Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/21474

The Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS) is administered by the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD). It is a campus-wide initiative that harnesses the expertise of UMD faculty and the energy and ingenuity of UMD students to help Maryland communities become more environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable. PALS is designed to provide innovative, low-cost assistance to local governments while creating real-world problem-solving experiences for University of Maryland graduate and undergraduate students.

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    Prince George's County Vision Zero Story Map
    (Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), 2020) Ajala, Samuel; Akbari, Omar; Coleman, Janell; Patel, Kishan; Rauf, Asqa; Sheehy, Kayla; Rainsford, Timothy
    In the spring 2020 semester, the University of Maryland I-Consultancy tasked a team of college-level information scientists to consult with Prince George’s County’s Department of Public Works & Transportation (DPWT) on the development of a Vision Zero story map. This project was sponsored by the University of Maryland’s Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS) and overseen by DPWT employees, Andrea Lasker and Nima Upadhyay. The Department of Public Works & Transportation oversees approximately 2,000 miles of roadways in the County and is responsible for ensuring safe road conditions by removing snow and ice, installing and upgrading streetlights, and much more. During the summer of 2019, Prince George’s County announced it would join the Vision Zero Initiative, a worldwide project aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries. The County’s participation requires that DPWT produce a story map or website that showcases data trends in crashes in the County. The I-Consultancy team was tasked to help the department produce this deliverable. This report gives an overview of the Vision Zero story map and provides information on accessing, maintaining, and updating it.
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    Story Map for Stormwater Management Projects at the University of Maryland
    (Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), 2020) Dietrich, Amber; Kadariya, Gyan; Loredo, Andrew; McCarthy, Ryan; Petitt, Andy; Shaker, Nadine; Rainsford, Timothy
    Our group was tasked with retrieving and consolidating datasets/databases and primary accounts of enhanced stormwater management projects. These facilities have been installed across campus over time, so we needed to visualize that data through an ArcGIS StoryMap. We included information about individuals, project descriptions including size and/or area impacted, deliverables, projected impact, geographic locations, and organizations. The Story Map will be used as part of an informational website that displays why these stormwater facilities are important and how similar facilities are necessary elsewhere on campus.
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    Analyzing the Economic Impacts of Events within Prince George’s County
    (Partnership in Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), 2020) Aguirre-Mori, Jose; Akinkuade, Ayomide Valentine; Campos, Martin; Muhie, Musab; Romney, Ariana; Wondwossen, Ammanuel; Panzer, Rich
    This collaborative project between PALS students, and representatives from M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), Prince George’s County began as a data analysis effort. We were to analyze existing data from M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation for insights into how hosted events and rental facilities impact the economics of Prince George’s County as a whole. For example, one task would consist of analyzing the amount of money spent within Prince George’s County by out-of-County tourists during their attendance at a M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation service or event. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many changes have been instituted by state and local governments. Restrictions on group activities and indoor facility use have impacted DPR operations and limited the scope of the services that they can provide during the outbreak. We can expect that the scope will return to its usual size as restrictions are lifted, but in the meantime, there is a new opportunity to capture data about Parks and Recreation users in Prince George’s County. We hope that this data capture will ultimately help the Department of Parks and Recreation in formulating new insights as COVID-19 continues to impact organizations and people. This shift of scope altered our data analysis project into one of data capture. The task is to create a data collection method that will help capture economic losses endured by Prince George’s County due to the service cancellations caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. This method will also capture user interest in online-formatted services hosted by M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation. We also aim to capture current user behavior of remaining assets (parks and trails). The chosen data collection will be two surveys.
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    Analyzing Micro-Local Communication Technologies to Support an On-Campus Agroecology Corridor
    (Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), 2020) Bynum, Lashawnda; Green, Tamia; Jia, Emily; Khare, Kelly; Namin, Ali; Panzer, Rich
    The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources seeks to to raise awareness of and stimulate conversations about sustainability, food security, and food supply within the University of Maryland and is pursuing the creation of an Agroecology Corridor. This project would connect the network of green spaces and sustainability projects on campus to maximize their use in teaching, demonstrations, community outreach, and research. To support that connection and determine the best solutions, our team researched eight microcommunication technologies, and are propose the three most effective technologies we believe will assist the College achieve its goal. The research considered multiple criteria including affordability, accessibility, and durability. The report’s four sections follow each step of the project: • an initial technology analysis introduces and describes the eight micro-communication technologies and examines their advantages, disadvantages and cost estimates • case studies that consider the applications of each technology in different campus spaces for varied user demographics • final recommendations for the top three technologies (beacons, push notifications, and nature signs) that our team believes would be the most effective • next steps for groups that may continue this project. Through research and analysis, this report aims to provide critical background information about beacons, push notifications, and nature signs as well as their potential for implementation on the University of Maryland campus. With proper integration, these technologies will help foster interest and important discussion about green spaces throughout campus. This report will also serve as the foundation for the project’s future stages as it continues in coming semesters.