Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, June 2015. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis. "June 2015." / Includes bibliographical references (pages 90-95). / What enables cooperation at the metropolitan scale? This thesis explores public transportation planning in the Mexico City metropolitan area (MCMA) for empirical evidence to better understand what institutional, financial, and political conditions encourage and deter cooperative metropolitan governance. The MCMA, made up of several state-level jurisdictions, predominantly the Federal District (DF) and the State of Mexico (Edomex), continues to expand rapidly, surpassing their jurisdictional capacities and putting pressure on infrastructure like public transit, which carries almost two-thirds of daily traffic. Unhindered and even instigated by transportation and land use decisions, growth has spilled over from the historic downtown area, concentrated in the northern half of the DF, into Edomex, complicating the development, implementation, and enforcement of policies across the two jurisdictions. Using three cases of recent metropolitan-scale transit projects - Linea B, the Tren Suburbano, and Méxibus Linea 4 - as a lens, this thesis investigates how institutions and actors approach the jurisdictional and functional divides between the states, and how they have done so in the past. By examining the interactions of the various actors and institutions around the planning and implementation of each case, this thesis argues that the broadening of the transportation policy network reflects a more effective approach to metropolitan governance, auguring a future in which cooperation and competition in fact coexist at this scale not only within the realm of public transportation but also as part of overall urban dynamics. / by Callida Cenizal. / M.C.P.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 303-322). / by Mary Margaret Lynch. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-89). / (cont.) developers to produce more green affordable housing. / This thesis examines development barriers to green buildings, particularly to green affordable housing. Green buildings offer intangible benefits in the form of improved environment and health through better air quality. Certain green features also offer significant life-cycle operating savings. These advantages are particularly valuable for affordable housing projects, where low operating costs are critical to affordability and higher indoor air quality is beneficial to modest-income residents that can rarely affect the quality of their living environment. Furthermore, there are many monetary, regulatory, and technical regulations and incentives in the U.S. to promote green building development. Notwithstanding the above advantages and supports, green affordable housing is not yet standard practice. Information and incentives are identified as two of the most important and easy-to-implement tools to promote green affordable housing development. Examples of available information and incentive mechanisms in the U.S. are briefly presented for the green affordable housing industry. Meanwhile, gaps and dysfunctions in the application of these tools are identified as development barriers. The Upham's Corner Marketplace Redevelopment in Massachusetts is presented as an example of a green affordable housing project. Finally, recommendations are made to better utilize information and incentives as tools to promote and sustain green affordable housing development. A green guarantee program, with more efficient information collection and incentive application, is proposed as a means to simplify and standardize certain aspects of the development process for green affordable housing to lower project risks, and to encourage investors and / by Lining Geng. / S.M. / M.C.P.

Thesis (M.C.P. and S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 130-131). / During the last two decades community development corporations (CDCs) have expanded their inner city revitalization efforts from affordable housing to other activities such as commercial real estate development. In the City of Boston alone, CDCs have developed several commercial projects totaling over 406,000 square feet of space. Although the scale and costs of these projects were different, they have something in common: significant public subsidy to fill the gap between the cost of the project and the value after completion. CDCs justify the public subsidy with the argument that commercial projects revitalize distressed neighborhoods, creating jobs for local residents, improving the physical appearance and business climate of the neighborhoods, increasing the variety of products available to residents, and creating local wealth. However, must of the evidence about the impact of commercial development on revitalization is anecdotal. Without a full understanding of how commercial real estate impact local communities, it is difficult to justify these public investments. This thesis proposes a framework to assess the impact of commercial development on inner city revitalization using five impact indicators, these are 1) job and income creation, 2) fiscal impact, 3) leverage of private capital, 4) physical improvement and overall revitalization, and 5) impact on capacity building. This framework is utilized to analyze the impact of two CDC-sponsored commercial projects in Boston. These projects are the JP Center in Hyde/Jackson Square and Egleston Center in Egleston Square. This thesis demonstrates that the public benefits generated by both projects out weighted the public investment. It proves that job creation and physical improvement are