Urban ecological problems have hitherto been addressed using one of two major approaches. The first has a social impetus directed at ethnic, economic and family characteristics and their relationships with the spatial distribution of urban residential housing. The second approach emphasizes the influence of the physical environment and the services available to subareas. The sociological method has had much more attention in modeling applications than the physical analytic technique. This study adopts the physical approach with a focus that is emphatic on infrastructural factors and land attributes, and their influence on the differential rates of fringe area residential growth in the Portland metropolitan region. Data were acquired through direct research supplemented by building permit records, jurisdictional estimates, and information from the 1970 and 1980 u.s. Censuses. Growth functional relationships were operationalized using housing starts and residential land conversion as two dependent variables against which the explanatory factors of infrastructure (water and sewer), land characteristics, road network density, accessibility, and social factors were regressed in recursive models over three subperiods in the decade 1970-1980. Five models were derived for the SMSA and the four counties for the decade, and three more subperiodic models for each area, for the categories of housing starts and land conversion. The derived models were tested against a standard econometric technique (Chow test) to verify the consistency of the coefficients (elasticities) over the different subareas in the four time periods. The results showed extremely high levels of significance of the Chow tests, deeming it necessary to examine the behavior of the elasticities in more detail over space and time. The results of the examination verified that the performance of infrastructure variables were highest in Washington County, while accessibility and road network density showed very high performances in Multnomah County. Land attributes were most notable in Clark County, while income elasticities were equally high in Multnomah, Washington, and Clark Counties. The lag effects of residential development in the immediate anteceding period were more important in Multnomah and Washington than in other counties. In Clark County, residential development in the early part of the decade was the only significant lag variable in models of the latter part of the decade. The conducted tests lend adequate support to the postulated hypotheses. In general, there was differential response to the selected attributes in the subareal models. Also, the results and tests confirmed that parameter estimates of attributes varied in different governmental jurisdictions. This implies that the counties placed different emphasis on the tested variables. Where the favorable set of variables was emphasized with one major sewer service district (Washington County), fringe area growth was enhanced. The emphasis of congestion-related variables (Multnomah County) without the desired infrastructure resulted in a relatively reasonable decline in fringe area residential housing.

A Thesis Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture.

