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 Subject "Affordability"

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    Location Affordability: Practices, Challenges, and Patterns in Oregon Metropolitan Planning Organizations
    (Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon, 2020) Theofield, RJ; Lewis
    A growing body of research suggests that using measures of location affordability rather than traditional housing-based measures improves our understanding of the cost-related challenges households face. Prompted by this advancement and new federal requirements for performance-based planning and programming, several of the nation’s largest metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) have begun incorporating location affordability into their long-range transportation plans (LRTPs) to better guide policy and evaluate outcomes. My research explores the role that location affordability can serve in the long-range planning practices of Oregon MPOs and offers policy recommendations. It focuses on the state of Oregon’s ten MPOs, who serve populations ranging from 57,000 to 1.5 million, and their long-range transportation plans (LRTPs). To conduct this research, I used a mixed-method approach, relying primarily on a content analysis of LRTPs and spatial analysis of housing-transportation costs as a percent of household income in MPOs. This study demonstrates the extent of the location affordability challenge facing various household types, analyzes its spatial patterns to explore neighborhood disparities, and evaluates how Oregon MPOs have incorporated location affordability and associated concepts into LRTPs. Results suggest that location affordability is largely absent from Oregon MPO LRTPs, and that future plan updates should include guidance statements and performance measures focused on improving location affordability for moderate-income and median-income households and be targeted at specific neighborhoods within the region.