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OTHER POINTS OF
INTEREST:
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 | Disaster preparedness:
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 | Disability studies:
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 | Economics:
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 | Housing:
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 | Labor:
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 | Land use:
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 | Policy making:
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 | Technology regions:
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 | Transportation:
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The
Economic Benefits of a Disaster-Resistant Community
Disasters affect universities across the country. In the past decade, college campuses across the US have been severely damaged or faced business interruption due to earthquakes, hurricanes, and flooding. Universities are unique organizations that serve their communities and states, and the federal government has a significant economic and social investment in them. Annually, federal agencies fund about $15 billion in university research. Much of the research is multi-year, and the value of ongoing research is obviously higher. Much American progress is fueled by academic research results.
The Disaster Resistant Universities research and development project has generated a national model that can be adapted and used by other institutions. The project has 5 major components: (1) hazard assessment and loss estimation; (2) evaluation of the economic impacts of natural hazards -- in this study, earthquakes; (3) development and implementation of a strategic risk management plan; (4) development of a model program for university disaster resistance; and (5) progress on national funding for hazards mitigation in research universities. Related Publications:
Comerio, Mary. 2000. The Economic Benefits of a
Disaster-Resistant University: Earthquake Loss Estimation for UC Berkeley.
Working Paper 2000-02. Berkeley, CA: Institute of Urban &
Regional Development, University of California.
Abstract (HTML)
Publication (PDF: 1.66M)
Office of the Vice Provost, Disaster-Resistant University Steering
Committee. 2000. Strategic Plan for Loss
Reduction and Risk Management: University of California, Berkeley.
Working Paper 2000-03. Berkeley, CA: Institute of Urban &
Regional Development, University of California.
Abstract (HTML)
Publication (PDF: 173K)
Related Articles:
Getting
set to commemorate "The Big One" (01/29/03) Even
a brief closure at UC Berkeley after a major earthquake would mean
economic loss for the region (05/01/00)
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Principal
researchers:
Mary Comerio,
Department of Architecture;
Vitelmo Bertero, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering;
Nicholas Jewell, Vice
Provost;
John Quigley, Department
of Economics and Graduate School of Public Policy
Funding agencies:
Federal Emergency Management Agency, UC Berkeley:
Vice Chancellor for Capital Projects
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| Nonstructural
Loss Estimation: UC Berkeley Case Study, Nonstructural Hazard
Mitigation in UC Berkeley Laboratory Buildings
This study focuses on the nonstructural losses that UC Berkeley could face in the next damaging quake. Nonstructural losses include building contents such as laboratory equipment, genetic samples, rare books, and other critical research materials as well as finishes and furnishings and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. The researchers have reviewed nonstructural conditions in buildings campuswide and have found that risk management for library, office, and classroom space is generally
being addressed through various campus safety programs. Common hazard mitigation measures now exist for fixtures such as lights, ceiling monitors, library bookshelves and office furniture. Campus programs, however, have not addressed the nonstructural conditions unique to laboratory space.
The research team has fully documented the types of equipment in laboratories across the campus and have done case studies of 5 campus labs, analyzing mitigation costs. First, researchers estimated the value of lab contents -- major research equipment such as large specialized microscopes, chromatographs, protein sequencers, chemicals, tools, etc. Second, they designed loss reduction measures for these labs and documented them in a technical guide book. Finally, the research team is estimating the cost of employing risk reduction measures. Results of this study are providing campus planners nationwide with a practical guide for reducing nonstructural losses in laboratories, as well as improved information on current mitigation efforts and approaches for limiting damage to key building components.
Related Publications:
Comerio, Mary. 2003. Seismic Protection of
Laboratory Contents: The UC Berkeley Science Building Case Study.
Working Paper 2003-02. Berkeley, CA: Institute of Urban &
Regional Development, University of California.
