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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Subject: search.filters.subject.Hazard Mitigation

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Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Cycling for Change
    (Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2023-12) Engel, Max; Gernstein, Anna; Goldstein, Jeremy; Tarjamo, Markus; Clark, Patrina
    This research presents a comprehensive proposal for an introduction of a Cycling 101 class at the University of Maryland (UMD), developed in collaboration with the Prince George's County Planning Department. This initiative aims to bridge the gap between the UMD cycling community and policy awareness, addressing issues such as sustainability, mental health, and physical wellbeing. Through collaboration with experts like Michael Jackson and Professor Kimberly Driver, it evolved into a passion project, empowering students through cycling education. The proposed course, designed as an "I-series" course, covers a range of topics including cycling mechanics, safety, environmental sustainability, and mental and physical health benefits. The research outlines the process of creating the course, emphasizing the importance of a well-structured syllabus and efficient review by university committees. Potential locations for the course within UMD's academic structure, particularly in the School of Public Health and School of Public Policy, are explored. Extensive literature supports the positive impact of cycling on physical and mental health, reinforcing the course's potential benefits. The research findings suggest that Cycling 101 aligns with UMD's commitment to sustainability and offers tangible advantages for students' wellbeing. The proposed collaboration is significant for both UMD and the Prince George's County Planning Department, contributing to a cycling-friendly environment and promoting holistic urban mobility. In conclusion, this research validates the feasibility of introducing Cycling 101 at UMD, highlighting its positive impacts on students, the university community, and urban planning in Prince George's County. The collaboration serves as a catalyst for sustainable practices and holistic wellbeing, aligning shared goals between the university and the Planning Department.
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    Flood Mitigation in the Chesapeake Beach SeaGate Community
    (Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2024-05) Blair, Bradford; Pressley, Danielle; Quigley, Alex; Speierman, Emily; Tagle, Matthew; May, Peter
    The town of Chesapeake Beach is on the Chesapeake Bay’s western shore and is directly connected to the Bay by creeks that feed tidal marshes. Marshland within Chesapeake Beach’s South Creek Estuary was filled in to enable community development, including the SeaGate townhouse community and Maryland Route 261. At less than four feet above mean sea level, Route 261 and the SeaGate’s parking lots flood during high tide events, storm swells, and intense storm events. In addition to being inconvenient for community members, it is also a safety concern as Route 261 provides access to the SeaGate community, the local fire department, and wastewater treatment plant.The historical practice of filling in wetlands for development and the increasing pressures of climate change have resulted in worsening flooding in the SeaGate community. Chesapeake Beach’s 2021 Comprehensive Plan discusses the area’s future of coastal resiliency and mentions the need to create a coordinated and consistent plan for addressing sea level rise. There have been previous attempts by the community to control flooding resulting from rising tides and stormwater. The Army Corps of Engineers installed revetments and a gate to control tidal fluctuations, and the Maryland State Highway Administration raised Route 261 to prevent the road from flooding. However, the floodgate is no longer operational and mounting pressures from sea level rise combined with more intense storms have flooded the road with increasing frequency. This report’s proposed solutions address both tidal and stormwater flooding. Because the primary source of flooding is from the Chesapeake Bay, the floodgate must be replaced. The new floodgate will be automated to be in sync with tidal cycles and local weather conditions. The gate will automatically close at high tide and open at low tide to allow for the migration of wildlife between the tidal marshes and the Chesapeake Bay. There will also be an option to manually open and close the gate at the SeaGate community’s discretion. As well, three different technologies will address stormwater flooding—cisterns, permeable pavers, and bioretention cells. Cisterns will be fitted to the townhouse units to store runoff from rooftops. They will be sized to capture a five-year, 24-hour storm (4.18 inches), but can be adjusted to capture the runoff from various storms. The captured water will be automatically released during dry periods and at low tides, as controlled by a smart system, however there will also be a manual option to give community members more control. Permeable pavers will reduce the volume of runoff and allow more water to infiltrate into the soil. They will be placed in low-traffic areas, such as parking lots and sidewalks, to reduce the wear on the pavers and extend their lifetime. Bioretention cells will be implemented alongside roads and parking lots to help manage runoff volume and quality. There are a few existing bioretention cells in the SeaGate community, but they aren’t maintained and don’t appear to function well. The proposed design improves the existing systems and adds new bioretention cells. To increase the feasibility of the proposed solutions and minimize the burden on the community, the report recommends applying to grant programs intended to help fund climate resiliency and sustainability projects in Maryland. Some of these include the Chesapeake and Coastal Grants Gateway, the Maryland G3 Grant Program, and the Watershed Assistance Grant Program. These grants will help fund the proposed solutions and create a safer, more climate resilient Seagate community.