Three trends are occurring today in the United States which inspired this research. First, America is growing increasingly urbanized. Today, more Americans are living in cities than in rural environments, and this pattern is predicted to continue for the foreseeable future. Urban living has benefits, but there are also challenges for city residents including pollution, traffic, and crime. As social scientists, we need to improve our understanding of urban dwellers' relationship with their natural environment just as biophysical scientists are focusing more and more on the impacts of urban development on the natural world. Second, Americans are spending less time recreating outdoors. There has been a documented decline of participation in nature-based recreation, likely being replaced by an increase in use of electronic media during people's leisure time. Less contact with nature has consequences for people, perhaps especially for city dwellers who spend the majority of their time surrounded by the built environment of concrete and asphalt. It is likely that reliance on electronic entertainment has played a substantial role in decreasing amounts of physical activity. Lastly, Americans are becoming more sedentary. Today, the number of Americans who report getting no physical activity is about equal to the number who report getting regular physical exercise during their free time. Rising rates of obesity for adults and children in the U.S. have raised considerable concerns among medical and public policy professionals. The purpose of this research was to examine how small-scale urban nature parks are affecting city residents in Portland, OR. I looked at three elements of Portland residents' relationship with urban nature parks. First, I looked at whether there was an association between individual physical and psychological health and park use. Prior research has revealed that people who spend time recreating outdoors tend to be more physically active than people who do not. These observed higher levels of physical activity are associated with improved physical health. Time in nature settings has also demonstrated a positive effect on psychological well-being, such as reduced anxiety and improved ability to concentrate. Second, I examined whether having a nature park in their community had an effect on Portland residents' sense of neighborhood health. Previous research suggests that having natural areas in urbanized areas directly contributes to city residents' sense of a stronger, healthier community. Green space in cities has been associated with not only higher levels of reported satisfaction with the neighborhood, but also with higher property values, and with higher levels of retail spending. Third, I employed a social psychological model of attitude formation to evaluate Portland residents' attitudes about their nature parks. Attitudes are particularly important for natural resource managers to understand and account for in policy decisions since management of natural resources often engages the public's sense of personal freedoms and concerns over government regulations. Furthermore, because people in cities are so closely in contact with urban green space on a regular basis, inclusive and responsive policy requires that managers take account of public attitudes. I collected the data relating to these three elements of the relationship between urban residents and their nature parks in Portland because it is the largest city in Oregon. I obtained the data through a general population survey, randomly distributed to residents in the Portland metropolitan area during the fall of 2010. I conducted customary social science statistical analysis, including linear regression, to assess the relationship between Portland nature parks and personal and community health. To evaluate my sample's attitudes, I used the tripartite model of attitude formation originally developed in social psychology research. Because I was working with latent factors of attitude formation, I used structural equation modeling to assess the relationship of the observed variables to their latent factors, and the relationship among the latent factors. My results largely agree with those of other researchers, though I approached the question of physical health and nature recreation slightly differently. For my work on physical health, rather than ask about physical activity and infer health outcomes, I asked directly about physical health. I tested two hypotheses. One hypothesis was that there would be a positive association between self-reported physical health and park use, and the other tested for a positive association between park use and psychological health. My hypothesis for the physical health-parks relationship was partially supported. I tested two physical health variables, and found that one, which described overall health, did reveal a statistically significant relationship to park use. The other, relating to role limitations due to physical health problems, did not have a significant relationship to park use. My second hypothesis asserted that there would be a positive relationship between psychological health and park user status. This hypothesis was not supported, but I did find indications of an association between psychological health and park use. The second element of the relationship between city residents and urban nature parks related to neighborhood health. My results from this analysis were consistent with prior research findings which tend to support a positive association. I tested whether parks close by respondents homes (a fifteen to twenty minute walk), and parks farther away (no more than a ten minute drive away from home) were positively associated with self-reported neighborhood health. I found that both levels of proximity were positively associated with perceptions of neighborhood health. Because prior research suggests that one of the ways that neighborhood green spaces promote stronger communities is through the social interactions that occur in parks among neighbors, I also tested whether park-related social interaction was positively associated with community health ratings. In testing for a mediating effect of social interaction on the relationship between parks and neighborhood health, I found that park-related social interaction had a partial mediating effect on neighborhood health ratings for both parks within walking distance and within driving distance. In testing for moderation, I found that the moderation effect of social interaction was present only for parks within walking distance. The third and final element of the relationship between urban nature parks and city dwellers was attitudes about urban nature parks. I employed a model of attitude formation originally proposed in the social psychology literature. The tripartite model argues that an attitude is formed through three precursors: the cognitive, the affective, and the behavioral components. I also included an additional variable for social networks which I proposed would act as a moderating variable on the relationship between the other components and park attitude. My results for the entire, combined sample of both park users and nonusers indicated that both the cognitive factor and the affective factor have a significant association with attitude formation, while the behavioral component did not. The model for the combined sample also showed that social networks had a statistically significant, inverse relationship with attitudes. I conducted a test for attitude differences between groups (users and nonusers), and found a statistically significant difference. I also tested for a moderating effect of social networks on the other attitude formation components, but that relationship was not supported. Finally, I conducted comparisons between the two groups to assess any differences in the attitude components between users and nonusers. Side-by-side comparisons revealed that both users' and nonusers' attitudes were significantly influenced by the affective component. Perceived outcomes of park use was not predictive of attitude for either group. The values component (on an anthropocentric-biocentric scale) was significant for users, but not nonusers. Nonusers attitudes were also significantly impacted by the behavioral component (i.e., behaviors related to parks), and by social networks. Social networks were not predictive of users' park attitudes. The research I have presented herein provides support for the hypotheses that time spent in natural settings is associated with better physical and psychological health and that community green spaces contribute to satisfaction with one's neighborhood. I also found that attitudes about parks differed between users and nonusers, yet both groups valued them as benefits in the urban environment. Since my sample size was insufficient to make generalizable statements about Portland's population, my results are suggestive, but are consistent with prior research. My research results can help urban natural resource managers and city decision-makers make more inclusive decisions by incorporating an understanding of city residents' relationships to urban nature parks. The results of my research on personal and community health support the position that urban green space fulfills an important function by providing valuable public health benefits, and promoting healthier, more "livable" communities. My results indicate that, for my sample, social interaction at parks was positively related to neighborhood health. Such a positive association suggests that parks could be leveraged to build community cohesion which ultimately leads to benefits like increased sense of safety and happier residents. My results pertaining to park attitudes can help managers develop more targeted public outreach campaigns. For instance, I found that for park nonusers, social networks were a statistically significant predictor of park attitudes. This result implies that park staff and managers could benefit by identifying community organizations and business associations that might be conduits to reach nonusers. Through such information pathways, park managers could disseminate information about urban nature parks that could attract current nonusers. Urban nature parks are not the sole answer to building healthier communities and people. They cannot alone reverse social ills that many urban neighborhoods contend with routinely. However, the scientific data do support the idea that urban natural spaces like nature parks are positively associated with personal and community health. With careful participatory planning that includes a substantial public input component, urban natural resource managers could develop urban nature parks as part of a city's green infrastructure that not only provides valuable ecosystem services like cleaner water and reduced energy consumption, but also provides for nature-based recreation experiences that promote healthier, happier city residents. / Graduation date: 2012