Abstract (HTML)
Publication (PDF: 3.67M)
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Principal
researcher:
Mary Comerio, Department of Architecture
Funding agencies:
Pacific
Earthquake Engineering Research Center, National Science Foundation, UC
Berkeley: Vice Chancellor's Advisory Committee
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| Disability
Studies |
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| Ed
Roberts Fellowships in Disability Studies
A new research program, led by English professor Susan Schweik and city planning professor Fred Collignon, aims to train advanced scholars to become leaders in disability studies and rehabilitation research, teaching and mentorship.
Based at UC Berkeley, a consortium of universities, research institutes and disability agencies across the San Francisco Bay Area will recruit people with advanced professional degrees who want to broaden their theoretical outlook and their disability research methodological skills. In particular, the researchers will recruit scholars with significant disabilities from minority groups who have not had the opportunity for collaborative cross-disciplinary research study of disability that includes social science and the humanities.
Three 9-month fellowships will be funded each year for five years. The training program has five components:
 | Research mentorship seminar.
Each Fellow will be matched with a senior faculty mentor and will participate as a mentor for a matched undergraduate disability studies student. |
 | Classroom training.
Fellows will attend classes from among the offerings of the consortium partners and will have the opportunity to teach by delivering guest lectures and participate in other special events. |
 | Research internship.
Fellows will complete a research internship with a disability agency and will work directly with agency staff on one of their ongoing projects. |
 | Independent research.
Fellows will conduct their own ongoing disability studies research and will be assisted in identifying funding for pursuing disability studies research after the conclusion of the fellowship. |
 | Dissemination.
A dissemination project will be established that includes peer-reviewed and collaborative publication, professional presentations, and dissemination to the disability community, to practitioners, and to policy makers. |
Related Events:
Disability
Studies Brown Bag Lectures/Discussions
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Principal
researchers:
Susan Schweik, Department of English;
Fred Collignon,
Department of City & Regional Planning
Funding agency:
Department of Education
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Non-Market
Valuation Study of Southern California Beaches
How much is a day at the beach worth? Four economics professors aim to find out.
Michael Hanemann and Michael Ward at UC Berkeley, David Layton at UC Davis, and
Linwood Pendleton at the University of Southern California are collaborating
on a research
project to learn about patterns of beach use. Specifically, they are developing a
system to estimate the value of beach recreation and the way that value is affected by
factors like beach facilities, parking, crowding, and water quality.
In recent years, various Southern California beaches have been closed for periods of
days to months due to elevated bacteria level, sewage overflow, stormwater runoff or oil
spill. Although advisories are posted and pollutants abated after discharge
incidents, does beachgoing behavior return to normal or do people have qualms about going
back to the beach? It has been argued that tremendous value is lost to the public
when beaches are damaged and beach use declines, and some say, this value is never fully
recovered. The information gained from this study will be used to improve beach
facilities and to address pollution prevention measures.
Related Article:
"How much is a day at the beach worth?" IURD
Developments Newsletter, V 10, N 1, Cover story.
Article (PDF)
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Principal
researchers:
Michael
Hanemann, Department of Agriculture
& Resource Economics;
Michael Ward, Department of Agriculture
& Resource Economics;
David Layton, Department of Environmental
Science & Policy, University of California, Davis;
Linwood Pendleton, Department of International Relations, University of
Southern California
Funding agencies:
California State Water Resources Control Board, US Department of the
Interior: Minerals Management Service, California Department of Fish &
Game: Office of Spill Prevention & Response
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The Pattern and Distribution of the
Economic Effects of Plutonium Deposition in the Denver Metropolitan Region
This project is the result of a three-phase study. Each phase was motivated by the question, "What is the impact or effect on property values of proximity to the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant?" Phase I measures the effect of proximity to Rocky Flats on 3 property categories -- commercial, multi-residential, and vacant land -- which had sales records available in digital or computer form. Phase II measures the impact or effect of proximity to Rocky Flats on property values in the remaining category, single-family residential, which was not available in digital form. The final phase measures the amount of property devaluated within the Medium Plutonium Contour.
