▼ In my dissertation research, I explored the influence of land use characteristics on household travel-related emissions in Hamilton County, Ohio. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from household vehicular travel are a major contributor to climate change, generating up to 65 percent of total transportation emissions in the US, which contribute up to one-third of all CO2 emissions in the US. Urban and regional planners have been exploring the feasibility of using denser, diverse and compact urban development patterns to reduce travel demand. There is debate about which specific land use characteristics have the largest influence on household travel. Most planners agree that there is a statistically significant link between specific built environment characteristics and vehicle miles traveled (VMT), but are not sure of the magnitude of this link due to lack of convincing studies and, often conflicting evidence from various studies. I have analyzed the influence of various land use characteristics on household travel-related CO2 emissions. I used two main data sources - parcel level land use data for Hamilton County available from the Cincinnati Area Geographic Information System (CAGIS), and the recent Greater Cincinnati Household Travel Survey 2009-10, the first large-scale GPS-based household travel survey in the country. As part of the methodology, I developed an entropy-based measure of land use diversity for each survey household in the GIS environment, using parcel level land use data for Hamilton County. I computed VMT using network analysis in GIS and also developed land use variables including building density, street and intersection density, distance to transit, and regional accessibility using advanced GIS tools. Finally, I used regression models to quantify the influence of land use variables on VMT, controlling for socioeconomic effects of demographics, household structure, and income. The research outcomes provide interesting insights on the influence of different land use variables on household travel. I found that land use diversity within the local neighborhood is the most important land use characteristic that influences travel, followed by transit availability, and household location with respect to the city center. Contrary to expectations, density and design did not appear as statistically significant variables. Land use diversity at the local level is important and has implications for regional development and sustainability planning, as increasing mixed use at the local level even in less dense developed areas may also provide some environmental benefits. Advisors/Committee Members: Chifos, Carla.

▼ It is widely agreed that different technologies (e.g., the steam engine, electricity, and the telephone) have revolutionized the world in various ways. As such, both old and new information and communication technologies (ICTs) are instrumental in the way they act as pre-requisites for development. However, the existence of the digital divide, defined as unequal access to and use of ICTs among individuals, households, and businesses within and among regions, and countries, threatens equal world, national, and regional development. Given confirmed evidence that past unequal access to ICTs have accentuated national and regional income differences, the fear of further divergence is real in developing countries now that we live in a world characterized by economic globalization and accelerated international competition (i.e., New Economy). In Africa and Kenya, for instance, the presence of wide digital divides – regionally, between rural and urban areas, and within the urban areas – means that their threat is real. This research, which employed spatial analysis and used the district as a geographical unit of analysis, carried out a detailed study of ICTs’ development potential and challenges in Kenya. It addressed the following questions: (1) What is the extent of the intra-national digital divide in Kenya? (2) What are the factors that determine Kenya’s intra-national digital divide? and (3) How can the intra-national digital divide be substantiated using regional-level data? The research obtained socio-economic, infrastructural, and geographical data. Using descriptive, concentration, and spatial modeling techniques, the results indicate the presence of marked spatial digital divides as measured by the number of telephone connections and the number of Internet cafés in Kenya. These measures correspond with “old” and “new” digital divides, respectively. Spatial regression results showed lack of significant spatial dependence in the “old” digital divide and presence of significant spatial dependence in the “new” digital divide. Interpretation of regression results discusses the significant determinants of Kenya’s intra-national digital divide. These determinants include broadly socio-economic, infrastructural, and geographical variables. Further evidence identified roughly that telephone and Internet clustering in the country mirror the existing pattern of economic development. This means that the role of deliberate government policies in guiding ICT-related development towards convergence is paramount. Advisors/Committee Members: Looye, Johanna.

▼ As an important sector of high-tech manufacturing, the communications equipment manufacturing (CEM) industry in the United States (U.S.) is highly concentrated in a few metropolitan areas. Many scholars agree that it is necessary to understand the driving forces behind such concentration and clustering because the CEM industry is an important source of economic development in terms of high value-added jobs and technological innovation. Many studies have explored the locational factors for traditional manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing, but no in-depth studies theoretically analyze the behavioral characteristics of the CEM industry and its locational supporting factors in metropolitan areas. This study investigated the locational determinants for the spatial concentration of the CEM industry by analyzing its industrial characteristics, supply chain network, and assumed geographic factors that determined the presence and number of CEM establishments. To test the statistical significance of locational determinants, this study employed three regression approaches: logistic, Poisson, and negative binomial regression analyses. Study results showed that a high-tech manufacturing base, professional scientific and technical services, and region-specific factors in a metropolitan area are statistically significant in influencing the locational decisions of CEM establishments. A metropolitan area is likely to have more CEM establishments if the region has a stronger high-tech base and more professional scientific and technical services. Contrary to other literature findings, spillover effects from proximity to higher education institutions are not statistically significant; transportation services and transportation hubs, important factors for traditional manufacturing, are also not statistically significant for the location decisions of the CEM industry; and factors such as employment density, financial services, and general business support services, do not show clear influence on the location choice of the CEM industry as well. Therefore, policy makers should focus on the development of a favorable regional business environment, including high-tech manufacturing base, professional technical services, a skilled labor pool, and industrial incubator facilities. Advisors/Committee Members: Romanos, Michael.

