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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Item Understanding and Improving Anacostia Watershed Water Quality(Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2023-12) Andrelchik, Amy; Hunter, Alexis; Hurtado Olson, Aziz; Hyde, Rebecca; Majadly, Ahlam; Moats, Rachel; Morton,Caroline; Pasternak, Barrie; Phan, Que; Pulley, Anna; Reitenbach, Claire; Touray, Fatoumata Wesley Wiggins, Jasmine Wilkins; Goldstein, Rachel Rosenberg Ph.D., MPH,The Anacostia River Watershed is an often-overlooked watershed in the backyard of the nation’s capital. While water quality has improved throughout the rest of the United States, the Anacostia Watershed has continued to have poor water quality, including the presence of fecal indicator bacteria that suggest the presence of other disease-causing microorganisms (pathogens). Although it’s not used for drinking water, the presence of pathogens in the Anacostia River is a public health concern as this waterbody is used recreationally and for fishing by a wide group of users, including the largely BIPOC communities that live in the watershed’s communities. Students in MIEH 600 (Foundations of Environmental Health), an introductory graduate course in the University of Maryland School of Public Health, were given the opportunity to examine priority issues identified by the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS): the impact of pet waste and vessel waste on the Anacostia River. Students applied quantitative and communication skills in two assignments: an environmental health fact sheet and a water sample report. Four students chose to create fact sheets and accompanying PowerPoint presentations. All fourteen students participated in water sampling, analysis, and water sample report preparation.Item Collington Square Play Space(Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2023-12) Austin, Caleb; Bajana, Juan; Barresi, Isabella; Choi, Yune Elia; Darago, Bianca; Francisco, Liliana; Giray, Grazelle; Guerrero-Osorio, Gracie; Howell, Wyatt; Hruby, Calvin; Kinsey, Rachel; Le, Christina; Mallow, Joe; Mao, Zhenkai; Phan, David; Rachman, Tiara; Shi, Liangjie (Alan); Kweon, Byoung-SukCollington Square Play Space is located in the Broadway East Community in Baltimore, which belongs to Maryland Legislative House District 45. It is also located next to Collington Square (CS) Elementary School, CS Recreation and CS Park. It is currently designed as a play space. However, there is only a broken swing set and rundown play structure in the play space. For this assignment, students were asked to redesign the Collington Square Play Space. Students were asked to develop design solutions that: • Provided good trees that give shade and combat heat island effect • Incorporated more swings • Provided more lighting for night • Created a smart park with digital access for children • Provided a social gathering space for picnics • Provided an opportunity for children to ride their bikes • Addressed residents’ concerns about safety • Improved stormwater treatment • Added ADA Accessibility to the ParkItem Visioning Lakeland: Restorative Justice Through Scenario Planning(Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2023-12) Abel, Paul; Anderson, Alanna; Elson, Jona; Gebru, Dominique; Hauodi, Salma; Islam, Anonnya; Islam, Maisha; Jamero, Samantha; Jones, Asia; Lee, Jihee; Ravert, Megan; Sanford, Mimi; Seyedebrahimi, Ebrahim; Tram, Judy; Walker, Emma; Woods, Kayla; Irazábal Zurita, Clara E. , Arch., M.Sc., M.Arch., Ph.D.Lakeland is a vibrant historically African American community in College Park that has faced the lasting consequences of decades of discriminatory policies and neglect. From the era of forced segregation to the devastating impacts of urban renewal and now the pressures of gentrification, Lakelanders have been denied equitable access to resources and opportunities enjoyed by neighboring communities. Despite these challenges, generations have persevered, demonstrating unwavering resilience and determination. This studio explored the potential pathways to persist and attain restorative justice using scenario planning to envision Lakeland’s future in 2033. By investigating the opportunities and challenges that present themselves through status quo, reformist, and revolutionary scenarios, the resulting proposals and strategies give insight into the ways in which restorative justice can be achieved. By envisioning 2033 Lakeland scenarios through the lens of three primary themes—housing and land use, community infrastructure, and climate change mitigation and adaptation—this report addresses key indicators in each theme to inform the City of College Park, the Restorative Justice Commission, and other Lakeland organizations on methods and strategies to achieve each vision, or what will happen if action is not taken.Item Geophysical survey of Emory Grove United Methodist Church parking lot using ground-penetrating radar(Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2023-12) Herbert, Genevieve; Jones, Shannan; Pedersen, Matthew; Udell-Lopez, Kathrine; Schmerr, NicholasProject Background and Objectives In 1864, freed African Americans founded the Emory Grove community in Gaithersburg, Maryland. For about 100 years, since its inception, this community was vibrant and close-knit. At its height, Emory Grove was 300 acres and home to roughly 500 residents. The Emory Grove community hosted Methodist gatherings, called “camp meetings.” During the 1960s and 