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Principal
researcher:
John Radke, Department of Landscape Architecture
& Environmental Planning, Department of City & Regional Planning Funding agency:
Berger and Montague, PC
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| Evaluation
of the Smart Housing Pilot Program
IURD is working with the Oakland Housing Authority and West Oakland partners to design and implement an evaluation of the computer learning center and its programs, including preparation of residents to receive free computers, within a public housing complex. The first stage of the evaluation was completed in 2001 and recommendations were partially implemented. The second stage involves a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the three main components of Acorn Smart Housing: the “at home” piece, the learning center piece, and the ad hoc activities like workshops and newsletters. The second stage of the evaluation began in October 2002.
The focus of the second stage evaluation includes:
 | How the Acorn Center addressed issues identified in the first-year evaluation |
 | How the Acorn Center team is working to implement the remaining goals of the TIIAP grant, including a mentoring program, installation of workstations in the housing units, and job training |
 | To what extent the Acorn team is making connections to other community institutions for both outreach and networking |
 | How funds are being utilized to support the center's efforts |
 | What the future plans are for the center |
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Principal
researcher:
Karen
Christensen, Department of City & Regional
Planning
Funding agency:
City of Oakland
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| Housing
and High-Tech: The Impact of the New Economy on Housing Markets and
Housing Outcomes
The May 2001 conference on "Housing
and the New Economy," convened at George Washington University under
the sponsorship of the Fannie Mae Foundation, became the theme of a recent
issue of Housing Policy Debate (Vol. 13, No. 2, 2002), edited by city
planning department chair John Landis and city planning lecturer Vicki
Elmer.
When the editors first started planning for
the conference that yielded this themed issue, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average was close to 12,000, the NASDAQ was just under 5,000, recessions
seemed a thing of the past, and housing prices moved ever upward.
"What a difference 18 months makes!" they say. "Yet what
interested us then—and interests us now—is the connection between the
structure of metropolitan economies and housing market
outcomes."
The broad scope of research reported in the
issue—from demographic shifts to automated underwriting
to special needs of low-income families—represents the distillation of a
lively conference attended by more than a hundred planners, economists,
government officials, researchers, and housing policy analysts.
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Principal
researchers:
John Landis, Department of City & Regional
Planning;
Vicki Elmer, Lecturer, Department of
City & Regional Planning
Funding agency:
Fannie Mae
Foundation
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| Mediating
Careers: The Role of Labor Market Intermediaries in Facilitating the
Entry, Retention, and Advancement of Women and Minorities
This study explores the role of labor market intermediaries (LMIs) in facilitating the entry, retention, and advancement of women and minorities in the IT workforce, building upon previous research (by the research team) that shows the considerable success of non-profit LMIs in placing economically disadvantaged women and minorities into IT occupations. While examining women and minorities in IT occupations who come from five broad educational groups -- four-year college degree programs, two-year college degree programs, short-term public or private job training programs, graduate degree programs, or high school education -- the study focuses in particular on the new community-based institutions and community colleges engaging in workforce development. Because these programs target disadvantaged adults, they are placing a disproportionately large share of underrepresented minorities into IT occupations.
By comparing placement success, retention rates, and career trajectories of different groups, the study is determining the effects of traditional and non-traditional entry paths on job retention and career mobility. The study samples women and minorities with a wide array of entry paths into IT occupations by following the graduates of the training programs previously studied and comparing their employment outcomes with those of employees placed by other educational institutions and LMIs. Using both in-depth interviews and web-based surveys, the study examines hiring patterns and career trajectories from the perspective of both workers and personnel managers, in order to shed light on the role of LMIs and educational institutions in both worker and management decision making. A qualitative approach, in particular the use of open-ended interviews, is important because it allows the research to explore the role of LMIs and educational institutions in many different aspects of employment.
This research offers a unique opportunity to examine the role and effectiveness of emerging IT training providers. These new types of labor market institutions are gradually replacing the traditional corporate internal labor markets and offering new opportunities for women and minorities to enter the IT workforce. The systematic examination and comparison of these entry paths will help to clarify the most effective ways that policy can help educational institutions and LMIs to improve the participation of women and minorities in the IT workforce.
