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.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-118). / Community development corporations, as well as other stakeholder organizations in inner-city areas, are increasingly taking on the tasks of economic development in general and commercial revitalization in particular. In order to improve the effectiveness of these interventions, this thesis has two purposes: 1) to provide a rigorous, widely applicable framework for approaching the task of revitalizing inner-city neighborhood business districts, and 2) to provide an example of how this framework can be used by applying it to the Uphams Corner neighborhood in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Four economic theories of retail provide the backbone of this framework. Economists use these theories to explain the success of malls and to describe what attracts people to one shopping area over another. This thesis also uses the theories to explore the strategy of orienting commercial districts around particular niches or clusters of stores. While many have recommended niche-based strategies, they do not explicitly connect this to the economic dynamics of retail areas. Therefore, this thesis seeks to explain: 1) what creates the connection between stores in various types of niches, 2) how the nature of competition between stores differs across various types of niches, 3) how these theories can be used to develop concrete strategies for working with existing stores and recruiting new ones, and 4) which types of new stores will be the most successful and add the most to the health of the area. In the process of developing this framework, the thesis describes a number of doubts as to whether the economic theories of retail are applicable to inner city areas. If these doubts can not be overcome, it does not make sense to use the theories in these districts. The first doubt concerns whether or not commercial revitalization in general, and the economic theories in particular, can be used to achieve the goals of community economic development. The second is that improving factors such as parking, cleanliness, and safety may be more important to neighborhood commercial revitalization than altering the economics of the area. The third is that malls may only be able to take advantage of these economic theories because they are owned by a single entity. Inner-city commercial districts have multiple property owners and under resourced store owners, making coordination more difficult. The fourth is that there may be something different about inner-city consumers such that they might not shop in the way that the theories predict. This thesis argues that each of these doubts can be overcome, and that the theories can be used effectively to revitalize inner-city neighborhood business districts. The thesis concludes with the argument that more emphasis should be placed on economically based strategies for revitalizing commercial areas. The current models, the Main Street approach, Business Improvement Districts, and others focus primarily on improving non-economic, physical factors of these areas. While these efforts are important, this thesis asserts that a greater understanding of the economic dynamics of these retail nodes should permeate all of the work of these organizations. / by Andy Waxman. / M.C.P.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2012. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / "June 2012." Page [86] blank. Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-82). / This thesis seeks to deploy landscape design as a regional economic development strategy. It investigates the relationship between economic activity and the built environment. Economies transition from one trend to the next at a faster pace than urban stock, meaning the landscape and infrastructure, is able to adjust. Thus, flows of ephemeral economic phases leave patterns of durable infrastructure elements that may not serve as relevant or useful purposes in the emerging economic movements. These landscapes and infrastructure elements can then become underutilized or obsolete. Instead of allowing these facets of the built environment to fall subject to abandonment, entirely rely upon subsidies, or solely become a commodity tourist attraction, this thesis seeks to redesign and repurpose old infrastructure to deliver productive services to the surrounding contemporary society. This paper asks if adaptively repurposing regional infrastructure can contribute positively to regional economics. In order to test this argument, it investigates a single case study - the Erie Canal in Upstate New York. The Erie Canal was a piece of 19th century infrastructure built in 1825 that gave substantial rise and economic prosperity to the region. However, since its initial opening, the Erie Canal has declined in relevance and today suffers from underutilization. This paper seeks to discover if redesigning and repurposing the Erie Canal can generate both economic benefits and ecologic benefits to contribute positively to the surrounding urban region. It applies a systems-based design approach to assess the current conditions of the Canal, and then identifies points of leverage, or catalyst sites, along the linear system that will most greatly engender positive benefits for the entire surrounding region. A full mapping assessment was conducted per the research principles of systems-based design. Further economic and site information was recalled through secondary source reports and interviews. From these research methods, three typologies of catalyst sites and spaces were identified along the linear canal system and five potential economic opportunities were identified in the Erie Canal Region. This thesis proposes three alternative trajectories to move forward with these physical and economic findings: conduct a primary source investigation to discover the true potential of the latent economic opportunities surrounding the canal; remove the subsidy from the Canal budget all together and deinfrastructuralize the waterway to a natural state; or amplify the natural strengths of the Canal by diversifying its utilization. / by Lindsay K. Reul. / M.C.P.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Thesis. 1972. B.S. / Bibliography: leaves 89-90. / B.S.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Julie M. Johnson. / M.C.P.