School of Sustainability Graduate Culminating Experiences
Student capstone and applied projects from ASU's School of Sustainability.
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- Creators: Abbott, Joshua
This study examines the creation of a sustainability toolkit that can be implemented in many communities, beginning with Johnson City, Tennessee. This project began in 2019 and will continue to grow indefinitely. For this project, a toolkit that will allow the public to have access to the tools and information they need in order to make their homes more energy-efficient will be created. It will be stocked in the local library in Johnson City Tennessee for free use to the public, as long as they have a library card, they can check out the toolkits. The toolkits will be used by the public, then returned to the library so that they can be restocked and checked out again. This study looks at the market, business and organizational research and the infrastructure of the project. Methods of research included looking at how the need for a change came about, who will benefit, existing similar programs and how they will be used in conjunction with this project, current organizational structures attached to the project, current team infrastructure and what resources are needed to fill the voids. Findings include what financial resources will be required and how they will be acquired, as well as resources that are currently available for this project and what is still needed in order for this project to be successful. As a result of this project, at least two libraries in the Johnson City area will be stocked with several energy toolkits for free and a partnership for future project expansion will have been established. This study looks at the process and what was learned during the implementation of the project.
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.