Student Work
This document reviews existing conditions in a neighborhood in the island nation of Barbados, and suggests practical methods and policy changes to bring the built environment into greater harmony with nature. The author argues that under the rubric of "sustainability," relatively minor efforts can increase livability for residents and enhance tourism, one of the country's main economic drivers.
Clinton Street MAX Visioning
This project was developed by students in USP 575: Urban Design
Workshop. This course, co-taught by DonStastny, FAICP and FAIA, and Ed
Starkie, annually takes on an important urban design question in the
region. The course was developed to provide graduate students with
more hands-on design training, and it also serves as the capstone for
the graduate certificate in Urban Design offered through a partnership
between the Toulan School and the Architecture Department at PSU. The
project this year addresses the issues associated with a station on a
new light rail line. The proposed Clinton Street Station would trigger
redevelopment on surrounding properties, and would have to be planned
and implemented in a manner that does not negatively impact surrounding
neighborhoods and communities. This project is becoming an important
community issue, and the products of the workshop will be used by
neighbors, neighborhood associations land owners, the transit agency,
and city bureaus.
Metro Future Vision White
Paper
This project was developed in partnership with Metro, the regional
government in the Portland metropolitan area, to help to frame the core
issues associated with updating the Metro "Future Vision," a long-term
look at the broader region. Metro is charged with updating the Future
Vision every 15 years, with the next update due in 2010. The papers
collected here were developed by students in USP 594: Planning in the
Pacific Northwest as a means for helping Metro decide what kind of
update it wanted to do, and how. These papers will be used by Metro as
it develops the final workplan for updating the Future Vision.
Ecolopolis 3.0: Infrastructure and Sustainability in Cascadia
A report on infrastructure needs and opportunities in the Cascadia megaregion. This was produced via USP 549: Regional Planning and Metropolitan Growth Management, and is the third report in a series. The Cascadia Ecolopolis notion is a contribution to the America 2050 effort (www.america2050.org), a project of the Lincoln Institute and the Regional Plan Association to bring attention to emerging megaregions in the US as a framework for the next iteration of Federal urban and development policy.
The Spoke Report: Oregon Land Use Stories Project
This project was developed by MURP students Matt Berkow and George Zaninovich to provide voice to the many experiences that Oregonians have had, statewide, with land use planning. The project was prompted by the passage of Measure 37 in Oregon, and subsequently won the 2008 AICP National Student Project Award. More information can be found at: www.landusestories.org.
Sustainable Land Use Policy Options for the City of Lake Oswego
Author: Jessica Sarver
Faculty advisors: Connie Ozawa and Barry Messer
This document reviews existing land use policy in the City of Lake Oswego, a suburb of Portland, Oregon, and makes recommendations for how the city might alter its current land use and building codes to include policies that support environmental (as constrasted with social and economic elements of) sustainability.
Finding a Fair Balance Between Protecting Property Rights and the Public Good: A Policy Analysis of Valuation Methods Under Property Rights Law
Author: Jeannine Rustad
Faculty advisors: Connie Ozawa and Ethan Seltzer
This document reviews four methods of assessing the effects of government land use regulations on real property values, with a particular focus on the recent history of the challenges to the Oregon state land use law.