▼ The main objective of this research is to estimate the impact of brownfields on the surrounding property values by using a Maximum Likelihood-based hedonic price model that takes into account the phenomenon of spatial dependence among real estate property values and thus yields coefficient estimates that are unbiased and consistent. The study aims to also contribute additional relevant information to the urban and regional planning literature by determining the magnitude of the total impact traditional hedonic variables, and in particular brownfield sites, have on the value of single-family residential properties. The total impact represents the cumulated effect determined by each explanatory variable and by the spatial dependence phenomenon. The results of the Maximum Likelihood estimation procedure indicate that the negative externalities on property values determined by the presence of brownfield sites in their neighborhood are limited to the first 1,000 feet around brownfields. Based on these findings, the loss in property value for each of the properties included in the analyzed sample and the corresponding tax revenue loss for the city are calculated. Although the magnitude of the loss in property values alone may not justify the need for public support for brownfield redevelopment, it opens a new array of directions for future research, such as, to name just a couple, the need to compare the potential monetary gains from brownfield redevelopment with the actual costs of redevelopment or the need to look beyond single-family residential properties in calculating the total impact of brownfields on the surrounding property values. Advisors/Committee Members: vom Hofe, Rainer.

▼ First-suburbs in the U.S. currently face a host of problems conventionally associated with urban areas. Over the last several decades first-suburbs have exhibited characteristics of “suburban decline” characterized by shrinking business districts, declining deteriorating residential neighborhoods, population loss, and the emergence of crime. However, unlike their urban counterparts, which often receive federal, state, and county level support, first-suburbs often lack the support mechanisms necessary to alleviate decline and encourage community reinvestment. More recently, the problems facing first-suburbs have been exacerbated with the current foreclosure crisis and economic recession. With elected officials and administrators of first-suburban communities facing budget constraints and increased threats to neighborhood stability, it is important to revisit the idea of social capital as a tool for community development. The use of social capital as a mechanism of community development has been explored for over the last two decades. However, much of the research on this topic focused on its role and function in the revitalization of low-income communities across the United States and beyond; and to a lesser extent on low to middle-income first-suburban communities within the US. In addition, as the problems that were formally associated with the inner-city are now visible in first- suburb neighborhoods, new prospects arise for CDCs to play an active role in the redevelopment of inner-ring suburban communities. This research provides a descriptive analysis of how social capital is mobilized and acts as a catalyst for addressing problems of neighborhood blight, aging housing stock, foreclosure prevention, fighting crime, declining homeownership opportunities, and overall community image within first-suburbs. Using a case study methodology, this research investigated the present role and future potential of: 1) community social capital as a community development tool within the first-suburbs; and 2) urban non-profit housing CDCs in promoting neighborhood revitalization within the first-suburbs. The study found that the social capital was valuable within first-suburb communities in promoting community development initiatives to promote neighborhood stability and quality of life standards. The study findings illustrates how community-based organizations (CBOs) operational in first-suburbs are focused on promoting improvements to community safety and quality of life within their neighborhoods and business corridors. The study also demonstrates the changing role of non-profit housing CDCs in an era of first-suburban economic distress. Non-profit housing CDCs in Hamilton County, Ohio, have adapted their practices to an inner-suburban context, and taken a more regional (or at least multi-local) approach to community redevelopment. The study concludes with a proposed a set of social capital typologies within first-suburbs, including policy recommendations for community development practitioners, scholars, and local government officials. Advisors/Committee Members: Arefi, Mahyar.

