Urban Studies Commons^™

Bridging The Gap: Exploring The Intersection Of Formal Mental Health Services And Informal Social Supports In Bipoc Communities, Patrice D. Patton-Campbell

Dissertations

Despite growing awareness of mental health disparities, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities continue to face significant barriers in accessing culturally responsive mental health care. This dissertation explores the intersection between formal mental health services and informal social supports such as family, religious institutions, and community networks to understand which systems are more trusted, accessible, and effective for BIPOC individuals. Grounded in Urban Liberation Psychology and guided by decolonial and culturally responsive care frameworks, this qualitative study draws from focus groups and interviews with 33 participants, including both community members and service providers from the Chicagoland area and …

What [Could] Happen[Ed] In Oak Cliff: Reimagining Gentrification Without Displacement, Samantha E. Hernandez

Masters Theses

Neighborhoods help create our world view, define our relationships and goals, and inspire local change. They can evolve naturally throughout decades, though sometimes in waves of growth and displacement. Often these disproportionately affect those of lower economic classes or underrepresented communities. This thesis provides alternative possibilities of equitable community growth. What if neighborhoods could be strengthened in the face of change? This thesis will delve into the suburb of Dallas, Texas called Oak Cliff. By studying key moments in its history from the 1980s to 2020s, such as zoning changes or implementation of urban plans, it is possible to reimagine …

Home Values Vs. Homelessness In Mountain West Metros, 2023, Maryam Raja, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Housing & Real Estate

This fact sheet presents data from Home Values vs. Homelessness in the U.S.: A Concerning Connection (2023 Data), a report by Home Bay. The data includes information on both home values and homelessness rates while also providing national rankings for rent price and homeless rate, which are used here to compare the following Mountain West metros: Las Vegas, NV; Denver, CO; Salt Lake City, UT; and Phoenix, AZ.

Bridging The Divide: Gaps In Mental Health Resources For K-12 Students In Nevada, Nicole Diaz Del Valle

Student Research

Since 2014, Nevada has consistently ranked among the bottom five states, if not last, in the nation for youth mental health, with more than 34,000 youth reporting experiencing thoughts of suicide in 2025 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2023). The state’s student-to-counselor ratio stands at 456 to 1, nearly double the recommended 250 to 1 (American School Counselor Association, 2024). In Southern Nevada, these challenges are compounded with persistent provider shortages, chronic underfunding, and a fragmented system of care. This policy brief focuses on the barriers preventing students from receiving timely, effective mental health support in school settings …

A Tent Census: How Counting Tents Informs An Understanding Of Unsheltered Homelessness In Seattle, Karen A. Snedker, Jennifer Mckinney, Charles C. Lanfear

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Tents are a familiar sight across many U.S. cities, especially West Coast cities. In Seattle, given the high visibility of tents, public perceptions of a widespread problem, the uncertainty surrounding the city’s number of tents, and national data showing a rise in unsheltered homelessness, the authors decided to count tents. They conducted a tent census to obtain a full count of the number of tents in the city of Seattle as well as two resamples of highly populated areas of tents. In the tent census, and in the two resamples, the authors find support for three general expectations: the census …

Reassessing Policy Responses To Irregular Migration In Receiving Democracies: A Process-Tracing Analysis Of Transactional Migration Governance, Otoniel Ramos

Student Research

This policy brief analyzes the growing use of transactional migration agreements (TMAs) by receiving democracies—bilateral arrangements that exchange financial or diplomatic concessions for the external enforcement of migration control. While politically expedient, TMAs often generate long-term strategic liabilities: they reduce state control over enforcement outcomes, expose receiving states to coercive leverage by partner states, and weaken normative commitments to transparency and rights protection. Using analytic process tracing and formal modeling, this paper identifies four recurring mechanisms by which TMAs evolve into systems of asymmetric dependence. It then evaluates three alternative policy frameworks—Exit Doctrine, Legal Category Reform, and a Structured Conditionality …

Ai Governance In The Gaming Industry: A Proposal For A Use Case Registry, Cesar D. Lozoya Martinez

