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 Park Facility Energy Data Analysis
    (Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), 2022) Cathcart, Dylan; Solomon, Dagwami; Lou, Iskander; Kim, Do; Yin, Zhaojie; Gruga, Thitna; Rainsford, TJ
    The PG Parks and Recreation department is responsible for operating and maintaining facilities at local and regional parks providing recreational services and programs. Providing recreational services requires capital investments into building facilities and maintaining parks throughout the Prince George’s County area resulting in the use of vast amounts of energy and resources to accomplish these goals. It is our job to help the department manage its expenditures and energy usage while still enabling them to fulfill their mission and commitment to the County. We will accomplish this by analyzing their energy dataset and providing information driven guidance on the future sustainability of facilities.
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    Garrett Park Arboretum Workflow Management
    (Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), 2021) Abdulmalek, Aliyah; Hough, Michael; Hurtado, Marzena; Mulugeta, Nur; Shaikh, Samrah; Rainsford, TJ
    In Fall of 2021, our team of five University of Maryland students enrolled in the Capstone Project course (INST490) led by Prof. TJ Rainsford, embarked on the consultancy assignment for the Town of Garrett Park. The focus of the project was the Town’s arboretum workflow management. The project proposal and requirements were determined under the patronage of the Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), the UMD’s campus-wide initiative to engage faculty and students in projects that help partnering jurisdictions address their real-world challenges (UMD NCSG, n.d.). After a comprehensive analysis of services and information needs related to arboretum management, we have researched and identified actionable insights and technology solutions that, as we believe, could bring significant improvements to the current workflow. The following report is a summation of our findings.
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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.
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    User Research for Youth Sports Division Website: Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation
    (2019) Asamoah, Michael; Dubon, Bryan; Nguyen, Bryan; Teng, Richard; Panzer, Richard; Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS)
    In the last legislative session, a new Maryland law was passed addressing youth sports delivery that presents an exciting new challenge for the Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation. The Department is in the process of establishing a new division to meet this challenge while continuing to deliver a wide variety of sports through in-house programs and with partnership organizations. The new Division will feature “one stop shopping” enabling community members to to view schedules, register their children, and learn about opportunities for engagement. This project’s survey was developed to gather community input to that can inform what content would best serve users.
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    Fitness Portal Needs and Feasibility Assessment for M-NCPPC Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation
    (2019) Luff, Joseph; Mahdi, Tofik; Ross, Lyndon; Shimanov, Aaron; Wesneski, Nicole; Rainsford, TJ; Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS)
    The Prince George’s County Parks and Recreation Department is seeking to develop an online portal to deliver fitness content. This report presents an initial needs and feasibility assessment of the opportunities and challenges that setting up a portal would involve. The report also includes information on how a portal could be implemented.
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    Redlining in Prince George’s County, Maryland
    (Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), 2019) Cheng, Edward; Kim, Bo; Martinez, Angela; Thapa, Mimika; Thomas, Lauren; Rainsford, TJ
    The project goal was to provide the Prince George’s Planning Department with geographic information regarding historical redlining in the County. Redlining is the act of denying a person the ability to buy property or a house within a specific area due to their race or ethnicity. This project allowed us to understand the impact that redlining has on Prince George’s County. In PGAtlas.com, we obtained county addresses and their associated plat numbers to look up subdivision plats. We scanned property deeds that accompany subdivision plats to see if there were any deed restrictions that might indicate redlining. We compiled a data table of 15 redlined addresses in the County and provided map entries for a story map on the ArcGis story map. The story map helps show how certain areas in the County were targeted with redlining in the 1890s through the 1940s. In addition, the story map outlines the history of redlining in other areas and how Prince George’s County is one of many communities to have been affected. Our contacts for the project were Prince George’s County Planning Department staff, Dr. Jennifer Stabler and Karen Mierow. We also worked with Kimberly Fisher and Lily Murnen of the Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS) program. Our project required understanding both clients’ goals and objectives to achieve a final product agreed on by both parties.
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    Information Seeking by Under-Represented Communities
    (Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS), 2019) Batugo, Ashley; Dhanak, Hardik; Shultz, Danny; Zhu, Yuwen; Rainsford, TJ; Panzer, Rich
    Prince George's County Parks and Recreation offers recreation programs, facilities, and services throughout the entire county to its residents and visitors. The county operates and maintains more than 27,000 acres of parkland for parks, picnic areas, athletic fields, historic sites, community centers, and recreation facilities. The county also seeks to preserve parts of this parkland as buffers and natural open space. Parks and Recreation services include art and nature programs, fitness and sports programs, live performances, more than 90 miles of hiker/biker/equestrian trails, outdoor festivals, self-improvement classes, summer camps, teen and senior activities, and trips. While the county offers these various services and programs, more initiatives are needed to understand how Prince George's County residents are using these programs and services, or even if they are using them. Understanding how members of underrepresented communities use these services will allow the Department to better tailor what they offer for the benefit of all its residents. Through this project, the Parks and Recreation Department seeks to better understand how its residents, in particular how underrepresented communities, use its services and programs. The Department wants to know their information seeking behavior, whether different groups use the parks differently, and if certain parks features are being used more or less. To gather this information, an online and in-person survey, developed by the team member authors, was administered at various events, beginning in September 2019 and finishing in December 2019. The main point of contact throughout this project was Edith Michel, a certified Parks and Recreation Professional with more than 20 years of experience in local government within the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Other key Parks and Recreation staff who we worked with are Alex Teaff, the Community Outreach Manager and Kira Lewis, the Acting Chief of the Public Affairs & Marketing Division.