▼ My dissertation examines the relationship between single-family homes (SFH) and surrounding conservation easement (CE) property parcels in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts. The research was designed to examine whether conservation easements indeed externalize benefits to the surrounding SFH values. Externalities are those factors that are outside of SFH and contribute positive or negative effective on SFH’s values. Conservation easement is a voluntary land-conservation tool and is increasingly popular in the United States. It is used widely to protect privately owned properties offering scenic views and vistas, open spaces, rural and historic character, watersheds and natural systems, habitats and endangered species, and other preservation-worthy attributes. CE-protected parcels are restricted via an agreement for any future development. With donation of the development rights, CE advances public good – forever – by protecting preservation-worthy land in perpetuity, and landowners are rewarded with tax abatement. With public tax dollars involved in CE in the form of tax abatement, municipalities may need to make the case that such conservation programs have a positive public benefit and that there is a potential economic benefit on the surrounding home values, or at least the preservation of property values. This dissertation examines the relationship between conservation-easement parcels and the values of surrounding SFH using a hedonic price modeling (HPM) framework and SFH sales data for Worcester. Using 3-D GIS, externality-capturing explanatory variables were developed that include proximity from homes to CE parcels, viewable areas of CE parcels from homes, and Conservation Easement Visibility Index (CEVI), a relative index for home samples that measures both the visibility and proximity together through a single variable. The research findings were interesting. Contrary to expectation, distance from, and visibility of, CE property parcels from SFH samples was statistically insignificant; however, their interaction effect was found to be significant. The interaction effect was measured via the CEVI. It was found that on average there is a marginal value creation for homes that have both features – visibility of CE parcels and proximity to them. The research findings support the notion that homeowners place higher value on quieter, everlasting, conserved landscapes, but the low effect of CE parcels on home prices could be due to lack of recognition or knowledge about the CE-protected parcels. Further, the combined effect of proximity and visibility (being able to enjoy the property from the comfort of one’s home) emerged as the key factors in driving higher home values. For few select homes with higher value of CEVI, it was found that CE parcels do create as high as a 34 percent premium to those homes. The research findings are useful for federal, state and local governments, land trusts, and land-use planners as conservation easement is the most commonly used tool in land protection. This research provides insights and tools for estimating the direct benefits of land protection, especially with scenic amenities. Since the effect of home values has implications on property tax revenues, local governments can use this as a tool to make land-protection decisions and prioritize their efforts. Advisors/Committee Members: Chifos, Carla.

▼ Approaches such as Sustainability, Growth Management, and Smart Growth demand that the planning profession rethink uses of resources. Mixed-use development (MUD), as an element of Smart Growth, attempts to counteract uncontrolled urban growth by combining land uses in compact, denser growth. Beyond compactness, mixed-use offers an opportunity to foster development within existing communities and encourage infill strategies. However, we know little about how such environments, i.e., neighborhoods, will affect (if considered) MUD’s internal land-use mix or developers’ decisions. Such decisions are also driven by the willingness to finance the embedded risks a MUD entails, given the combination of property types within a project; thus, it becomes clearly understood that real estate finance is about reducing risk and maximizing wealth. This research hypothesizes that an optimized combination of land uses is likely to maximize a developer’s profit while also contributing other objectives, such as mitigating negative effects on a community. The main argument is that developers gain profit through an optimized approach involving proforma-driven rent simulations. Furthermore, other stakeholders’ interests are included and considered as part of an optimization model, which is based on finance simulations. This research successfully developed a much-needed tool for planners and real estate professionals while presenting a concept to reduce urban sprawl through making MUD more available for consideration as economically and socially oriented (sustainable) infill development. It applied techniques related to operations research with a model using OptQuest optimizations and Crystal Ball simulations by embedding uncertainties as part of a strategic approach to appropriate land-use compositions. The model implements variables ranging from legal (e.g., zoning) to economic (e.g., real estate) to environmental (e.g., land densities) and to other quantifiable neighborhood constraints addressing sustainability and equity issues (i.e., public facilities or vacancies). The results demonstrate that when neighborhood characteristics are embedded, the model’s outcomes are relatively less profitable for the developer than when neighborhood influences are not considered. However, full-scale MUD optimization also includes a conservative observation of market behavior and risk. This means that even with a lower internal rate of return, real estate developers can achieve a profitable project with reduced risk to their financers. Consequently, an optimal mixed-use composition not only supports a developer’s profit interest but also helps planners and policymakers in their decision-making processes, while keeping difficulties in further planning/development process to a minimum. This research presents a powerful application for communities, planners, real estate developers, and real estate financiers to find consensus prior to zoning and site-plan meetings. The real potential is for developers to reduce risk while implementing existing neighborhood characteristics in the model. This will make MUD more transparent to financing demands as well as more responsive to community needs. A community can reduce externalities and influence the MUD mix while moving economic and sustainable goals forward. Advisors/Committee Members: Auffrey, Christopher.