Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Green Connectivity In Metropolitan Jabodetabek: Climate Change And The Challenge Of Urban Forest, Safira Maharani Putri, Hendricus Andy Simarmata

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

Urban areas in Indonesia, particularly the Greater Jakarta metropolitan region (Jabodetabek), are increasingly experiencing the adverse effects of climate change, such as the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon. Rapid urbanization has contributed significantly to rising greenhouse gas emissions and deteriorating environmental quality. Urban forests are one of the key solutions to mitigate these impacts; however, their spatial distribution in Jabodetabek remains suboptimal and poorly connected. This study uses NDVI as a proxy for urban forest density, where “urban forest” refers to vegetated areas within cities as defined by Presidential Regulation No. 60/2020. The research addresses the following question: How has …

Barriers To Youth Employment And Economic Mobility In The Bronx, David Cortes

CUNY Mexican Studies Institute

This research aims to uncover systemic factors that limit career stability for young adults in the Bronx. In this paper, I focus on unequal access to educational resources, economic inequality, and the digital divide as connected barriers that shape the quality of education and training youth receive, the resources and networks they have access to, and the opportunities they can realistically maintain over time. Based on a review of public data, media reports and the current literature, I argue that job instability in the Bronx is a structural problem. At the same time, this project pushes back against the assumption …

Drainage, Transportation, And City Security Policies In Realizing Urban Environment With Smart City Integration, Wahyudi Setiawan

Cities and Urban Development Journal

Latar Belakang: Perkembangan urbanisasi yang pesat di berbagai kota besar di Indonesia menyebabkan meningkatnya permasalahan perkotaan seperti banjir, kemacetan, dan tingkat kejahatan yang tinggi. Ketiga permasalahan ini saling berhubungan dan berdampak pada kualitas hidup masyarakat serta keberlanjutan lingkungan. Oleh karena itu, diperlukan kebijakan yang terintegrasi dengan konsep Smart City untuk menciptakan lingkungan perkotaan yang lebih aman, nyaman, dan berkelanjutan.

Tujuan: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis kebijakan drainase, transportasi, dan keamanan kota dalam mengatasi permasalahan perkotaan serta mengevaluasi implementasi teknologi dalam mendukung kebijakan tersebut.

Motode: Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah pendekatan kualitatif deskriptif dengan studi literatur, analisis kebijakan, dan wawancara …

Singapore As A Global City: Response To Urbanization, Climate Change, And Digital Economy, Idris Sandiya, Arief Nasrudin

Cities and Urban Development Journal

Background: Singapore faces pressures from rapid urbanization, climate change, and digital economic transformation amid limited land and resources. As both a city-state and global economic hub, Singapore develops adaptive strategies that balance growth, sustainability, and competitiveness through technology-driven governance and long-term planning.

Aims: This study analyzes Singapore’s adaptation strategies in addressing urban, environmental, and digital economic challenges while evaluating policy effectiveness and limitations within the frameworks of the global city, state capitalism, and sustainability governance.

Methods: A qualitative literature review and SWOT analysis were conducted using secondary data from academic journals and policy reports. The analysis focuses on the integration …

Technology And Sustainability In Integrated Transportation Hubs: A Systematic Literature Review, Samuel Darwisman, Yosef Ricky Simanjuntak

Cities and Urban Development Journal

Background: Integrated transportation hubs serve as a critical foundation for modern urban mobility, tasked with efficiently coordinating passenger and freight logistics flows. However, current research remains fragmented across disciplines, resulting in a lack of unified understanding regarding the synergy between advanced technology and holistic sustainability.

Aims: This study aims to map the global research landscape of integrated transportation hubs to identify dominant themes, analyze the gap between technological potential and policy reality, and formulate a strategic future research agenda.

