Planning for Urban Sustainability Through Residents’ Wellbeing: The Effects of Nature Interactions, Social Capital, and Demographics

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Description
Promoting human wellbeing is a core tenet of human development and sustainability research and practice. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to examine drivers of distinct aspects of wellbeing in an urban setting. Understanding how nature interactions impact human…

Promoting human wellbeing is a core tenet of human development and sustainability research and practice. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to examine drivers of distinct aspects of wellbeing in an urban setting. Understanding how nature interactions impact human wellbeing is pertinent during the pandemic given the abrupt changes in lifestyle and anxiety experienced by many people. Through a quantitative analysis of 2021 survey data in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, I explored how distinct nature recreation activities, along with nature satisfaction and social capital in their neighborhoods, affected residents’ wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. To conceptualize wellbeing holistically, I employed a tripartite model of health encompassing subjective wellbeing, physical health, and mental health. Data from the 2021 Phoenix Area Social Survey were analyzed coupled with geospatial environmental factors that linked to survey respondents. With linear and logistic regression models, I examined how different types of nature recreation, along with local environmental and social factors, influence Phoenix residents’ life satisfaction, common health diagnoses, and depression and anxiety. Results indicate that perceived social and environmental attributes of neighborhoods and proximity to desert preserves had a more significant impact on subjective wellbeing than nature recreation. Age and park visitation largely influenced physical health, while socio-demographic factors had the largest impact on mental health. Changes in nature recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly impact any dimension of wellbeing among the survey sample. This research demonstrates that distinct aspects of wellbeing have different drivers, and multiple environmental and social features should be considered when designing happy and healthy communities. Additionally, the design and management of human‒environment dynamics at the local level can improve residents’ subjective wellbeing. Research should continue investigating trends and drivers of human wellbeing to support sustainability goals into the future in order to promote wellbeing in urban communities.
Date Created
2023
Agent

An exploration of the relationship between social mobility and the housing foreclosure crisis in Maricopa County, Arizona

Description
This paper explores if there is a relationship between neighborhoods foreclosures and future social mobility in Maricopa County. Using data from various sources, we constructed a statistical model, multiple regression analysis, and maps to demonstrate patterns across Maricopa County, Arizona.
Date Created
2022-12
Agent

Inclusive Housing and Social Justice: Creating a Community-Centered Approach to Housing Policy

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Description
There are many historical inequities regarding housing in the United States, such as the lack of access to affordable and secure housing for people of color, which is a result of centuries of exclusion. These problems remain ineffectively addressed or…

There are many historical inequities regarding housing in the United States, such as the lack of access to affordable and secure housing for people of color, which is a result of centuries of exclusion. These problems remain ineffectively addressed or unaddressed by policy. Indeed, many community-based organizations report that housing policies fail to address the needs of the people—especially those in marginalized communities. Top-down approaches are efficient and more broadly applicable but miss important community-specific problems. Meanwhile, bottom-up approaches excel in highlighting community perspectives and the lived experiences of residents, but they are challenging to generalize across jurisdictions. This thesis captures community-based understandings of policy through in-depth interviews with community-based organizations (CBOs) and applies these understandings to develop a new quantitative framework for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of housing policies that can be applied across the United States. The thesis also explores various housing policies through a multi-dimensional, intersectional, and forward-thinking analysis that centers marginalized communities.
Date Created
2021
Agent

If you zone it, who will come, and how will they travel? The effects of relaxed zoning regulations on travel behavior

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Description
Urban areas across the Unites States are facing a housing affordability crisis. One approach some cities and states have taken is to reduce or eliminate single-family zoning. Single-family zoning prevents the construction of more-affordable apartments in vast swaths of the…