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Principal
researcher:
Karen
Chapple, Department of City & Regional Planning
Funding agencies:
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, National Science Foundation
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| The
Implications of Job Sprawl for Accessibility, 1970 - 2000
Research on job sprawl and accessibility is critical to our understanding of metropolitan poverty and inequality. Because employment outcomes for different racial/ethnic and income groups are closely tied to the location of industry sectors, a more nuanced understanding of sectoral job sprawl will help us develop more equitable transportation and housing policies, with the goal of improving the spatial accessibility of jobs.
As research on residential sprawl heads into its fourth decade, there remains little attention paid to job sprawl. There are suggestions that a pattern of job sprawl has begun to replace the "edge cities" or polycentric urban form of the 1980s and 1990s. For example, a 2001 Brookings Institution report found that only 22 percent of workers in the largest 100 metropolitan areas work within three miles of the city center.
This research project looks at changes over time in the location of different industry sectors, and the resultant effects on job accessibility for low-wage workers in different racial/ethnic groups. Using the Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 censuses, the project will first identify the 100-odd metropolitan areas with population of over 250,000 in 1970 to be included in the study. For these areas, employment and residence locations (central city, suburb within the metropolitan area, outside of the metropolitan area) will be identified for workers, stratified by detailed (3-digit) industry sector, race/ethnicity, income, and residential stability (location of residence five years ago). This analysis will show, for each metropolitan area, (1) which industry sectors have shifted to suburban locations over time; (2) the changing employment location of sectors with concentrations of low-wage and/or minority workers; and (3) the propensity of low-wage and minority workers to follow suburbanizing sectors.
Next, based upon the 1970-2000 PUMS data, this project will analyze changes in travel times and mode choice by detailed sector, stratified by race/ethnicity and income. This analysis will use ANOVA difference of means tests and regression analysis, as appropriate. It will show, for metropolitan area grouped by region, changes in average commute time by sector, with particular attention to sectors with high concentrations of low-wage and/or minority workers.
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Principal
researcher:
Karen
Chapple, Department of City & Regional Planning
Funding agency:
The Brookings Institution
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| Reconstructing
the Regional Labor Market: Job Sprawl, Information Technology,
and the New Labor Market Intermediaries
This study examines the geography of the information technology (IT) labor market and training providers and then looks at the issue of social connectedness, asking how connected new and relocated suburban employers are to labor market intermediaries in IT.
The research is part of two larger projects looking at the transition of disadvantaged groups into the technology workforce with an in-depth look at workforce development policy and the supply-side of the regional IT labor market. The project adds a study of the employer demand and linkages between employers and these LMIs, using web mining techniques, surveys, and interviews to analyze firm location and hiring patterns and determine the connections between IT training providers and employers.
The research will help refine workforce development policy and encourage the development of new regional institutions to help overcome patterns of segmentation and segregation. The research findings will help clarify the relationship between employers and the new LMIs, and thus the importance of employer connections to workforce development generally. Secondly, this study will help determine what upward mobility in IT is possible for LMI graduates with limited educational background. Finally, the findings will help us understand whether the current state-county frame work is appropriate for workforce development, or if some kind of coordinated institutional structure will work better for a regional labor market.
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Principal
researcher:
Karen
Chapple, Department of City & Regional Planning
Funding agency:
Institute for Labor and Employment
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Future Vision: Building Technology
Tools to Assess the Effect of Urban Growth on Land Conservation in
California
The pressures for future urban and rural growth are critical issues. Understanding them allows better targeting of resources and more effective engagement by conservation groups on the ground. These pressures are indeed huge, as the state is projecting almost a doubling of its population over the next 50 years. Yet there is no information that enables conservation groups and others to easily understand the potential impact of such growth across very large geographic regions -- and there are few tools for these groups to use to test their own assumptions and programs about urban growth and to use in offering creative solutions to conservation and development challenges.
