Master's Projects

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Master's Projects

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 351

Understanding Trends in Urban Heat and Mitigation Strategies in Urban Design and Planning

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-04-25) Burch, Makaela

Since the 19th century, a trend of rapid urbanization has been observed across the globe. Given that urban areas need to accommodate more and more people, urban development has been impacted in a way that favors high-density structures, which can lead to a number of environmental concerns. The urban heat island effect is a phenomenon that many urban centers suffer from, especially in the summer months, which causes the atmospheric temperature to be higher in urban areas than in suburban or rural areas. This paper will provide insight into how various mitigation strategies can be incorporated into urban design and planning to reduce the impact of urban heat and heat-related climate hazards in the future. How we interact with our environment directly affects our quality of living, therefore going forward with these understandings may prove to be vital in humanity's hunt to lessen the already tremendous burden that we have placed on our planet.
Municipal Food Scrap Composting Programs: What Can Atlanta Learn from Programs Around the Country?

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-04-25) Chen, Alicia

In 2022, the United States Department of Agriculture recognized the utility of composting programs and launched Composting and Food Waste Reduction cooperative agreements. Through the agreements, $10.2 million were awarded to fund pilot projects that develop and implement strategies for food waste reduction and compost plans (and increase access to compost for local agricultural producers). The City of Atlanta won one of the grants to pilot its own food waste composting program in 2022 and pilot programs have also been started in the adjacent cities of East Point and Decatur in 2023. As these services are being implemented, it is a prime time to explore and understand what policies should be included in a successful municipal food waste composting program and to discern how existing programs around the country are actually performing. This paper will aim to answer the following questions: Which municipal food scrap composting program best practices are actually being implemented around the country? Which best practices should Atlanta prioritize implementing in its own program?
Engaging Communities for Climate Resilience Planning

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-04-25) Van Slooten, Alaina

The field of climate resilience planning has emerged in response to the increased heat, wildfires, storms, and myriad other complex challenges towns and cities around the world are facing as a result of the climate crisis. This paper utilizes a broad definition of climate resilience, encompassing adaptation to changing environmental conditions, improving systems' ability to respond to social and environmental threats, and addressing causes of climate change. While large-scale federal and international action is crucial, climate change impacts will continue to play out among local communities of people around the world. Climate resilience planners and other practitioners will need to work with communities to better understand the threats they are facing and design interventions that provide local benefits. Because of the urgency and complexity of climate threats, as well as controversy surrounding interventions seen as green gentrification, engaging communities in climate resilience planning is uniquely challenging. This paper will examine community engagement practices in climate resilience planning, with an eye towards how they impact the implementation success of the final plan. The research question is, "what community engagement practices lead to climate resilience plans that achieve implementation steps?" First, the paper will review literature to outline the evolution of community engagement approaches and define climate resilience planning. Then, the two concepts are brought together to explore models of community engagement in climate-related planning, emerging challenges, and current guidance on best practices. Following the literature review, the paper will offer four case studies of climate resilience plans with strong community engagement. The case studies will delve into the “how” of community engagement processes with attention to equity and justice: who was engaged, at what stages in the process, and using what practices. To the extent possible using interviews and research, the case studies will connect community engagement to plan implementation: how was the plan received and progress made towards its actions and goals. Finally, this paper will identify common threads and challenges between the examples to develop actionable recommendations for climate resilience practitioners seeking to work among and in partnership with communities.
Calling A House a Home: The Interior and Exterior Design of Black Homes

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-04-25) McCain, Mary Jane

This paper explores the interior and exterior design of Black homes as repositories for history, culture including personal identity and family history.
Evaluation of Whiteman Airport’s Operational Future and Exploration of Equitable Transit-Oriented Development as an Alternative Use

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-04-25) Vitti, Dominique

Community members in Pacoima, California have been urging for the closure of Whiteman Airport (WHP) due to various concerns, including air and noise pollution, inadequate communication from the airport after accidents, public safety risks, and limited community benefits. Groups opposed to a WHP closure believe the municipal airport provides many benefits to the Los Angeles (LA) region such as opportunities for aviation education, jobs, emergency services, and critical air traffic relief for nearby airports. As the owners of WHP, Los Angeles County has made incremental progress towards rectifying community harms. After an extensive community engagement process, called Re-envisioning Whiteman Airport , Los Angeles County Department of Public Works determined that some recommended improvements are dependent on the long-term future of the airport. If the LA County Board of Supervisors decides to pursue an airport closure as a long-term solution, the Department of Public Works estimates that a full redevelopment study for the airport land would take five to ten years. This study seeks to serve as preliminary research for that redevelopment study and explore an alternative use of the land that may better serve the community: equitable transit-oriented development (ETOD).
Planning for Childcare

