Academic literature on the topic 'Urban policy – United States – Case studies'

The growth machine (GM) perspective has long guided urban research. Our study provides a new extension of this perspective, focusing on local business actors’ influence on communities across the United States. We question whether GM–oriented business actors remain widely associated with contemporary local economic development policies, and further, whether these actors influence the use of limited–government austerity policies. Conceptually, we extend the GM framework by bringing it into dialogue with the literature on urban austerity policy. The analysis draws from the urban–quantitative tradition of large–sample studies and assesses localities across the nation using the empirical case of county governments. We find local real estate owners, utilities, and other business actors broadly influence U.S. localities’ economic development policies. We also find some evidence that these actors’ influences in local governance are related to the use of such cutback policies as hiring freezes, capping of social services, expenditure cutbacks, and sale of public assets. Local Chambers of Commerce are particularly associated with cutback policies. Overall, the findings suggest that where local GM actors are influential, communities are more likely to adopt business–oriented economic development policies, limit the growth of social services for the less affluent, and scale–down the public sector.

This paper examines Lisa Austin’s (2015) concept of lawful illegality, which interrogates the legal foundations for potentially unlawful surveillance practices by United States (US) signals intelligence (SIGINT) agencies. Lawful illegality involves the technically lawful operation of surveillance powers that might be considered unlawful when examined through a rule of law framework. We argue lawful illegality is expanding into domestic policing through judicial decisions that sanction complex and technically sophisticated forms of remote online surveillance, such as the use of malware, remote hacking, or Network Investigative Techniques (NITs). Operation Pacifier targeted and dismantled the Playpen dark web site, which was used for distributing child exploitation material (CEM), and has generated many judicial rulings examining the legality of remote surveillance by the FBI. We have selected two contrasting cases that demonstrate how US domestic courts have employed distinct logics to determine the admissibility of evidence collected through the NIT deployed in Operation Pacifier. The first case, United States v. Carlson (2017 US Dist. LEXIS 67991), offers a critical view of the use of NITs by the FBI, with physical geography constraining the legality of this form of surveillance in US criminal procedure. The second case, United States v. Gaver (2017 US Dist. LEXIS 44757), authorizes the use of NITs because the need to control crime is believed to justify suspending the geographic limits on police surveillance to identify people involved in the creation and dissemination of CEM. We argue this crime control emphasis expands the reach of US police surveillance while undermining due process of law by removing the protective function of geography. We conclude by suggesting the permissive geographic scope of police surveillance reflected in United States v. Gaver (2017 US Dist. LEXIS 44757), and many other Playpen cases, erodes due process for all crime suspects, but is particularly acute for people located outside the US, and suggest a neutral transnational arbiter could help limit contentious forms of remote extraterritorial police surveillance.

This study explores the impetus for and impact of four urban teachers’ extracurricular investments. Framing teacher investment as work voluntarily undertaken with an eye toward bringing about a highly desired, yet highly uncertain, end, we argue that the outcome of these often-hidden investments have identity and career implications for teachers. Through a comparison of two case studies in the southeast and northeast United States, we investigate why and how teachers come to invest themselves in particular extracurricular projects, the identity implications of the investments, and how the ultimate outcome of the investments may influence their decision to stay in or leave the profession. Findings reveal that teachers’ extracurricular investments—either in individual students or whole-school projects—are intimately tied to their identities and career trajectories. Implications are offered for research, teacher education, and policy.

The objective of this paper is to illustrate that concern over environmental pollution became a significant national issue in the United States during the late 1950s, many years earlier than is typically acknowledged by environmental historians and policy analysts. Kingdon's model of agenda development is used to document how air and water pollution was transformed from an issue of local concern and control to an issue of national significance during the 1950s. The analysis focuses on two case studies: the development of pollution as a political issue in the state of New Jersey; and the development of pollution as a significant policy issue in the national political arena. Political leaders both within New Jersey and nationwide linked pollution control to other contemporary concerns about urban decay and suburban growth in order to win the allegiance of undecided voters. Pollution control became part of the debate over the role of the federal government in addressing urban ills. Concern about pollution also became important in the general restructuring of the US political landscape in this period, helping to set the stage for Democratic Party activism on the environment and other issues after 1960.