Methods: Adhering to PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic literature search was conducted across Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect databases up …

A Collective Micro Food Farming: Maximizing The Limited Space Of Urban Neighborhood, Arnis Rochma Harani, Fathurrahman Nur Azmi, Kelfin Ilyas Prassetyo, Cheong Peng Au-Yong

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

This paper examines the concept of urban farming in residential areas with limited space to provide food security while improving the environment. The practice of cultivating food crops, vegetables, fruits, or medicinal plants in small spaces such as yards, rooftops, balconies, walls, terraces, or indoor spaces is a form of domestic adaptation with significant ecological and social impacts in urban areas. This study is part of a community service program that aims to maximize limited space for food production and green space. Three phases of the activity methodology are involved in this program, including collecting spatial data to identify potential …

The 2025 Pakistan Floods: Investigating The Human, Agricultural, And Economic Collapse, Abdullah Khan

MSJ Capstone Projects

This project examines the 2025 Pakistan floods as a multidimensional climate disaster that triggered severe human, agricultural, and economic consequences. Moving beyond event-based reporting, the study examines how climate change, weak governance, poor infrastructure planning, and delayed institutional responses intensified the scale of destruction. Using investigative journalism methods, the project combines field reporting from flood-affected areas, in-depth interviews with displaced communities, local activists, and experts, and analysis of official data and policy documents. The findings reveal widespread displacement, loss of livelihoods, food insecurity, and long-term social vulnerability, particularly among marginalized rural populations. Agricultural collapse emerged as a central concern, threatening …

How Does Vertical Hydroponic Farming Compare To Traditional Soil Farming In Terms Of Crop Yield, Energy Efficiency, And Cost?, Grace Morgan, Grace Henry, Rebecca Meenach, Jeana Odom

Student Scholar Symposium

Vertical hydroponics (hydro “water;” ponics “labor”) is a method of year-round farming that uses water in place of soil and supplies vegetables’ nutrients in a space-efficient setting. It dates back to 500 BC when it was used in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, a wonder of the ancient world. Thousands of years later, vertical hydroponics has expanded across the globe to supply leafy greens, herbs, and grains. It is typically implemented in dense urban environments where green space is hard to come by as a form of sustainable farming. Our research seeks to answer the question “How does vertical hydroponic …

Disaster Risk Reduction In Rural Indonesia: Evaluation Of The Japan Red Cross Program In Pujiharjo Village, Meyralda Dara Adisa, Pujo Widodo, Anwar Kurniadi, Wilopo Wilopo

Preventia: The Indonesian Journal of Public Health

Pujiharjo Village in Malang Regency, Indonesia, is highly vulnerable to natural disasters. In 2021, the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) partnered with the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) to implement a community-based disaster preparedness program. This study evaluates the program's effectiveness in terms of community participation, institutional support, and alignment with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. Using a qualitative case study, data were collected through document analysis of Vulnerability and Capacity Assessments (VCA), Community Action Plans (CAP), and local SOPs. Thematic analysis explored disaster risk perception, governance, mitigation investment, and emergency preparedness. The program successfully improved risk awareness, …

Transportation Practitioners' Reflections On Addressing Transportation Barriers For Vulnerable Populations In Nebraska, Aysan Esmaely

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

This study examines transportation planning practices and challenges in Nebraska, with particular attention to how planners and agencies address the needs of vulnerable populations. Using a qualitative approach, thirty-five transportation planners, practitioners, and service providers were interviewed. Participants were selected based on their professional in transportation planning and service delivery. The study explores what institutional and funding barriers planners and practitioners face, and what strategies they consider most effective for improving access and inclusion. Findings reveal that limited funding, fragmented authority, and the absence of a coordinated regional planning framework significantly constrain transportation development across Nebraska. While metropolitan areas such …

Shale Investment Dashboard In Ohio Q3 And Q4 2024, Andrew R. Thomas, Mark Henning

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This report presents findings from an investigation into shale-related investment in Ohio, looking at up, mid, and downstream activities. The investment estimates are for July through December of 2024. The report also includes an estimate of cumulative investment into shale in Ohio from 2012 through December 2024. Prior biannual investments are included in previously posted reports that are available from Cleveland State University.

