Urban and Regional Planning and Design Theses and Dissertations

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Bayesian Approaches to Learning from Data how to Untangle the Travel Behavior and Land Use Relationships
(2005-12-05) Scuderi, Marco Giovanni; Clifton, Kelly J; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The body of research on land use and travel behavior relationships reaches widely different conclusions with results varying even when considering a single author. The hypothesis of this research is that these differences arise, in part, from the fact that the vast majority of these studies do not address all the theoretical travel behavior tenets and are therefore ad-hoc in nature. An inductive approach to the study of the relationships between land use and travel behavior, prior to carrying out traditional deductive studies, can help improve the outcomes by providing an opportunity to identify and test such relationships. With data sourced from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey Add-On, supplemented with local land use data, this study uses heuristic search algorithms to evaluate relationships hidden in the data without these being framed, a priori, by specific statistical constructs. Bayesian scoring is used to evaluate and compare the results from actual data collected for the Baltimore Metropolitan Area with the set of predominant conceptual frameworks linking travel behavior and land use obtained from the literature. Results show that socioeconomic factors and land use characteristics act in a nested fashion, one in which socioeconomic factors do not influence travel behavior independently of land use characteristics. The land use travel behavior connection is specifically strong only for particular combinations of socioeconomic characteristics and a land use mix which includes both moderate residential densities and a significant amount of commercial opportunities. The study also finds that the heuristic search approach to derive relationships between land use and travel behavior does work, that this technique needs to be fine tuned for the proper use of spatially explicit data, and that although the research outputs are an unbiased representation of the land use travel behavior relationships, they need proper interpretation, especially in light of persisting theoretical questions still driving this research field. The study concludes that an inductive approach to the analysis of the relationships between land use and travel behavior provides valuable knowledge of the data that can be used to better formulate deductive studies, so that the two methodologies are complementary to each other.
Lively Streets: Exploring the relationship between built environment and social behavior
(2006-11-27) Mehta, Vikas; Brower, Sidney N; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Streets constitute a significant part of open public space and are the most important symbols of the public realm. Streets that cater to the functional, social, and leisure needs of people have been positively associated with economic growth, physical health of people, and a sense of community. Increasingly, scholars suggest thinking of the street as a social space rather than just a channel for movement. Despite such suggestions, few studies have addressed the relationships between social behavior and the environmental quality of the street. Moreover, the studies that have, tend to separate the study of physical features from land uses, and hence do not deal with the interrelationships between behavioral patterns and the physical features of the street, and its sociability. This dissertation was an empirical examination of behavioral responses, perceptions, and attitudes of people to the physical characteristics, use, and management of the neighborhood commercial street in two cities and one town in the Boston metropolitan area. It used methods based in environment-behavior sciences involving extensive observations of these streets over eight months, and interviews with people using these streets to understand their behaviors and perceptions. The biggest competitive advantage of neighborhood commercial streets is their ability to support social interaction. The findings reveal that people were equally concerned with the social and physical dimensions of the street. The presence of community places and the street's landuse and physical character determined the use of the street. People preferred settings that had stores that were community-gathering places, which held special collective meanings for the people of the neighborhood and were thus destinations to meet friends and to see other people and activities; that had a variety of stores on the block, particularly those that served daily shopping needs; that had unique independently operated stores with friendly service, a distinctive character and ambience, and personalized shop-windows and entrances; that were pedestrian-friendly with ample sidewalk space with seating and other street furniture, and shade and shelter; and that had buildings with permeable and articulated street facades providing sheltered small-scale spaces.
An Experiment in Statewide Scenario Analysis: Towards an Even Smarter Growth for Maryland
(2007-08-03) Chakraborty, Arnab; Knaap, Gerrit J; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Using scenario analysis, this dissertation explores the impacts of alternative development patterns on quality-of-life indicators for the state of Maryland. It compares existing conditions and six alternative scenarios using a set of planning-relevant indicators, such as open space protected, vehicle miles traveled, and proximity to highways and transit. The scenarios are - 1) extension of past trends, 2) build-out of local government zoning, 3) a regional vision developed through representative, participatory process, and three rule-based experimental scenarios (4, 5 and 6) developed through a land use allocation model. This experiment in scenario analysis adds to the literature in two respects. First, it offers a rare experiment in scenario analysis at the statewide level. In that respect, it offers new insights concerning the influence of geographic unit of analysis, methods of aggregation, and the choice of performance indicators. Second, it offers new insights into the performance of alternative state-level land use policies. It shows, for example, that by most measures of performance land use planning by local government yields the poorest outcomes. The smart growth strategy in which growth is contained in state approved Priority Funding Areas yield better outcomes. Even better outcomes are possible, however, by containing growth in urban corridors, an urban core diamond, or as recommended by the public in a "Reality Check" exercise. Whether there is sufficient political support to implement these better performing outcomes, however, remains uncertain.