Student Research

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into everyday life. From customer service chatbots and marketing strategies to player protection tools and surveillance systems, casino operations are embracing the trend. However, without a systematic framework to track the current and emerging use cases across the industry, concerns about transparency, ethical use, and potential consumer harm continue to grow. Rather than aiming to establish binding regulatory practices for an industry and technology that are both quickly evolving, this policy brief advocates for the creation of an AI-use case registry. The registry would comprehensively track gaming companies that are using AI. The growing …

Legislative Transparency And Self-Government: Nevada And First Amendment Application, Allister Dias

Student Research

With the rise in political tension in the United States, the call for transparency from elected officials has reached an all-time high. While the role of American democracy is to promote a sense of participation from constituents, the lack of information regarding policy decisions has exempted the public from the halls of the legislature. This policy brief examines legislative transparency in Nevada through the concept of self-government theory. Despite a 1994 constitutional amendment to require publicly accessible legislative committee meetings, exemptions from Open Meeting Law and statutory exemptions continue to limit public access and further the divide between the government …

Pedaling Toward Justice: Exploring The Role Of Community Advocacy In Shaping Bicycle Policy In Oakland., Claire Farrell Lowe

Master's Projects and Capstones

The way people move through a city fundamentally shapes their access to jobs, essential services, and economic and social opportunities. While Oakland’s bicycle infrastructure has improved over the past decade, vehicle-centric planning has historically sidelined cycling, creating mobility inequities. This thesis examines the role of community advocacy in advancing equitable bicycle planning and prioritizing cycling infrastructure as a core element of urban development. This thesis project follows the question: what role do advocacy groups play in addressing the gaps between the Oakland Bicycle Plan and its implementation? Through policy analysis, community engagement, and interviews with key informants from Bike East …

The Politics Of Being Heard: Communication And Power Struggles In Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, Caroline Trejo

Master's Projects and Capstones

The environmental and public health challenges in Bayview-Hunters Point have catalyzed widespread community activism, as residents and advocates respond to the ongoing fallout from radiological contamination at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Communication plays a vital role in bridging the gap between affected communities and government entities throughout the cleanup process. This research asks: how have the communication strategies of advocacy groups influenced government actions and policies during the Bayview-Hunters Point Shipyard cleanup? To explore this question, I conducted semi-structured interviews with three community advocates, two former members of a non-partisan civil jury, one independent researcher, and one government official. …

Having A Home To Come Home To: How Subsidized Housing Impacts Unhoused Pregnant Women, Stephanie O. Porvaznik

Master's Projects and Capstones

Community based organizations (CBOs) lead the charge in the fight to end housing insecurity and often must make up where local governments fall short. San Francisco is an example of a municipality that has a long history of addressing instances of housing insecurity for its residents, and where CBOs step in to provide housing support for populations with unique and special circumstances. One CBO that operates in San Francisco that I was interested in studying was the Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP), and the Jelani House, a housing subsidy that is funded and operated by the HPP for pregnant women who …

Federal And State Governments Can Help Solve The Employment Problems Of People In Distressed Places To Spur Equitable Growth, Timothy J. Bartik

Upjohn Institute Policy Papers

Places in the United States differ greatly in their residents’ access to jobs, especially good jobs. Although the federal and state governments provide about $80 billion annually to create jobs through multiple programs, these job-creation initiatives are rarely targeted to economically distressed places, where the job-creation benefits for local residents are greatest. Moreover, many of these programs take the form of business tax incentives, which are less effective at job creation than customized services for businesses and workers. I argue that the prime-age employment rate of places should be used to target job-creation programs and review which such programs are …

Puerto Rico's Coast: Preservation Through Positive Obligations On Property Owners And The State In The Context Of Climate Change, Jaime Villeta-Garcia

Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy

The rise in sea level, the obvious rampant coastal erosion and the uncertain future due to climate change urge the need to rethink the coast, through property and administrative law. The security of life, property and the fair and orderly use of the ultra-valuable resources that is the coast depend on a new concept for properties in the coastal zone and its effective execution by a conscious and responsible State. Centered on the community of Ocean Park in San Juan, Puerto Rico, it’s no longer a question of whether coastal property rights can contribute to safeguarding the coast, but rather …

Introduction, Karen Johnston

Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy

This article provides an introduction to the Journal of Comparative Urban Law & Policy, the Study Space Program offered by Georgia State University College of Law, and the articles resulting from the Study Space Rio de Janeiro Program held in June 2024.

