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Form-based codes (FBCs) are increasingly used to guide urban form and support economic development, yet empirical research on their economic effects remains limited, particularly at the parcel level. Using parcel-level property tax and assessment data, this study examines the economic outcomes of the Center City Form-Based Code District in Norman, Oklahoma, through a combined longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis that evaluates both changes in the district’s tax base over time and how market value is distributed across ownership types and locations.The findings indicate that the district experienced substantial and accelerating growth in property value over time; however, this growth is not evenly distributed. Market value is disproportionately concentrated among entity-based and non-local owners, particularly out-of-state investors, who control a larger share of total value and are more strongly associated with higher-value and newer development.These results suggest that while form-based codes may be associated with increased property tax and support economic growth, the benefits of that growth are unevenly distributed across ownership groups. The study contributes to a broader understanding of zoning as a framework that shapes not only urban form, but also how zoning decisions directly affect patterns of investment and the distribution of economic value.

Balancing efficacy and utilization of public transit is a complex endeavor urban planners inevitably must study when attempting to create more equitable and sustainable transport systems in any city. As Austin embarks on Project Connect, while simultaneously grappling with extreme real estate costs and displacement, more attention needs to be paid as to how we balance providing adequate transit to those who need it with the need to increase ridership to support the new system. Neighborhoods in Central Austin are at a tipping point in terms of gentrification. Long-time residents are being displaced at an unprecedented rate in favor of the upper-middle class—a phenomenon that typical measures to increase transit ridership often accelerate. Many contemporary solutions that aim to increase ridership are completely reliant on forced stabilization of affordability by policy measures. While policy initiative can in the short-term address the issues at hand, long-term affordability and sustainability across fluctuating political cycles make it unreliable.This report serves as an inquiry into urban dynamics and frameworks of increasing ridership to identify what are viable frameworks that encourage the utilization of transit and respond to the vulnerabilities of urban neighborhoods already experiencing displacement. It argues that investment in well-tailored social and care infrastructures adjacent to transit stops that address urban inequities can advance placemaking and therefore restrain gentrification. This strategic spatial positioning of essential social infrastructure and coordinated care programming encourages trip-chaining and subsequently activates the transit rider base. Outlined here within is a socially-oriented procedural toolbox to increasing public transit ridership while limiting the negative impacts of potential transit-oriented gentrification—to serve as a foundation each community can build from, not as a superimposition.

Community involvement in zoning and land use decisions is fundamental to equitable urban planning. Since 2011, Philadelphia has supported a system of Registered Community Organizations (RCOs) that enable residents to engage in the zoning variance and special exception process by reviewing cases and providing recommendations. This thesis examines how RCOs function in practice in three neighborhoods, each facing challenges related to neighborhood change: Northern Liberties, Mantua, and Strawberry Mansion. I demonstrate that RCOs create meaningful opportunities for community organizing, opportunities for dialogue with developers, and have given residents a stronger voice in specific types of development decisions. However, structural inequities and a disparity of resources between neighborhoods limit the power and agency of many RCOs. RCOs are an important step toward democratizing urban planning, but further work is necessary to create a truly equitable system. I offer recommendations that address funding and standardization of RCO policies. This research contributes to the field of urban strategy by highlighting how participatory planning can be shaped by systemic inequities and offers policy recommendations for strengthening the RCO system.

“Gary, Indiana…” explores how slag, one of the main byproducts of steel production, can be used to connect a city to a waterfront. Rather than closing Gary Works – the largest steel mill in the United States – this thesis imagines a near future where this site will accommodate increased domestic steel production within the pressures of climate change and ecological deterioration. This situation necessitates a new relationship between production, industrial waste and human-environmental experience. By analyzing the history, techniques, and socio-ecological impact of slag use, this project investigates how slag can be expressed as a land-making material and how it can foster a primary successional ecosystem. In doing so, the manufacturing which sustains Northwest Indiana can act as the mechanism which dissipates the barrier between Gary and Lake Michigan, proposing a new typology of public space which allows heavy industry, ecological restoration, and recreation to coexist in the American Rust Belt.

This dissertation proposes a modular floating housing system as a climate-resilient response tailored to the lived realities of river-based communities in the Mekong Delta. Confronted by rising sea levels, seasonal flooding, and infrastructural precarity, the project critiques formal resettlement strategies that often dislocate residents and undermine place-based socio-spatial practices. Drawing from field observations in a representative riverine setting, the central design-led contribution is a prefabricated housing system that is environmentally responsive and culturally grounded, enabling incremental growth, spatial adaptability, and continuity of local life.The research adopts a practice-led methodology that integrates theoretical inquiry with iterative, context-sensitive design development. Phase I establishes a conceptual and contextual foundation through the review of climate-resilient architecture, floating housing precedents, modular construction strategies, and regional planning instruments. These strands are synthesized into design principles and spatial strategies that mediate between environmental contingencies, material pragmatism, and traditional domestic practices.Phase II develops and examines the proposed system through a hypothetical site application, exploring how core modules, buoyant structures, and anchoring strategies may adapt to seasonal water levels and vernacular settlement morphology. Scenario-based testing and visual analysis assess the system’s environmental responsiveness, socio-cultural integration, and modular scalability.Beyond physical design, the dissertation reflects on the institutional feasibility of in-situ adaptation by aligning the proposal with national housing policies and Vietnam’s broader climate agenda. It concludes by identifying key implementation challenges and outlining potential directions for refinement, including technical prototyping and community participation. While the project offers a promising conceptual model, its broader applicability will depend on future testing, community engagement, and supportive policy mechanisms.

