Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Norfolk Scope Community Plan, Michael D. Nixon-Garrison

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

The purpose of the Norfolk Scope Community Plan is to provide the client, the City of Norfolk’s Department of City Planning, with a plan for revitalization of the community surrounding the Norfolk Scope Complex. The plan includes three potential redevelopment scenarios, along with general recommendations for areawide enhancements, both of which the client could potentially use to guide small area planning for the community in the future. The Scope is a multi-functioning entertainment complex located in the heart of Downtown Norfolk, Virginia and includes the Scope Arena, an 11,000-seat venue for concert and sporting events, Chrysler Hall, a performing arts …

Utility-Scale Solar In Virginia: An Analysis Of Land Use And Development Trends, Aaron R. Berryhill

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

Virginia has seen a rapid growth of the utility-scale solar industry with many new solar facilities constructed in recent years. The continued development of utility-scale solar facilities is anticipated because of Virginia’s aggressive renewable portfolio standards in addition to recent technological improvements and declining system costs. However, an emerging concern regarding the widespread development of utility-scale solar facilities is its potentially significant land use. To date, there is very little information available that comprehensively evaluates the existing land use impacts and development trends of solar facilities. This study investigates the spatial characteristics of existing utility-scale solar energy facilities in Virginia …

Stony Point Fashion Park Small Area Plan, Jane I. Howk

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

The purpose of the Stony Point Fashion Park Small Area Plan is to explore the value and future of the Stony Point Fashion Park through the creation of a small area plan. This topic needs to be addressed immediately because malls are facing a sharp decline in economic growth and use. Online shopping brings a competition that malls do not seem to be equipped to address. This drives the research question: how can Stony Point Fashion Park be reimagined to attract business, increase residential growth, and maximize the potential for new services? Malls that continue to flourish differ significantly from …

Disposition And Development Strategies For Vacant Property In Petersburg, Virginia, Grace N. Stankus

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

Petersburg, Virginia has weathered decades of population and industrial decline resulting in the abundance of City-owned vacant property. As the Richmond metropolitan area continues to gain population and attract development, Petersburg is ideally positioned to capitalize on these regional growth trends. The purpose of this plan is to propose recommendations for Petersburg to establish a streamlined and proactive land disposition and development approach to reposition itself within the region. Through the study of five post-industrial cities to learn how each handle vacant property disposition and development, this plan incorporates good practices from the study cities and feedback from regional developers …

Appleton Area Ohv Park Master Plan, Chad M. Kingstrom

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

This master plan for the Appleton Area OHV Park, located in Swift County in west-central Minnesota, is intended to capture user feedback and to inform future park development. This master plan will be used to show that the park is of regional significance and will therefore gain access to Minnesota’s Legacy Funds administered by the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission. Because most of the public OHV resources are in the northeastern part of the state, and access to private land is extremely limited, the park is a critical regional amenity for OHV users. The park serves all four …

Affordable Housing In Reston Virginia, Margaret Gallagher

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

Reston was one of the first planned cities in America and was planned to be inclusive and accessible for people of all ages, incomes, and backgrounds. Reston lies within Fairfax County, Virginia, which is currently re-evaluating its comprehensive plan. As a region under Fairfax County’s governance Reston’s 2017 Comprehensive Plan is also being re-evaluating, in effort to assess how it is meeting community needs today. As a part of the re-evaluation the housing market in Reston will be reviewed, including affordable housing. This plan aims to assess the stock of affordable housing in Reston, understand any unmet needs of the …

Green Infrastructure Plan For Private Property In Richmond, Virginia., Rebecca C. Acland

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

This plan was developed for the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities (DPU), researching and identifying methods to increase implementation of green infrastructure throughout the City's private residential properties. Green infrastructure (GI) is a relatively new technique utilized for stormwater management, defined by the Environmental Protection Agency as infrastructure mimicking natural processes of absorbing and storing water during large storm events. The implementation of GI directly contributes to the creation of healthier urban environments and the reduction of water quality problems.