1970s, urban renewal led to the destruction of this once spirited community. With the goal of reestablishing community cohesion, Montgomery County’s Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) and the Emory Grove United Methodist Church envision a redevelopment project known as Heritage Emory Grove (HEG). This plan centers redevelopment efforts around the Emory Grove United Methodist Church and prioritizes historic programming and cultural amenities. The issue with the redevelopment is predominantly associated with the unmarked graves around the church and nearby cemetery that have been lost over time. Before proceeding with the redevelopment, local officials and community members want to ensure that any unmarked graves in the vicinity are identified and properly marked to avoid disturbing them during the redevelopment process. The objective of this study is to conduct a geophysical survey of the church parking lot and yard area (from hereafter referred to as the “landscaped area”) using ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Ground-penetrating radar is a non-intrusive method of surveying the shallow subsurface to investigate underground structures. It uses electromagnetic radiation in the microwave band frequencies of the radio spectrum to detect reflected signals from subsurface structures. It is typically used for the investigation of buried utilities such as pipes, cables, masonry, asphalt, and metals, and will be invaluable in locating and identifying potential unmarked gravesites. Geological Context Montgomery County has varying geology depending on the region (Singewald et al., 1953). The central portion of the county is made up of Ijamsville phyllite, the Wissahickon formation, and the Sykesville formation. Gaithersburg is situated in a region of predominantly Wissahickon formation (i.e., banded, or laminated quartz-rich phyllites and schists containing magnetite quartz veins), but Emory Grove is situated on a strip of serpentine bedrock. The soil makeup is as diverse as the region within the Piedmont Plateau, which has experienced deep stream valley incisions and complex structural geomorphology that has resisted erosion (Maryland Dept. of State Planning, 1973).Item Partner Network Requirements and Data Assessment(Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2023-12) Baicu, Avram; Huq, Amanu; Tatham, Jennifer; Uddin, Farhana; Weng, Ady; Rainsford, TJThe Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ (MDNR) Chesapeake & Coastal Service (CCS) unit ensures that the state is equipped to deal with the needs and demands of Chesapeake economic and coastal resource use. CCS supports MDNR goals by partnering with various stakeholders, including federal and state government agencies; regional, national, and international institutions; formal and informal educational programs; nongovernmental organizations; and the private sector. The iConsultancy Team was tasked with assisting CCS in their partnerships with stakeholders. Namely, CCS requested visualizations of data collected about partner organizations to help enable CCS staff to better understand the composition of their partner network (e.g., geography, service). To accomplish this, the team cleaned and assessed a large data set of interactions between CCS and its stakeholder communities so it could be better visualized, conducted user research with key CCS staff to better understand and define their goals for stakeholder interactions, and provided recommendations for information gaps and additional data collection. The team worked with the MDNR’s PALS team—Marlo Atkinson, Kate Vogel, and Dylan Tallie—throughout the project.Item Long Branch Dashboard(Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2023-12) Liu, Andrew; Ojegun, Tega; Salmeron,Eric; Sombat, Harvey; Stuart, Jacob; Rainsford, TJIn conjunction with the UMD iConsultancy and the INST490 staff, we partnered with CHEER (Community Health and Empowerment through Education and Research) to create a Long Branch community dashboard. CHEER is a community-driven, non-profit organization focused on serving communities across Maryland. The organization works with communities by identifying their essential needs and goals. For this project, CHEER needed assistance in developing key performance indicators that accurately aligned with goals for the Long Branch community. We were asked to create an all-encompassing dashboard using CHEER’s identified goals and publicly available datasets to show precise key performance metrics and potential solutions to community issues. After reviewing the scope of work, we met with CHEER and Long Branch representative, Reemberto Rodriguez. Rodriguez was our main contact in the organization throughout the semester and participated in most meetings throughout the semester. He outlined project deliverables and provided documentation and additional datasets that gave insight into the Long Branch community and its issues. He also highlighted many of CHEER’s stakeholder goals: equitable food, affordable housing, neighborhood attractiveness, parking, public safety, and affordable business. Rodriguez emphasized that the final deliverable should focus on as many of these goals as possible. Throughout the semester, we discussed different formats for the final deliverable. In the early stages, we planned to create our dashboard using CHEER-provided software. This idea never came to fruition, and Rodriguez suggested a simple Google document that could serve as an infographic for the community. This