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    Stormwater Mitigation Plan for the Town of North Beach, MD
    (Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2024-05) Busse, Garett; Chu, Esmé; Diaz, Zachary; Hayes, Lucy; May, Peter
    This effort addresses stormwater mitigation in the town of North Beach, Maryland. Located on the internal coast of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, North Beach is experiencing one of the highest levels of eustatic sea level rise. One main intersection, 5th Street and Bay Avenue, sees nuisance flooding from storm events of an inch or more due to its low elevation compared to surrounding blocks. Even though this intersection borders a public beach, the flooding is almost always due to stormwater and not storm surge. North Beach is seeking recommendations for a stormwater mitigation plan to eliminate pooling at this intersection. This report hypothesizes the effectiveness of the recommendations that would increase the resilience of North Beach. The design uses ecological solutions to flood mitigation that benefits local habitats and species. It also seeks to educate about the implemented practices. The proposed recommendations have been found to reduce flooding by 47%, while remaining cost-efficient and fundable by local grants.
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    Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection Customer Journey Mapping & Information Workflow Improvement
    (Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2024-05) Carpio, Elissa; Chandrashekar, Dharini; Gupta, Priyanka; Hao, Hilda; Niemeier, Claire; Lutters, Wayne
    The Montgomery County, Maryland Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is responsible for trash and recycling services across the county including the management and distribution of trash and recycling bins and carts. Requests for new or replacement bins and carts are first processed through the county’s service desk operations (MC311) and then provided to the team responsible for product delivery. This information must then be manually manipulated and outputted to staff members and contractors to organize, schedule, and process deliveries and pickups. The manual workflow processes and limited technology integration create process inefficiencies leading to suboptimal customer satisfaction.
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    Improving Safety around the West Hyattsville Metro Station
    (Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2024-05) Crone, Rachel; Levine, Josie; Richmond, Alan; Tambal, Awad; Winger, Isaiah; Brown, Paul
    The West Hyattsville Metro Station in Prince George’s County, Maryland, is a crucial piece of transportation infrastructure that allows those who live in the Mount Rainier area to access jobs and resources across the region. However, the area around the station is prone to collisions between cars and pedestrians and cyclists and is in a somewhat crime-ridden area. This can make safely accessing and using this vital infrastructure difficult for people who live in the surrounding community. Our group used a mixed-methodology approach to uncover the problems around the station and best practices to remedy them. Academic articles, reports, maps, interviews, and site visits revealed the area’s problems and possible solutions. We found insufficient cycling infrastructure, missing pedestrian infrastructure, and an environment that doesn’t protect against crime. To increase safety and access to the West Hyattsville Metro Station for the surrounding community, we recommend: HAWK crossing signals, lane reductions, street art, median refuge islands, crosswalks, and sidewalks to increase pedestrian safety cycle tracks, protected intersections, and speed limit reductions on various roads to increase cyclist safety lighting and security cameras on surrounding trails developing WMATA’s lots and eliminating negative land use features through redevelopment. Our recommendations don’t reflect financial considerations. Instead, we created a set of recommendations that attempt to maximize safety based on current best practices. Additionally, we did not account for how the recommendations would impact traffic flow, which would require different data and expertise.
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    Creative Placemaking Along the Kenilworth Avenue Corridor
    (Partnership for Action Learning Sustainability (PALS), 2024-05) Cavanaugh, Stephanie; Hudson, Lauren; Josar, Eve; Kenney, Elliott; Morrison, Phoenix; Pully, Stephanie; Watkiss, Dana; Zaman, Auran; Sullivan, Jack
    The Purple Line will be a Light Rail connection that allows public transportation from New Carrollton to Bethesda with several stops along the way. One of those stops is at the Kenilworth Avenue and MD-410 intersection in Riverdale Park. The Landscape Architecture Urban Design Studio designed strategies and concepts to improve on the current plan for the streetscape along Kenilworth Ave. and MD-410 surrounding the new Light Rail Station. Students agreed to decrease road sizes, add sidewalks on either side of Kenilworth and MD-410, introduce bike lanes, remove slip lanes, manage stormwater, and add bus modality. At the core of the student’s design is accessibility for pedestrians and safe street crossings while balancing street character, shade, comfort, and shelter from vehicular traffic. Students implemented Placemaking strategies to communicate the community’s desires and plans for future investment.
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    Expert Review of the MyCoast Application
    (Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), 2021) Acuna, Annika; Bishop, Dylan; Dissen, Olivia; Escarda, Julia; Rao, Ananth; Soni, Jasmine; Rainsford, TJ
    The MyCoast app is a mobile and web-based application used by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to document and analyze pictures and data of flooding caused by precipitation and coastal events. The data it collects is used for various purposes, including visualizing impacts of flood events, as well as enhancing awareness of flood events among Maryland residents. This project’s goal was to create an expert review of the MyCoast application. Initially, the goal was to create wireframes and a new schema for the app. After discussion, the goal shifted to interviewing people with different backgrounds (who work in sector, peers, etc.) and creating a list of recommendations from our findings. This report reviews the MyCoast application and end-user feedback on app functionality and user experience, makes recommendations for improvements to the app and recommendations for improvements to end-user documentation to improve the user experience and data quality.