Evaluating The Preparedness Of Local Zoning Regulations For Flood Risk Reduction In The Most Affected Local Jurisdictions In Nebraska, Md Asaduzzaman Noor

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses

Flooding has profound social, economic, and environmental impacts on local communities, and zoning plays a critical role in mitigating these risks. The 2019 Nebraska floods, among the most severe in the state’s history, highlighted the urgent need to strengthen local preparedness and mitigation strategies. This study assesses the extent to which local zoning regulations in Nebraska’s most affected jurisdiction, including rural areas, address flood risk reduction. A systematic review of 117 zoning ordinances from counties, cities, towns, and villages, we applied a structured analytical framework encompassing regulatory and permitting policies, voluntary and incentive-based measures, and nature-based solutions. The results show …

A Comparative Analysis Of Complete Streets And Multimodal Transport Approaches: Implications For Sustainable Urban Mobility In Lincoln, And Global Contexts, Oliva Richard Kilyenyi

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Movement of people and goods in urban areas through different modes of transportation including walking, cycling, public transit and by autos is termed as urban mobility. Urban mobility presents significant environmental, social, and economic challenges for cities worldwide as they grapple with the impacts of conventional transportation systems, particularly in North America context where car-centric planning approaches has dominated urban developments since 1950s. Car-centric dominance is 80% in North American Metropolitan areas (Manaugh et al., 2015). The impacts of these conventional systems include greenhouse gas emission emissions contributing approximately 24% of global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, air pollution …

Public Engagement In Small-Town Planning: A Case Study Of The Wellsville Trails And Active Transportation Plan, Tayli R. Hillyard

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This thesis presents a qualitative case study of public engagement in the Wellsville Trails and Active Transportation Plan, developed in Wellsville, Utah—a small municipality with limited staff and resources. Drawing from planning literature on effective community participation, the study evaluates outreach strategies based on their reach, feasibility, and replicability. Outreach strategies in the plan’s development included surveys, stakeholder meetings, a public open house, digital tools, and informal conversations. While early outreach efforts, such as the interest survey and personal invitations, generated meaningful input, the process fell short in sustaining engagement, reaching underrepresented groups, and maintaining consistent communication. The analysis highlights …

Data-Driven Evaluation Of Sustainable Waste-To-Energy Pathways For Intelligent Urban Systems, Izech Brian O. Edwin, King Harold A. Recto

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

The handling of municipal solid waste (MSW) in swiftly urbanizing Philippine cities poses intricate energy and governance challenges. In Baguio City, reliance on landfills has reached critical levels due to diminishing capacity, rising transport costs, and opposition to trash transfers by nearby LGUs. Although shaped by unique topographical and governance constraints, Baguio’s situation reflects issues faced by other rapidly growing Philippine cities; therefore, analyzing it offers insights for national MSW decision-making. This study applies a triple bottom line (TBL) framework to assess three management scenarios: (1) Status Quo, where all MSW is landfilled with no energy recovery; (2) Landfill with …

The Pluralistic Natural Capital Values Of A Tropical City, Adrienne Gret-Regamey, Et Al.

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Nature in cities is essential for human well-being. Quantifying and valuing the goods and services provided by nature to city dwellers is missing in tropical contexts. Yet, as cities worldwide face similar challenges, understanding the services provided by tropical urban ecosystems becomes imperative for effective management. Here, we present the first Natural Capital Assessment of a tropical city, unveiling three critical insights. Firstly, we demonstrate the vital reliance of a developed tropical city on nature, particularly for climate change mitigation through regulating services. Secondly, we identify intact natural areas as Singapore’s most valuable assets, stressing the significance of the quality …

Development Of A Handy Tool For The Selection Of Urban Stormwater Best Management Practices, Aaron T. Kenny

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The City of Norfolk, Virginia faces substantial stormwater management challenges due to shallow groundwater, tidal influence, dense urban development, and limited right-of-way. These constraints limit the applicability of many Best Management Practices (BMPs) and require the early identification of feasible practices before detailed hydrologic modeling. This thesis introduces a decision-support tool that quickly and systematically identifies and prioritizes BMPs that are both feasible and well-suited to Norfolk’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) program, streamlining early-stage selection and saving time and resources.