Purpose – This paper aims to evaluate the potential of 24 country-level measures for predicting the number of outbound international medical travelers into the USA, including health and healthcare system, economic, social and diplomatic and travel pattern factors. Medical travel is recognized as a growing global market and is an important subject of inquiry for US academic medical centers, hospitals and policy makers. Few data-driven studies exist to shed light on efficient and effective strategies for attracting international medical travelers. Design/methodology/approach – This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study of the 194 member and/or observer countries of the United Nations. Data for medical traveler volume into the USA between 2008 and 2010 were obtained from the USA Department of Commerce, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, Survey of International Air Travelers. Data on country-level factors were collected from publicly available databases, including the United Nations, World Bank and World Health Organization. Linear regression models with a negative binomial distribution and log link function were fit to test the association between each independent variable and the number of inbound medical travelers to the USA. Findings – Seven of the 24 country-level factors were significantly associated with the number of outbound medical travelers to the USA These factors included imports as a per cent of gross domestic product, trade in services as a per cent of gross domestic product, per cent of population living in urban areas, life expectancy, childhood mortality, incidence of tuberculosis and prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus. Practical implications – Results of this model provide evidence for a data-driven approach to strategic outreach and business development for hospitals and policy makers for attracting international patients to the USA for medical care. Originality/value – The model developed in this paper can assist US hospitals in promoting their services to international patients as well as national efforts in identifying “high potential” medical travel markets. Other countries could also adapt this methodology for targeting the international patient market.

Former President Obama’s 2020 Goal for the United States to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world required that both new and disengaged college students attain degrees. The workforce development system could assist the latter by supporting credit-bearing education as training. Its ability to address this need depends on the controlled devolved structure established by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, which allows states and local workforce investment areas to set priorities and make a range of choices bounded by federal constraints. Analyzing interview data with frontline staff, case managers, and leadership in workforce systems in four states, the authors identify obstacles and opportunities for supporting degree completion. Three federal Workforce Investment Act mandates are particularly influential: individual training accounts, eligible training provider lists, and emphasis on demand occupations. The authors also model factors such as local partnerships and staff knowledge that can mediate how policy and practice shape local workforce investment area support for college.

In 2003, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) called for USA communities at risk of wildfire to develop Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) requiring local, state and federal actors to work together to address hazardous fuels reduction and mitigation efforts. CWPPs can provide the opportunity for local government to influence actions on adjacent public land, by establishing local boundaries of the wildland–urban interface (WUI), the area where urban lands meet or intermix with wildlands. The present paper explores local response to the HFRA and CWPPs in the eastern USA, specifically if and how communities are using the policy incentive to identify the WUI. We conducted document reviews of eastern CWPPs, as well as qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with participants in four case studies. We found tremendous variation in local response to HFRA, with plans completed at multiple scales and using different planning templates. The WUI policy incentive was not used in all CWPPs, suggesting that the incentive is not as useful in the eastern USA, where public land is less dominant and the perceived fire risk is lower than in the West. Even so, many communities in the East completed CWPPs to improve their wildfire preparedness.

AbstractIn recent years there has been an increasing emphasis on achieving convergence in disaster research, policy, and programs to reduce disaster losses and enhance social well-being. However, there remain considerable gaps in understanding “how do we actually do convergence?” In this article, we present three case studies from across geographies—New South Wales in Australia, and North Carolina and Oregon in the United States; and sectors of work—community, environmental, and urban resilience, to critically examine what convergence entails and how it can enable diverse disciplines, people, and institutions to reduce vulnerability to systemic risks in the twenty-first century. We identify key successes, challenges, and barriers to convergence. We build on current discussions around the need for convergence research to be problem-focused and solutions-based, by also considering the need to approach convergence as ethic, method, and outcome. We reflect on how convergence can be approached as an ethic that motivates a higher order alignment on “why” we come together; as a method that foregrounds “how” we come together in inclusive ways; and as an outcome that highlights “what” must be done to successfully translate research findings into the policy and public domains.

This article describes practices of informal digital media circulation emerging in urban Cuba between 2005 and 2010, drawing from interviews and ethnographic research in the city of Santiago de Cuba. The Cuban new media landscape is supported by informal networks that blend financial and social exchanges to circulate goods, media, and currency in ways that are often illegal but are largely tolerated. Presenting two case studies of young, educated Cubans who rely on the circulation of film and television content via external hard drives for most of their media consumption, I suggest that the emphasis of much existing literature on the role of state censorship and control in Cuban new media policy overlook the everyday practices through which Cubans are regularly engaged with Latin and U.S. American popular culture. Further, informal economies have been central to everyday life in Cuba both during the height of the Soviet socialist era and in the period since the collapse of the Soviet Union that has seen a juxtaposition of some market reforms alongside centrally planned policies. In the context of nearly two decades of economic crisis, consumer shortages and a dual economy, Cuban people use both informal and state-sanctioned networks to acquire goods ranging from groceries to furnishings and domestic appliances. Understanding the informal media economy of Cuba within this broader context helps to explain how the consumption of commercial American media is largely uncontroversial within Cuban everyday life despite the fraught politics that often dominates discussions of Cuban media policy.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1986.
MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH
Bibliography: leaves 199-217.
by Jonathan Michael Feldman.
M.C.P.

This dissertation contributes to the literature on urban development politics. It takes a normative ideal, democratic urban governance, out of the esoteric realm of academic debate and applies it to a critical case study which concerns the most financially consequential area of urban policy, that of urban economic development. The principal elements of democratic urban governance are described, examined, and reconstructed as a framework for evaluating the policy making potentials in the present case. Beyond its academic contribution, this dissertation provides developmental policy makers with an intellectually sound basis for considering, more candidly and more directly, issues concerning democracy and governance.
Ph. D.