Using a powerful Geographic Information System (GIS), researchers are: (a) working on a projection of urbanization for the year 2020, showing specifically where growth could go in the next 20 years, including urbanization data from 1972 and 1996 for comparison; (b) creating a preliminary detailed growth projection model for Monterey, Placer, Stanislaus and El Dorado counties using the current California Urban Futures (CUF) model; and (c) improving the California Urban and Biodiversity Analysis (CURBA) simulation model and developing training manuals to enable it to be directly used by grantee groups of the David and Lucille Packard Foundation's Conserving California Landscapes Program (CCLP).
The information and the revised CURBA model will be transferred to the GreenInfo Network which will manage its distribution to CCLP conservation groups and others.
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Principal researcher:
John Landis, Department of City & Regional Planning
Funding agency:
David &
Lucille Packard Foundation
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| Cataloguing
and Simulating Urban Development Threats to California's Legacy Lands
This study undertakes three tasks for the California Resource Agency: (1) updating 2020 urban footprint projections by county and developing 2050 growth projections and urban footprints; (2) improving the usability and availability of the California Urban & Biodiversity Analysis (CURBA) model and its datasets; and (3) extending the calibration and use of the CURBA model to non-urban counties and areas.
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Principal
researcher:
John Landis, Department of City &
Regional PlanningFunding
agencies:
UC Davis Extension: Land Use and
Natural Resources
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| Evaluation
of Collaborative Regional Initiatives (CRI) Program The
Irvine Foundation's program of Collaborative Regional Initiatives (CRI)
recognizes that these Initiatives potentially represent an important new
model for public action that can lead to more sustainable regions.
The researchers will design and implement an evaluation of this program
for the Foundation, which currently supports 14 CRIs. Evaluating
these will be a challenging task because the CRIs are evolving and
experimental. There are no textbooks or even rough guidelines for
their work. Each was developed for a particular place and set of
problems. They have different stakeholders, purposes, and
activities. What is most important about them and what they have in
common is that they join together players, often for the first time, to
collaboratively address regional concerns which are not being addressed
through traditional decision making institutions.
Changing conditions such as globalization, rapid change,
development of communication and information technology, and a loss of
shared, place-based values have meant that active collaboration is
increasingly critical to accomplishing non-routine tasks and resolving
controversial questions. Nonetheless, not a great deal is known
generally about how such processes work, what strategies are most
effective under what conditions, nor what the range of outcomes is.
While there is substantial documentation of short-term and direct effects
of collaborative processes, relatively little is known about the long-term
outcomes of such processes and about many of the less measurable
effects. Although the researchers believe that regional
collaborative efforts can make a substantial contribution to creating
sustainable regions, knowing precisely what that contribution is and how
it can be improved requires systematic assessment. Ultimately, the
Foundation needs to know how the CRIs they fund are working, what they are
accomplishing, how they can be more effective, and whether and exactly how
they are contributing to the goal of sustainable regions.
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Principal
researcher:
Judith Innes,
Department of
City & Regional Planning; Karen
Chapple, Department of City
& Regional Planning; Karen
Christensen, Department of City
& Regional Planning; Judith
Gruber, Department of Political
Science; AnnaLee Saxenian, Department of City & Regional
Planning
Funding agency:
Irvine Foundation |
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Evaluating
the Effectiveness of Collaboration in Water Resource Planning in
California: A Case Study of CALFED
The California water policy arena has been a notoriously conflictual environment, in which parties frequently have been at odds with one another on multiple fronts simultaneously, fighting one another through the regulatory and resource management agencies, the courts, Congress and the Legislature, and the voters. This study is evaluating how collaborative policy dialogues are transforming water policy making practices, as well as the way in which day-to-day decisions about on-the-ground management and operations are made.