The Spatial and Social Dimensions of Innovation
(2008-04-28) Nguyen, Doan; Howland, Marie; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
An understanding of how the built urban environment affects innovation will contribute significantly to the current high tech economic development policies across the country. With the employment competition in the globalized economy, city and county governments have identify knowledge based economic activities, including innovation, as a new source to create high pay jobs. They pursue high-tech economic development policies by creating special high tech centers and parks, providing tax breaks to high tech companies, and increasing funding to research activities. If urban environment can be shown to have impacts on innovative activities, city planners could devise land use policies to improve innovation and thus create new jobs. Urban sprawl, characterized with leap frog development and low population density, is a common phenomenon in American urban landscape and has attracted a fair amount of attention from planning scholars. Urban sprawl leads to longer commute distances and automobile dependence, which likely creates impediment to face-to-face interaction important to the innovation process. To answer that question, the current paper examines the mechanism of urban environment that may influence innovative activities, based on what has been discussed in the literature regarding urban sprawl, social cohesion, and knowledge localization. The empirical analysis uses the US patent data by application years from 1990 through 2002 (Hall, Jaffe, and Trajtenberg 2001, Hall 2003), the county compactness data (Ewing et al. 2003), and the Social Capital Benchmark Survey data (Roper Center 2005). Among important findings, urban form has some impacts on innovation activities. However, more compact counties are associated with lower innovation after controlling for other factors. Social trust is positively associated with innovation meanwhile faith ties are negatively associated with innovation. The results regarding urban form and innovation may not be conclusive because of certain limitations in the way urban form has been captured. The study sets up a solid framework for future studies before we advocate using the land use planning tool as part of innovation policies.
Understanding Modern Segregation: Suburbanization and the Black Middle Class
(2008-06-12) Harrell, Rodney; Baum, Howell; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
A new sociological phenomenon exists: middle class African Americans are moving to suburban areas and many are moving to majority black neighborhoods and developing majority black communities. This challenges common thinking among social scientists and policymakers who make broad assumptions that concentrations of African Americans are inherently problematic. This project distinguishes the involuntary segregation and concentration of the black poor from those who choose to live in racially concentrated communities. Those in the middle class who choose to live in majority black neighborhoods may do so for several reasons, including social institutions, political incorporation, ethnically responsive commercial development, and their individual preferences for integration. It focuses on majority-black Prince George's County, Maryland, a prominent example of this phenomenon, and compares those homeowners there with those in predominately white neighborhoods in neighboring Montgomery County. The research hypothesizes that those who choose predominately black neighborhoods do so because these neighborhoods give them access to cultural or physical amenities associated with African American culture and the comfort of living with other African Americans, and also that those who live in predominately black neighborhoods differ from those that live in predominately white neighborhoods in their preferences for those amenities specific to a majority African American neighborhood and those amenities that often exist in majority white neighborhoods. These questions are addressed through several methods: the analysis of national housing data to describe the extent of African American middle class suburbanization, site visits and historical analysis of both counties, and semi-structured interviews of middle-class African American residents to provide reasons why they live in the neighborhoods that they have chosen. The study includes 50 respondents: 38 in Prince George's and 12 in Montgomery. The findings that some prefer African American neighborhoods have several potential policy implications, including a shift in housing policy from a focus on racial integration to one of economic integration and community development. More specifically, it argues for a particular focus on education reform, economic development and the promotion of responsible commercial development in predominately black neighborhoods, and it points toward considering the benefit of racial/cultural amenities in existing poverty deconcentration efforts.