The past decade has witnessed both steep reductions in federal housing assistance and an intensification of local housing problems including homelessness. In light of these trends, this study explores alternative means available to municipalities of meeting the housing needs of low-income households. The methods chosen to accomplish this were two-fold: a literature review and a case study. The literature review revealed that in response to the Reagan administration's 1981 cutbacks to housing programs a new low-income housing delivery system, based largely on public-private partnerships, has emerged from the grass roots level in communities across the United States. In the new production system efforts have focused on preservation rather than new construction, and large for-profit developers have been replaced by nonprofit community-based development corporations and local public agencies. With the assurance of federal subsidies gone, local governments and nonprofit developers have sought to increase the effectiveness of current resources, direct more general revenue to housing activities and have raised new resources. Today, financing packages for low-income projects are usually built upon customized and creative financial packages that are difficult to replicate, and as a result, no definitive solutions have yet been found. Despite the hard work and creativity that has gone into developing low-income housing in the U.S. over the past decade local programs have been able to meet only a fraction of the country's housing needs. The case study method was chosen to focus on the City of Seattle, Washington's specific housing initiatives. The City's response has closely followed the national experience. A new delivery system has emerged which depends largely on the efforts of the City's municipal government, through its Department of Community Development, and the community's growing nonprofit sector. As a matter of policy Seattle has chosen to spend most of its low-income housing dollars on preserving the downtown's remaining 7,311 low-income units. The City does not. build housing itself, but instead, acts as a "bank" loaning money generated, for the most part, by off-budget strategies to nonprofit housing developers to rehabilitate existing low-income units to meet housing code standards. Seattle's housing programs have had mixed results. Despite their efforts, due to downtown's expansion, the City has continued to lose low-income units in the downtown to demolition and rent increases, no gain has been made on the City's overall housing need, and while the City has replaced the lost federal subsidies, it has not created significant ongoing revenue streams for future housing development. Results of this study indicate that, only the long term commitment of federal funds to a national housing strategy can stem the growing tide of homelessness across the U.S. and avert, a deepening of the country's housing crisis.
Applied Science, Faculty of
Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of
Graduate

In recognition of the inherently inflationary nature of retrospective reimbursement, the Reagan Administration enacted legislation that substantially changed Medicare's hospital reimbursement system. The Prospective Payment System (PPS) mandated paying hospitals a fixed payment, set in advance, based on the patient's diagnosis rather than retrospectively paying for all services delivered to a patient. Critics contend that PPS introduces incentives for hospitals to conserve resources during the hospital stay and to shift care to less costly settings, both potentially affecting quality of care to the elderly. The question addressed by this dissertation is whether there were changes in the discharge health status and post-hospital placement of Medicare beneficiaries as a result of the implementation of PPS. Using a quasi-experimental time-series PRE/POST design, data was collected from the medical records of 2,619 Medicare beneficiaries (1,258 in the PRE-PPS period; 1,361 in the POST-PPS period) hospitalized between 1981 and 1986. Two large (300+ beds) and two medium-sized (100-300 beds) hospitals, representative of hospitals in the Portland metropolitan area, served as data collection sites. Medical records were selected from five Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs): three medical DRGs (stroke, heart failure, and pneumonia) and two surgical DRGs (hip replacement and major joint pinning). Analysis of the data show that overall length of stay declined from 11.3 days in the PRE-PPS period to 8.6 days in the POST-PPS period, a reduction of 2.7 days and significant at the p = $<$.001 level and a significant increase in Dependency between the PRE and POST periods for four of the five DRGs studies (Stroke, Pneumonia, Heart Failure, and Hip Replacement). Finally, an analysis of differences in post-hospital placements shows a significant increase in POST-PPS placements to home alone (p = $<$.05), home health (p =.01), and for hospital transfers (p = $<$.001). Though limited in its generalizability, the data presented in this dissertation support the contention that Medicare patients are leaving the hospital sooner, in more dependent states of health than before PPS, and that greater numbers of potentially high care patients are being discharged to home and to home health.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2005.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-81).
Transfer of knowledge is a complex process. While codified knowledge is easy to transfer, tacit knowledge is not. "Tacit knowledge is difficult to exchange over long distance because it is heavily imbued with meaning arising from the social and institutional context in which it is produced, and this context specific nature makes it spatially sticky" (Gertler 2003). This thesis argues that there is certain tacit knowledge that migrants often transmit over long distances after customizing the knowledge to apply in different institutional settings. This thesis takes the example of Bangladesh, a country having an unfavorable socio- economic and institutional setting for receiving new technology, and explains how, despite the unfavorable conditions, some expatriates do transfer their knowledge to Bangladesh. Based on in-depth interviews with those expatriates creating the most impact in the economy of Bangladesh, the thesis shows that highly skilled Bangladeshi immigrants in the United States transfer tacit knowledge through building partnerships with individuals and organizations in Bangladesh. The thesis also finds that these partnerships are mostly based on trust, often coming from basic commonalities: same language, common "codes" of communication, shared norms, and personal knowledge about each other.
by Moshahida Sultana.
M.C.P.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University
The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War are widely recognized as watershed events in the history of world affairs. Decision-makers and scholars in many fields are only beginning to understand the profound shifts and realignments in global political and economic relationships in a post-Cold War world. An important link between the United States and the former Soviet republics is the foreign assistance program in the region, since assistance efforts often serve as an important lens through which to view strategic relationships between nations. This evaluative policy research explores that link through qualitative case studies of three US Agency for International Development (USAID) projects in the region. Each qualitative case study represents a distinct approach to foreign assistance delivery in the region: classical technical assistance (represented by ZdravReform in contracts with Abt Associates), formal site partnership (in cooperative agreements with the American International Health Alliance), and experimental technology (a cooperative agreement with the former Selentec, Inc.). Three policy context chapters (Chapters I, II, and III) introduce the case studies, in which historical trends of the assistance effort and of the domestic foreign policy-making framework in Washington, DC, are highlighted. A final chapter (VII) examines the findings from the study and recommends a refocusing of the foreign assistance effort in the NIS toward more long-term developmental strategies. Theoretical and methodological assumptions in the study are informed by the constructionist approach to policy evaluation described by Guba and Lincoln (1989). This broad approach assumes that different constructions or interpretations exist concerning the nature and goals of projects. Unlike typical project evaluations, this approach does not assume that stakeholders in projects share common perceptions of the expected goals for and outcomes of their projects. Constructionist approaches to qualitative study fall within the interpretative stream of social science explored by theorists and researchers from a number of disciplines (Geertz, 1973; Denzin, 1992; Hammersley, 1989; Bruner, 1990). More specific conceptual assumptions also are explored in Chapter I, drawn from the literature on institutional research . Emphasis is placed in the evaluative analysis on how effectively conflicts that arose among the multiple stakeholders in each project were addressed.

