Planning, Public Policy and Management Capstone and Terminal Projects

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https://hdl.handle.net/1794/17

This collection includes theses and terminal projects written by graduate students in the University of Oregon's Dept. of Planning, Public Policy & Management and predecessor programs.

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Browsing Planning, Public Policy and Management Capstone and Terminal Projects by Author "Ang, Stanley"

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    Cleaner Air Spaces in Lane County: Policy Interventions for Mitigating the Health Impacts of Smoke Intrusion Events
    (Department of Planning, Public Policy & Management, University of Oregon, 2020) Matonte, Jay; Cobb, Arron; Burdette, Eric; Ang, Stanley
    Air pollution events have the potential to disrupt daily life and lead to health impacts on the population. Current projections estimate a four- to five-fold increase in the incidence of wildfires, as well as increased wildfire severity, over the next 20 years in Lane County. Intense wildfire smoke intrusions into populated areas of Lane County have the potential to be exceptionally harmful to public health as the region’s mild climate means that many dwellings in the county do not have HVAC systems which can adequately filter particulate matter from the smoke. This report summarizes current cleaner air space policies, as well as examines areas in Lane County where populations that are more susceptible to the effects of air pollution events reside. Our recommendations present leaders in Lane County with policy options to advance the resiliency of the county while confronting the threat of increasing air pollution events in the future. Our study was conducted between January 2020 and June 2020 and grew out of a need for the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) and the Lane County Public Health Department to have a comprehensive plan to designate and activate cleaner air shelters in the county. The research team conducted a review of relevant academic and grey literature, as well as examined case studies from jurisdictions in the U.S. with cleaner air shelter policies. After reviewing the literature and case studies, the team interviewed 12 key stakeholders with LRAPA and Lane County Public Health which presented qualitative findings. Concurrently, the research team conducted a quantitative and geospatial analysis using GIS software and publicly available data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the PurpleAir air quality monitor website. For this aspect of the analysis, we defined vulnerable populations as low income, impoverished, immobile, 65 and up, those without medical insurance, and persons with disabilities.