The Relationship Between Neighborhood Environment and Walking Behavior: The Influence of Perceptions
(2008-07-28) Smith, Andrea; Clifton, Kelly; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Perceptions are key to fully understanding walking. Theorists and designers in the urban planning field have long held that people internalize their environment in very complex ways, but these efforts have rarely been translated into empirical travel behavior research. As a result, there is a lack of understanding of how perceptions are shaped by the environment and the contribution of those relationships in the explanation of walking behavior. This study investigates the relationships between residents' perceptions of their neighborhood environment and corresponding objective measures of the same attributes and tests their associations with walking behavior. The methodology includes a cross-sectional, disaggregate research design that incorporates three major categories of data: (1) objective (micro and macro) measures of the environment, (2) residents' perceptions of the environment, and (3) walking behavior. Five areas in Montgomery County, MD are chosen as the study locations because of the variation in social and transportation factors. Six constructs representing major features of the environment (land use/density, pedestrian network, road network, safety from traffic, cleanliness, tree cover) are elaborated in both the objective and perceptual assessments of the environment. Models of perceptions show that objective measures of the environment and socio-demographic measures are generally not good predictors of perceptions. Perceptions have slightly higher explanatory power than objective measures in models of walking behavior. Different measures of the environment are significant from the objective and perceptual angles: only land use and street network are associated with walking both when measured objectively and through perceptions. The other measures are only significant when measured from one perspective: pedestrian network and cleanliness are significantly associated with walking when measured objectively, while tree cover is significant when measured perceptually. The results indicate that the traditional methods of assessing the pedestrian environment with regard to walking might not be the most effective way of capturing environmental variables. They underscore the value of trying to understand the impact of perceptions on the relationship between the built environment and walking, which entails more targeted environmental interventions that can better change and improve walkability.
THE EFFECT OF LAND USE REGULATION ON HOUSING PRICE AND INFORMALITY: A MODEL APPLIED TO CURITIBA, BRAZIL
(2009) Souza, Maria Teresa X.; Knaap, Gerrit J; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Developing countries have been experiencing an accelerated urban growth with high levels of informal housing (houses that do not comply with property rights regime and urban regulations). This trend has brought renewed attention to the study of developing cities in general, and of the informal housing sector in particular. This study examines the relationship between land use regulation, housing price, and informality, in the metropolitan area of Curitiba, Brazil. Using a simultaneous equation model, the study conducts a regression analysis to understand the magnitude of the effect of urban regulation on formal housing price and the effect of rising formal housing price on the quantity of informal housing. Three hypotheses are tested: (a) more restrictive land use regulation increases housing price in the formal housing market; (b) an increase in formal housing price causes the quantity of informal housing to rise; and (c) an increase in formal housing price in one geographic area causes the quantity of informal housing to rise in neighboring areas. The study shows that for three regulatory variables - minimum plot area, minimum front setback and minimum frontage - land use regulations that limit the density of occupation have a significant positive effect on price. Regulatory variables that affect building height - maximum number of floors and floor-to-area ratio - have the opposite effect, possibly because single and multifamily units are not being analyzed separately. The study finds that the price of formal housing has a negative effect on the quantity of informal housing in the same location, but this effect turns positive in the adjacent and more distant locations. As expected, the rise in formal housing price in one locality pushes people to the informal sector in more distant neighborhoods. However, in the same locality, a rise in price decreases the quantity of informal housing. The results indicate that high priced areas act as a bar to the development of the informal sector in the same locality (explaining the negative coefficients of formal housing price) while the informal sector is being pushed to the outskirts of the city (explaining why the lagged price variables become positive and have an increasing effect on the quantity of informal housing as the locations move further away from each other).
Market Forces and Urban Spatial Structure: Evidence from Beijing, China
(2010) Zhao, Xingshuo; Ding, Chengri; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This dissertation contributes to the literature on urban spatial structure by addressing two research questions. First, it empirically examines the urban economic theory by testing the relationship between the distance elasticities of land prices and housing prices. The theory indicates that land prices are more elastic with respect to distance from the city center than housing prices; in other words, land prices decline faster than housing prices. Using data from Beijing, which include matched housing and land prices, my findings support the theory. Second, this dissertation investigates the impacts of housing services production in general and the impacts of the capital-land substitution in particular on urban spatial structure. Using a constant elasticity of substitution (CES) production function for housing services, I theoretically derive the impacts of the elasticity of capital-land substitution on urban spatial structure, which is measured in terms of the distance gradients of land prices and capital densities, the housing output per unit of land, and the ratio of the distance elasticity of land prices to the distance elasticity of housing prices. The derived results suggest that an increase in the elasticity of capital-land substitution leads to increases in the land price, the capital density, and the housing output per unit of land at any location within the city, flattening of the land price and capital density curves, an increase in the ratio of the distance elasticity of land prices to the distance elasticity of housing prices, an expansion of the city boundary, and a growth in the population. These theoretical results are verified by numerical simulations and empirical estimations using the Beijing data. The simulations also reveal the magnitudes of these impacts: a 1% change in the elasticity of capital-land substitution leads to 15-20% changes in the total land value and housing output. The findings of this dissertation have practical implications in housing market behaviors, land value assessment for property taxation, and urban land use policy and planning.