The tool implements a two-stage methodology. First, feasibility gates are applied using catalog attributes derived from the Virginia …

An Assessment Of The Viva Callesj September 2025 Event In San José, Richard Kos, Adam Cohen

Mineta Transportation Institute

Viva CalleSJ is an open-streets initiative where several miles of the City of San José’s streets are closed to vehicular traffic, allowing residents to walk, bike, scooter, and skate freely. This report evaluates the Viva CalleSJ event held in San José on September 7, 2025, which attracted more than 150,000 participants. Using a mixed-methods approach, this evaluation examines aspects such as attendance, activities, modal access, and economic impacts, utilizing data from participant surveys (in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese), interviews, and observational analysis. The findings indicate that the Viva CalleSJ September 2025 event was largely successful in achieving its objectives, including …

What Do Americans Think About Federal Tax Options To Support Transportation? Results From Year Sixteen Of A National Survey, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Hilary Nixon

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report summarizes the results from the sixteenth year of a national public opinion survey asking U.S. adults questions related to their views on federal transportation taxes. A nationally representative sample of 2,539 respondents completed the online survey from February 3 to February 27, 2025. The questions test public opinions about raising the federal gas tax rate, replacing the federal gas tax with a new mileage fee, and imposing a mileage fee just on commercial travel. In addition to asking directly about support for these tax options, the survey collected data on respondents’ views on the quality of their local …

From Red To Green: Using Gis To Examine Colorado’S Inequitable Housing Patterns In Urban Greenspace Accessibility, Jessica Howard Karr

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Urban greenspaces provide numerous benefits to the mental and physical health of nearby people who access these locations for physical recreation, social interaction, and contemplation. Discriminatory urban planning policies from the past, such as redlining, have ensured that greenspace access is not always equitable for communities with diverse racial and socioeconomic compositions. This project utilizes Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to determine relationships between tree cover canopy, greenspace percentage within a census tract, and greenspace accessibility within a graded census tract system based on demographics and historic redlining locations in the Colorado cities of Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo. The results …

Environmental Justice And Warehouse Pollution In New York City, Natalie Bump Vena

Open Educational Resources

I am preparing a class module that will help students learn about environmental (in)justice, air pollution attendant to urban warehouses, and city policymaking. The primary learning outcomes will be:

1. Apply the concepts of environmental racism and environmental justice to the problem of NYC’s warehouse facilities and the resulting movements to mitigate their pollution.
2. Read and analyze legal documents.
3. Analyze the extent to which an individual’s interests and experiences shape their policy positions.
4. Evaluate the efficacy of proposed city legislation and zoning changes in advancing environmental justice in communities living with warehouses.

This project engages Queens by considering how proposed citywide …

Analyzing Large-Scale Infrastructure Projects: The Case Of Willets Point In Queens, Dwayne Baker

Open Educational Resources

This teaching resource focuses on a multi-week assignment for my URBST 260: Planning & Politics course for the Spring 2026 semester.
The purpose of this assignment is for students to analyze a large-scale planning project within New York City and particularly Queens. This assignment will focus on the Willets Point redevelopment in Queens. By the end of this assignment, students will be able to:

• Explain the context of Willets Point. That is, students will be able to explain the
  1. actors involved (whether for, against, or indifferent to the redevelopment),
  2. planning and policy tools used to develop the site, and
  3. historical …

Navigating The Open-Loops: Actor Dynamics And Bottlenecks In The Transition Towards Circular Household Waste Supply Chains, Burcin Ozdamar, Aysu Göçer

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Household waste supply chains (HWSCs) in developing countries often suffer from fragmented actor structures, weak coordination, and informal practices that limit their overall performance and circularity potential. Existing studies tend to focus on isolated aspects such as waste types, technologies, or individual actors, without systematically examining the broader network and interdependencies shaping HWSC outcomes. Addressing this gap, this study investigates the key components (e.g. actors and waste processes) and bottleneck points that hinder the structure and functioning of current HWSCs to transform into circular systems. Drawing on industrial network theory, the research analyzes how actor relationships and system configurations influence …