Urban areas across the Unites States are facing a housing affordability crisis. One approach some cities and states have taken is to reduce or eliminate single-family zoning. Single-family zoning prevents the construction of more-affordable apartments in vast swaths of the American urban landscape. This policy shift has already occurred in Minneapolis, Sacramento, and Oregon, and is under discussion in California, Massachusetts, and North Carolina, among others. Independent of any effects on housing affordability, changes to land use will have effects on transport. I evaluate these effects using a microsimulation framework. In order for land use policies to have an effect on transport, they need to first have an effect on land use, so I first build an economic model to simulate where development will occur given a loosening of single-family zoning. Transport outcomes will vary depending on which households live in which parts of the region, so I use an equilibrium sorting model to forecast how residents will re-sort across the region in response to the land use changes induced by new land-use policies. This model also jointly forecasts how many vehicles each household will choose to own. Finally, I apply an activity-based travel demand microsimulation model to forecast the changes in transport associated with the forecast changes from the previous models. I find that while there is opportunity for economically-feasible redevelopment of single-family homes into multifamily structures, the amount of redevelopment that will occur varies greatly depending on the exact expectations of developers about future market conditions. Redevelopment is focused in higher-income neighborhoods. The transport effects of the redevelopment are minimal. Average car ownership across the region does not change hardly at all, although residents of new housing units do have somewhat lower car ownership. Vehicles kilometers traveled, mode choice, and congestion change very little as well. This does not mean that upzoning does not affect transport in general, but that more nuanced proposals may be necessary to promote desirable transport outcomes. Alternatively, the results suggest that upzoning will not worsen transport outcomes, promising for those who support upzoning on affordability grounds.
Date Created
2021
Agent

Have Millennials’ Housing Preferences Changed in the COVID Era? A Case of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area

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Description
The COVID-19 pandemic carries many implications that are resulting in substantial shifts in the way people work, live, and socialize. Interest in the effects of the pandemic on residential mobility and discussions about the short- and long-term impacts on housing…

The COVID-19 pandemic carries many implications that are resulting in substantial shifts in the way people work, live, and socialize. Interest in the effects of the pandemic on residential mobility and discussions about the short- and long-term impacts on housing preferences have grown. Recent studies have explored the pandemic’s implications for the housing market. Yet, little is known about how COVID-19 is changing people’s housing needs and residential choices.This research narrows the gap in the literature by exploring changing housing preferences in the Phoenix metro area (PMA) among Millennials (i.e., those born between 1981 and 1996; Pew Research Center, 2019). The study uses data from (i) one- on-one interviews with Millennials and other generations, planners, and real estate agents, (ii) the U.S. Census, (iii) Zillow, and (iv) scholarly publications and regional media to investigate the push and pull factors shaping emerging Millennial housing trends in the PMA. This study also investigates the implications of Millennials’ changing residential choices on the PMA housing market, with special attention to impacts on social equity. The findings suggest that the pandemic has made Millennials reevaluate their residential choices. While this generation's locational housing preferences were strongly motivated by proximity-related factors (Ehlenz et al., 2020; Pfeiffer et al., 2019), telecommuting and online learning resulted in Millennials’ mobility to smaller cities, suburban neighborhoods, and areas far away from jobs and schools. This research also finds that Millennials are becoming more interested in privacy, flexibility in housing, and larger homes that include work and outdoor spaces. Finally, the study reveals concerns about the increasing risk of eviction because of the business shutdowns and employment losses caused by the ongoing health crisis. Overall, this research suggests that planners and decisionmakers should rethink PMA urban growth policies to avoid continued suburbanization and social justice challenges, such as eviction and foreclosures. It also highlights the positive outcomes of flexible housing as an effective tool for community development. The findings suggest that planners and developers should integrate considerations of generational diversity into housing practice and theory.
Date Created
2021
Agent

The Electronics Hardware Innovation Cluster in Shenzhen, China: Contemporary and Future Dimensions from an Agglomeration, Institutional, and Built Environment Context

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Description
Being on the frontline of China’s ambition to internalize hi-tech supply chains (e.g., “Made in China 2025” campaign) and on the cusp of global tech competition (e.g., U.S.-China tensions), much strategic significance is given to the electronics hardware innovation cluster…