Traveler Responses to Real-Time Transit Passenger Information Systems
(2010) Zhang, Feng; Howland, Marie; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
In recent years, a considerable amount of money has been spent on Real-time Transit Passenger Information Systems (RTPISs), which provide timely and accurate transit information to current and potential riders to enable them to make better pre-trip and en-route decisions. Understanding traveler responses to real-time transit information is critical for designing such services and evaluating their effectiveness. To answer this question, an effort is made in this dissertation to systematically conceptualize a variety of behavioral and psychological responses travelers may undertake to real-time transit information and empirically examine the causal effects of real-time information on traveler behavior and psychology. This research takes ShuttleTrac, a newly implemented real-time bus arrival information system for UMD's Shuttle-UM service, as a case for empirical study. In Part 1 analysis, using panel datasets derived from three-waved online campus transportation surveys, fixed-effects OLS models and random-effects ordered probit models are estimated to sort out causal relations between ShuttleTrac information use and general/cumulative behavioral and psychological outcomes. In addition, a two-stage instrumental variable model was estimated to examine the potential change in habitual mode choices due to real-time transit information use. The results show that with a few months of adjustment, travelers may increase their trip-making frequency as a result of real-time transit information use, and positive psychological outcomes are more prominent in both short and longer terms. In Part 2 analyses, using the cross-sectional dataset derived from the onboard survey, OLS models and ordered logit models were estimated to examine the trip-specific psychological effects of real-time transit information. The results show that these trip-specific psychological effects of real-time transit information do exist in expected directions and they vary among user groups and in different scenarios. A finding consistent across two parts of analyses is that accuracy of information plays a greater role in determining traveler behavior and psychology than the mere presence. This research contributes to the general discussion on traveler behavior under advanced information by 1) developing an integrative conceptual framework; and 2) providing useful insights into the issue with much empirical evidences obtained with revealed-preference data and sophisticated modeling techniques.
Do Smart Growth Instruments in Maryland Make a Difference?
(2011) Lewis, Rebecca; Knaap, Gerrit J; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
In 1997, Maryland passed a package of legislation collectively referred to as "smart growth." This innovative "inside/outside" approach to managing growth relies on targeting state resources to encourage growth and investment in existing urbanized areas and areas planned for development (Priority Funding Areas) while discouraging growth and encouraging the preservation of rural areas (Rural Legacy Areas.) Maryland's approach to managing growth relies on the targeting of resources into these spatially designated areas through state programs. Additionally, the state also created or re-designed several revitalization programs to spatially target resources to encourage revitalization and redevelopment. In three related essays, my dissertation examines the efficacy of three smart growth instruments in Maryland: Priority Funding Areas, Rural Legacy Areas, and Community Legacy Areas. In studying the implementation and outcomes of smart growth instruments, I consider the impact of these policies on development, preservation, and redevelopment patterns. I explore whether targeting resources through the Priority Funding Areas program has been effective in directing development into Priority Funding Areas. I examine whether directing conservation funds into Rural Legacy Areas has restricted development in Rural Legacy Areas. Finally, I examine whether Community Legacy Areas have been effective at encouraging renovation in targeted areas. Overall, I found that the performance of these instruments has been mixed. Because implementation was inconsistent and because the instruments were not well integrated with local planning statutes, smart growth in Maryland has fallen short of expectations. In most cases and with some exceptions, the impact of smart growth instruments on development, preservation, and redevelopment patterns has been slight. To improve performance in these policy areas, the state should consider better integration with local planning statutes and state budgeting processes. For states considering a spatially targeted incentive approach, I suggest that it is important to analyze the impact of state spending on development decisions and carefully consider how spatial targeting will be nested in existing state and local processes. But in the face of high development pressure and lacking strong local planning, it is unlikely that the state budget alone will be enough to impact development, redevelopment, and preservation decisions.