Unmarried, Married, And Divorced People In The Mountain West, 2023, Dre Boyd-Weatherly, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet presents the ratio of unmarried men to unmarried women, as well as percentage rates of single, married, and divorced people for sixteen Mountain West cities in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico. The Smart Asset report, “Where Most People Are Single or Married – 2025 Study” reports data for the 119 most populous cities in the U.S. from the 2023 one-year American Community Survey conducted by U.S Census Bureau.

Quality Considerations In The Pedestrian Realm: Dead Space Intervention And Prevention, Alycia Ramage

Masters in Architecture Program: Theses

What if every space deemed “unadmirable” was reimagined as a stage for community life? Efforts to find solutions to this question prompted a more complex question: how can new construction promote interaction between architecture and the pedestrian realm?

This thesis is conducted in three main parts: 1) understanding dead space, 2) reinventing dead spaces in existing conditions, and 3) creating a design handbook that works to minimize dead spaces in new design.

Using Lincoln, Nebraska as a case study, part one begins with observation- looking for spaces that could be deemed unadmirable by a pedestrian. Utilizing research and observation, the …

Barriers Individuals And Families Experience Utilizing Anti-Poverty Programs, Miranda C. Dube'

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This proposed study aims to explore the barriers experienced by residents of the High Desert communities. Using a quantitative method approach, the proposed research will employ surveys to provide a comprehensive understanding of the outcomes experienced by the High Desert residents. Participants will be selected within the High Desert communities, aged 18 years or older, who have or are currently experiencing poverty. The findings from this proposed study would contribute to bridging gaps in understanding the barriers residents of the High Desert experience. By identifying factors that suppress successfully utilizing anti-poverty programs, this research proposal would aim to inform the …

Entangled Exclusions: Borders, Frontiers And Urban Geopolitics From Northeast India, Prerona Das, Gaurav Mittal, Jasnea Sarma

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

An epicentre of ethnicity-based identity politics and exclusions, India's northeastern region has long been politically imagined as both a ‘frontier’ and ‘borderland’ for state control, territorialization, extractive economies and (re)developments by colonial and subsequent post-colonial regimes. In post-independence India, the region experienced many territorial assertions made on ethnic grounds. With the rise of religio-national and neoliberal politics, new urban ‘developments’ and connectivity projects in the region have deepened exclusions based on class, caste, ethnic and religious borders. These have, in turn, led to further displacement, enclavization, and ghettoization of minority communities who are deemed ‘non-native’ along ethnocentric lines. Taking two …

Limited Supermarket Access Areas In The Mountain West, 2010-2020, Taylor Volk, Ivan Sun, Mohit Pande, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet presents data on limited supermarket access areas in the Mountain West from 2010 to 2020. The “Limited Supermarket Access Analysis” report, published by the Reinvestment Fund, offers data for populations that reside in Limited Supermarket Access (LSA) areas in U.S. states and in major U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) with a population of at least 1,000,000 people. This fact sheet presents both state-level and MSA-level data for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Contracting For Public Delivery: The Dynamics Of Relational Governance And Power Asymmetry In Public Infrastructure Project, Fazlur Rahman Hassan, Dzulfian Syaafrian, Dinda Ayu Maharani

BISNIS & BIROKRASI: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi

Government institutions often face a dilemma in providing goods and services: whether to ‘outsource’ or manage them ‘in-house’. Large-scale public services typically require complex contracts to ensure successful project completion. This study examines the dynamics of relational governance and power shifts that lead to contract failure using a mixed-method approach applied to a complex public service project in Jakarta, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. The findings indicate that a contractual win-win outcome can be achieved with strong governance rules, particularly relational governance. However, relational governance can weaken without robust contractual governance, particularly during conflicts or disputes. …