Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

How And Why Emigration Matters: Examining The Emergence Of New “Emigration Regimes” And Its Impact On Public Administration In Kyrgyzstan, Ariane Chebel D’Appollonia, Jyldyz T. Kasymova

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

Most immigration studies have focused on migrant receiving states. By contrast, little attention has been paid to the emigration policies of sending states. This article examines several administrative reforms implemented in Kyrgyzstan to regulate emigration. Our findings regarding the actual outcomes of these strategies are mixed. If some progress has been made in defending the rights of Kyrgyz workers abroad and guaranteeing the flow of remittances, several negative impacts can be identified. These include the reliance on remittances and the disruption of the social fabric, especially in rural communities. We also find that the growing “culture of emigration” undermines civic …

Performance Management And Citizen Induced Financial Sanctions And Incentives In Education: Is There Public Support?, Barbara A. Patrick

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

Widespread political support has expanded the use of market driven performance reforms. A growing number of these reforms aim to increase democratic accountability and enhance performance by including citizens in the evaluation phase of the administrative process. However, citizen support for market themes is unclear. Do they share elected officials enthusiasm or are there limitations on their support? This research assesses these questions by examining the demographics of support for financial sanctions and performance pay in education. The results reveal targeted demographic groups are generally less supportive of organizational sanctions and employee incentives than untargeted groups. Targeted parents, including racial …

Speak No Evil: Do Zambian Religious Leaders Practice A “Conspiracy Of Silence” Regarding Hiv/Aids?, Corliss Lentz, Sarmistha Majumdar

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

“A Conspiracy of Silence” vilifies religious institutions for their perceived silence during the HIV/AIDS pandemic (Ngoma-Simengwa 2010). There have been few studies to determine whether clergy are silent about HIV/AIDS. This article reviews the 2011 Zambian Religious Leader’s Survey, which surveyed 336 clergy from two denominations in Zambia: Christians and Muslims. Twelve questions were used to identify the frequency of preaching on HIV/AIDS related topics. A factor analysis was used to select factors that were commonly addressed by Christian and Muslim clergy in their preaching, and each factor had several variables as topics of preaching. The t-test was used to …

Are States With Larger Than Average Black Populations Really The Worst Places To Live In The Usa? A Spatial Equilibrium Approach To Ranking Quality Of Life, Maury Granger, Gregory N. Price

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

Quality-of-life rankings based on location-specific attributes/local amenities could induce elected official and policy makers into incorrectly constructing economic development plans if the ranking scheme was flawed. Hierarchical rankings of states in the USA in terms of quality-of-life that use an explicit amenity accounting method, typically assign lower ranks to states with large Black American populations. We show that these rankings utilize methodologies that are not based on economic theory, and that they arbitrarily construct ranking schemes about what individuals and firms value about the places where they locate. This pick-and-choose amenities accounting approach has its merits; however, we show that …

Perceptions Of Collaboration And Service Integration As Strategic Alternatives: An Examination Of Social Service Nonprofit Organizations In The Late 1990s, Jennifer A. Wade-Berg, Vanessa Robinson-Dooley

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have historically dealt with the problem of trying to build organizational capacity while simultaneously dealing with scarce resources. Consequently, practitioners and scholars continue to offer assistance to nonprofits in the development of techniques aimed at addressing these situations. Recent literature shows a push towards innovation, the use of new organizational tax structures, and/or the use of commercial revenue generating activities as plausible strategic alternatives for dealing with declining resources. While these techniques show promise, they typically are reserved for larger nonprofits (as measured by their funding base) and those nonprofits with missions that lend themselves for such …

Nonprofit Organizations, Quality Of Life And Emigration Policies, Andrew I.E. Ewoh

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

No abstract provided.