Metropolitan Spatial Structure: Measuring the Change
(2011) Hepp, Selma; Knapp, Gerrit J; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Since 1990s the metropolitan spatial structure has been alleged to be growing smarter. Excessive suburbanization trends characterizing urban form since the Second World War are now believed to be reversing in favor of urban environment. The reversal is driven by changing household preferences as well as a series of changes that urban areas have gone through which make them more attractive living environments for some demographic groups. This is a dissertation consisting of three related essays which examine change in the metropolitan spatial structure over the past two decades to determine if suggested changes are in fact observable in urban form. In measuring change, I consider a number of measures that characterize urban form, particularly density, concentration, clustering, infill and growth allocation of urban growth. Given the prevalence of foreclosure crisis in the later part of the first millennium decade, I also explore the impact of urban form on accumulation of foreclosures as an indicator of future spatial structure change. The study finds two different trends at force facing the American metropolitan spatial structure. For the metropolitan areas with weak growth pressures or those loosing population since 1990, suburbanization trends continue to define spatial structure. However, in the metropolitan areas that are facing moderate and strong population growth pressures and constituting the majority of the largest urban areas in the U.S., the importance of urban center is ever more significant and their spatial structure is greatly dependent on denser urban form. Desirability for urban environment also manifested itself in the spatial distribution of foreclosures in Maryland.
DO NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING MARKET TYPOLOGIES MATTER? MEASURING THE IMPACT OF THE HOME PARTNERSHIP INVESTMENT PROGRAM IN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
(2011) Boswell, Lynette Katrina; Chen, Alexander; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Since the late 1990s, neighborhood housing market typologies (NHMTs) have become a popular policy tool used by cities to evaluate neighborhood housing markets. NHMTs support place-based interventions, and are used to guide municipal investments as cities target resources based on neighborhood conditions. The assumption is that the effectiveness of local investment strategies to trigger neighborhood change is linked to existing neighborhood conditions. However, this assumption has not been tested explicitly in terms of neighborhood housing markets. This study examines the following key question: does the impact of public investments on nearby home sale prices vary across neighborhood housing markets? This dissertation consists of three related essays examining the utility of NHMTs in Baltimore, Maryland. Essay one examines the theoretical foundation of and development of NHMTs. Essay two focuses on the HOME Partnership Investment Program (HOME Program) and examines whether the impacts of this program on surrounding sale prices vary across neighborhoods housing markets. Essay three discusses the implications of encouraging cities to target investments in proximity to neighborhood amenities, such as parks and transit nodes, and uses spatial econometrics to determine if and how amenities in different housing markets impact surrounding home sale prices. This study finds that NHMTs do matter to assess the impact of housing program investments and urban amenities on nearby sale prices of homes located in different housing markets. In this analysis, neighborhood housing market types are identified using a cluster statistical methodology based on a combination of indicators, including property values, neighborhood-wide property conditions, and socioeconomic characteristics of households. To examine public investments and urban amenities, separate hedonic price functions are estimated for each market type. Results of these analyses suggest that HOME Program investments and urban amenities affect surrounding home prices, and when estimated from separate price functions, the results show significant differences across market types.
Three Essays on the Understanding of Urban Development
(2012) Niu, Yi; Ding, Chengri; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Cities started the unprecedented growth about one hundred years ago. Their importance and significance are reflected by their high productivities and spatial concentrations. The understanding on urban development would help improve urban management and policies and increase wellbeing of urban residents. The three related essays in this dissertation try to improve the understanding from the perspectives of employment centers and agglomeration economies, interactions between labor and housing markets, and the behavior of local governments. The first essay examines the role of employment centers on economic development. The theoretical literature suggests that agglomeration economies are the main force behind the formation and evolution of employment centers, as well as behind economic growth in general. Applying the birth model to employment centers in Maryland, I find agglomeration effects are increased by the centers, particularly those with high employment size or industrial diversity. Ignoring employment centers may overestimate the agglomeration effects when using the fixed distance measurement. Policy implications are local officials may use employment centers as a vehicle to promote economic growth. In the second essay I test the impact of job loss on housing foreclosures. A great challenge in this study, as well as in interactions between labor and housing markets in general, is the geographic mismatch between employment and residential locations. This partially explains the mixed effects of job loss on foreclosures found in the literature. In order to gauge this effect, I develop a job loss vulnerability index using home-work commuting pairs. After fixing the attenuation bias from measurement errors, I find that job loss plays an important role in foreclosure decisions. This essay provides evidence for impact from labor market bust to housing market depression. The third essay estimates the spending pattern of off-budget revenues. The literature assumes different spending preferences of budgetary and off-budget revenues, but empirical evidence are scarce due to the lack of off-budget data. I use land revenues to proxy off-budget revenues in Chinese cities. I find that off-budget revenues do not crowd out budgetary expenditures, and they tend to support visible and tangible projects, rather than some other traditional public spending items that are not quite obvious.