The US has been involved in the majority of transitional justice measures established since the 1990s. This study explores this phenomenon by examining the forces that shape US foreign policy on transitional justice. It first investigates US influence on the evolution of the field, and then traces US involvement in three illustrative cases in order to establish what US involvement entails, why the US gets involved and how the US has impacted individual measures and the field as a whole. The cases include: the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia; the trial of Liberian President Charles Taylor and the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission; and the Justice and Peace Process in Colombia. These cases represent different transitional justice measures, transition types and geographic regions – all key dimensions in the field. These measures were also all established in the 2000s, a period which reflects a different historical moment in the field’s evolution. The cases shed light on the actors who play a key role in the field – from presidential administrations to Congress to the State Department and others. The study is based on nearly 200 interviews and archival research undertaken in the US, The Hague, Cambodia, Liberia and Colombia, providing a strong basis on which to draw conclusions about US foreign policy on transitional justice.

AbstractIn this chapter, we describe current understanding of and identify research gaps on how invasive species directly, and indirectly, affect ecosystem processes. Specifically, we focus on how invasive species can alter the terrestrial carbon, nitrogen, and hydrologic cycles and how changes to these terrestrial cycles cascade to affect water quantity and quality. While invasive species may alter other ecosystem processes, we focus on these due to their importance to policy, to the public, and to their likely interaction with climate change effects. For example, carbon sequestration and surface water supply originating from forests and grasslands (Caldwell et al. 2014) are important policy and public concerns, and drought frequency and intensity will likely increase with climate change (Vose et al. 2016a). Our goal is to draw generalizations rather than provide details on invasive species effects on a case-by-case basis. We do, however, provide case studies for illustration and draw linkages with other chapters that provide detailed coverage to disturbance regimes (Chap. 10.1007/978-3-030-45367-1_5) and types and mechanisms of ecological impact caused by invasive insects (Chap. 10.1007/978-3-030-45367-1_2).

Abstract Weiss-Wolf explains why the menstrual equity frame—which makes the case for an agenda that advances systemic solutions to address the societal and financial impact of menstruation—is distinct in its direct linkage to core principles of democratic participation, citizen engagement, gender parity, and economic opportunity. She describes a social movement that has coalesced in the United States and details recent policy advocacy in which momentum has been both unusually bipartisan and swift. She also shows how related tools can be leveraged—in particular, law and litigation, coupled with extensive use of traditional and social media. Finally, Weiss-Wolf concludes with a preview of policy proposals ripe for further advocacy.