This thesis examines how green and open spaces are incorporated into the planning process when developing vacant lots, reconstructing buildings, or programming spaces, where such spaces are often forgotten or minimally applied. It also explores the effects that green and open space have on well-being, mental health, and the environment. The study focuses on the Seaport District in Boston, specifically Fan Pier, an area spanning from the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse to the Institute of Contemporary Art that has been rapidly developed over the past 20 years. The 2002 Fan Pier Planned Development Area (PDA) plan highlights the construction of Fan Pier Park, the Harborwalk, Marina Park, and the street grid as public benefits, illustrating how green and open space were incorporated during development. Methods include an analysis of planning documents, zoning, and site plans, as well as a photographic analysis of Fan Pier. The findings suggest that while the PDA plan set the vision for the area, individual parcels rely heavily on shared spaces; green space is included but not prioritized, and the quality of design varies greatly throughout Fan Pier. It is therefore suggested that stronger green and open space requirements be implemented within city zoning ordinances to better support these spaces during development.

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly transformed work and commuting patterns, reshaping urban dynamics in the United States. This dissertation investigates these shifts through three interrelated studies, focusing on the impacts of remote work on commuting behavior, residential choices, and environmental sustainability. The first study analyzes the effects of policy interventions and the widespread adoption of remote work on commute traffic in Northern California, emphasizing the inequitable outcomes for lower-income workers and essential sectors. The second study examines how remote work has influenced job and housing locations in the Bay Area and Central Valley, noting significant traffic volume reductions and migration toward more remote residential areas. The third study explores the environmental consequences of remote work, showing that fully remote workers reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by eliminating commutes, while hybrid workers also contribute to emissions reductions by commuting less frequently. Together, these studies offer insights into the evolving nature of commuting and residential dynamics, providing guidance for equitable and sustainable urban planning in the post-pandemic era.

Large regional differences and uneven regional development are fundamental challenges for China. Balanced regional development is an important issue in research on development geography. This study reviews the course of balanced regional development in China and summarizes its characteristics in each period. The results show that inter-regional development in China has undergone successive periods of balanced and unbalanced development. Each period has enhanced social development and contributed to a more balanced regional development. This paper discusses the scientific connotation of balanced regional development, and invokes sustainable development theory to argue that we should pay attention to the differences in resource endowments among regions, and solves the imbalance among the economy, humans, and nature to promote the spatial balance of regional development and green development for better coordination between economy and ecology. The balanced promotion of the well-being of people in each region is the ultimate goal of balanced regional development. We then use concepts from development geography to examine China’s path of balanced regional development from the three perspectives of society, the economy, and ecology. Suggestions are also provided for the balanced development of China’s regions and the improvement of public well-being.

In its most abstract sense, an ecosystem is a biotic community, encompassing its physical environment, and all the interactions possible in the complex of living and nonliving components. Economics has always been about systems that explain differential output and outcomes. However, economics has generally ignored the role of entrepreneurship in economic systems, just as entrepreneurship studies have laigely overlooked the role of systems in explaining the prevalence and performance of entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurial ecosystem approach has the promise to correct these shortcomings. Its two dominant lineages are the regional development literature and the strategy literature. Both lineages share common roots in ecological systems thinking, providing fresh insights into the interdependence of actors in a particular community to create new value. But studies of both regional development and strategic management have largely ignored the role of entrepreneurs in new value creation. In this paper, we will outline contributions to the entrepreneurial ecosystem approach and conclude with a promising new line of research to our understanding of the emergence, growth, and context of start-ups that have achieved great impact by developing new platforms.

States are increasingly adopting 10-year multisector plans for aging (MPAs) to address the rapid growth of the older adult population and the interconnected policy challenges that accompany it, including health, housing, transportation, caregiving, and economic security; however, as these plans proliferate, the field still lacks a standardized and practical approach for determining whether MPAs are working, how they should adapt over time, and what success should mean both to those responsible for implementation and to the older adults and caregivers affected by plan outcomes. This dissertation addresses that gap by developing a stakeholder-defined Utilization-Focused Evaluation (UFE) framework for MPA assessment that treats evaluation as part of implementation infrastructure rather than as periodic reporting. Using a qualitative design, the study triangulates three evidence streams: semistructured interviews with 14 MPA stakeholders representing 10 states plus a national technical assistance perspective, a structured document review of 100 multisector plans including 11 published state MPAs, and an ethnographic case study of Pennsylvania’s Aging Our Way, PA to capture the behind-the-scenes decision points and tradeoffs that written plans rarely reveal. Cross-stream synthesis identifies a consistent translation gap: although MPAs commonly produce evaluation artifacts such as dashboards, indicators, and progress updates, the decision-system mechanics that convert evidence into action are often underspecified. The findings support four core claims: MPA evaluation is uneven and frequently conflated with reporting; meaningful use depends on governance, facilitation, and explicit decision pathways; equity measurement must be treated as intentional design work through disaggregation standards, targets, and indicator stewardship; and dashboards matter only when paired with structured learning cycles and sensemaking routines. In response, the dissertation proposes a stepwise UFE-based evaluation framework organized around intended users and uses and operationalized through defined roles, standardized deliverables, readiness conditions, trigger rules for course correction, and a nested cadence of decision forums across the 10-year lifecycle. The result is a transferable evaluation operating system that states can adapt to differing levels of capacity and data maturity while preserving the central UFE premise that evaluation quality is demonstrated through use.