School of Sustainability Graduate Culminating Experiences
Student capstone and applied projects from ASU's School of Sustainability.
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- Creators: Abbott, Joshua
- Creators: Cook, Edward
Description
Day-to-day decision makers on agricultural operations play a key role in maintaining both a sustainable and food secure agricultural society. This population, also defined as Principal Producers by the 2017 USDA Agricultural Census Report, has witnessed a significant decline in recent years, raising many questions surrounding why farmers are retiring faster than they can be replaced. To look closely at this phenomenon, this study focuses on the State of Ohio to hear first-hand from producers what they need to be successful through a series of semi-structured interviews. This study also maps recent changes in variables that define this issue from 2007-2017 using QGIS and USDA Agricultural Census data. The findings from this study show the recent decline of mid-sized agricultural operations and provide evidence linking declining rates of principal producer populations with specific features consistent with industrial agriculture. These findings are specific to the State of Ohio, but also raise much larger questions about which populations are experiencing more rapid rates of farm exit, and what implications these trends have for food security on a broader scale.
ContributorsMoore, Phillip (Author) / Chhetri, Nalini (Contributor) / Leonard, Bryan (Contributor) / Shrestha, Milan (Contributor)
Created2020
Description
As arid cities’ water scarcity concerns grow, so does the importance of residential water conservation. Understanding the drivers of participation in water conservation programs can aid policymakers in designing programs that achieve conservation and enrollment targets while achieving cost-effectiveness and distributional goals. In this study I identify and analyze the characteristics that drive participation in the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s Water Smart Landscaping rebate program – a program that pays homeowners to replace their grass lawns with xeric landscaping – and how those characteristics change over time as rebate values and water prices vary.
In order to determine what characteristics influence participation in this program I gathered data from multiple sources. I use a panel dataset of household water consumption that spans 12 years of approximately 300,000 homes. I merged this dataset with home structural characteristics, geographical, and demographic context. I then use these characteristics in a linear probability model, with school enrollment zone fixed effects to determine their influence on a household’s probability of participation. School zones are used to control for unobserved characteristics, such as demographics, which are not at a household level. I then utilize these school zone fixed effects in a 2nd stage regression to decompose these elements and analyze their effect on participation.
I find that a household’s water costs, as reflected in the marginal price faced in the summer and the differential between summer and winter water bills, as well as yard size are primary factors that influence participation. I also show that changes in rebate value and water rates can affect different types of households. There is also evidence to support that neighborhood characteristics affect a household’s likelihood of participating.
In order to determine what characteristics influence participation in this program I gathered data from multiple sources. I use a panel dataset of household water consumption that spans 12 years of approximately 300,000 homes. I merged this dataset with home structural characteristics, geographical, and demographic context. I then use these characteristics in a linear probability model, with school enrollment zone fixed effects to determine their influence on a household’s probability of participation. School zones are used to control for unobserved characteristics, such as demographics, which are not at a household level. I then utilize these school zone fixed effects in a 2nd stage regression to decompose these elements and analyze their effect on participation.
I find that a household’s water costs, as reflected in the marginal price faced in the summer and the differential between summer and winter water bills, as well as yard size are primary factors that influence participation. I also show that changes in rebate value and water rates can affect different types of households. There is also evidence to support that neighborhood characteristics affect a household’s likelihood of participating.
ContributorsRusso, Jonathan (Author) / Abbott, Joshua (Contributor) / Brelsford, Christa (Contributor) / Larson, Kelli (Contributor)
Created2018-04-21
Description
South Africa, like many countries of the Global South, has witnessed explosive growth in urban population in recent decades. In a post-apartheid time, the majority of urban growth has accumulated in densely populated informal settlements. These areas delivered poorly planed and constructed single unit housing lacking adequate and necessary services, leading to increased economic and social exclusion in urban sprawl, with a need for full scale settlement redevelopment. The Kosovo Informal Settlement is one of the oldest and densest in Cape Town, South Africa, with a population of more that 26,000 in an area of 28 hectares. Kosovo is facing many challenges with poverty, hunger, poor health and sanitation, violence, environmental degradation, and fire and flood risks amplifying the necessity to hold priority in the redevelopment process. How can you provide urban upgrading and redevelopment and meet the needs of the community sustainably? The design of the Kosovo informal settlement redevelopment used multiple planning principles, which include space and movement systems, appropriate building sizing, sustainable infrastructure design and planning, building efficiency, and effective land use. Health, safety and security, community education and opportunities, and sustainable resource use must also be considered. Settlement land use can be developed for mixed-use opportunities such as community gardening, education, and training advancements to optimize access for employment options. The Kosovo Informal Settlement is a community with multiple opportunities for advancement in sustainable planning if the proper leadership, community participation and redevelopment stages are introduced and carried out effectively.
ContributorsAnsara, Nicolas (Author) / Mpahlwa, Luyanda (Contributor) / Cook, Edward (Contributor)
Created2017-03-16