The first of the three case studies looks at the United States. It finds that while the states’ opportunities for individual exit have remained unconstrained in the non-coercive field of procurement in which federal pre-emption is not an option, no serious attempts have been made to systematically increase their voice. This is due, firstly, to the mechanics of the US senate-type system of multilevel representation and, secondly, to the lack of an institutionalized procedure of vertical collaboration in a policy environment characterized by ‘coercive federalism’. Persisting barriers in the internal market and a widespread politicization of international procurement liberalization as a threat to state sovereignty have further contributed to constituent units’ high propensity to seek exit from international constraints. Ultimately, the US case highlights the limits of self-rule systems in organizing trade openness across multiple levels of government. Endowing the states with little voice in polity-wide policy-making, the US model shows a marked tendency to breed resistance to internationally driven adaptational pressures among constituent units. As self-rule systems are built on a delineation of central and subcentral spheres of competence, they generally tend to lack the institutional means and ideational underpinnings to effectively organize collaborative power-sharing by establishing patterns of shared rule.

As U.S. states are planning and designing for future nationwide and regional high-speed rail (HSR) services, an important issue to consider is where to locate stations. Station location determination is critical not only because it influences the perceived utility of the HSR services and can greatly influence ridership, but also due to its impact upon the local and regional transportation mobility, land use, and urban economic development. The main purpose of this paper is to provide information to HSR planners, engineers, and decision-makers in the U.S. on the practices of other countries in locating HSR stations. This paper examines HSR stations in several of the earliest countries which built HSR infrastructures: France, Spain, and Japan, to analyze how HSR station locations were selected, as well as the applicability of those methodologies in the planning process for the United States.

Background: Medical cannabis is available to patients by physician order in two-thirds of the United States (U.S.) as of 2020, but remains classified as an illicit substance by federal law. States that permit medical cannabis ordered by a physician typically require a diagnosed medical condition that is considered qualifying by respective state law. Objectives: To identify and map the most recently (2016-2019) published clinical and scientific literature across approved conditions for medical cannabis, and to evaluate the quality of identified recent systematic reviews. Methods: Literature search was conducted from five databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, and ClinicalTrials.gov), with expansion and update from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s (NASEM) comprehensive evidence review through 2016 of the health effects of cannabis on several conditions. Following consultation with experts and stakeholders, 11 conditions were identified for evidence evaluation: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), autism, cancer, chronic pain, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The following exclusion criteria were imposed: preclinical focus, non-English language, abstracts only, editorials/commentary, case studies/series, and non-U.S. study setting. Data extracted from studies included: study design type, outcome, intervention, sample size, study setting, and reported effect size. Studies classified as systematic reviews with or without meta-analysis were graded using the AMSTAR-2 tool by two raters to evaluate the quality of evidence, with additional raters to resolve cases of evidence grade disagreement. Results: A total of 438 studies were included after screening. Five completed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified, and an additional 11 trials were ongoing, and 1 terminated. Cancer, chronic pain, and epilepsy were the most researched topic areas, representing more than two-thirds of all reviewed studies. The quality of evidence assessment for each condition suggests that few high-quality systematic reviews are available for most conditions, with the exceptions of MS, epilepsy, and chronic pain. In those areas, findings on chronic pain are mostly in alignment with the previous literature, suggesting that cannabis or cannabinoids are potentially beneficial in treating chronic neuropathic pain. In epilepsy, findings suggest that cannabidiol is potentially effective in reducing seizures in pediatric patients with drug-resistant Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes. In MS, recent high-quality systematic reviews did not include new RCTs, and are therefore not substantially expanding the evidence base. In sum, the most recent clinical evidence suggests that for most of the conditions assessed, we identified few studies of substantial rigor and quality to contribute to the evidence base. However, there are some conditions for which significant evidence suggests that select dosage forms and routes of administration likely have favorable risk-benefit ratios (i.e., epilepsy and chronic pain), with the higher quality of evidence for epilepsy driven by FDA-approved formulations for cannabis-based seizure treatments. Conclusion: The body of evidence for medical cannabis requires more rigorous evaluation before consideration as a treatment option for many conditions and evidence necessary to inform policy and treatment guidelines is currently insufficient for many conditions.

The METROPOLE Project is an international collaboration between Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the United States designed to evaluate local decision making processes and to provide feedback to local urban managers on possible actions toward adaption to sea level rise (SLR). The goal of the project is to help coastal communities better understand factors that facilitate or hinder their intrinsic, local decision-making processes related to planning for adaptation to risk. The test used case sea level rise to develop case studies on long-term planning by local government and society as a means to gauge the of municipalities in different settings to address possible future risks. The framework was designed by an interdisciplinary team that incorporated social and natural scientists from these three nations, and which included local government officials. This paper focuses on some of the factors that affect decision-making in the coastal city of Santos, in the state of Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil, and provides insight on possible actions that a coastal city, such as Santos, can do to prepare for impacts of SLR.

