Despite billions of dollars spent and hundreds of studies conducted, there seems to have been little progress made in meeting the housing and infrastructures shortages in Less Developed Countries (LDCs). Theoretical constructs such as culture, geography and institutions have not been able to explain this deficit. Few studies have provided empirical evidence of factors that…
Category: urban and regional planning
Marginal Impacts of Park-and-Ride Facilities in the Twin Cities
The provision of park-and-ride (P&R) facilities helps make a transit system accessible to those that don’t live within walking distance of a stop. However, transit operators can’t afford to have parking at all stops because of the additional costs related to land acquisition, construction, and maintenance. Even if an operator had the resources to provide…
Ph.D. Spotlight: Drivers’ Perceptions Towards Cyclists and Bikeshare Users in the ECOBICI Service Area.
Despite the rapid global motorization, especially in developing countries, the use of the bicycle as urban transportation has increased in the last 35 years (Shaheen, Guzman, & Zhang, 2012). However, the United States, Canada, and Mexico have low cycling levels with bicycle mode share of little more than one percent (Buehler & Pucher, 2012). Some…
Becoming Better Neighbors: Building Relationships between the University and Communities of Color
In college towns, such as Tallahassee, there are longstanding critiques of the separation of “town and gown.” Town and gown refers to the two distinct communities that make up college towns: the community cultivated by and through the university (gown), and the residents of the city itself (town). Most students and faculty come from elsewhere,…
Welcome Back!
To the returning and new students, staff, and faculty of the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy (COSSPP), welcome to what I’m going to call The Year Like No Other. I am pleased and honored that you have chosen to be a part of COSSPP at what I believe to be an important moment…
Research Spotlight: Creating more Sustainable Communities through Planning
For the past several decades, urban planners have been promoting transit-oriented development (TOD) as a paradigm for building sustainable communities. TOD involves building compact, mixed-use, and walkable development around transit stops. This type of development ostensibly provides a place where one can live without a car while maintaining easy access to goods and services. In…
Research Spotlight: Carving out Lesbian Spaces in Turkey
LGBTQ communities exist, and, it is our duty as urban planners to recognize and provide literal “space” for the creation of more inclusive cities.
COSSPP Faculty Impact on Scholarship: Influence at a Glance
As the spring semester comes to an end, we want to take a moment to celebrate the accomplishments and influence of faculty in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy. This series of graphs produced by Dr. Jim Elsner offers a glimpse of the amazing work taking place in the College of Social Science…
Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Kerry Fang’s Research in China
I recently received the Lincoln Institute China Program International Fellowship to conduct the project “Land Tenure and the Health of Children: Evidence from Rural China.” The project will use the 2003 “Ban of Land Adjustment” in China as a natural experiment to investigate whether secured land tenure improves children’s health outcomes. Unpacking the relationship between land tenure…
Policy Pub: Beyond Redevelopment – Urban Planning for Racial Equity
On any given day, you can drive around Tallahassee and see new construction everywhere. Development is often an indication of a city’s success and growth. But who gets left behind in this progress, and how can urban planners work toward social and economic justice for every citizen? Continuing Policy Pub’s focus on how national, even…