This plan provides potential funding sources for future GI programs, zones of opportunity for GI and green investments, …

Equitable Development On The Richmond Highway Corridor In Richmond, Virginia, Amelie M. Rives

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

This professional plan supports the work of Virginia Community Voice to organize with neighbors advocating for equitable development of Richmond’s Southside neighborhoods along the Richmond Highway (formerly known as the Jefferson Davis Highway Corridor). Virginia Community Voice is a community-based non-profit organization with a mission to equip neighbors in historically marginalized communities to realize their vision for their neighborhoods and prepare institutions to respond. As redevelopment rapidly increases, Virginia Community Voice seeks to create an “equitable development scorecard” that reflects the desires and needs of residents for housing and business development along the Richmond Highway in the City of Richmond. …

A Feminist Re-Imagining Of Participatory Planning, Elena Castellanos

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis presents the benefits of feminist epistemologies in exposing current unjust structures hindering spatial justice in the urban planning process. I explore three main questions: (1) how do urban planners’ and designers’ biases shape American neighborhoods’ physical and social landscape?, (2) why traditional government or private planning approaches historically chose not to encode community-making functions into their frameworks for community input?, and (3) does a substantively inclusive and equitable urban planning project require a rigorous context-based understanding of people?. Additionally, I investigate what a participatory planning process that embraces feminist epistemologies would look like, a practice that prioritizes epistemically …

Captives & Spoils In Chicago: Examining The Columbian Exposition’S Triumphal Procession Of 1893, Kazandra Zelaya

CMC Senior Theses

Daniel Burnham’s vision of a classical revival in the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 brought ancient Roman triumph with its captives and spoils to Chicago, Illinois. Burnham’s restorative urban utopia used Beaux-Arts architecture in the exposition’s White City that evoked the image of Roman triumphal processions. Beaux-Arts architecture did not extend into the Midway Plaisance, however, the model of Roman triumph extended into the ethnographic exhibits. By examining the ethnographic exhibits of the Midway as a version of a Roman triumphal procession, the exhibits highlighted novel types of captivity through sponsorships, wages, and erasure. Illustrations of American imperialism in the …

Gentrification As An Institution Of Injustice: Understanding The Displacement Of Low-Income Families And Erasure Of Culture, Diana Hernandez

CMC Senior Theses

In the last decade, gentrification has become a world-wide strategy for capital accumulation, but is one that disproportionately prioritizes corporate interests over community interests. Although often disguised as a form of urban revitalization, gentrification economic renewals lead to higher rent prices that consequently pushes poor communities out of their home and makes urban spaces geared towards affluent middle-class families only. Gentrification is not a natural phenomenon, but is instead a man-made project that is rooted in capitalism and neoliberal understanding of the market economy. This paper explores the roots of creating profit by means of privatization, especially when discussing housing. …

Housing Market Pressures In Youngstown During The Gm Plant Closure (2016 To 2019), Iryna Demko, Molly Schnoke, Rachel Lefebre, Isabella Mcknight, Merissa Piazza

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This brief seeks to investigate the changes in the regional housing markets for renters and homeowners in the Youngstown region due to the General Motors Lordstown Assembly closure. Housing is an important part of the regional infrastructure that can attract new people in times when the Youngstown region tries to develop high-tech industries and reinvent its economy. The quality of housing stock determines the amount of property taxes, which help fund local schools as well as city services. In 2019, both median household income and median home values declined in the Youngstown region. The demand for rental properties increased as …

Moving Cleveland Above The Trend: Entrepreneurship Policy, Iryna V. Lendel, Merissa Piazza, Molly Schnoke, Shneur Kushner

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

A recent report conducted by the Center for Economic Development discussed the structural and policy factors of economic growth in mid-sized U.S. economies and included an analysis of similar regions. The Center used factor analysis as a data-reduction technique and identified five factors influencing mid-sized regional economies: 1) Innovation and Talent, 2) Entrepreneurship in High-Cost Areas, 3) New Residential Centers, 4) Retirement Destinations, and 5) Polarization. An analysis determined the relationship between these factors and the changes in regional employment, gross regional product (output), and per capita income. This brief outlines the initial analysis primary takeaways as it relates to …

The Role Of The Physical And Social Environment In Observed And Self-Reported Park Use In Low-Income Neighborhoods In New York City, Javier E. Otero Peña, Hanish Kodali, Emily Ferris, Katarzyna Wyka, Setha Low, Kelly R. Evenson, Joan M. Dorn, Lorna E. Thorpe, Terry T. K. Huang

Publications and Research

Physical and social environments of parks and neighborhoods influence park use, but the extent of their relative influence remains unclear. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between the physical and social environment of parks and both observed and self-reported park use in low-income neighborhoods in New York City. We conducted community- (n = 54 parks) and individual-level (n = 904 residents) analyses. At the community level, observed park use was measured using a validated park audit tool and regressed on the number of facilities and programmed activities in parks, violent crime, stop-and-frisk incidents, and traffic accidents. At the …

The Just Host: Addressing The Wage Structure Problem In The Tourism Industry, Bill Farley