NETWORK MODELS OF REGIONAL INNOVATION CLUSTERS AND THEIR IMPACT ON ECONOMIC GROWTH
(2012) Dempwolf, Christopher Scott; Howland, Marie; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This research uses social network analysis to develop models of regional innovation clusters using data from patent applications and other sources. These new models are more detailed than current industry cluster models, and they reveal actual and potential relationships among firms that industry cluster models cannot. The network models can identify specific clusters of firms with high potential for manufacturing job growth where business retention and expansion efforts may be targeted. They can also identify dense clusters of talent where innovation and entrepreneurial efforts may be targeted. Finally, this research measures relationships between network structure at the time of patent application and manufacturing job growth in subsequent years. This will permit the translation of a wide range of network-building activities into the ubiquitous "jobs created" metric. These new tools will help economic developers focus resources on high-yield activities, and measure the results of networking activities more effectively. There are three parts to this research. First, it evaluates the uses of social network analysis (SNA) in planning, reviewing the literature and empirical research where SNA has been used in planning related studies. Second, it presents the construction if innovation network models, covering methodology, data, results and direct applications of the network models themselves. Models are constructed for Pennsylvania between 1990 and 2007. The methodology presents a significant innovation in how networks and geography are modeled, embedding counties in the network as place nodes. The resulting network models more accurately reflect the complex and multiple relationships that firms and inventors have with each other and the locations where they interact. This approach makes it possible to evaluate relationships between innovation and economic growth at a smaller geographic level (counties) than previous research. Third, this research presents an econometric model that evaluates the influence of network structure on county-level manufacturing employment and value added. Network structure is measured in the year of patent application, with manufacturing employment and value added being measured annually for each subsequent year. Differences in network structure generally reflect differences in the level of social capital embedded in different parts of the network. I find that network structure influences manufacturing employment within three years (longer for medical devices and pharmaceuticals) but does not influence value added.
Practicing local culture as a vehicle of integration? Creative collaborations and Brussels' Zinneke Parade.
(2012) Costanzo, Joseph M.; Brower, Sidney; Martiniello, Marco; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Immigrant integration, and socio-economic cohesion more broadly, continue to be top priorities at many levels of governance in Europe and are long-standing fixtures of scholarly, political and public debate across Europe and North America. Although integration and culture have been dominant themes in contemporary European and American social science and humanities literatures, their intersections--particularly involving immigrant participation in local arts and cultural activities--remain understudied. Through the use of mixed-methods research, my doctoral thesis addresses how participating in such creative activities serves as a vehicle for integration. This topic is examined within the context of the European capital city-region of Brussels, and provokes further inquiry into the role of place in integration and identity-making particularly within a context in which there is no universal or normative local identity. With the onsite support of local experts, artistic and cultural actors and the public at large, I examine the `creative collaboration' of Zinneke Parade 2010--a biennial socio-cultural and urban project with origins in the Brussels 2000 European Capital of Culture Programme (ECoC). Though politicians and community organizers frequently cite Zinneke as an exemplary project of the Brussels-Capital Region, to date, no formal study has been conducted neither into its role in bridging many of the city's socio-linguistic, spatial and economic divides nor into its role as a source for building local networks, social, cultural, economic or otherwise. Finally, this work is unique in its treatment of migrant and ethnic minority identity representations in an explicitly non-ethno-cultural event. In its biennial parade, Zinneke purposefully does not re-present separate ethno-cultural pasts, but instead reflects the identities of collective and creative efforts of today's local Bruxellois. Fielded throughout 2010 and early 2011, in-depth interviews, combined with short as well as detailed questionnaires, form the basis of data which I have collected to answer the question: Does practicing local culture facilitate integration?