The METROPOLE Project is an international collaboration between Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the United States designed to evaluate local decision making processes and to provide feedback to local urban managers on possible actions toward adaption to sea level rise (SLR). The goal of the project is to help coastal communities better understand factors that facilitate or hinder their intrinsic, local decision-making processes related to planning for adaptation to risk. The test used case sea level rise to develop case studies on long-term planning by local government and society as a means to gauge the of municipalities in different settings to address possible future risks. The framework was designed by an interdisciplinary team that incorporated social and natural scientists from these three nations, and which included local government officials. This paper focuses on some of the factors that affect decision-making in the coastal city of Santos, in the state of Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil, and provides insight on possible actions that a coastal city, such as Santos, can do to prepare for impacts of SLR.

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides the results of the preliminary analysis of the findings of an ongoing study that seeks to examine the social media use, cultural and political awareness, civic engagement, issue prioritization, and social activism of Gen Z students enrolled at four different institutional types located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The aim of this study is to look at the group as a whole as well as compare findings across populations. The institutional types under consideration include a mid-sized majority serving or otherwise referred to as a traditionally white institution (TWI) located in a small coastal city on the Atlantic Ocean, a small Historically Black University (HBCU) located in a rural area, a large community college located in a county that is a mixture of rural and suburban and which sits on the border of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and graduating high school students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs in a large urban area. This exploration is purposed to examine the behaviors and expectations of Gen Z students within a representative American region during a time of tremendous turmoil and civil unrest in the United States. Background: Over 74 million strong, Gen Z makes up almost one-quarter of the U.S. population. They already outnumber any current living generation and are the first true digital natives. Born after 1996 and through 2012, they are known for their short attention spans and heightened ability to multi-task. Raised in the age of the smart phone, they have been tethered to digital devices from a young age with most having the preponderance of their childhood milestones commemorated online. Often called Zoomers, they are more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generation and are on track to be the most well-educated generation in history. Gen Zers in the United States have been found in the research to be progressive and pro-government and viewing increasing racial and ethnic diversity as positive change. Finally, they are less likely to hold xenophobic beliefs such as the notion of American exceptionalism and superiority that have been popular with by prior generations. The United States has been in a period of social and civil unrest in recent years with concerns over systematic racism, rampant inequalities, political polarization, xenophobia, police violence, sexual assault and harassment, and the growing epidemic of gun violence. Anxieties stirred by the COVID-19 pandemic further compounded these issues resulting in a powder keg explosion occurring throughout the summer of 2020 and leading well into 2021. As a result, the United States has deteriorated significantly in the Civil Unrest Index falling from 91st to 34th. The vitriol, polarization, protests, murders, and shootings have all occurred during Gen Z’s formative years, and the limited research available indicates that it has shaped their values and political views. Methodology: The Mid-Atlantic region is a portion of the United States that exists as the overlap between the northeastern and southeastern portions of the country. It includes the nation’s capital, as well as large urban centers, small cities, suburbs, and rural enclaves. It is one of the most socially, economically, racially, and culturally diverse parts of the United States and is often referred to as the “typically American region.” An electronic survey was administered to students from 2019 through 2021 attending a high school dual enrollment program, a minority serving institution, a majority serving institution, and a community college all located within the larger mid-Atlantic region. The survey included a combination of multiple response, Likert scaled, dichotomous, open ended, and ordinal questions. It was developed in the Survey Monkey system and reviewed by several content and methodological experts in order to examine bias, vagueness, or potential semantic problems. Finally, the survey was pilot tested prior to implementation in order to explore the efficacy of the research methodology. It was then modified accordingly prior to widespread distribution to potential participants. The surveys were administered to students enrolled in classes taught by the authors all of whom are educators. Participation was voluntary, optional, and anonymous. Over 800 individuals completed the survey with just over 700 usable results, after partial completes and the responses of individuals outside of the 18-24 age range were removed. Findings: Participants in this study overwhelmingly were users of social media. In descending order, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Tik Tok were the most popular social media services reported as being used. When volume of use was considered, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter were the most cited with most participants reporting using Instagram and Snapchat multiple times a day. When asked to select which social media service they would use if forced to choose just one, the number one choice was YouTube followed by Instagram and Snapchat. Additionally, more than half of participants responded that they have uploaded a video to a video sharing site such as YouTube or Tik Tok. When asked about their familiarity with different technologies, participants overwhelmingly responded that they are “very familiar” with smart phones, searching the Web, social media, and email. About half the respondents said that they were “very familiar” with common computer applications such as the Microsoft Office Suite or Google Suite with another third saying that they were “somewhat familiar.” When asked about Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Blackboard, Course Compass, Canvas, Edmodo, Moodle, Course