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Principal
researcher:
Judith Innes, Department of City & Regional
Planning
Funding agency:
Environmental Protection Agency, National Science
Foundation
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Transnational Entrepreneurs and Regional
Industrialization: The Silicon Valley-Hsinchu Connection
Silicon Valley in California and the Hsinchu region in Taiwan are among the world's most dynamic centers of technology industry. While the two regions are differently specialized and remain at different levels of development, they are among
the most frequently cited "miracles" of rapid industrialization in the postwar period. Most accounts treat the respective regions in isolation, focusing on the role of the state, the institutional environment, or the organization of local industry. Others treat the relationship between the regions as a dependent one, characterized by one-way flows of technology and skill.
This research project advanced the proposition that the relationship between Silicon Valley and Hsinchu is increasingly complementary and mutually-beneficial rather than
hierarchical or zero-sum. It investigated the development of a community of US-educated Taiwanese engineers who have the language skills, connections, and experience to operate fluently in both regions and become "transnational entrepreneurs." Researchers demonstrated how the informal social and professional networks among this industrial community fostered two-way flows of technology, capital, know-how, and information between the US and Taiwan, supporting entrepreneurship in both regions while also providing the foundation for more formal interregional business relations like joint ventures. Through interviews, economic profiles, and a survey, researchers showed how the internationalization of such informal ties provides a critical link between dynamic localities and the global economy.
Related Publication:
Saxenian, AnnaLee. 1999. Silicon Valley's New Immigrant
Entrepreneurs. San Francisco: Public Policy Institute of California.
Abstract (HTML)
Publication (PDF)
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Principal
researcher:
AnnaLee
Saxenian, Department of City & Regional
Planning
Funding agency:
Chiang
Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange (USA)
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The
Internationalization of Professional Business Services: Impetus
or Impediment to the Development of Advertising Services in Southeast
Asia?
The main goal of this research is to examine the impacts of foreign direct investment in business services on the development of the host country industry, focusing on the interaction between local factors of production and TNCs. A secondary goal of the research is to determine the implications of findings for public policy.
The research question is explored using a case study of the Southeast Asian advertising and marketing industry. The analysis has two components: an in-depth case study of the industry's development in a single city, Bangkok, to develop and refine the theoretical framework, and a cross-national comparative study of the development trajectory of a single multinational (MNC) firm operating in Bangkok, Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The MNC acts as a proxy to control for variation in firm organization, strategies, ownership and services, thus regional variations in the MNC's strategy, role and interaction with other locally based firms will be an indicator of differences in country-specific factors.
The research will contribute to a refinement of knowledge in three key theoretical areas of regional development studies: international producer services theory, East Asian development, and the theory of international networks of production clusters. In particular, the research will provide insights into the endogenous dynamics that are emerging in foreign-dominated global business service industries of more peripheral centers, and the impacts of internationalization, particularly in Southeast Asia.
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Principal
researchers:
Larissa Muller, Doctoral Student, Department of City & Regional
Planning; AnnaLee Saxenian, Professor, Department of City & Regional
Planning
Funding agency:
National Science Foundation
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| Transit
Oriented Development: State of the Practice and Future Benefits
Transit-oriented development (TOD) has gained currency as a means of
redressing a host of contemporary urban problems, including traffic
congestion, affordable housing shortages, air pollution, sprawl, and urban
blight. Fueling the growing interest in TOD has been a confluence of
events and trends: (1) today there is a fairly receptive public policy
environment for TOD, providing supportive legislation and grant funding at
all levels of government under the aegis of "livable
communities," "smart growth," and "transit village
acts" among others; (2) a host of demographic factors are spawning a
ready-made market for transit-based housing—e.g., increasing shares of
childless households, the continuing influx of foreign immigrants (many of
whom come from countries with a heritage of transit-oriented living),
growing numbers of empty-nesters seeking to "down-size" their
living quarters, etc.; and (3) steadily-worsening traffic congestion in
many parts of the United States has created a market of individuals who
are drawn to the idea of living near transit and enjoying an easy,
less-stressful commute to work. Also, more and more businesses are
locating near rail stops, in part, to open up more commuting and housing
options for their work forces.
