This diploma thesis aims to analyze the issue of one of the most significant congressional powers found in Article I., Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. Congressional power to regulate interstate commerce has been instrumental to the federal government's legislative efforts in many areas of law. This constitutional provision enabled the Congress to react to the changing conditions and new problems the country has been facing, especially in the area of working conditions, civil rights, criminal justice or even environmental law and many others. The expansion of power of the federal government, however, was not always greeted with enthusiasm, especially in the first three decades of the 20th century, before the Supreme Court began to read the commerce power much more broadly, to the point that it ceased to be a factual limitation of its powers. This trend was meant to be stopped by the New Federalism movement and the five new conservative justices who issued rulings that limited the scope of the Commerce Clause. However, this group of justices proved to be very inconsistent in its own approach toward this constitutional provision and eventually fell apart, which rendered Rehnquist's attempted constitutional revolution with respect to state's rights partly a failure. As the new Court membership under...

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The removal of New York Interstate- 81’s (I-81) 1.4 mile stretch of raised, four-lane highway in Syracuse will highlight the critical role of socioeconomics, accessibility, and community building in urban neighborhood reclamation. The removal of what had been previously deemed an urban renewal project, presents Syracuse with new opportunities for space restoration and place-making efforts, atoning for careless and traumatic historic divisions, all the while exploring more substantive design responses tailored to the realities of the City. This thesis explores these fundamental planning considerations through a design lens; by proposing a comprehensive and integrated vision of physical and spatial opportunities provided by the removal of the Viaduct. Through a series of demographic, socioeconomic and spatial analyses, this thesis begins by working to understand the effect of these proposed changes on the communities most directly affected both by I-81’s construction and now its destruction. Then, the thesis examines what it means to be a Sanctuary City in the United States and explores methods in which the vacancy of this land can be found to serve Syracuse’s most disadvantaged and at-risk populations. If Syracuse deems itself a home for everyone, what types of facilities could exist to serve that designation, both built and imagined? In this thesis I propose my own theories about the role of architecture in helping to create a true sense of sanctuary. Finally, the thesis explores the design and programming of a series of buildings, spaces, and urban interventions which serve as a means to this end. In so doing, the thesis critically examines the role of socially integrated urban renewal in Syracuse, NY, and offers design explorations that might mediate social inequities.

In the wake of the Affordable Care Act, some US states expanded Medicaid eligibility to low-income, working-age adults while others did not. This study investigates whether this divergence induces migration across state borders to obtain Medicaid, especially in border regions of expansion states. It compares border with interior regions’ in-migration in the concerned subgroup before and after the Medicaid expansion in linear probability difference-in-difference and triple difference regression frameworks. Using individual-level data from the American Community Surveys over 2012–2017, this study finds only a statistically significant increase in in-migration to border regions after the expansion in Arkansas. The differing results across states could stem from statistical power issues of the employed regression analysis but might also result from state peculiarities. In Arkansas, the odds of having migrated increase by about 48% in its border regions after the Medicaid expansion compared to before and control regions. If all additional migrants take up Medicaid, the number of Medicaid beneficiaries in these regions increases by approximately 4%. Thus, even if the induced migration is statistically significant, it appears unlikely to impose meaningful fiscal externalities at the regional level. / Im Zuge des Affordable Care Acts haben einige US-Bundesstaaten den Anspruch auf Medicaid auf einkommensschwache Erwachsene im arbeitsfähigen Alter ausgeweitet, während andere Bundesstaaten dies nicht taten. Diese Studie untersucht, ob diese Divergenz zu einer Migration über die Bundesstaatsgrenzen führt, um Medicaid zu erhalten, insbesondere in Grenzregionen von Reformbundesstaaten. Sie vergleicht die Zuwanderung in Grenzregionen mit der Zuwanderung in das Landesinnere in der betroffenen Gruppe vor und nach der Medicaid-Ausweitung in linearen Wahrscheinlichkeits-Differenz-in-Differenz- und Dreifach-Differenz-Regressionsanalysen. Unter Verwendung von Daten auf Individualebene aus den American Community Surveys der Jahre 2012–2017 findet diese Studie nur in Arkansas einen statistisch signifikanten Anstieg der Zuwanderung in die Grenzregionen nach der Ausweitung. Die unterschiedlichen Ergebnisse in den einzelnen Bundesstaaten könnten von Problemen mit der statistischen Aussagekraft der durchgeführten Regressionsanalyse herrühren. Sie könnten aber auch aus Besonderheiten der jeweiligen Bundesstaaten resultieren. Eine zufällig ausgewählte Person in den Grenzregionen von Arkansas hat nach der Medicaid-Ausweitung eine um 48% erhöhte Wahrscheinlichkeit zugewandert zu sein im Vergleich zu vorher und den Kontrollregionen. Falls alle zusätzlichen Migranten Medicaid in Anspruch nehmen, steigt die Zahl der Medicaid-Empfänger in diesen Regionen um etwa 4%. Es scheint somit unwahrscheinlich, dass die induzierte Migration zu bedeutenden fiskalischen Externalitäten auf regionaler Ebene führt, selbst wenn der Migrationseffekt statistisch signifikant ist.