Being on the frontline of China’s ambition to internalize hi-tech supply chains (e.g., “Made in China 2025” campaign) and on the cusp of global tech competition (e.g., U.S.-China tensions), much strategic significance is given to the electronics hardware innovation cluster in Shenzhen, better known as “the world’s hardware capital”. This study investigates the latest dynamics of Shenzhen’s electronics cluster from the perspectives of agglomeration, institutions, and the built environment. The study found that despite different interpretations of the trade-off between agglomeration economies and diseconomies by both firms and analysts, increasingly diverse types of firms and intra-firm functions spillout from Shenzhen to surrounding areas, such as Dongguan and Huizhou in the Greater Bay Area. Institutionally the dissertation found that recent major external context changes, namely the pandemic, trade war, and financial and property economy fever, have not significantly changed the innovation culture in Shenzhen. As for the built environment dimension, in the context of policy thrusts, market forces, and stakeholder interests, gentrification of affordable rental housing in urban villages only happens in a modest way, without significant displacement of labor forces serving Shenzhen’s electronics industry. Policy implications include: (i) More administrative and planning co-operation should occur between Shenzhen and surrounding municipalities, given the increasingly diverse types of firms and intra-firm functions spilling out from Shenzhen; (ii) For local government, cultivating innovation culture in a cluster is a long-term task, which requires persistent building of a favorable policy environment for many years; (iii) In terms of built environment policy-making in innovation clusters (both living and working environments), more attention should be paid to implementation mechanisms; (iv) Areas surrounding Shenzhen, potentially the future spatial focus for Shenzhen’s future innovation, should be of higher policy significance. Theoretical insights include: (i) Better understanding of mechanisms underlying the spatial growth of clusters at the sub-regional scale; (ii) The importance of the long-term in the formation of cluster institutions and culture, even in the face of short-term strong context changes; (iii) The built environment is both a driver and product of industrial clustering; (iv) Integrated study of the agglomeration, institutional, and built environment dimensions of cluster dynamics will yield new insights.
Date Created
2021
Agent

Correlation between Perceived Quality of Life and Perceived Accessibility in Metropolitan Phoenix Area

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Description

The research presented here aims to explore the perceived Quality of Life (QoL) and perceived accessibility among varying demographic and socioeconomic groups in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. A relationship between perceived QoL and perceived accessibility was further investigated. The data…

The research presented here aims to explore the perceived Quality of Life (QoL) and perceived accessibility among varying demographic and socioeconomic groups in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. A relationship between perceived QoL and perceived accessibility was further investigated. The data was collected through the Phoenix Area Social Survey (PASS), which sent randomized surveys to 496 people in the Phoenix region. The survey’s response rate varied, from a low of 22.2% in one of the lowest-income neighborhoods and a high of 55.6% for a middle-income neighborhood. Results were obtained through statistical analyses, such as correlations, chi-squared tests, and t-tests. Results for income, gender and ethnicity indicated similar and comparable perceived QoL and perceived accessibility in the Phoenix area. The data did not reveal a relationship between perceived QoL and perceived accessibility; however, accessibility did increase with increasing income. A striking finding revolved around disparities in access to walkability and transit across all income, genders and ethnicities. This presents implications for built environment and resource allocation planning in order to enhance the lives of residents in the Valley. Future research and investigation into the objective indicators of QoL and impacts of culture on QoL should be pursued.

Date Created
2021-05
Agent

When the appropriators become the appropriated: battling for the right to the city in South Phoenix, Arizona

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Description
Urban planning in the neoliberal era is marred by a lack of public engagement with urban inhabitants. Henri Lefebvre’s ‘right to the city’ theory is often treated as a way to empower disenfranchised urban inhabitants who are lacking control over…