The Second-Hand Society tells the stories of people in Portland, Oregon who redefine waste by making use of objects others discard. The author spends time in repair shops watching craftsmen hammer and polish broken typewriters, vacuum cleaners and shoes back to life. She follows book scouts, clothes pickers and liquidators as they gather merchandise to resell and spends hours at nonprofits that collect and redistribute unwanted electronics and building supplies. She watches junk artists and fashion designers assemble found objects into display pieces, accompanies Dumpster divers and "freegans" along their regular collection routes and visits the homeless encampment by the airport to see how an entire community of people survives on nothing but reclaimed materials. The members of the second-hand society challenge the traditional conception of things as "broken" or "unwanted" and assert that forward movement and new-new-new is not always optimal. By examining the motivations and practices of the people who make use of our discards and looking at the contradictions they run up against, this thesis develops a more complete understanding of the reality that's possible if we think differently about our waste.

A lack of land use controls on sexually oriented businesses contributes to the unique configuration of Portland, Oregon's strip clubs: nearly fifty clubs are distributed throughout the city's neighborhoods. Considered a locally unwanted land use (LULU) by many, these strip clubs are regulated by a variety of formal and informal social processes in the absence of zoning. This qualitative study explores drivers and constraints shaping the spatial configuration of Portland's strip club industry as well as influences on land use conflict at strip club sites and working conditions for women who work as exotic dancers in the clubs. Data collection entailed review of documents (newspaper articles, legal and administrative decisions and records, and ballot measure pro/con statements); site observations; and in-person interviews with exotic dancers, strip club owners and managers, public employees who deal with strip clubs in their line of work, and people who live and work near strip clubs (n=43). Analysis follows Clarke's (2005) situational analysis methods. The study finds that strip clubs are not necessarily incompatible with residential locations and that such locations can confer benefits to dancers. The normalization of strip clubs in Portland decreases the place stigma associated with strip clubs but has a lesser impact on the person stigma of being an exotic dancer. With regard to land use conflict, the study finds that tolerance of sexual commerce is associated with urbanicity and that neighborhood socioeconomic status has a more complex relationship to community response than is suggested by the literature on land use conflict. Based on these findings, the dissertation argues that conflict resolution programs may be more effective than zoning at managing potential negative effects of sexually oriented businesses, and that improving working conditions for exotic dancers is a complex challenge. It proposes broader adoption of the sex work discourse, including the integration of labor issues in sex industry to advocacy efforts on behalf of other freelance and service sector workers.

For many health conditions, African Americans bear a disproportionate burden of disease, injury, death, and disability compared to European Americans. African Americans also use health services less frequently than do European Americans and this underuse of services contributes to health disparities in the United States. Studies have shown that some disparities are present not as a result of poor access to care, but, to a certain extent, as a result of the experiences patients have at their doctors' offices. It is, therefore, essential to understand African American patients' perspectives and experiences with healthcare providers. Past studies have shown that four barriers affect the quality of patient-provider relationships for African Americans: perceived discrimination, medical mistrust, race discordance, and poor communication. The studies, however, have not looked at how these barriers manifest when African Americans speak about their perspectives and experiences with health care providers. This project was a secondary data analysis of qualitative data provided by adult African American community members from Portland, Oregon with diabetes or hypertension or both, each of whom participated in one of 10 focus groups. The focus groups were conducted as part of a study that applied community based participatory research (CBPR) principles to understand patients' experiences with their doctors. Using a deductive approach, this analysis enhanced the understanding of how the barriers play a role in patient-provider relationships. Further, the analysis showed how the barriers are interrelated. In learning African American patients' experiences and perspectives on these four key barriers, the investigator proposes recommendations for healthcare providers as to how they can best deliver quality care for African Americans.

There is a spatial mismatch between the size of the area where people are living and the extent of land needed to ecologically support developed areas. More people are living in urban areas than any time in history, and the resources need to support cities have had to expand to try and meet the demands of increasing urban populations. However, areas of opportunity exist for urban areas to begin to positively contribute towards the available resources in a region. Because a large portion of urban areas is within private control, gaining a baseline understanding of how residents interact with ecosystem services served as basis of this study. Using a survey of residents in the Portland, OR area, correlations between demographic groups and questions regarding their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors as they relate to vegetation proved that the knowledge of environmental relationships is an important first step in creating pro-environmental behavior. Those reporting a high level of knowledge for ecological system and processes were more likely to value the benefits of vegetation for other associated reasons, such as for recreational activities, aesthetic purposes, and air or water quality. Additionally, survey responses were mapped to spatial data to gain an understanding of the spatial characteristics of neighborhoods in the survey area and how they have changed over time. Overall, the results in the study display trends that can help outreach organizations and municipalities to determine plans to strategically engage the public in a way that could create a net gain in urban ecosystem services.