Exploring Family-Friendly Policies In The Uae, Mariam Sultan Al Kaabi

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

The Family constitutes the fundamental pillar of societies, fostering stability and driving progress. However, contemporary families in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) face increasing challenges due to the growing participation of women in the labor market. While this shift reflects significant social and economic progress, it simultaneously intensifies the pressures on parents to reconcile professional and family responsibilities. Moreover, the scarcity of family-friendly policies (FFPs) exacerbates these challenges even further. This study explores the lived experiences of working parents with young children in the UAE, examining how existing workplace arrangements facilitate or hinder family engagement. A qualitative research design was …

Framing Sustainability Governance In Uae Federal Public Policies: An Interpretive Analysis, Fatima Ahmed Al Zaabi

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

This thesis explores the framing of sustainability by the UAE federal government through the public policy documents and legislation. The primary aim of this study is to map the integration of sustainability across key development sectors and identify the federal entities responsible for governing those mandates to understand the sustainability themes. This study employs a qualitative methodology using interpretive policy analysis through collecting official documented federal public policies and legislation from UAE Legislation Portal, using targeted keyword to trace development sectors coverage, federal entitles leading it and key sustainability themes. The findings reveal that UAE government frames sustainability not only …

Global Cities, Public Memories, Padmini Biswas

Open Educational Resources

I am attaching a lesson plan for a module in my URBST 206 Global Cities class, called “Global Cities, Public Memories.” Students will visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, then design a monument that honors their history here in Queens (or a place significant to them).

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of how global flows of capital, ideas, people, technology, and media impact and are represented in global cities like New York.
• Articulate the complex interplay between global events, local experiences, and the construction of public memory.
• Develop critical thinking skills regarding the design, purpose, and impact of memorials …

Building Oregon's Statewide Multimodal Transportation Inventory With Ai And Interagency Collaboration, Ben Stabler, Theresa Conley

PSU Transportation Seminars

ODOT and 48+ local agencies are collaborating on the development of a multimodal data set for transportation planning within metropolitan areas. Revisions to Oregon's Transportation Planning Rules (TPR) set in motion the need for more multimodal data and analysis in local plans. The multimodal data inventory includes vehicle and freight facilities, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, transit facilities, and other relevant data such as key destinations and crashes. Starting from the local agency GIS systems and supplemented with real world use of AI for developing bicycle and pedestrian facilities, the team is defining and constructing a shared statewide multimodal data set. …

Think Piece: Urban Echoes: How The New Historiography On Cities Is Reframing Our Understanding Of Mao’S China, Taoyu Yang

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Despite the conventional portrayal of the Chinese revolution as a predominantly peasant-oriented movement, cities emerged as critical arenas for the Chinese Communist Party’s project of modernization and class restructuring during Maoist period (1949–1976). Over the past decade, scholarly attention has increasingly turned to the urban dimensions of the early years of the People’s Republic. This think piece addresses how recent scholarship on cities offers new analytical insights into our understanding of Maoist China by focusing on six recently published monographs. Themes to be discussed in this essay include the contested and evolving notion of socialist modernity, the transformative effects of …

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

Artificial Light At Night Can Worsen Competitive Outcomes Between Native And Invasive Grasses, Shannon M. Murphy, Kylee Grenis, Anna A. Sher

Biological Sciences: Faculty Scholarship

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is an important global disturbance that affects community dynamics, but how it affects species interactions, such as competition, is not well understood and needs investigation. In plant communities, some exotic-invasive plant species seem to be facilitated by ALAN, which may alter competitive outcomes with native plant communities and promote invasion. Despite these intriguing results, whether ALAN affects competitive outcomes between native and invasive species is understudied. Here we tested how ALAN affects competitive outcomes between two native prairie grasses and two grasses that are exotic-invasive in North America. We planted each native species with a …