Master's Projects

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Master's Projects

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 57

A Framework for the Successful Integration of Casinos into Sustainable Communities

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-12) Gloster, Joshua

Casinos are currently one of the most popular real estate and economic development tools used by planners throughout America. As the stigma fades from casinos and gaming in general, many urban areas throughout the country are battling to be the sites of casinos, supposedly engines of economic development and place making. This paper explores the impacts of casinos on economic development, environmental sustainability and social equity; and how policymakers, casino development plans, and community comprehensive plans address sustainability issues. The author finds that in some cases, the benefits of casino development are overstated and not suitable for communities wishing to enhance sustainability. However, for the communities explored in this paper, converting casinos into alternate uses is difficult, and it may be necessary to implement sustainable strategies given the likelihood that casinos will remain a part of these communities’ future.
School Siting & Design Study

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-12) Anderson, Lindsay ; Bustin, Allison ; Cook, Kirstin ; Davis, Khaliff ; Mitchell, Brian ; Monnier, Steve ; Perumbeti, Katie ; Rindge, Brianna

In partnership with the Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Tech School of City and Regional Planning conducted the School Siting Studio. The Studio investigated current public school siting practices in Georgia and the impacts of these practices on the surrounding community and environment. School locations influence the overall well-being of a community and affect not only students, parents, and school staff but also virtually anyone who lives, works, plays, or commutes within the area. This Studio evaluated current Georgia practices in light of potential alternatives and best practices. Based on this evaluation, the Studio recommends changes to promote sustainable school siting practices at both the state and local.
Megaregions as a Framework for Integrating Supply Chain Dynamics and Freight Planning

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-12) Hylton, Peter

This study applies a megaregions framework to supply chain management configurations. The study goal is to assess ways in which transportation planners may leverage the megaregions framework to enhance freight distribution. Megaregions have much in common with the scales at which private-sector freight distribution occurs because both conform to economic dynamics that cross political boundaries. While megaregions have an established position in the transportation planning field reinforced by many years of research and increasingly formalized practice, the concept has been applied much less frequently to private-sector freight activity.
Community by Design

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-07) Carpenter, Michael

Principles of community based participatory research (CBPR) were applied in the field of design to create an avenue to encourage and allow more community input in the design process. Communities are diverse, each with their own unique characteristics; therefore, it is important to work with members and local organizations to understand the background, history, and dynamics that define the community. Current CBPR methods allow member’s input in the design process but aren’t geared towards creating design solutions. This project focuses on creating an approach that merges CBPR and user centered design principles. The outcome is the creation of K.I.N.D. (Knowledge, Immersion, Need, Design), a self designed toolkit used to connect and unify diverse groups of community members to learn about current needs and identify a design-oriented solution. To test this toolkit, the K.I.N.D methodology was applied to local community. Through the application of K.I.N.D, members of the local community became actively engaged in developing a tangible solution. The results showcase a branding strategy to strengthen the identity of the community as well as a plan for identifying assets within the community and stimulating economic growth
Assessing Commonalities in Public Art and Comprehensive Planning Practice: A Direction for Atlanta

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-05-03) Britt, Meredith

Murals, sculptures, and other public art forms exists in public space and are a part of the everyday experience. Increasingly, city leaders, planners, and public art practitioners realize that public art has the potential to further desired economic, social, and design-based goals. In an analysis of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program (MAP), one of the most expansive public art projects in the United States, Mark J. Stern and Susan C. Seifert write that MAP’s murals “serve as an indicator of a neighborhood that has the ingredients to create revitalization, including a diverse population and a strong civic life. To the extent that murals serve as an expression of that transformation, we can say they have an impact in stabilizing and sustaining processes of community transformation” (Stern and Seifert 2003). Stern and Seifert illustrate that public art can operate as one tool in a set of comprehensive revitalization strategies, but that it is not a “silver bullet for transformation (Stern and Seifert 2003). Scholars today study direct impacts of public art, but more work can be done to understand how public art fits in as a tool for broader urban development strategies. More analysis of the intentions behind public art investments and the influence public art has on communities is needed to understand how to artfully use it as a tool to assist in bringing about desired social and economic goals. Because public art increasingly has social and economic intentions for urban spaces, city planners have a need to assess how public art affects the communities in which they work. This paper assesses the current practice of public art in the Atlanta region and its commonalities with urban planning practice.
Committing Planning Suicide: Economic Competitiveness, Political Wranglings, and the Demise of Growth Management in Twenty First Century Florida