There is a strong market for information, "success stories,"
and "best practices" on TODs and joint development (JD)
projects. Recent research on TODs in California and across America
conducted by Parsons Brinckerhoff (2001) found that a record number of
transit agencies and cities are now involved at some level with transit
oriented development. The demand for information on TODs and JD projects
is huge. People want to know: how they are planned, financed, implemented,
and managed; unvarnished statistics on benefits and costs to the public
and private side; documentation on new and novel approaches to building
partnerships and coalitions, etc.
The research team expects their study framework to provide useful
policy insights and lessons about implementing TOD and JD projects,
reaching across to a broad spectrum of interested stakeholders. To
government agencies, their findings will highlight the impacts of past and
present public policies and programs in giving rise to TODs and JDs, and
provide recommendations on promising policy directions for the future. To
transit agencies, the research will not only show what is possible under
certain circumstances, but will also elucidate the pivotal and engaged
roles that elected officials, community interests, and other bi-lateral
agencies must play in bringing TODs and JD arrangements to successful
fruition. The costs and benefits of TODs and JDs will also be clarified by
the study, separating the rhetoric that swirls around TOD and JD from
reality. Best practices, not only in terms of physical design and
integration but also with respect to topics like creative financing and
public/private co-ventures, will also be showcased by the research.
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Principal
researchers:
Robert
Cervero, Department of City & Regional Planning;
G.B. Arrington, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc., Portland, OR;
Robert Dunphy, Urban Land Institute, Washington, DC;
John Landis, Department of City & Regional Planning;
Janet Smith-Heimer, Bay Area Economics, Berkeley, CA; Samuel
Seskin, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc., Portland, OR
Funding agencies:
National Research Council, Transit Cooperative
Research Program
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Transit-Based
Housing: Residential Sorting and its Influence on Mode Choice
This project examines the impacts of transit-based housing on residential and mode choice. It focuses on examining the degree to which ridership benefits are a product of self-selection. The project's operative hypothesis is that high ridership is a product of households conscientiously sorting themselves into rail station areas for the very purpose of economizing on commuting. Living near rail stops is also thought to lower vehicle ownership rates. The combination of residential sorting and fewer cars are considered to be the dominant factors in explaining mode choice for journeys to work.
To test this hypothesis, data were compiled for over 7,000 commute trip records from the 2000 Bay Area Travel Survey (BATS). This is a household-level activity-based survey, requiring the development of a set of decision rules for extracting journey-to-work records based on activity profiles. Data from trip records were merged with personal, household, and vehicle trip records of survey resppondents to build a master database. Using a nested logit formulation and the ALOGIT software package, a series of linear equations have been developed that predict residential choice, car ownership levels, and mode choice. The hierarchical nested structure allowed mode choice to be predicted as a derivative of residential choice and car ownership. Very good fitting statistical models have been produced and are currently being refined.
Preliminary results suggest a high degree of residential sorting in the San Francisco Bay Area. This implies a receptivity of those who work near rail transit stops to live in settings well-served by rail systems like the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). It follows that an important public policy challenge is to zone for adequate housing production near rail stations and to break down barriers to residential mobility so as to meet what is felt to be a burgeoning demand for station-area living. Programs like Location Efficient Mortgages and Housing Incentive Programs that promote station-area living hold promise for not only redressing affordable housing problems but also providing some degree of congestion relief by encouraging transit commuting.
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Principal
researcher:
Robert
Cervero, Department of City & Regional
Planning
Funding agencies:
UC Transportation Center, Caltrans, US Department of
Transportation |
| Commuter
Rail Transit in California: Land Use and Travel Behavior
Implications
This research examines the impacts of commuter-rail services in California on land-use patterns and travel behavior. Commuter-rail systems are thought to be strong forces toward decentralization and ex-urbanization in California. Because of their designs, including the prevalence of park-and-ride lots, commuter rail systems are thought to entice little in the way of transit-oriented development, much less so than light or heavy-rail systems. Moreover, while commuter-rail passengers contribute little highway vehicle-miles traveled for work trips, because their non-work travel tends to occur in low-density, auto-oriented settings, their total travel-consumption levels are thought to be higher than that of solo-commuters living in urbanized settings.