Who Uses Peer-To-Peer Carsharing? Early Exploration, Anaïs Mathez

PSU Transportation Seminars

Peer-to-peer (P2P) carsharing is a system where a facilitating company connects car owners to car renters. Such systems are relatively new in the U.S. This paper aims to understand who is participating in P2P carsharing as a renter (as opposed to as an owner), why they join, whether and how often they rent vehicles, and why. Exploring these questions may provide insight on the potential for P2P carsharing to meet public policy objectives of reducing the impacts of personal vehicle ownership and use and providing mobility options for underserved populations. The analysis is based on 465 study participants who enrolled …

Leveraging Signal Infrastructure For Non-Motorized Counts In A Statewide Program: A Pilot Study, Bryan Philip Blanc

PSU Transportation Seminars

Transportation agencies are beginning to explore and develop non-motorized counting programs. This paper presents the results of a pilot study testing the use of existing signal infrastructure – 2070 signal controllers with advanced software to log pedestrian phase actuations and detections from bicycle lane inductive loops – to count pedestrians and bicycles. The pilot study was conducted at a typical suburban signalized intersection with heavy motorized traffic that was instrumented on all four approaches with pedestrian push buttons and advance inductive loops in the bicycle lane for signal operation. One day (24 hours) of video data were collected as ground …

San Luis Obispo Open Space Survey, William W. Riggs, Robert Hill, Crp 457 Planning Information Systems

City and Regional Planning Studios and Projects

Presentation detailing work on a the San Luis Obispo Open Space Survey report for the City of San Luis Obispo involving assessment of the conditions, characteristics-of, and visitors-to SLO open spaces.

Community Health Indicators In Southern Nevada, Courtney Coughenour, Jennifer Pharr, Shawn Gerstenberger

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Community design and access to services are essential components of healthy and sustainable communities. The purpose of this manuscript is to evaluate Southern Nevada with respect to community design and access, including both positive and negative traits, and to suggest realistic changes that could be made to improve these conditions. The region’s network of parks and open space recreation areas is one of its strongest assets. Clark County enjoys over 42 million acres of federal and state lands which offer a large variety of recreational opportunities. The region has an extensive trail system, with a total of 179 miles of …

Influential Vectors In Fuel Consumption By An Urban Bus Operator, João De Abreu E Silva

PSU Transportation Seminars

In an era of reduced government funding, transit operators struggle to reduce operating costs and increase revenues. Energy costs account for an important share of the total costs of urban and suburban bus operators. Using a case study of one operator in Lisbon, Portugal, this talk will expand upon the empirical research on bus transit operation costs and identify the key factors that influence the energy efficiency of the overall bus fleet. Our results of a multivariate analysis find the following dimensions influence transit energy efficiency: vehicle type, commercial speed, road grades and bus routes; and to a lesser extent …

Health Care Reform & Homelessness In Multnomah County, City Club Of Portland (Portland, Or.)

City Club of Portland

No abstract provided.

Estimates Of Population Age Groups (Ages Under 18 Yrs., 18-64 Yrs., And 65 Yrs. And Over) For Oregon And Its Counties, July 1, 2014, Portland State University. Population Research Center, Risa Proehl

Oregon Population Estimates and Reports

Estimates of population age groups for Oregon and its counties.

City Of West Carrollton Public Opinion Survey, Center For Urban And Public Affairs, Wright State University

Government Services

A public opinion survey—in this case a survey of the residents of the City of West Carrollton, Ohio—provides citizens within a community an opportunity to voice their opinions and views on city government, resources and services, and quality of life in West Carrollton. In 2015, APRI (formerly CUPA) conducted an online public opinion survey for the City of West Carrollton and via a telephone interview for residents who wished to participate, but could not because they did not have access to the survey instrument via the internet. The survey questions are designed to measure quality of life, and to quantify …

Mitigation And Beautification: Placing Rain Gardens In The Keystone Neighborhood Of Rock Island, Illinois, Rosalie K. Starenko