method would reduce the dashboard’s interactability and wouldn’t be as intuitive for Long Branch community members. We agreed to create the dashboard using Google Sites, a tool that allows users to create their own web pages through Google Cloud. This approach accommodates embedded, interactable data visualizations and other key point measures that represent the community. This platform enabled us to focus on CHEER’s identified goals and make an intuitive and sustainable tool that serves the Long Branch community.Item Ground Penetrating Radar Survey at Emory Grove Cemetery(Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2023-12) Islam, Aniqa; Perry, Megan; Shahid, Saffat; Schmerr, NicholasResearch Objective: The objective of this survey is to use a non-invasive method to determine if and where unmarked graves may be at the Emory Grove Cemetery. Current redevelopment proposals require the Montgomery County Planning Department to be aware of the indistinctive burial sites to prevent disturbing the graves during construction. The Emory Grove United Methodist Church officials would also like to know their locations to properly identify the graves and to determine whether the cemetery must be shut down or if there is space for further burials. Geological Context: The Maryland Geological Survey cross section in Figure 1 shows the site lies above the Mather Gorge Formation, placed during the Lower Cambrian and/or Neoproterozoic period. This more than 800 feet continuous formation of quartz-mica schist interlayered with quartzitic metagraywacke is near the Blockhouse Point Fault, an unknown fault type. While the metagraywacke is subordinate, it is more visible as it has a higher resistance to weathering than the dominant schist [1].Item Small Forest Protection Program(Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2023-12) Anderson, Danielle; Brumagin, Taylor; Flores, Alessandra; Garrett, Shannon; Rios, Anabella; Sennewald, Kaitlin; Veopradith, Tiffany; Carroll, MarkThe Montgomery County Planning Department asked our team of Environmental Science and Policy capstone students at the University of Maryland to create a set of deliverables that would support the creation of Montgomery Planning’s Small Forest Protection Program. This program will allow owners of small, forested properties to help developers meet offsite forest retention requirements under the Forest Conservation Law. A reinterpretation of the County’s Forest Conservation Law limits the availability of offsite forest credits available for purchase by developers seeking to meet their forest-retention requirements. The new small forest program being launched by Montgomery Planning will meet the need for additional forest availability for developers to meet offsite retention requirements. The project’s deliverables are an informative webpage outline and application process for prospective program participants; an attribute table of potentially eligible property owners and their contact information, identified via spatial analysis using Geographical Information Systems; and a draft letter of solicitation to property owners informing them of how they can be involved in the program. These deliverables were founded primarily on research into Montgomery Planning’s website and its previous initiatives. Existing webpages were analyzed to determine the features that contribute to their current success. To identify property owners for the program, a GIS map was constructed by conducting a spatial analysis of various layers provided by Montgomery Planning. From this map, potentially eligible property owners were identified to be contacted with the letter of solicitation. In our final webpage guideline, we include a program overview, requirements for property owners, how they can apply, and information for developers. Additionally, we include Frequently Asked Questions and a section of contact information for department staff. Finally, the application form layout includes all the information property owners need to be considered for inclusion in the program. Using the GIS map, almost 10,000 potentially eligible properties were identified. Several specific areas from the initial property list are recommended for closer attention due to the community benefits and ecosystem services that they provide. These properties may be considered for future contact by Montgomery Planning as they launch the new small forest program.Item Affordable Housing Preservation and Development Analysis(Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2023-12) Glen-Williams, Michael; Lamprea-Barragan, Tania; Pearson, ShannaThis paper is a product of the Foundation of Social Policy research project, partnering with UMD’s Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS). It aims to shed light on affordability concerns surrounding rural housing in Maryland. We’ve been tasked by the Rural Maryland Council (RMC) to assess state policies from around the nation that have developed successful affordable-housing programs and to provide details on implementation in Maryland. The report’s primary goal is to offer a comprehensive examination of the challenges and barriers associated with rural housing affordability. Furthermore, the report endeavors to pinpoint key stakeholders and initiatives that have shaped rural housing policy in Maryland. Through these analyses, we aim to gain insights into the issue, enabling us to formulate meaningful recommendations and potential strategies to tackle these pressing challenges effectively.