( 2014-05-03) Risher, John

In June of 2011, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed into law a piece of legislation, HB7207, that severely curtailed the landmark Growth Management Act of 1985 (GMA), which through a policy combining consistency, concurrency, and compact development, had aimed to ensure the proper balancing of development and growth controls to promote socially responsible growth in the state for years to come (Pittman 2011). With his signature, Gov. Scott rendered toothless a piece of growth management legislation which had pioneered state growth efforts (along with the Oregon Land Use Act of 1973) and served as a model for numerous other states seeking to limit the deleterious environmental and social impacts of urban sprawl and wasteful land consumption and eliminated the agency, the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), that oversaw its implementation (Pittman 2011; Ben-Zadok 2005, 2167). While much has been written debating the GMA’s effectiveness in managing growth, its potential impact on housing affordability, and its broader impacts of Florida’s economic competitiveness, at this critical juncture in Florida’s history, it is appropriate to reflect upon the preceding four decades of planning for growth in the state. The act broadly sought to protect agricultural lands, environmentally sensitive lands, and natural areas from the pressures of development, instead directing growth to locations of higher density, thought more suitable to the long-term objectives of the public welfare. An added benefit of these efforts, of course, was the protection of taxpayers from financial strains of sprawling infrastructure.
A Valuation of Historic District Designation in Atlanta

( 2014-05-03) Hagood, Chelsea

It is a well-established notion that historic district designation results in increased property values (Rypkema, 2005). Many cities have employed these historic preservation policies in an effort to catalyze inner-city redevelopment efforts. It is difficult, however, to assume that all geographies will ascribe the same monetary value to historic preservation, especially across socioeconomic barriers. Historic and cultural resources are prized in most communities for their authentic representation of a neighborhood’s past. This authentic representation can be described as a way to promote the true story of an area, or the distinctive and tangible experience of a place that is supported by historical fact (Wiles, 2007). This often refers to a building or place’s material or architectural integrity, but authenticity can also be described as a social construct concerned with intangible traditions just as much, if not more than the preservation of the original architecture. Thus, the historic authenticity of the neighborhood is lessened if the community members that share connections with these historic resources are displaced due to the rising property values simultaneously touted as a policy benefit. When dealing with historic districts and neighborhoods it is especially important to recognize the community members and residents themselves as sources of historical authenticity, especially if the historical significance associated with the neighborhood is directly related to the people who have lived there. Despite the common misconception that historic districts are often located within wealthy homogenous neighborhoods, given Atlanta’s rich civil rights history, several of the City’s historic districts are located in historically low-income African American neighborhoods, and thus may be susceptible to displacement resulting from increased property values.
Affordable Housing Readiness Tool

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-05-03) Haas, Sara

The U.S. is experiencing a shift in expectations fo r provision of affordable housing: HUD has rolled out new Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housin g guidelines; mixed income developments are replacing former public housing; and state leve l Qualified Allocation Plans often reward access to transit and inclusion in mixed income com munities with increased points. In addition, income inequality in Atlanta is on the rise and the north/south metro divide in income and race remains clearly demarcated (2013). In addition, acc ess to opportunity is recognized as critical for achieving high quality of life; affordable hous ing alone is insufficient (Briggs 2005). Given these shifts, it is important that the field not re ly on availability of land or concentration of low income residents as primary metrics indicating pote ntial for success of affordable housing. Rather, assessing the community from a holistic fra me will ensure greater equity in access. In this paper I will first explore key aspects of e quity, access and limitation of displacement, through review of a variety of tools developed to a ssess access to opportunity in communities across the country. These tools include transit-ori ented development typologies, community indicator projects, program and community performan ce measures, program scorecards, and program dashboards.
Juxtapositions of Density: A Study of the Relationship of Urban Form to Abrupt Variations in Density

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-05-03) Tuura, Logan

The growth of high density developments outside city centers can create juxtapositions of high-rise and low-rise buildings, producing problems related to building height and bulk, differing scales, and solar and shadow effects. Understanding how these juxtapositions operate is vital in order to comprehend the problems which arise from them and to inform policies which seek to mitigate the issues they can create. This research paper asks the question: How do juxtapositions of high-rise development and low-rise neighborhoods operate in terms of urban form, and how can empirical evidence of urban form be used to re-solve the problems inherent with these situations? This question will be answered by a comprehensive review of the regulatory responses to these conditions and empirical research through a review of case studies that feature these juxtapositions.
Inequitable Infrastructure Investments: An Atlanta Case Study An Analysis of the Distribution of Atlanta’s Infrastructure Investments throughout Local NPUs

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-05-03) Phillips, Marion

America is a country where the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. This is an issue affecting cities and their ability to maintain their economic vibrancy while assisting their low-income residents. However, none have been put in the spotlight for income disparities more so than Atlanta. In June 2013, the New York Times published an article about a Harvard University study that found Atlanta to be in the bottom 3 of the 50 largest metro areas for upward mobility. Then in February 2014, the Brookings Institute compared the household income of the top 5% of residents with that of the bottom fifth to find that once again Atlanta appeared at the top in terms of income disparity. These articles reinforce the idea that where a person lives matters and could determine his or her ability to succeed. Therefore, it is important to analyze where cities are investing, and if they are considering equity, especially in cities like Atlanta where the disparity is recognized. This paper uses data on Atlanta’s infrastructure investments from 1999 to 2012 to determine which areas are receiving the most projects and funding in order to evaluate the equity of the distribution. Additionally, this paper seeks to see the extent to which planners are considering equity in their decision-making process.