New software and technology is making it easier than ever before for public transportation planners to evaluate how quickly residents can reach jobs and other destinations. Because in the past it was difficult to measure access to opportunities, these concepts remained primarily in the theoretical and academic realms of research. This thesis reviews methods that could be used to evaluate routine bus service improvements and performs a comparative analysis of different methods in the context of New Orleans. There are many different variables in how the analysis could be performed, but this thesis focuses on the role that time of day plays in analyzing service changes. The results show that accessibility can be a very useful metric to evaluate the effectiveness of transit service changes. It goes on to explore techniques that could assist transit planners and schedulers to identify service gaps and prioritize service changes.

Measured by the level of transportation safety, the Commonwealth of Virginia stands out from all the States because despite increased need for mobility, it manages to maintain its safety indices at exceptionally good levels. In many respects we can attribute this success to the comprehensive Strategic Highway Safety Plan of Virginia (SHSP), which is, as concluded from the analysis of its analogues, among the best in the US. The programs and policies described in this document embrace all aspects of transportation safety and create a harmonious system. To assess the effectiveness of the SHSP, this thesis used correlation and regression analysis based on statistical data from the years 2004 – 2011 in Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), and Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) documents. The performed calculations showed very positive trends with gradual reduction, in crash and death rates. It was also found that citizens would use private vehicles more often in the future without making conditions worse on the highways. Instead, drivers tend to be more careful and responsible. Analysis also reveals a rising level of drunken driving incidents, a finding substantiated by literature review, chiefly planning reports and economic analysis. The current transportation policy I does not adequately address this issue. The correlation between allocation of funds and performance indicators showed it would be more effective to invest in research projects on safety rather than in “safety” itself (i.e. construction of roads). Unfortunately, in difficult times, governments usually cut research projects. Finally, Virginia is on the verge of a new transportation era, when the structure of driving cohorts will change, and decisions about building new highways will have to be balanced between technical and ecological considerations.

No description available.

No description available.

My thesis project is to create a conservation plan for the Reservoir Canyon Natural Reserve (RCNR) in San Luis Obispo, California. It is a professional project for the City of San Luis Obispo with the goal of eventual adoption by the City Council. The plan was motivated by City policy, which advises creating conservation plans for open spaces, and by a particular need to address management issues in RCNR that include plant and wildlife conservation, trail access, erosion, electrical utility easements, and other legal matters. The project consists of two main components: the conservation plan and a companion paper. The paper is an overview of the theory and best practices involved in conservation planning, and is meant to be complementary to the conservation plan. Therefore, discussions found in the paper are not present in the plan itself, but instead serve as background. The paper consists primarily of a literature review and my reflections on how the literature applies to the process of planning and managing RCNR. The Draft Reservoir Canyon Natural Reserve Conservation Plan, attached as an appendix, explains the conditions of the reserve, and describes the goals and management strategies the City will employ.

Greyfield Development in Vallejo, California: Opportunities, Constraints, and Alternatives is a Project that determined that the regulatory framework and presence of underutilized commercial land make Vallejo, California the ideal community to facilitate Greyfield Development. The Project reviewed existing literature, determining that there are a number of causes for the proliferation of Greyfields, revitalization practices, and communities that have facilitated redevelopment. The Background Report analyzed existing conditions and illustrated that Vallejo contains several policies and programs that call for the redevelopment of underutilized commercial land. The Greyfield Study identified Springstowne Center, CVS Center, and Meadows Plaza as shopping centers that exemplify signs of maturation and/or decline. The Greyfield Study determined that Meadows Plaza experienced the most decline out of the three shopping centers based on the amount of vacant square footage through fieldwork and document analysis. The Project presented three conceptual alternatives that could spur revitalization of Meadows Plaza: (1) Adaptive Reuse; (2) Residential Development; and (3) Mixed-Use and Residential Development. The Project concludes by recommending that Vallejo implement the Underutilized Commercial Land Conversion Program as outlined in the Housing Element of the Vallejo General Plan as a way to redevelop underperforming sites like Meadows Plaza and facilitate greater community revitalization.

ABSTRACT Downtown Revitalization Strategy Report for Glenrock, WY Mary E. Phillips The following project submitted for the Master of City and Regional Planning Professional Project is the Downtown Revitalization Strategy Report for Glenrock, WY completed November 25, 2009. At the onset of the project, the Town of Glenrock, WY was recognized as an Aspiring Main Street Community, and sought guidance to become a Certified Main Street Community. This Strategy Report was prepared to provide an implementation plan for revitalization of the downtown following the Main Street Approach, as well as for achievement of a Certified Main Street Community status by the year 2014. The project included an interactive process, directly involving key representatives and stakeholders in the community. This included a public workshop and on-site strategy sessions with Town staff and the Glenrock Downtown Development Committee. The Strategy Report includes a basic assessment of existing conditions in downtown Glenrock based on information gathered at these meetings. From this initial assessment, issues, goals and objectives for downtown were identified. An overall strategy was then developed, in accordance with the Main Street Approach, which outlines the plan of action for the downtown revitalization and Main Street certification. The implementation section of the plan then takes the identified actions and prioritizes them based on a 5-year implementation schedule. The development and prioritization of these actions was based on the following factors: Requirements for the Wyoming Main Street Community certification status Community goals for development in the downtown Feasibility of implementation of plan components Access to resources (of all types) for implementation Players in the implementation of the plan The result of this methodology was a plan that addressed the community’s needs, with an implementation program specifically tailored for the community’s available resources.

@font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Longstanding critical theories on place, memory, and identity can begin to address critical questions that residents, civic leaders, and designers are currently facing in twenty-first century small town America. The rapidity with which many rural communities are now transforming is unlike any previous phase of transition; due in large part to a vastly expanding globalized economy and mass culture. Anonymous, exchangeable environments are quickly becoming a standard condition for these cities, without much attention being paid by neither insiders nor outsiders alike. Often compounding the problem, poor existing social conditions within the aforementioned communities are not only being habitually unattended to, they are exacerbated by the parallel eradication of place. Due to these implications, a new direction in the modernization of rural communities across the nation is required to productively and responsibly plan for their future. A critical look at the roles of memory, place, and the built environment in the formation of collective and individual identities may be an integral step towards steering small towns down this path.

Thesis (MBus) -- Auckland University of Technology, 2004. / Also held in print (111, xviii leaves, ill., 30 cm.) in Wellesley Theses Collection. (T 338.47910285 LAU)

Cincinnati, Ohio is a city with many architecturally significant, yet decrepit, historic brewery buildings. Most of these structures are centralized in Over-the-Rhine (OTR) and the West End, two adjoining neighborhoods bordering Cincinnati’s Central Business District. Prohibition, in combination with anti-German sentiment from World War I, led to the decline of the brewery industry in Cincinnati in the beginning of the twentieth century. The decline left the formerly German concentrated OTR neighborhood vulnerable to economic instability. Within the past ten years, gentrification has threatened the southern regions of the OTR neighborhood, forcing low-income families to relocate to the West End. This has left the West End community socially and economically disconnected from OTR. The purpose of this thesis is to present an adaptive reuse proposal for the historic Rundbogenstil style Bellevue Brewing Company building, as a means to help socioeconomically regenerate and connect OTR and the West End neighborhoods.