Previous studies show that pavement condition properties are significant factors to enhance road safety and riding experience, and pavements with low quality might have inadequate performance in terms of safety and riding experience. Pavement Management System (PMS) databases include pavement properties for each segment of the road collected by the agencies. Understanding the impact of road characteristics on crash frequency is a key step to prevent crashes. Whereas other studies analyzed the effect of different characteristics such as International Roughness Index (IRI), Rutting Depth (RD), Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT), this thesis analyzed the effect of Critical Condition Index (CCI) on crash frequency, in addition to the other factors identified in previous studies. Other characteristics such as Percentage of Heavy Vehicles, Road Surface Condition, Road Lighting Condition, and Driver Conditions are taken into the consideration. The scope of the study is the interstate highway system in Fairfax County, Virginia. Negative Binomial, Least Square and Nominal Logistic Models were developed, showing that the CCI value is a significant factor to predict the number of crashes, and that it has different effect for different values of AADT. The result of this study is a substantial step towards developing an integrated transportation control and infrastructure management framework. / Master of Science / Many factors cause crashes in the roads. Although there is a common sense that road characteristics such as asphalt quality are important in terms of road safety, there are few studies that scientifically prove that statement. In addition, asphalt maintenance decisions making process is mainly based on cost benefit optimization, and traffic safety is not considered at the process. The purpose of this study is to analyze crashes and road characteristics related to each crash to understand the effect of those characteristics on crash frequency, and eventually, to build a model to predict the number of crashes at each part of the road. The model can help transportation agencies to have a better understanding in terms of safety consequences of their infrastructure management plans. The scope of this study is the highway interstate system in Northern Virginia. Results suggest that pavement condition has a significant impact on crash frequency.

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Freeways have had a strong influence not only on the urban transportation but also on downtown areas both physically and socially. Certainly, they have extended the commuting limits of the city and made lower land costs more accessible. However, many of the mid-century freeways, once championed by planners as tools for urban renewal, have created swaths of blight through city neighborhoods. Their negative impacts on the larger urban framework requires new ideas for healthier alternatives to aid in preserving and building sustainable cities. Removal of any downtown highway requires careful thought— even more consideration than when it was built. Quick solutions are what resulted in the problems that downtown highways of the Interstate-Era have today. If it is the simple interactions between people and place are that make up the positive aspects an urban environment, then what are the possibilities and strategies for removing urban highway, which are one of the primary impediments separating people in place in contemporary cities? This question is the focus of this thesis. At its core, the removal of freeways represents a trade-off between mobility objectives and economic development objectives. Evidence from other cities’ decisions to redesign or remove their downtown highways suggests multiple benefits. Making design changes, such as to replace a downtown highway with a well-designed surface boulevard, can stimulate economic activities without necessarily causing traffic chaos. Solutions come in different shapes and sizes. The selected case studies in this thesis reflect a diversity of approaches – suggesting no single strategy exists for addressing downtown highway issues. This reflects the fact that multiple alternatives must be considered in every situation because each approach varies in costs and opportunities. A typology of highway alternations derived from the case studies includes seven different techniques: burying, demolishing, taming, capping or bridging, elevating, retaining, and relocating. The final chapter applies the conclusions from the case studies to the Downtown Connector– Interstate 75/85– in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Urban design and transportation planning has an emerging new set of values. Transportation planning is seeking to promote alternate modes of transportation to the private vehicle, like transit, by foot, or by bicycle. We now understand that connectivity is not served only by highways but also by urban street networks that invite modes other than just automobiles. An important role for urban design will be to shape the way these interactions are made to benefit the citizens, its urban spaces, and the economy.

In this report I analyze both historical and contemporary urban planning policies enacted by the City of Austin, TX, through which I establish patterns of structural inequality affecting working class communities of color residing in East Austin. I examine early 20th-century urban beautification initiatives, along with the Progressive era segregationist project of the modern city. Austin city planners solidified segregation along racial lines with the 1928 Master Plan, which mandated the systematic displacement and relocation of African American and Mexican American communities to Austin’s Eastside, along with all “objectionable industries.” Today, East Austin working class communities of color continue to experience unequal burdens of environmentally hazardous industry in their neighborhoods. I examine initiatives implemented by the local grassroots environmental justice organization PODER and their fight for the health and safety of East Austin residents of color in combination with their protest against gentrifying urban planning policies and practices. Through an analysis of the PODER Young Scholars for Justice documentary, Gentrification: An Eastside Story, I look at the ways in which gentrification has changed the East Austin urban cultural landscape. This report aims to shed light upon spatial and racial social geographies that have contributed to the nearly century long battle East Austin residents have waged against discriminatory urban planning policies resulting in educational segregation, environmentally racist industrial zoning, and contemporary displacement of working class communities of color for city profit. / text

The vast majority of large river systems in the United States cross (or comprise) one or more state lines, creating numerous administrative challenges. Addressing these multijurisdictional challenges in an efficient and equitable manner often requires the development of sophisticated institutional arrangements. Several types of "regional organizations" have been created for this purpose, including compact commissions, interstate councils, basin interagency committees, interagency-interstate commissions, federal-interstate compact commissions, federal regional agencies, and the single federal administrator format. These organizations feature a wide variety of authorities and responsibilities; what they inevitably share in common is a hostile political environment, a consequence of political geography and bureaucratic entrenchment. In this study, the challenges associated with the governance, administration, and management of interstate water resources are examined, using the Colorado River Basin as a case study. The Colorado is the only major river in the United States utilizing the "single federal administrator" format, an institutional arrangement that is often criticized for its subordination of the states and its concentration of policy-making authorities in the hands of administrators. When evaluated against carefully defined normative criteria, the Colorado is shown to feature many institutional deficiencies that are, in part, derivative of the Colorado's unique institutional arrangements. The primary objective of this study is to determine if the governance and management of the Colorado could be improved by the establishment of an alternative form of regional water organization. It is concluded that a type of federal-interstate compact commission, if carefully tailored to the political realities of the region, could improve many of the observed institutional deficiencies. This study also presents a widely-applicable methodology for the description and evaluation of institutional arrangements.