printing that is centered primarily on rescuing fledgling Wall Street profits and mitigating reckless businesses …

Webinar: Visual Exploration Of Trajectory Data, Nikola Markovic, Mark Franz, Seth Miller

TREC Webinar Series

This webinar will demonstrate the tremendous value of GPS trajectory data in understanding statewide travel patterns and measuring performance. First, Dr. Markovic (U of Utah) will conduct visual exploration of GPS trajectories that capture about 3% of all the trips in Utah. He will briefly discuss the problem of scaling GPS trajectories to the population, and then focus on the use of scaled trajectories in computing origin-destination matrices, vehicle-hours delays, vehicle-miles traveled, and trip-based performance measures. Second, Dr. Franz (CATT Lab) will demonstrate a suite of visual analytics that enables transportation agencies to easily explore terabytes of GPS trajectory data. …