the most significant impact on revitalization. The thesis examines the two case studies through the tension between local constituents and CDCs when developing commercial projects. That is, commercial projects require strong credit-worthy tenants-typically national tenants-to make the project financially viable. Without such tenants these projects will not leverage private financing, which in turn will further increase the subsidy required. However, attempts to bring national tenants to CDC-sponsored commercial projects are seen as threatening to existing businesses and perceived as not contributing to local wealth creation. As a result, CDC-sponsored projects face local opposition that counters the revitalization of the neighborhood. This thesis asserts that CDCs can attract national tenants to anchor their commercial projects and strengthen local businesses simultaneously. The thesis proposes alternative models to achieve both goals and spur the revitalization of inner city commercial districts. / by Manuel Martínez Hernández. / M.C.P.and S.M.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2011. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 74-76). / Urban waterfronts are host to every shade of a city's development. Once pulsating with trade and production, the very reason for the city's existence, the mid 20th century brought jarring macroeconomic shifts and technological change that left this vibrant edge largely abandoned. Nothing remains static at the shore; new value was found in the void amidst the remaining industry. Warehouses, factories, and waterfront infrastructure have often proven adaptable to the post-industrial city. As we continue to redevelop this urban waterfront, are our methods and institutions allowing for flexibility for the next wave of change? I argue that we could improve. As various actors with conflicting interests compete for space at the waterfront, their constructions lend a level of permanence to the built environment. Because the urban form is so enduring, we should seek to maximize flexibility in order to avoid the negative aspects of obsolescence and decline. In this research I investigate the forces that influence our development decisions, the reasons for each claim to the waterfront, and the processes by which one is prioritized over another through the lens of Brooklyn, New York. Brooklyn has a great diversity of land uses, industries, and demographics. Its history is colorful and has led to a present condition replete with challenge and opportunity along the shore. Residential development, industrial retention, maritime industry, green space, and access, are some of the themes that need to be reconciled. Through its recent waterfront development we see clear evidence of societal values manifest in the built environment. It is imperative that we recognize the fleeting nature of even these as well as the exogenous variables that can swiftly transform our way of life. As the city experiences growth and decline, the waterfront in flux is host to both sides of the growth curve. Through both market outcomes and tools of government intervention, cities can seek to set the conditions to gracefully accommodate change and give those in the future a voice. Like a distant object looming on the horizon, the uncertain and the unforeseen are not so formidable if we plan for their imminent arrival. / by Jaime Renée Young. / M.C.P.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 74). / Aspen, Colorado, has a booming economy, and there is the potential for working residents to earn substantial incomes. Purchasing a home is not an option for most wage earners, though, because the average home price is over a million dollars. Much of the existing housing stock in Aspen and Pitkin County is owned by very wealthy second-home owners. As a result, Aspen's attractiveness as a home to local employees is limited by its housing market. The real estate industry thrives in part due to the scarcity of developable property in the narrow valley, but primarily due to Aspen's distinction as a world class resort. Pitkin County is located in a beautiful section of the Rocky Mountains. This part of Colorado has excellent skiing 180 days out of the year, and is blessed with sunshine 80% of the time. Additionally, there are five 18-hole golf courses and numerous other outdoor activities. Aspen continues to grow as a year round resort. Pitkin County is roughly 960 square miles in area, but 83% of the county is public land. Getting to Aspen is very difficult. Aspen is located at the end of a horseshoe-shaped valley more than 60 miles from an interstate highway. Pitkin County is analogous to a small resort island due to its isolation and desirable location. The area surrounding this mountain valley is primarily public land and the roads were not designed for commuter traffic. The community has approximately 1,900 rent-controlled or deed-restricted "affordable" units. This large number of subsidized units is still not sufficient to meet the demand at realistic rents. Thus many workers must live far from there jobs and commute to work. The purpose of this study is to analyze the Aspen and Pitkin County housing market. Emphasis is placed on what has happened in Pitkin County to cause these problems, and what is being done to alleviate the stresses on the housing market. Insight into what an isolated resort economy in the United States has done to deal with its housing problems can hopefully be useful to similar economies around the world. / by John Markham Soininen. / S.M.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Thesis. 1972. B.S. / Lacking leaf 88. / Bibliography: leaves 94-95. / B.S.

Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2016. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 95-99). / Black America has been made subject to hatred-fueled mistreatment of near incomparable magnitude and duration for over four centuries of this nation's history. From the shackles of slavery to the systematic disenfranchisement that came with ghettoization and redlining practices by all levels of government, to hair politics, and beyond, Black America is characterized by a people systemically stunted by the country's power majority. These centuries of disenfranchisement are very much felt in the present in Detroit-the country's blackest city by population proportion-as disparities in suffering between blacks and non-blacks in the categories of mortality and unemployment, educational attainment, instances of crime, and property foreclosures are shockingly large. But what role does the planner have in mitigating these injustices and advancing the societal standing of a people structurally wronged? Here it is argued that what is required is a redefining of equity, and the adoption of the professional ideology of Reparations Planning-a set of principles defined in Chapter 1. These ideals are then operationalized an applied to the practice of transit network design. The result of this application is two distinct models, both envisioned for the city of Detroit, whose specific objectives are the provision of increased access to economic opportunity for Black America. These models are then analyzed against the existing condition of mobility in the city as well as against one another. Finally, both networks are visualized in consumer-friendly transit maps and discussed alongside several other fantasy rapid transit proposals for Motor City. This work seeks to recruit planners as soldiers for a battle that must not be waged passively; in Detroit or elsewhere. One that must not be diluted or conflated with the plight of the poor or that of other marginalized groups. Whatever the future of the Black Lives Matter movement may be, it has brought back into mainstream media and dinner table conversation the disparate reality lived by members of the black race in a nation that never welcomed them, has struggled to accept them, and has done all in its power to limit their capacity for greatness. What lies in the following pages is a call to planners to not let the wave that this movement has swelled pass by without mechanizing its potential for forward change. / by Lindiwe-Claudia Rennert. / M.C.P.

Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / Massachusetts is widely recognized as a climate leader and a state that prioritizes social equity. However, existing Massachusetts climate policy does not effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and has limited support for marginalized communities. The state's annual $730 million of investment in energy efficiency is governed by the Green Communities Act, which emphasizes cost-savings for consumers rather than environmental benefits or social equity. The state's Global Warming Solutions Act does impose a legal obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 25% by 2020 and 80% by 2050 based on 1990 levels. Yet these emission reductions will not be achieved without new policies that effectively regulate carbon emissions. Finally, the state's existing environmental justice policy of Executive Order 552 is not enforced and does not govern the distribution of the $730 million of annual investment in energy efficiency. This thesis explores these challenges and suggests a new climate policy framework of "equitable electrification." To achieve this framework, Massachusetts should impose new regulations on the use of petroleum products in building heating systems. The state should also reform the Mass Save energy efficiency investment criteria to prioritize electric heat pumps. To increase support for environmental justice households, municipalities should consider administering their energy efficiency investments directly instead of using existing utility programs. Finally, policymakers should consider new legislation that imposes a progressive carbon price and prioritizes investments for marginalized communities. By pursuing these recommendations, Massachusetts can develop more effective climate policy that reduces greenhouse gas emissions while increasing social equity. / by Adam Hasz. / M.C.P.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2005. / Pages 91-115 consist of 8 folded col. maps printed in leaves, 28 x 43 cm., inserted in pocket on p. [3] of cover. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-116). / Fifteen days of constant and intense rainfall in Venezuela culminated on December 16 1999, in catastrophic landslides and flooding along 25 miles of the Vargas State coastal strip. This catastrophe ravaged the Caracas seaside, ripping up houses and infrastructure and literally reshaping the coastline and beaches. Historical records indicate that similar natural events leading to landslides have occurred in this region before-each fifty years on average. Moreover, the evidence of obliterated structures over hazard-prone areas in Vargas State's cities has led the assumption that land-use planning was not successfully used as a hazard- mitigating technique. Today, after the 1999 mud-flood catastrophe, Venezuela's government is implementing land-use mitigation strategies. However, their efficiency in face of future similar events is not guaranteed. Depending on the tools and instruments used to implement these strategies, these programs will perform successfully --saving lives, time, and resources and promoting the economic and social growth of the region-or fail just as they have in the past. With the aid of government, dwellers have returned slowly to reconstruct their damaged properties, forgetting the strength of nature and the footprints of the rivers, to rebuild in hazard-prone areas and thus starting the cycle again. To evaluate this cycle, this study analyzes the tools used by the Venezuelan government to implement and-use policies in this risk-prone area. This study finds that the combination of tools used in the past and the combination used in the current program are inefficient to pursue the desired goals. / (cont.) These programs are mainly owned and operated by the national government, leaving very little space for local government, the private sector and communities to participate in the reconstruction process. This predominance does not mean national government should not be present in these programs. It does mean that the national government should inform, coordinate, and provide incentives to local governments to engage proactively in the reconstruction process while incorporating mitigation measures in land-use planning. Vargas State inhabitants must be active and willing participants in this process and the government should provide whatever assistance may be needed. / by Sonia Parisca-Blanco. / S.M.