Theses and Dissertations

Since the early 1990’s, tourism development has been promoted to replace employment lost to downsizing, outsourcing and automation in both urban and rural America. These efforts are actively supported by state and local chambers of commerce. However, despite the enthusiasm for tourism within city halls and business membership organizations, planning theorists have expressed concerns about the wage structure of the industry. Specifically, given the significant public investment in the industry, planners are being asked by some theorists to consider the distribution of economic benefits between labor and capital. This dissertation explores this issue and concludes with a study focused on …

Interventions To Slums And Informal Settlements: A Case Study Of The Integrated Housing Development Program In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Nathan Teklemariam

Theses and Dissertations

Rapid urbanization is currently taking place in developing regions that have yet to address already existing and persistent inequities within their urban centers. There is perhaps no urban policy issue more critical for governments of the global South than the elimination of slums and informal settlements, along with the development of equitable access to affordable housing for low-income residents. Ethiopia has taken on this challenge through its Integrated Housing Development Program (IHDP), which incorporates slum clearance and resettlement through a government-led development of condominium housing targeting those displaced and other low and middle-income residents in the city.

Since the launch …

On The Acceptance Of Urban Beavers In Martinez, California, Zane A. Eddy

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

As ecosystem engineers, beavers construct complex riparian and wetland habitats that benefit many other species, including endangered salmonids. Through their landscape alterations, beavers also promote increased groundwater recharge and provide refugia during wildfires and high flow events by impounding water and allowing it to spread across the landscape. Prior to the North American colonial fur trapping campaigns, there were between 60 and 400 million beavers in North America. By the beginning of the 20th century, beavers were extirpated from many parts of the continent, however through human efforts, their population has since rebounded to between 10 and 15 million. The …

Putting Policy In Its Place: Policy Enactment And Engagement Through A Multiscalar Policy-Shed Framework, Barbara L. Maclennan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of this research is to examine the spatial components integral to policy formation, implementation, and evaluation. The research uses solid waste as a case study to explore a multiscalar GIS policy-shed framework. To this end, the goal of this dissertation is to examine the spatial nature of public policy. The research applies spatial concepts and multiscalar methodological applications embedded within GIS and geovisualization to explore the complex spaces surrounding public policy implementation and evaluation.

The Great Outdoors, Indoors: An Evaluation Of Green Spaces And Housing Prices In Pittsburgh, Pa, Will Mccullough

Senior Independent Study Theses

Green spaces, or public parks, playgrounds, and athletic fields, are a community hub. Many studies have highlighted the benefits of green space on surrounding neighborhoods. However, comparatively little research has assessed the relationship between park proximity and housing sales price. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, city officials have shown a renewed interest in increasing park access and quality, although no economic literature has examined role of green space in the housing consumption decision in the city. I develop a theory of green space preference in a consumer maximization framework to hypothesize that home prices will increase with proximity to green space. I …

2021 Adult Foster Home Resident And Community Characteristics Report On Adult Foster Homes, Paula Carder, Jason Z. Kyler-Yano, Ozcan Tunalilar, Sarah Dys, Sheryl Elliott, Ellis Jourdan Hews, Minju Kim

Institute on Aging Publications

This report describes results from an annual study of Oregon adult foster homes (AFH). Data contained in this report include home and owner characteristics; monthly charges and payment sources; and resident characteristics, personal and health-related needs. The study’s purpose was to collect and report data that can inform and advise policymakers, state and county agency staff, aging advocates and AFH owners about the status of AFHs in Oregon. These data were collected between December 2020 and February 2021. This report constitutes the first year during the COVID-19 pandemic that these annual data were collected.

Evaluating The N/Ne Preference Policy, Amie Thurber, Lisa K. Bates, Susan Halverson

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

North/Northeast Portland has long been the heart of Portland's Black community. By 2010, the area had lost two-thirds of its Black residents to displacement. In response, the City adopted a Preference Policy that prioritizes displaced affordable rental and homeownership applicants. This report describes findings from the first phase of a study to understand what difference this policy is making in the lives of residents.

A Systematic Method For Measuring Gentrification Using Building Permits Data: A Washington D.C Case Study, Andey Fomil

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Gentrification can significantly alter the socioeconomic, demographic, and commercial aspects of a city. It is a complex process that transforms the characteristics of entire neighborhoods, modifying not only the observable physical aspects, but also the community structure. Traditional quantitative gentrification measurement approaches assess the process through analysis of Census demographic indicators coupled with field visit analysis of the physical built environment. This study proposes a new gentrification measuring approach that combines traditional Census indicators with a new indicator in the form of City Building Permits. Two GIS spatial analysis techniques are utilized to evaluate the effectiveness and accuracy of the …