Sites, Google Classroom, Mindtap, Schoology, Absorb, D2L, itslearning, Otus, PowerSchool, or WizIQ, only 43% said they were “very familiar” with 31% responding that they were “somewhat familiar.” Finally, about half the students were either “very” or “somewhat” familiar with operating systems such as Windows. A few preferences with respect to technology in the teaching and learning process were explored in the survey. Most students (85%) responded that they want course announcements and reminders sent to their phones, 76% expect their courses to incorporate the use of technology, 71% want their courses to have course websites, and 71% said that they would rather watch a video than read a book chapter. When asked to consider the future, over 81% or respondents reported that technology will play a major role in their future career. Most participants considered themselves “informed” or “well informed” about current events although few considered themselves “very informed” or “well informed” about politics. When asked how they get their news, the most common forum reported for getting news and information about current events and politics was social media with 81% of respondents reporting. Gen Z is known to be an engaged generation and the participants in this study were not an exception. As such, it came as no surprise to discover that, in the past year more than 78% of respondents had educated friends or family about an important social or political issue, about half (48%) had donated to a cause of importance to them, more than a quarter (26%) had participated in a march or rally, and a quarter (26%) had actively boycotted a product or company. Further, about 37% consider themselves to be a social activist with another 41% responding that aren’t sure if they would consider themselves an activist and only 22% saying that they would not consider themselves an activist. When asked what issues were important to them, the most frequently cited were Black Lives Matter (75%), human trafficking (68%), sexual assault/harassment/Me Too (66.49%), gun violence (65.82%), women’s rights (65.15%), climate change (55.4%), immigration reform/deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) (48.8%), and LGBTQ+ rights (47.39%). When the schools were compared, there were only minor differences in social media use with the high school students indicating slightly more use of Tik Tok than the other participants. All groups were virtually equal when it came to how informed they perceived themselves about current events and politics. Consensus among groups existed with respect to how they get their news, and the community college and high school students were slightly more likely to have participated in a march, protest, or rally in the last 12 months than the university students. The community college and high school students were also slightly more likely to consider themselves social activists than the participants from either of the universities. When the importance of the issues was considered, significant differences based on institutional type were noted. Black Lives Matter (BLM) was identified as important by the largest portion of students attending the HBCU followed by the community college students and high school students. Less than half of the students attending the TWI considered BLM an important issue. Human trafficking was cited as important by a higher percentage of students attending the HBCU and urban high school than at the suburban and rural community college or the TWI. Sexual assault was considered important by the majority of students at all the schools with the percentage a bit smaller from the majority serving institution. About two thirds of the students at the high school, community college, and HBCU considered gun violence important versus about half the students at the majority serving institution. Women’s rights were reported as being important by more of the high school and HBCU participants than the community college or TWI. Climate change was considered important by about half the students at all schools with a slightly smaller portion reporting out the HBCU. Immigration reform/DACA was reported as important by half the high school, community college, and HBCU participants with only a third of the students from the majority serving institution citing it as an important issue. With respect to LGBTQ rights approximately half of the high school and community college participants cited it as important, 44.53% of the HBCU students, and only about a quarter of the students attending the majority serving institution. Contribution and Conclusion: This paper provides a timely investigation into the mindset of generation Z students living in the United States during a period of heightened civic unrest. This insight is useful to educators who should be informed about the generation of students that is currently populating higher education. The findings of this study are consistent with public opinion polls by Pew Research Center. According to the findings, the Gen Z students participating in this study are heavy users of multiple social media, expect technology to be integrated into teaching and learning, anticipate a future career where technology will play an important role, informed about current and political events, use social media as their main source for getting news and information, and fairly engaged in social activism. When institutional type was compared the students from the university with the more affluent and less diverse population were less likely to find social justice issues important than the other groups. Recommendations for Practitioners: During disruptive and contentious times, it is negligent to think that the abounding issues plaguing society are not important to our students. Gauging the issues of importance and levels of civic engagement provides us crucial information towards understanding the attitudes of students. Further, knowing how our students gain information, their social media usage, as well as how informed they are about current events and political issues can be used to more effectively communicate and educate. Recommendations for Researchers: As social media continues to proliferate daily life and become a vital means of news and information gathering, additional studies such as the one presented here are needed. Additionally, in other countries facing similarly turbulent times, measuring student interest, awareness, and engagement is highly informative. Impact on Society: During a highly contentious period replete with a large volume of civil unrest and compounded by a global pandemic, understanding the behaviors and attitudes of students can help us as higher education faculty be more attuned when it comes to the design and delivery of curriculum. Future Research This presentation presents preliminary findings. Data is still being collected and much more extensive statistical analyses will be performed.