Urban planning in the neoliberal era is marred by a lack of public engagement with urban inhabitants. Henri Lefebvre’s ‘right to the city’ theory is often treated as a way to empower disenfranchised urban inhabitants who are lacking control over the urban spaces they occupy. Though the right to the city has seen a resurgence in recent literature, we still lack a deep understanding of how right to the city movements work in practice, and what the process looks like through the lens of the everyday urban inhabitant. This dissertation seeks to fill these gaps by examining: 1) how a minority-led grassroots movement activates their right to the city in the face of an incoming light rail extension project in South Phoenix, Arizona, USA, and 2) how their right to the city movement demonstrates the possibility of urban society beyond the current control of neoliberalism. Through the use of participant observation, interviews, and media analysis, this case reveals the methods and tactics used by the group to activate their right to the city, the intra-and inter-group dynamics in the case, and the challenges that ultimately lead to the group’s demise.Tactics used by the group included protesting, organizing against city council, and creating a ballot initiative. Intra-group dynamics were often marred by conflicts over leadership and the acceptance of outside help, while inter-group conflicts erupted between the group, politicians, and pro-light rail supporters. The primary challenge to the group’s right to the city movement included neoliberal appropriation by local politicians and outside political group. By possessing limited experience, knowledge, and resources in conducting a right to the city movement, the grassroots group in this case was left asking for help from neoliberal supporters who used their funding as a way to appropriate the urban inhabitant’s movement. Findings indicate positive possibilities of a future urban society outside of neoliberalism through autogestion, and provide areas where urban planners can improve upon the right to the city. If urban planners seek out and nurture instances of the right to the city, urban inhabitants will have greater control over planning projects that effect their neighborhoods.
Date Created
2019
Agent

How Do Planners Engage with Regenerative Design and Development Principles in Urban River Restoration Projects? Insights from the Kinnickinnic River (WI) and the Los Angeles River (CA)

Description

Cities are restoring rivers to recapture the social, ecological, and economic benefits of rehabilitated rivers. But, traditional urban planning and flood management tools may not address the complex relationships between humans, the built environment, and natural elements in the social-ecological…

Cities are restoring rivers to recapture the social, ecological, and economic benefits of rehabilitated rivers. But, traditional urban planning and flood management tools may not address the complex relationships between humans, the built environment, and natural elements in the social-ecological systems of which rivers are an important part. They also may not acknowledge and address the factors that led to channelization. The field of regenerative design and development—an eco-centric approach that aims to dismantle the underlying processes and viewpoints behind the most pressing environmental problems—offers tools to plan more effective and inclusive river restoration projects. To explore these issues and the potential of regenerative design and development, we reviewed 15 urban river restoration plans, followed by a comparative case study of the Los Angeles River, CA and the Kinnickinnic River, WI. We conducted a content analysis of plans and popular press articles, and interviewed key actors. Results indicate many participants exhibit regenerative thinking and participate in regenerative processes, but they are unable to fully implement regenerative projects due to several constraints at institutional, social, economic, physical levels. Study recommendations emphasize rooting restoration in the unique aspects of place, reframing projects as part of nested social-ecological systems, working from potential, addressing broader socioeconomic challenges, and leveraging strategic nodes. Changes to planning education and practice are needed to empower planners to think and act regeneratively.

Date Created
2018-06-08
Agent

Sifting Through the Glamorization of the Tiny House Movement – Perceptions Among Affordable Housing Stakeholders in Lüneburg, Germany

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Description

How we divide space in ever growing urban areas in an equitable, efficient and aesthetic fashion is one of the big questions of our time. In Lüneburg, Germany, citizens think more alternative forms of housing will be an important element…

How we divide space in ever growing urban areas in an equitable, efficient and aesthetic fashion is one of the big questions of our time. In Lüneburg, Germany, citizens think more alternative forms of housing will be an important element of a sustainable future (Lüneburg 2030, 2018). Tiny Houses, dwellings that downsize an entire household to its minimum, are currently gaining attention in the country, but legal barriers make their implementation difficult. It has to be decided if legislations should be changed to allow these structures in the housing mix of Lüneburg. It is a difficult task to sift through the glamorization of Tiny Houses past the ideological utopia to see their value for the individual (Ansons, 2015). Therefore, it is of interest to fully understand what Tiny Houses offer for affordable housing stakeholders. Twenty-five evaluations of criticism and praise of the Tiny House Movement are collected by applying Q method, a tool to gather subjective viewpoints (Barry & Proops, 1999). Results indicate, four salient perceptions on that matter. Each viewpoint identifies different opportunities and risks when evaluating Tiny Houses for Lüneburg. This research demonstrates the potential of Tiny Houses to trigger participation by bringing people with diverse backgrounds together.

Date Created
2018-07-09
Agent
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