urban planning

Location, Location, Location! Mobility and Opportunity in East King County

by Bedrosian Center

Emily Lieb brings us another research update from Seattle from the Access to Opportunity Project:

What’s in a neighborhood? Scholars (and realtors) agree: Where a person lives determines how much access to opportunity she has. Good schools, safe streets, high-quality housing that appreciates in value, accessible jobs and services, clean air and water—all of these things make it possible for people to do the best they can for themselves and their families. Poor schools, high crime rates, bad housing, an unhealthy environment, and relative inaccessibility do the opposite. Each one of these things is an obstacle standing between a family and its potential.

Marissa Gluck: “I would have given you a very different answer before November 2016”

by Brettany Shannon

Marissa Gluck is a digital research strategist who’s worked in tech since the mid-90s, an urbanism and architecture writer, and a principal of the design-cum-civic engagement non-profit Design East of La Brea, or de LaB. Through her unique bundle of expertise, Marissa gives us insights into how her three fields engage with issues of culture, identity, and civic participation. This long, fun conversation is about how Marissa is, above all, an conversationalist. Learn how she uses empathy and storytelling to make things accessible to her audience, whoever they are at the time.

Thanks again for listening and let us know what you think of the conversation on Twitter (Bedrosian, me), Facebook, or email.

To build better cities, men need to listen when women speak

by Bedrosian Center

Vicky Mochama mentions Lisa Schweitzer in an article for Toronto’s Metro News on building better cities by listening to more female voices. Mochama cites the recent article in Curbed by Alissa Walker tackling the issue of mansplaining in urbanist circles. What we lose in that is nuance. Walker cites Lisa Schweitzer, an urbanist and professor of…

How do we know what works?

by Bedrosian Center

Lisa K. Bates, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Urban Studies in the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University, updates us on research in the Access to Opportunity Project.

When thinking about assessing the impact of Humboldt Gardens’ GOALS program, which is the project‘s version of HUD‘s Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS), it is useful to know the program‘s context. The concept of FSS is straightforward — parents participate in programming designed to promote employment and financial stability, working with a case manager to set goals.

Confronting Male Dominance in the Urban Planning Debate

by Bedrosian Center

LA Streets Blog cited comments by Lisa Schweitzer of the USC Price School on how men dominate urban planning debates. Schweitzer has a few theories on why women are getting drowned out by Smartest Boy Urbanists. Women often want to engage in a conversation that centers around identity, which in an urban context means building cities that…

The Power of One: Why do single women tend to fare better in FSS programs than their married counterparts?

by Bedrosian Center

By Alexandra Metz

Access to Opportunity researchers are engaging with families that take part in specialized programs for the recently homeless, and families taking part in a new cohort program designed specifically for single mothers, called the Power of One program.

Context Matters: Accessing Opportunity in Seattle’s Eastside Suburbs By Emily Lieb

by Bedrosian Center

By Emily Lieb

ARCH’s “sphere of influence” sits across Lake Washington from Seattle, one of the fastest growing  (and most expensive) cities in the country. In many ways, its member cities are stereotypical American suburbs: they’ve got quiet streets lined with single-family homes; well-funded, highly regarded schools; and commuter-clogged interstate highways.

The Great American Housing Finance System and the Role of the Federal Government

by Anthony W. Orlando

Housing is local, but money is global. What is the best way to allocate our resources toward housing affordability? How far are we from that goal? How do we even agree on what affordability means?

In this episode, our resident housing finance expert Richard K. Green will walk us step-by-step through these winding routes we’ve constructed to access the American dream.

To listen to this episode of Our American Discourse, click the arrow in the Soundcloud player here. Or you can download it and subscribe through ApplePodcasts, Soundcloud, or Google Play.

Transit-Oriented Development

by Anthony W. Orlando

People are moving back into the cities. But where should they go? In an age of congested freeways and greenhouse gas emissions, gentrification and concentrated poverty, suburban sprawl and all sorts of inequality, where is the best place to build, to live, to walk, and to shop? One answer has been touted to address all those problems: near public transit. In this episode, we define, describe, and debate “transit-oriented development” with Seva Rodnyansky.

Sloane delivers keynote at Hollywood Economic Development Summit

by Matthew Kredell

USC Price School of Public Policy Professor David Sloane provided the closing keynote for the 2017 Hollywood Economic Development Summit, hosted June 22 by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce at ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood.

The theme of the summit was building a more livable Hollywood, and Sloane noted the unique challenges Hollywood faces in planning for a city that is both a global brand and a Los Angeles community.