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-04-20) Tamura, Micah

City planners play a pivotal role in establishing the resources communities need to accomplish their goals. Childcare is a critical resource that supports parents' ability to work, promotes children’s development, and advances economic growth. I performed a spatial analysis to identify census tracts that need more childcare accessibility. The analysis compared measures of childcare availability, populations of women likely to use childcare, and economic distress to assess the need for childcare in census tracts within the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area (Atlanta Metro). I then created a report with spatial analysis, childcare leader insight, and city planning policy solutions that could be incorporated into a comprehensive plan. The purpose of the analysis and the report is to provide a framework for city planners to improve childcare accessibility.
The Northeast Georgia Inland Port and Carbon Emissions due to Ground Transportation in Georgia: An Ode to Rail Transportation

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-04) McDonald, Asha

This applied research paper examines the projected difference in carbon emissions caused by the construction of the Northeast Georgia Inland Port in Gainesville, GA.
The Outdated Procedural Law of Planning

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-04) Hulett, Charlie

Planning started in the 1920s as simplistic delineations of land. Zoning and planning have since progressed to complicated designs of districts, overlays, and built environment standards, among others. What has not changed are the procedural rules of bringing planning and zoning decisions to life. Based on traditional systems of democracy, procedures in planning seek only to act as the minimum standard of conduct despite producing genuine impacts, akin to substantive law. This paper seeks to illuminate those procedures in Georgia and begin the conversation for planners to consider what has long been treated as local government attorneys’ responsibility, alone.
Sandy Springs Homeownership Assessment and Policy Recommendations

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-04) Kaufman, Mira

The city of Sandy Springs hopes to preserve and develop more housing in its area to ensure that young adults with families and first-time homeowners set down roots in the city. Land prices have risen steadily in Sandy Springs, and the local government aims to introduce strategies and protections to maintain and develop affordable housing stock for this demographic. Entry-level homeownership opportunities are crucial to the continued vibrancy of the community and for future growth. Without plentiful accessibly priced homes, the city’s demographics will continue to skew towards older and wealthier residents, reducing the diversity and resilience of the community. This project analyzes the housing market of Sandy Springs using the American Community Survey (ACS) and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data and recommends strategies for providing adequate homeownership opportunities to support the city’s desired future residents. ACS data is used to examine changes that have occurred in the homeowner population in Sandy Springs between 2018 and 2022. To provide further insights into homeownership, the HMDA dataset shows the types of mortgage loan applicants in Sandy Springs in 2018 and 2022. This data illuminates specific challenges for young families and professionals in originating mortgages. The literature review and recommendations sections highlight potential policy action relating to the goal of increased homeownership for adults starting families and other early professionals in the city.
Planning for a Climate Driven Implementation of Mobility Hubs on Georgia Tech’s Campus

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023-12) Murali, Malavika

Mobility hubs are an efficient and effective transportation solution that promotes connectivity and provides last-mile modal options for commuters and residents through integrating multi-modal transportation infrastructure in one convenient transitional space. In addition to encouraging place-making efforts and transforming cities with innovative technologies, mobility hubs are foundationally a strategy for addressing the climate change crisis, which is substantially driven by transportation related carbon and carbon-equivalent emissions. Therefore, a focus on a climate driven implementation of mobility hubs is pertinent to accomplishing the goal of reducing carbon emissions and creating resilient transportation infrastructure. This paper provides a case study analysis of best practice strategies for implementing mobility hubs from three institutions across the United States, which informs a review of Georgia Tech's plans for improving mobility on campus as outlined by the 2023 Comprehensive Campus Plan (CCP). This analysis is used to determine what elements are critical to creating resilient, sustainable, and accessible mobility hubs and to propose a climate driven approach to implementing the mobility plans of the institution. Through this analysis, 14 locations are identified for potential mobility hubs throughout campus that incorporate 11 sustainability and accessibility elements which are detailed in the paper.