Due to the ever growing numbers of immigrants entering this country, school districts are faced with ever greater challenges for educating newly arrived immigrant students. Often these students arrive with little to no English ability and little to no school experience. Several educational program models, including ESL and bilingual education, have been popularized in school districts experiencing immigrant population growth. Recently, a supplemental model, the newcomer center/program, has gained popularity. The newcomer model seeks to educate and nurture newly arrived immigrant students with little to no English ability in the social and school expectations of the United States. Due to difficulties in conducting research and the relative newness of the program, there is a lack of quantitative research on the effectiveness of the newcomer model. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the newcomer program in one city school district by comparing students who had completed the newcomer program to students who had been unable to attend and were instead directly mainstreamed into their regular assigned schools. The study used a questionnaire design in which the mainstream teachers were asked to rate the students using a Likert scale. Students were rated on their social and school adjustment. In addition to comparing students by program model group (newcomer and pre-beginner), statistical analyses were also used to determine any possible differences among gender, language groups and student ages. Although no significant difference was found between the group of students who successfully completed the newcomer program and the group of students who were directly mainstreamed, there were a few significant findings among gender, age and language comparisons.

While bicyclists and other active travelers obtain health benefits from increased physical activity, they also risk uptake of traffic-related air pollution. But pollution uptake by urban bicyclists is not well understood due to a lack of direct measurements and insufficient analysis of the determinants of exposure and ventilation (breathing). This knowledge gap impedes pollution-conscious transportation planning, design, and health impact assessment. The research presented in this dissertation generates new connections between transportation system characteristics and pollution uptake by bicyclists. The primary research questions are: 1) how do urban bicyclists' intake and uptake of air pollution vary with roadway and travel characteristics and 2) to what extent can transportation-related strategies reduce uptake. Breath biomarkers are used to measure absorbed doses of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This research is the first application of breath biomarkers to travelers and the first uptake measurements of any pollutant to include roadway-level covariates. Novel methods to collect and integrate bicycle, rider, traffic, and environmental data are also introduced. Bicyclist exposure concentrations, exhaled breath concentrations, respiratory physiology, and travel characteristics were collected on a wide range of facilities in Portland, Oregon. High-resolution trajectory and pollution data were then integrated with roadway and traffic data. Models of exposure, ventilation, and uptake of VOCs were estimated from the on-road data. Important new quantifications in the models include the effects of average daily traffic (ADT) on multi-pollutant exposure, the lagged effect of on-road workload on ventilation, and the effects of exposure and ventilation on absorbed VOCs. Estimated models are applied to situations of interest to travelers and transportation professionals. Sample applications include the inhalation dose effects of road grade, cruising speed choice, stops, and detouring to parallel low-traffic facilities. In addition, dose-minimizing routing behavior is compared with revealed routing preferences in the literature. Finally, findings from this research and the literature are distilled so that they can be incorporated into bicycle network design guidelines.

Bicycle transportation has become a central priority of urban areas invested in improving sustainability, livability, and public health outcomes. Transportation agencies are striving to increase the comfort of their bicycle networks to improve the experience of existing cyclists and to attract new cyclists. The Oregon Department of Transportation sponsored the development of ORcycle, a smartphone application designed to collect cyclist travel, comfort, and safety information throughout Oregon. The sample resulting from the initial deployment of the application between November 2014 and March 2015 is described and analyzed within this thesis. 616 bicycle trips from 148 unique users were geo-matched to the Portland metropolitan area bicycle and street network, and the self-reported comfort level of these trips was modeled as a function of user supplied survey responses, temporal characteristics, bicycle facility/street typology, traffic volume, traffic speed, topography, and weather. Cumulative logistic regression models were utilized to quantify how these variables were related to route comfort level within separate variable groups, and then the variables were used in a pooled regression model specified by backwards stepwise selection. The results of these analyses indicated that many of the supplied predictors had significant relationships with route comfort. In particular, bicycle miles traveled on facilities with higher traffic volumes, higher posted speeds, steep grades, and less separation between bicycles and motor vehicles coincided with lower cyclist comfort ratings. User supplied survey responses were also significant, and had a greater overall model variance contribution than objectively measured facility variables. These results align with literature that indicates that built environment variables are important in predicting bicyclist comfort, but user variables may be more important in terms of the variance accounted for. This research outlines unique analysis methods by which future researchers and transportation planners may explore crowdsourced data, and presents the first exploration of bicyclist comfort perception data crowdsourced using a smartphone application.