Independent Research Projects

With new stormwater management regulations, cities are looking for strategies to reduce urban runoff, and rain gardens are one of several strategies that capture runoff and encourage infiltration and evaporation. In doing so, pollution from runoff is mitigated and combined sewer systems experience fewer overflow events. I argue as well that the implementation of rain gardens would act as a movement for neighborhood beautification. This research develops a new methodology for placing rain gardens that: 1) maximizes the aesthetic value of the gardens by favoring high-visibility locations and 2) targets locations that would best benefit from reduced stormwater runoff. The …

Cultivating Sustainable Cities: A Comparative Study Of Urban Agriculture In Mumbai, India And New York City, Usa, Kristina Satterlee

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

Urban agriculture has the potential to be a source of great social and environmental good within a city. This study couples in-depth interviews with urban farmers with secondary research to provide a holistic understanding of the urban agriculture movement in Mumbai, Maharastra, India and New York City, New York, USA. Through this resource, it became apparent that the two movements vary drastically in terms of size, scope, resource availability, and movement goals. Despite these differences, the research points to one striking similarity. In both cities, farms and gardens in lower income areas have access to a far smaller body of …

Urban-Focused Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (Ceds), Thomas Edison State College, The John S. Watson Institute For Public Policy, New Jersey Urban Mayors Association, Michael N'Dolo, Jim Damicis, Rachel Selsky, Abby Straus, John Findlay

Urban Mayors Policy Center

This Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) is the outgrowth of a long running effort by the John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy at Thomas Edison State College (Watson Institute) to support economic and community development in New Jersey with a particular focus on urban areas in need of revitalization. The Watson Institute was previously awarded a United States Economic Development Administration (USEDA) grant to complete an economic analysis of the North Central New Jersey Region. The USEDA approved that analysis and awarded additional funds to continue our work, culminating in this CEDS plan.

Several years ago, the Watson Institute …

Cultivating A Participatory Design Practice In Architecture: A Case Study Of Hong Kong Housing Authority, Tris Kee

Faculty of Design & Environment (THEi)

Community participation in urban design and planning is slowly emerging in Hong Kong as the Government increasingly adopts and recognizes the importance of bottom-up community values in the practice of informing, consulting and involving the community. This paper provides a framework that emphasizes the importance of collaboration and community-based initiatives to reconcile different interests and achieve a balanced vision for the design of the city. The fundamental objective is to ensure an increase sense of community belonging, responsibility and civic pride in improving the overall quality of life. The Lam Tin Estate case study not only demonstrates how the Government …

The State Of Poverty And Food Insecurity In Maseru, Lesotho, Resetselemang Leduka, Jonathan Crush, Bruce Frayne, Cameron Mccordic, Thope Matobo, Ts’Episo Makoa, Matseliso Mphale, Mmantai Phaila, Moipone Letsie

Hungry Cities Partnership

This report on food insecurity in urban Lesotho is the latest in a series on Southern African cities issued by AFSUN. Like the previous reports, it focuses on one city (Maseru) and on poor neighbourhoods and households in that city. More than 60% of poor households surveyed in Maseru were severely food insecure. While food price increases worsen food insecurity for poor households, it is poverty that weakens the resilience of society to absorb these increases. This report argues that Maseru residents face specific and interrelated challenges with respect to food and nutrition insecurity. These are poverty; limited local livelihood …

'In' Or 'As' Space?: A Model Of Complexity, With Philosophical, Simulatory, And Empirical Ramifications, Charles H. Smith

DLPS Faculty Publications

A General Systems model based on ideas originating with the writings of Benedict de Spinoza is described, starting with its philosophical underpinnings, and proceeding on to its relation to modern systems concepts, including attempts to simulate the relationships posed, and measure real world structures. Central to the idea is the notion that spatial extension may not have a prior existence, but emerges only through an entropy maximization process in which information and energy exchange is balanced among some limited number of subsystems that in sum comprise any given functioning complex system. Related published empiricism concerning geographical/geological systems – the hypsometry …