Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Optical Hygiene And Modernity: A Site Analysis Of Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant Using Lefebvre’S Triad, William R. Stone

Pomona Senior Theses

Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant sits at the edge of Los Angeles County as an almost unknowable infrastructure. Unlike the city block, the grocery store, or one’s own home, this integral part of the urban landscape asks not to be experienced by its users, only the employees who work there every day. This place, which I’d hesitate to call a place, amalgamates preconceptions about infrastructure, sewage, purity, danger, modern architecture, and the role of the state.

In this thesis I conduct a site analysis of Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant in three parts, or moments based loosely on Henri Lefebvre’s conceptual triad: …

Richmond Riverviewshed Analysis, Mounika Reddy Sudini

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

The Richmond River viewshed analysis emphasized the importance to be given to the south side of the river. In order to increase the significance of the south side thus, this plan will be focusing on the existing conditions, discusses the accessibility issues, perform viewshed analysis and create standards for access in the right – of – way.

Advancing Racial Equity In Homeownership Through A Lease-To-Own Program: An Evaluation Framework For The Maggie Walker Community Land Trust, Leah Demarest

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

During the summer of 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and its resultant economic crisis and unprecedented levels of housing and financial instability, the Maggie Walker Community Land Trust (MWCLT) launched a pilot lease-to-own program in Richmond’s gentrifying Church Hill neighborhood. The official goal of the program is to expand access to affordable homeownership for Black households in MWCLT’s homes across Richmond, Henrico County, and Chesterfield County by addressing barriers to mortgage lending that they disproportionately face due to past and on-going systemic racism. With three households currently participating in the pilot program and a fourth household slated …

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 …

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 …