School of Sustainability Graduate Culminating Experiences
Student capstone and applied projects from ASU's School of Sustainability.
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- All Subjects: Development Tools
- All Subjects: Land use
Description
Arizona and the Phoenix metropolitan area are experiencing a housing crisis, both in terms of affordability and supply. While the number of affordable and available units has been shrinking, a separate trend has emerged that is also adding pressure to the housing market, particularly for renters—a demand for transit-oriented, walkable, sustainable communities. As governments invest in projects and infrastructure falsely branded as sustainable, environmental gentrification often occurs resulting in displacement of current residents. Without new, moderately priced housing being built, displaced residents remain housing cost burdened. Workforce housing, priced to serve lower-middle to middle-income residents, offers a release from the pressure on the housing market, but innovative models for workforce housing development are necessary to navigate the regulatory and financial barriers in place. During a Solutions Round Table event facilitated by my client, a variety of potential tools for mitigating the housing crisis and removing barriers to workforce housing development were discussed. Based on conversations documented during the event, a robust list of workforce housing development tools was created. With the help of my client, the list was winnowed down to six tools for focused research—off-site construction, cohousing, land banks, missing middle infill models, community land trusts combined with limited equity cooperatives, and public-private partnerships. This project describes these tools and outlines best practices for developing and implementing them in the Valley. The best practices are organized to serve as guidance for the private sector and public sector separately, and for embedding health and social equity. Each tool is assessed using a simplified version of Gibson’s (2006) sustainability criteria, combined into four dimensions—environment, social, economic, and holistic. The findings from the assessment are embedded as guidance throughout the final product, a white paper, which will be delivered to Urban Land Institute (ULI) Arizona District Council Task Force for Health, Equity, and Housing Affordability, my client for this project.
ContributorsVan Horn, Elizabeth (Writer of accompanying material)
Created2020-05-26
Description
Of the many challenges cities face, congestion and air quality are two interrelated issues that despite technological improvements in vehicle emissions standards and engine efficiency, continue to worsen. Of the strategies attempting to reduce automobile dependency, a popular approach adopted by cities is the concept of transit-oriented development (TOD). The strategy aims to better integrate land use and transportation planning, and is often characterized by a mix of land uses, high density, and proximity to quality public transit. While practitioners and academics argue the economic and environmental benefits of TOD, there are several examples along the Valley Metro light rail corridor where the strategy appears to be failing to attract people, businesses, and ultimately transit riders. The purpose of this study is to explore how urban infrastructure characteristics, specifically transportation connectivity, urban design, and land use interact to support light rail ridership. The study utilizes a rendition of sustainability’s triple-bottom-line framework, wherein economic, environmental, and social elements are represented as criteria in the transportation, land use, and urban design analysis of six Valley Metro light rail stations. Each element has supporting criteria that are ranked relative to the other stations under analysis, culminating in overall TOD scores for each station. The number of TOD projects and ridership trends are also compared, and in combination with the evaluation of urban infrastructure elements, the results suggest the importance of transportation connectivity, pedestrian-scale infrastructure, a sense of place, and employment centers for TOD stations to yield high ridership. Findings are analyzed through a sustainability lens resulting in the proposal of strategic solutions for improving TOD planning methods.
ContributorsSantiago, Rebecca (Author) / Pijawka, David (Contributor) / Prosser, Paul (Contributor)
Created2017-04-17