Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Thesis. 1974. B.S. / Bibliography: leaves 114-117. / B.S.

Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2014. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 202-211). / Why do some locally based institutions for using and managing shared resources survive, adapt and continue to perform well in the face of changing circumstances while others decline and disappear? To answer this, I revisited 233 irrigation canals in Nepal, originally used to illustrate the Common Pool Resource Framework, between 16 and 37 years later. The resulting longitudinal dataset with 509 variables, plus 39 randomly selected cases called for a different explanation of why only some of these paradigmatic institutions sustained cooperation over decades of rapid and multidimensional changes to keep their canals functional. Analyzing 827 interviews with canal users revealed a difference between the reasons of one considering committing to an institution, and one considering whether to change their existing commitment. Focusing on the latter revealed two variables relating to institutional performance over time: how fair the users perceive the institution to be, and how flexibly the rules are applied. Furthermore, the relevance of perceived fairness relates to government assistance; flexibility is bounded by the resource's technical needs; and the relationship of flexibility to institutional performance depends on perceived fairness. These patterns appear in the original data, the newly collected data, and in the changes between the two. The resulting theory of sustained cooperation is consistent with these empirical findings. It predicts that the adaptability of institutions for using and managing shared resources depends on the qualities of cooperation or non-cooperation with the rules. These are characterized by perceived fairness and bounded flexibility. Overall, I find that institutional performance over time depends on how the rules fit the users' sense of fairness as well as the specific features of the resource and its environment. This differs from current explanations in three ways. First, it broadens the analytical focus beyond interpersonal cooperation to include cooperation between users and the institution over time. Second, it recognizes that perceived fairness of an institution's rules is a determinant of its adaptability and performance over time. And third, it identifies the conditions under which flexibility or rigidity of rule application can contribute to institutional adaptability in changing circumstances. / by Atul Pokharel. / Ph. D.

Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2016. / Thesis: S.B. in Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2016. / Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, 2016. / 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. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 119-121). / Shenzhen's villages in the city or urban villages are forms of informal settlement that emerged in the midst of rapid Chinese urbanization. For a period of time, both the city and villages mutually benefited from the arrangement where rural-designated urban villages used their unrestricted developmental rights to create an alternative affordable housing option for low cost workers. Recently, as land prices have increased, city leaders and developers have begun redeveloping urban villages as a new source of land supply. Even when the original village cooperative, now corporation, is well compensated, migrant workers must continuously move further away from the city to find affordable housing. The cost of erasing urban village cannot only be measured by figures of relocation costs, rental prices, and potential profits. This thesis acknowledges the value of urban villages as a community and place through its dynamic public realm. The unplanned activities and street life in the village's alleys and niches include many social and recreational uses alongside necessary economic and domestic uses. The urban village becomes a potential model for a responsive, never-obsolete, flexible structure that allows for a pluralistic approach to understanding cities. The thesis looks at the how both informal and formal spaces in the public realm are used and asks: How are informal and formal spaces used differently? How does public life in a flexible, adaptable public realm preserve affordability and community in urban villages? How does informal public life challenge conventional understandings of the role of public space? Through design, how can the lessons from these spaces be translated in contemporary developments to foster community and public life? The thesis begins with an overview of existing public realm design recommendations with regards to unplanned activities. A field study in January 2016 provides the primary research data, including observations, time-lapse photography, and informal conversations with public realm users and planning-related professionals. The thesis follows with a mapping and analysis process of building elements, adaptations, and activities that reveals how physical typological elements affect usage pattern. The thesis concludes with design recommendations and possible design interventions that reflect the continuing relevance of urban villages. / by Phillip Hu. / M.C.P. / S.B. in Planning / S.B.

