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Recent Submissions
OPTIMIZING COMMUNITY PLANNING IN TROY, NY: THE ROLE OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION MODEL
Oertel, Lauren (2024-05-20)
Community Development Corporations have been a critical asset to disinvested communities nationwide since the 1960’s. Among many American rustbelt cities, Troy, New York residents face socioeconomic injustices because of the urban renewal regime and continued deteriorating infrastructure. For the Troy community to combat these inequities, it is critical to identify existing services, initiatives, and needs of residents and visitors. This study assesses how an adopted community development corporation model could effectively translate and address these needs. Exploring this topic requires a comprehensive examination of the challenges and opportunities that an organization may encounter, particularly in terms of organizational capacity and financial and political relationships.
CRITICALLY ASSESSING SENIOR HOUSING PROGRAMS IN NYC & RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STRATEGIES
Hanfei Sun (2024-05-20)
The senior housing shortage is an urgent problem not only in New York City but also across the United States. In New York City, there are nearly 200,000 seniors on the waiting list for a senior housing incentive and have been waiting an average of seven years (Hosey, 2021). This paper critically examines New York City’s various policies, organizations, programs, and initiatives that aim to alleviate the housing shortage for seniors in order to 1) understand New York City’s efforts, 2) to assess the failures and successes of those efforts, and 3) to propose new possible ways forward in the next decade. Using the SWOG analysis method (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Gap), the paper analyzes and studies a variety of ongoing initiatives and identifies several recurring challenges and issues: the scarcity of land resources, the complexity and burdensomeness of government processes, the efficiency of the government departments and organizations, income and rent issues for seniors, and issues of controversy and balancing. This paper then concludes with recommendations and strategies that attempt to alleviate the senior housing crisis in New York City using six key “strategy shifts” as a reference point.
UNDERSTANDING SUSTAINABILITY IN CLONE TOWN BRITAIN
Comrie, Lancelot (2024-05-18)
In 2003, the British government initiated the Sustainable Communities Act to regenerate town
centers across the United Kingdom. To investigate this policy’s impact, the New Economics
Foundation (NEF) conducted a survey in 2004, dividing towns into 'home towns' and 'clone
towns'. These categories were based on their clone town score, the ratio of independent
businesses to chain stores in town centers. Home towns were towns with a high ratio of
traditional stores to chain stores, while clone towns had a high ratio of chain stores to
traditional stores. The NEF hypothesized that home towns would be more sustainable than
clone towns. This study investigated this hypothesis by analyzing economic, social, and
environmental sustainability in six towns across London. The study’s findings indicated that
a town’s clone town score has little impact on its social sustainability and environmental
sustainability but was far more impactful on its economic sustainability.
Rethinking Vacancy: Exploring a Temporary Use Model for Vacant Land in Chicago
Epps, Andrew (2024-05)
Urban vacant land is a pervasive feature in many U.S. cities. Following the 2008 foreclosure crisis, local governments sought to reduce the high concentration of municipal-owned vacant land through initiatives that transferred lots to private ownership. This approach provided short-lived financial benefits but left large amounts of vacant land without plans for reutilization. This research explores how municipal strategies can adopt a temporary use model that allows for incremental, short-term interventions on vacant land. Focusing on Chicago, this paper compares the city’s former Large Lots Program with three case studies in the Washington Park neighborhood to illustrate different approaches to vacant land reutilization. Using a descriptive evaluative framework, this paper argues that embracing a temporary use model promotes socio-ecological benefits that can mitigate the adverse impacts resulting from high concentrations of vacant land and support community-led transformation.
Reimagining Privately Owned Public Spaces in NYC vs Auckland
Zheng, Katie (2024-05-17)
This paper explores and investigates the mechanisms behind the creation of privately owned spaces(POPS), specifically examining the regulations and review policies governing POPS in New York City and Auckland, New Zealand. Although the design review process and regulations have gone through reiterations and improvements, they are still largely being studied to improve the quality of POP spaces. The paper compares United States' incentive zoning review processes, the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and the certification process, with Auckland's resource consent process, to highlight and specify main disparities and parallels between these processes. The paper analyzes important elements of successful review and regulation processes, including community engagement, the balance between discretionary vs administrative process, and the appropriate and ideal level of detail. Finally, concrete recommendations aimed at refining Auckland’s Resource Consent framework through analyzing New York Cities’ approach to POPs will be provided.