Evaluating the Impacts of Top-down Protected Area Governance on Local Livelihoods - The Case of the Turkish Village of Kapikiri
(2012) Yilmaz, Aysegul; Howland, Marie; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This study evaluates the positive and negative impacts of strict protected area designation on the livelihoods and socioeconomic wellbeing of a resident community living within the boundaries of a protected area, and explores how these impacts are distributed across different community groups. The study also examines whether strict protected area designation compensates for a decrease in traditional income by increased tourism. A case study analysis was conducted in the Turkish village of Kapikiri, where two centuries ago, modern settlement began among the ruins of an ancient Greek city. The area's rich cultural and natural heritage resources and biodiversity prompted the Turkish government to designate it with strict culture-protected area status in 1989, and with nature-protected area status in 1994. The study involved conducting a household survey with a representative sample of households, interviews with different community groups, and interviews with officials at various levels of protected area governance. The study reveals that the Turkish government did not balance strict culture-protected area status with residents' socioeconomic development needs. An inflexible, to changing circumstances non-adaptive legal framework of cultural heritage conservation did not accommodate residents' development needs, prohibiting them any change on their built structures. Conversely, the broader nature-protected area status, intended to conserve the area's natural heritage resources and biodiversity, provided for the continuation of a traditional cultural landscape and encouraged tourism, creating a demand for tourism services and establishments. Increased demand in tourism combined with fines not high enough to deter illegal construction, however, did not discourage particularly business owners from building illegally. While business owners expanded their business capacity and increased their income, being able to absorb the costs of illegal activity, most farmers vulnerable to regional economic and agricultural influences, lacked finances to build or renovate illegally and provide new housing for subsequent generations. The case of Kapikiri points to a pressing need for long-term conservation and development strategies that address the unique and changing dynamics of local socioeconomic contexts. Protected area governance in Turkey needs to adopt a conservation policy that is pluralistic and responsive to changing local socioeconomic needs and environmental conditions; one that meets the needs of local communities while preserving heritage resources for generations to come.
Exploring the Influence of Urban Form on Travel and Energy Consumption, using Structural Equation Modeling
(2012) Liu, Chao; Ducca, Frederick W; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This dissertation has contributed to the current knowledge by gaining additional insights into the linkages of different aspects of the built environments, travel behavior, and energy consumption using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) that provides a powerful analytic framework for a better understanding of the complex relationships of urban form, travel and energy consumption. Several urban form measurements (density, mixed land use index, street network connectivity, regional accessibility, and distance to transit) were gathered from multiple external sources and utilized for both trip/tour origins and destinations. This dissertation also contributed to the analysis framework by aggregating trips into tours to test whether the tour-based analysis generates better results than the trip-based analysis in terms of model fit, significance, and coefficient estimations. In addition to that, tour-based samples were also stratified into three different classification schemes to investigate the variations of relationship of urban form and travel among auto and transit modes and among various travel types.: (1) by modes (i.e. auto and transit); (2) by travel purposes (i.e. work, mixed, and non-work tours); and (3) by modes and purposes (first by modes, then by purpose). Stratification by purposes and modes provided an in-depth investigation of the linkages of urban form and travel behavior. The research findings are many: (1) urban form does have direct effects on travel distance for all tour types modeled; (2) urban form at the destination ends has more influence than on the origin ends; (3) Urban form has indirect effects on travel distance and energy consumption through affecting driving patterns, mode choice, vehicle type and tour complexity; (4) People tend to drive when they have complicated travel patterns; (5) The effects of intermediate variables (driving patterns, tour complexity, mode choice, and vehicle type) are stronger than the direct effects generated from urban form; (6) Tour-based analyses have better model fit than trip-based analysis; (7) Different types and modes of travel have various working mechanisms for travel behavior. No single transportation technology or land use policy action can offer a complete checklist of achieving deep reductions of travel and energy consumption while preserving mobility of driving.
