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Recent Submissions
UNDERSTANDING SUSTAINABILITY IN CLONE TOWN BRITAIN
Comrie, Lancelot (2024-05-18)
In 2003, the British government initiated the Sustainable Communities Act to regenerate town
centers across the United Kingdom. To investigate this policy’s impact, the New Economics
Foundation (NEF) conducted a survey in 2004, dividing towns into 'home towns' and 'clone
towns'. These categories were based on their clone town score, the ratio of independent
businesses to chain stores in town centers. Home towns were towns with a high ratio of
traditional stores to chain stores, while clone towns had a high ratio of chain stores to
traditional stores. The NEF hypothesized that home towns would be more sustainable than
clone towns. This study investigated this hypothesis by analyzing economic, social, and
environmental sustainability in six towns across London. The study’s findings indicated that
a town’s clone town score has little impact on its social sustainability and environmental
sustainability but was far more impactful on its economic sustainability.
Rethinking Vacancy: Exploring a Temporary Use Model for Vacant Land in Chicago
Epps, Andrew (2024-05)
Urban vacant land is a pervasive feature in many U.S. cities. Following the 2008 foreclosure crisis, local governments sought to reduce the high concentration of municipal-owned vacant land through initiatives that transferred lots to private ownership. This approach provided short-lived financial benefits but left large amounts of vacant land without plans for reutilization. This research explores how municipal strategies can adopt a temporary use model that allows for incremental, short-term interventions on vacant land. Focusing on Chicago, this paper compares the city’s former Large Lots Program with three case studies in the Washington Park neighborhood to illustrate different approaches to vacant land reutilization. Using a descriptive evaluative framework, this paper argues that embracing a temporary use model promotes socio-ecological benefits that can mitigate the adverse impacts resulting from high concentrations of vacant land and support community-led transformation.
Reimagining Privately Owned Public Spaces in NYC vs Auckland
Zheng, Katie (2024-05-17)
This paper explores and investigates the mechanisms behind the creation of privately owned spaces(POPS), specifically examining the regulations and review policies governing POPS in New York City and Auckland, New Zealand. Although the design review process and regulations have gone through reiterations and improvements, they are still largely being studied to improve the quality of POP spaces. The paper compares United States' incentive zoning review processes, the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and the certification process, with Auckland's resource consent process, to highlight and specify main disparities and parallels between these processes. The paper analyzes important elements of successful review and regulation processes, including community engagement, the balance between discretionary vs administrative process, and the appropriate and ideal level of detail. Finally, concrete recommendations aimed at refining Auckland’s Resource Consent framework through analyzing New York Cities’ approach to POPs will be provided.
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Index: Identifying New Jersey’s TOD Potential
Parihar, Aditi (2024-05-17)
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) integrates land use and transport planning to promote sustainable urban living. This project aims to develop a comprehensive TOD index for New Jersey, addressing the lack of spatially explicit measurement tools. The project evaluates potential TOD sites (including light rail stations, bus stations, and park-and-ride facilities) based on indicators such as land use, economy, sustainability, engagement, investment, and equity using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The methodology includes a thorough literature review, justification for selecting New Jersey, and spatial analysis using ArcGIS Pro. Findings highlight key areas suitable for TOD along with patterns offering a practical tool for planning agencies and stakeholders to prioritize and implement successful TOD initiatives, thereby enhancing access to public transportation, reducing vehicular pollution, and promoting healthier lifestyles.
Framework For Resilience: Assessing communities' flood resilience in the upper Hudson
Renders, Rachel (2024-05-17)
The Hudson River Valley in New York State is predicted to experience a wetter climate and at minimum, around a foot of sea level rise in the next century. This study aims to understand how different regional contexts along the Hudson River lead to more or less successful flood mitigation efforts through land use. Using a Flood Ordinance Review Scorecard, I examined what land use strategies 11 randomly selected municipalities are and are not implementing in their local ordinances to make their communities more flood resilient. I also interviewed planning practitioners and government staff from the communities selected to verify and add to the scorecard results. While flood mitigation actions are implemented at the local level, higher levels of governance were found to have substantial influence over what policies communities adopt. This emphasizes how important state support of resilience work is, even if it still falls to local governments to make the change.