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 45-48). / This thesis examines the potential and limitations of organizing for community control and employment benefits in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. Following decades of disinvestment, this community is experiencing an upsurge in new commercial and residential construction. Concerns about gentrification and displacement of low and moderate income residents inspired a wave of direct action organizing demanding tangible local employment benefits from new development. The campaign culminated in the passage of a "Good Jobs Policy", to be applied to future construction projects in Roxbury. This thesis factors in organizing strategy and political context to explain the campaign's successes and failures. The findings indicated that appropriate preparation and timing, a strong organizing infrastructure, political support and sustained community mobilization helped ensure the policy's passage through the local advisory body. The exclusion of one of its intended provisions can be attributed to the poor governance practices and the competing priorities of local stakeholders. Drawing on these lessons, this thesis recommends a set of priorities and actions to advance community control and benefit from future development in the neighborhood. / by Carmela Zakon. / M.C.P.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-116). / The development of effective community, regional and national risk-management strategies, especially for systemic risks, such as natural disasters, entails understanding the determinants of social vulnerability in individuals and groups, and the factors that foster the adoption of specific mechanisms of risk management and, thus, the elements that supports an efficient implementation process. This thesis contributes to this understanding in the context of communities in developing countries by using data from surveys conducted in the district of Kalahandi, state of Orissa, India, and three municipalities in Mexico, each with a different level of socioeconomic development: Villaflores, Chiapas; Ahome, Sinaloa; and Valle de Santiago, Guanajuato. Using regression modeling of binary response variables, I tested the statistical association between the adoption of formal social risk-management and a number of endogenous and exogenous household characteristics. The results indicate that the likelihood of adoption of formal risk-management strategies increases with the level of the household's association, i.e., its affiliation with local groups; in addition, proximity to roads, financial services and urban-mixed use areas (markets), is less strongly correlated with the likelihood of adoption of risk-management strategies than the level of association, particularly in less-developed environments. These findings are robust to a variety of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and environmental contexts. Keywords: risk, social risk management, social capital, vulnerability / by Luis Flores Ballesteros. / M.C.P.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 119-124). / by Masahiro Nishimura. / M.C.P.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 37-39). / The decline in rice production in Haiti corresponds directly with the trade liberalization that began during the mid 1980s. Before 1986, Haiti was self-sufficient in rice production even in the midst of low yields and traditional farming practices. An influx of rice imports from the United States priced lower than domestic rice has slowly displaced Haitian rice. Producers have found that they are unable to compete with the cheaper imported rice. The low tariffs on rice in Haiti prevent Haitian producers from being able to compete with lower priced imported rice. In 1995, tariffs on rice were decreased from 35 percent to 3 percent. The majority of the rice imported into Haiti originated from the United States, where farmers receive heavy subsidies from the government. As a result, the price of the imported rice does not reflect true production costs. Since Haitian producers are not subsidized, Haitian producers are at disadvantage. / by Paul Altidor. / S.M.

Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2018. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Cataloged student-submitted from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 77-83). / Recent U.S. hurricanes such as Hurricane Harvey in 2017 have raised urgent questions about the role of data providers in disaster response and recovery. Digital tools such as maps that display emergency shelter locations or levels of E.Coli contamination in floodwaters are typically created and managed by a local data intermediary. A data intermediary is defined by the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership as a mediator between data and local stakeholders such as community groups and residents who use data from advocacy to program planning and policymaking. Currently, the Data Services department at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), the regional planning agency for Metro Boston, serves as a data intermediary for the region. This research will argue that in addition to their daily functions, MAPC should assume new roles as the 'disaster data intermediary' during times of crisis given their technical capacity and ability to be more localized than their federal and state counterparts. Natural disasters impact regionally as they tend to cross jurisdictional boundaries and require coordination amongst many municipalities and players who could benefit from shared resources. Drawing conclusions from interviews of data entities who experienced Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, and Harvey, this thesis will propose new tasks for MAPC. From enacting an internal protocol during emergencies to long-term advocacy for open data policies and portals, these recommendations are organized in the context of disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. / by DeeDee Kim. / M.C.P.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-73). / This thesis examines the historical financial data for publicly traded securities issued by Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS). The inquiry isolates certain quantifiable firm specific financial data and organizes that data into pooled, time-series cross-sections. Annual returns to capital are determined for certain equity REITS from 1990 to 1999 and are used as the dependent variable in a statistical regression analysis. The analysis includes independent variables drawn from a database and includes variables to adjust results for the impact of macroeconomic factors. In addition, indexes for the broader markets are identified and included in the regressions to adjust for the impact of trends in the general market. Following adjustments for macroeconomic factors and general market trends the regression results identify various firm specific variables that display a statistically significant relationship to relative returns to capital in REIT securities over time. Negative impacts on returns are observed for increases in firm size and for certain debt features such as variable rate debt, unsecured debt, and total debt. Positive impacts on returns are associated with higher levels of asset growth as well as relatively higher levels of secured debt and preferred stock. The expected positive correlation of returns with increases in broader stock market indexes and negative correlation with increasing short-term interest rates is not displayed. For the period from 1993 to 1999, the data indicate an inverse correlation of REIT returns to the stock market as represented by the S&P 500 index and a direct relation with short-term interest rates. Interpretations of the results are provided in a form that relates the firm level determinates of returns to capital with the history of REITS and their organizational and tax characteristics. Alternatives for further inquiry are identified and implications for investors and REIT managers are discussed. / by William B. Strange, III and Duo Tang. / S.M.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Thesis. 1970. M.C.P. / One unnumbered leaf inserted. / Bibliography: leaves 127-135. / M.C.P.