The Impact of Conservation Easements on Habitat Loss in Agricultural Regions
(2012) Braza, Mark Anthony; Chen, Alexander; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Natural lands provide irreplaceable ecosystem services, such as wildlife habitat, water filtration and carbon sequestration, but in many regions, they are rapidly being converted to agricultural or urban uses. To counteract this trend, numerous land conservation programs purchase natural land but the impact of these programs is almost entirely unknown. This dissertation develops a framework for evaluating the impact of land conservation programs that incorporates theory from land economics and conservation planning. It posits that private land that enrolls in these programs will have lower economic value and higher ecological value than unenrolled lands. To test the framework, a Propensity Score Analysis is conducted for a federal conservation easement program in the northern plains of the United States. Measures of key economic characteristics (such as a tract's soil productivity, slope and distance to grain markets) and key ecological characteristics (such as a tract's accessibility to nesting pairs of migratory birds and the extent of grassland coverage surrounding a tract) are computed in a Geographic Information System. These measures are used to estimate a logistic regression model that predicts the probability that a tract of land enrolled in the program between 1990 and 2001. Consistent with expectations, tracts with lower economic value and with higher ecological value were more likely to enroll in the program. Using the predicted values from this model, enrolled tracts were matched with control tracts using four specifications of nearest neighbor matching with calipers. Under each of these specifications, the rate of grassland conversion between 2001 and 2006 on enrolled tracts was significantly lower (p<.0001) than the rate of conversion on control tracts by between 0.32 percent (for the specification with the lowest estimate) and 0.42 percent (for the specification with the highest estimate). These results indicate that the program did have a statistically significant impact on the rate of grassland conversion during this time period, although the impact was substantively slight.
CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES AND SCHOOL TRAVEL: A TOUR BASED ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF CHILDREN'S OUT-OF-HOME ACTIVITIES ON THE CHOICE OF SCHOOL TRAVEL PATTERNS
(2013) Burnier, Carolina; Howland, Marie; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Understanding children's travel patterns is important because children are often dependent on others for travel choices and their travel patterns can have significant implications on travel by parents or other members of the household. Children's auto-dependence, particularly in school travel, has been a point of concern among researchers and policy makers. The rising levels of childhood obesity and the dramatic decline of children's active school travel in both the U.S. and abroad have turned researchers' attention to a better understanding of school travel behavior. Recent work in this field looks to understand what factors influence the travel decisions of school children in order to better inform current and future policies trying to decrease children's auto-dependence and promote active travel. This study looks to analyze children's out-of-home activities and the impact these activities have on children's travel patterns. In particular, it explores the role of children's activities on the choice of tour patterns and travel mode to school. Using both national and regional data derived from the National Household Travel Survey, this study performs descriptive analysis and estimates multinomial choice models testing the effect of children's participation in out-of-home activities on their joint decision of school tour type and mode choice to school. This research examines the effects of children's out-of-home activities on a child's travel to school patterns, while controlling for important factors including children's, parental and household characteristics as well as trip attributes and built environment measures derived from children's travel literature. The focus is on school-age children from 5 to 17 years of age. The findings of this study point to the importance of considering children's activities on travel behavior research. This research contributes to the understanding of the factors influencing children's travel decisions to school and informs policy makers of new factors to consider when making policy decisions. In addition, because children's travel is so interconnected with adult travel, the link between children's activities and travel choices may have implications to overall transportation policy.
CLIMATE ACTION PLANS - FACT OR FICTION? EVIDENCE FROM MARYLAND
(2013) Welch, Timothy F.; Ducca, Fred; Urban and Regional Planning and Design; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
On a sweltering summer day in 1988, NASA scientist James Hansen sounded the alarm, in a congressional hearing, that human activity was changing our climate and without action, the world would face grave danger. Since that time, the United States government has ignored international climate policy efforts and failed multiple times to enact federal guidelines to address this serious problem. In the last decade, state governments have begun to formulate their own climate policy in an effort called Climate Action Planning. Climate action plans seek aggressive reductions and form the backbone of most statewide environmental policies but they often suffer from a lack of scientific analysis, unrealistic expectations, little funding, non-existent implementation strategies, and have no enforcement mechanisms. While plans have proliferated across the nation, little has been done to examine closely the ability of the policies to achieve climate change mitigation goals through enumerated strategies. This thesis fills part of the research void by examining all of the built environment emissions reduction strategies specified in the Maryland CAP. The analysis proceeds by developing multiple models calibrated with local empirical data. The results of this analysis show that Maryland, even with a successful implementation of its CAP will not meet its carbon mitigation targets. Further analysis reveals that a full state, national, and global implementation of similar carbon reduction targets would not alter the trajectory of climate change. To address climate change adequately, Maryland should take a three-prong approach. First, strengthen the mitigation strategies that show the greatest potential to reduce CO2 while abandoning strategies that do not. Second, extend the current set of strategies to include the low hanging and quickly implementable mitigation `fruit'. Third, in the face of serious and inevitable climate change, begin to adapt the built environment for better resiliency to more extreme conditions. The thesis concludes with a call to action for urban planners to address ambiguities that relate to the climate change and the build environment. The timing is "ripe" for planners to take the lead in what will certainly become the next great wave of planning.

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