<p> Traditional avenues of influencing planning decisions are not intuitive for diverse, historically underrepresented community residents in many neighborhoods and many immigrant residents come from societies where engaging in public discourse is discouraged or dangerous. The focus of this study, the Planning Outreach and Engagement Liaison (POEL) program, was designed to address these discrepancies, yet whether the program was successful is unknown. Using participatory democracy as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this case study was to explore whether the POEL program brought diverse residents together to participate in the neighborhood planning process. Data were collected through semi structured interviews with planners, community coordinators, public outreach and engagement liaisons, and members of non-governmental organizations (<i>n</i> = 10) and official government records and documents. All data were deductively coded and then analyzed using a thematic analysis procedure. Six themes emerged from the study including (a) measures of program success, (b) outreach and communication, (c) collaboration, (d) intimidation and fear, (e) time limitation, and (f) building relationships. POELs identified and understood that barriers such as lack of time, lack of child care, persistent fear of government intentions, and religious and cultural norms inhabit the process, but found that using outreach and communication promotes interest in and participation in neighborhood planning. When neighborhood residents are empowered and given information about the process, they make informed choices. The study promotes positive social change by showing that mitigating some of the barriers to participation supports greater inclusion of underrepresented persons in the neighborhood planning process.</p><p>

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 56-59). / What is the experience like for LGBT Asylum Seekers in the United States? How can we conceive a sense of citizenship belonging among this population? For LGBT asylum seekers in the United States, the notion of gaining formal status as a refugee and ultimately U.S. citizenship is often a long, challenging process. An extended waiting time for asylum adjudication exasperates gaps in protection within an overall system of laws and policies that lean toward heteronormative - often unwelcoming or discriminatory - definitions of sexual orientation and gender identity. As such, these hurdles are not simply administratively remedied. They are meaningful conditions that restrict rights and ultimately a fundamental sense of citizenship belong. I argue that we can define a unique notion of transnational citizenship among LGBT asylum seekers who are caught between oppressive and unequitable formal institutions. Drawing from existing migration theory and citizenship studies, I claim that LGBT asylum seekers may form a sense of transnational citizenship that is not linked to a habitual physical crossing of national boundaries, but rather is concerned with the formation of enclaves of closely-knit LGBT sub-diaspora communities with the United States. / by David J. Isaak. / M.C.P.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1985. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH / Bibliography: leaves 70-74. / by Marlene L. Bryant. / M.C.P.

Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2015. / Vita. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 125-132). / The US Army has set a course to transition to a future force that is adaptive, modern, and at the forefront of change. This strategic vision lacks a refined installation strategy to meet the needs of the future force. In a period of troop reductions, declining budgets, and increased facility vacancy rates the Army is required to shrink its installations. This thesis explores how to shrink Army installations through change, policy, and design. A set of changes is proposed that focus on eliminating housing, revising security standards, increasing privatization, and growth in Enhanced Use Leasing. Current Army planning strategies based on New Urbanist principles do not address how to shrink installations. Four theories are analyzed to develop a framework for designing the future of Army installations. Parameters are established to test the results of the design. The framework is applied to develop a design proposal for Fort Belvoir, VA. The framework generated a successful design of Fort Belvoir, VA based on the establish parameters. The framework and design process is transferable to all Army installations in the United States. Army planners can apply the process and framework as a tool to generate solutions to shrink Army installations. / by Dwight D. Howell. / M.C.P.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2004. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 31-33). / Two broad schools of thought dominate theories regarding financial innovation. One seeks to explain the process of security design in terms of relatively static organizations creating and promoting their wares and services competitively, generally in response to shifts in technology, taxes or regulation. The other approach stems from an understanding of the basic universal functions the financial system is called upon to deliver. I argue that the latter perspective is a more robust and adaptable framework for explaining the process of innovation. Furthermore, this functional perspective explains why cyclical shifts in certain sectors such as real estate stimulate the need for new and innovative financial products. / by Trevor T. Murray. / S.M.

Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 94-99). / Cities and regions across the world have embarked on designing and implementing place-based economic development strategies for clustering innovation and entrepreneurship. This rising trend can be seen in the proliferation of Innovation Districts and Regional Innovation Ecosystems across many metropolitan regions in the US, Europe, and cities in the Global South. While many of these strategies rely heavily on urban physical transformation, most of them are the manifestation of a well-defined economic development policy that has been proven conducive to rising inequality. Moreover, the policies designed for territorializing innovation through regional ecosystems have prioritized wealth creation in ways that ladders of opportunity are only accessible to specific sectors of society. In turn, this has contributed to increasing inequality and disproportionately affected minorities and disenfranchised communities. Together with the negative consequences of skill-biased technological change and its profound impact on labor, the proliferation of strategies for clustering innovation have also created challenges in spatial and socioeconomic segregation in regions. Using the case of the Basque Country in Spain, this thesis examines the conditions that have enabled the establishment of a successful regional innovation ecosystem while advancing economic democracy at the same time. By examining the political economy of Basque economic development planning, the emergence of cooperative networks of firms such as Mondragon, and the local social and cultural, enabling factors, this thesis will produce a set of recommendations to policymakers and practitioners engaged in developing regional innovation ecosystems. / by Juan Cristóbal Constain Ramos. / M.C.P.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2009. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-105). / Conservation practice in Bhutan is based on two sets of guidelines. One, the Traditional Architectural guidelines that illustrates the entitlement of different architectural features based on the type of building. The other guideline is the Bhutan Building Rules that makes it compulsory to incorporate certain traditional architectural features in all other construction. Although these guidelines have succeeded in preserving the historic structures individually, through the piecemeal approach, it lacks the holistic approach to conservation that takes the neighborhood fabric into consideration which is an important component of vernacular Bhutanese Architecture. This thesis is an attempt to come up with an alternative approach to conservation practices in Bhutan, the holistic approach which is the adaptation of the Historic district concept to better achieve the conservation objective. I analyze the conservation practices in the United States by specifically looking at two historic districts - Beacon Hill in Boston and Charleston in South Carolina. Based on the analysis, my recommendations for the alternative approach to conservation in Bhutan - the Historic district concept includes a set of design guidelines applicable within the historic districts while also looking at ways to make the historic district sustainable economically. / by Sonam Gayleg. / M.C.P.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Thesis. 1972. Ph.D. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 386-400. / Ph.D.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 62). / A hedonic regression analysis is performed using data collected from 1007 multifamily properties within the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas metropolitan area. A Model is estimated that is capable of a) predicting rent given certain inputs regarding the attributes of a property and b) pricing and determining the relative impact on rent of certain attributes and groups of attributes. The analysis produced significant results with important implications for valuation, design, development and acquisition/development of multifamily projects. The Model can be utilized by multifamily developers and investors to assist in optimizing configuration and investment decisions in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. The Model may also provide conceptual insight into tenant preferences applicable to other similar multifamily markets. / by Christopher A. Thomson. / S.M.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2001. / "June 2001." / Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-167). / While much attention has been paid to ways to help low and moderate income homebuyers buy their first homes, relatively little has been written about how those homes can be kept affordable for the next purchasers when the original owners move on. Although programs have become very successful at finding ways to make homeownership possible for households not served by the private market, the ultimate challenge is to devise workable strategies to maintain the affordability of those homes over time. This analysis will provide an overview of both the policy choices being made and the mechanisms being employed to protect Massachusetts' stock of affordable ownership housing. Through an examination of the ways in which ownership-based affordability restrictions are currently being designed, implemented, monitored, and enforced, under different programs and in different communities, this report will demonstrate ways in which the current system may fail to protect units from being "lost to the market" and will recommend measures which could be taken to make the system more failsafe. Only a few decades ago, housing activists did not think that it was possible to find a workable balance between restricting resale prices and maintaining affordability. Today thousands of families who are unable to become owners through the private market are accepting this trade-off when they decide to purchase restricted ownership units. This analysis focuses exclusively on what has been occurring in Massachusetts. While the concepts outlined in this report should be applicable to other programs in other parts of the country, there are a number of features of the Massachusetts affordable housing experience which are uniquely local. / by Cassandra A. Arnaud. / M.C.P.