Economic structures are a major cause of long-term growth or stagnation. Different economic structures have different ranges of structural learning, innovation, and different effects on income distribution, which are key determinants of economic performance. Through theory about economic structures it is explained why institutions work differently in space and time. This paper shows using a case study in the United States, that the source of recent financial crises rests on the structural characteristics of the economy. Constant deindustrialization is increasing inequality, and a debt-intensive credit boom has emerged to offset the deflationary effects of this structural change. The strong application of the austerity system in Europe and other parts of the world, even after the evidence points to less frugal policies, illustrates the theory of power it has over public policy. The economic structure should be put at the center of analysis, to better understand the economic changes, income disparities and differences in the dynamics of political economy through time and space. This paper provides a critical overview of the rapidly developing comparative studies of institutions and economic performance, with an emphasis on its analytical and political implications. The paper tries to identify some conceptual gaps in the literature on economic growth policy. Emphasis is placed on the contrasting experiences of East Asia and Latin America. This paper argues that the future investments in this field should be based on rigorous conceptual difference between the rules of the game and the game, and between the political and institutional, embedded in the concept of management. It also emphasizes the importance of a serious understanding of the endogenous and distributive nature of institutions and steps beyond the narrow approach of property law relations in management and development. By providing insights from the political channels through which institutions affect economic performance, this paper aims to contribute to the consolidation of theoretically based, empirically based and relevant to policy research on political and institutional foundations of growth and prosperity.

Rapidly increasing population and migration from rural areas to nearby urban agglomerations develop tremendous pressure on system of the existing cities without compromising socioeconomic and cultural linkages. Policy interventions, both at global and local scale, have created newer avenues for the researchers to explore real-time solutions for problems world-wide. For instance, the outcome of 2015 United Nations agenda for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the year 2030 primarily focuses on urbanization issues and probabilistic modelling of future scenarios to obtain a robust alternative for resource utilization and further for maximizing sustainability through land use pattern analysis. This is the clear indication toward the very important role of “ever dormant” urban planning, especially in the case of a rapidly developing country such as India. Remote sensing and geo informatics along with Machine learning can provide extremely relevant information about the pattern change in cities and as input to visualize the future growth pockets. In this context, potential of cellular automata (CA) in urban modelling has been explored by various researchers across the globe. In the recent past, models have been drawing majority of the attention along with geographic CA processes about urban growth and urban sprawl studies. Most recent approaches include optimization of transition rules based on machine learning techniques and evolutionary algorithms that follow nature-inspired mechanism such as Genetic Algorithm, Ant colony optimization, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), simulated annealing, Grey Wolf optimizer etc. Irrespective of any modelling technique, model calibration remains one of the challenging and most crucial steps towards obtaining realistic results. This research communication tries to demonstrate a novel idea of integrating PSO with SLEUTH post calibration of the spatial-temporal footprint of urban growth from the year 1990 to 2017 for Kolkata, a historical megacity of Eastern India. Results were evaluated and validated using statistical fit measuresreveals PSO-SLEUTH performed substantially better compared to traditional Brute Force calibration method (BFM). Another significant development was in terms of computation time of optimized values from days (BFM) to hours (PSO). The study identifies Kolkata region to be sensitive to spread and road gravity coefficients during calibration procedure. Results indicate growth along the transport corridors with multiple agents fuelling the growth. Further, with the aid of high spatial resolution data, buildings were extracted to understand the growth parameters incorporating neural networks. Using the results, renewable energy aspects were explored to harness and provide a suitable local solution for energy issues in energy gobbling cities. Pattern of landscape change, development of better process of modeling and extraction of building from machine learning techniques for planning smart cities with self-sustaining energy is presented in this research work.

Commuter rail systems are widely regarded as an effective transportation alternative to reduce energy consumption and emissions in large urban areas. Use of commuter rail systems in the United States is on the rise, with annual ridership increasing by 28 percent between 1997 and 2007 [1]. With growing concerns about the sustainability and environmental impacts of transportation, modal energy efficiency is increasingly considered amongst the metrics to evaluate the benefits and costs of transportation systems and justify future investment. To gauge the relative long-term efficiency trends for rail as an urban transportation mode, this study analyzes historic trends in energy efficiency metrics for US commuter rail systems. Commuter rail systems receiving, or benefiting from, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grants are required to report operations and energy consumption data on an annual basis to the National Transit Database (NTD). NTD data on energy consumption, operations, and services supplied from 1997 to 2011 are analyzed to determine historic trends in various energy efficiency metrics for the commuter rail mode as a whole. The data analysis and comparison of the results with the highway mode is complicated by the use of electric traction by some commuter rail operators. These operators report energy consumption in purchased electricity (kWh) instead of gallons of liquid fuel. The different approaches that can be employed to compare these two forms of propulsion and their intrinsic efficiencies and energy sources are discussed. Energy efficiency of each commuter rail system and its relationship to individual system characteristics during the study period are also analyzed. Finally, case studies of historic energy efficiency of individual commuter rail systems with longer operating histories and reporting data over the majority of the study period are contrasted against more recent start-up systems. While many systems outperform the energy efficiency of a typical light-duty vehicle, there are others that, due to a variety of system parameters and characteristics, fail to achieve a load factor great enough to make them more attractive than the highway mode on a gross average level. It is hoped that highlighting trends and variation in commuter rail energy efficiency will allow policymakers to make more informed decisions regarding the environmental benefits of rail as an urban transportation mode.