This research is testing these and related hypotheses using empirical data on population and employment growth trends and travel behavior characteristics drawn from the San Francisco Bay Area, greater Sacramento, portions of the central valley, Southern California, and San Diego County. Matched-pair comparisons and predictive models, estimated 1990-2000 census data and year-2000 regional travel diary and land-use information from selected areas, are being used to statistically examine relationships. Several qualitative case studies will complement the analysis to shed light on the institutional, planning, and public policy contexts of development in California's suburban and exurban commuter-rail settings.
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Principal
researcher:
Robert
Cervero, Department of City & Regional
Planning
Funding agency:
UC Transportation Center
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Public Transit
and Welfare-to-Work: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Public Transit
as a Mobility Option
Using an unusually rich panel of data on welfare recipients in Alameda County, California, this research examines the importance of transportation policy variables in explaining the ability of some individuals to find gainful employment. A multinomial logit model is estimated that predicts the probability someone found a job as a function of car ownership, transit service quality, regional job accessibility by different transportation modes, human-capital factors, and various control variables.
The results show that car ownership, along with educational attainment, significantly increased the odds that someone switched from welfare to work, while variables related to transit service quality were largely insignificant predictors. Nor was regional accessibility very important in explaining employment outcomes, a finding that sheds doubts about the spatial mismatch hypothesis. In terms of transit policy, what appeared to be most important in stimulating employment was the concentration of housing near bus and rail routes, a finding which lends support to transit-oriented development. However, improved automobility had far stronger effects on employment outcomes than improvements in transit mobility, at least in the case of Alameda County.
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Principal
researchers:
Robert
Cervero, Department of City & Regional Planning;
John Landis, Department of City & Regional Planning
Funding agencies:
UC Transportation Center, US Department of Transportation
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Evaluating
the Impacts of Car-Sharing in San Francisco
City CarShare, a car-sharing program recently introduced in the city of San Francisco, will provide a unique opportunity to evaluate the impacts of car co-ops on how people travel. A research team, under the direction of Professor Robert
Cervero,
is investigating and analyzing the impacts of car-sharing.
In principle, car-sharing should allow for more efficient use of motor vehicles. By making the cost of each trip more transparent, participants are apt to be more conscientious about the full cost of each marginal trip, inducing more efficient and resourceful travel behavior. Participants also are more likely to better tailor car consumption to particular trips, such as using a low-powered, sub-compact car for neighborhood shopping and a bigger, full-size vehicle for weekend excursions. Car-sharing also might have some unanticipated consequences -- such as prompting some participants to give up transit riding and carpooling in favor of leasing cars. Over the long run, car-sharing might influence car ownership patterns. To the degree that people lower the annual cost of owning and using a car, participants might be better able to afford housing, especially with supportive programs like Location Efficient Mortgages.
Researchers are compiling detailed data on travel characteristics of both City CarShare participants and non-participants. Before-and-after surveys are being carried out to measure impacts on vehicle-miles of travel, mode of travel, energy intensity of trips, and car ownership levels.
As of fall 2002, the research team had conducted three surveys. Data
from the first two surveys have been analyzed and presented in two reports
on short-term and intermediate-term travel behavior impacts, offering an
initial look at the benefits and drawbacks of car-sharing. Data from
the third survey is presently under analysis, and further detailed study is
planned.
Related Articles:
Study
of Car-Sharing Shows Dramatic Environmental & Traffic Benefits
(01/13/04)
San
Francisco Bay Area Car Sharing Program Spurring Fundamental Changes, Says
UC Berkeley Study (11/20/03)
Car-Sharing Spurring Fundamental Travel Changes (10/23/2003)
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Principal
researcher:
Robert
Cervero, Department of City & Regional
Planning
Funding agency:
City of San
Francisco: Department of Transportation & Parking
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