Idziorek, Katherine; Chalana, Manish. (2019). Managing Change: Seattle’s 21st Century Urban Renaissance. Journal Of Urbanism, 12(3), 320 – 345.
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Abstract
Evolution of the urban planning and historic preservation disciplines has resulted in an “uneasy alliance” in practice, one further complicated by the back-to-the-city movement and increased development pressure in older urban neighbourhoods. In Seattle, as in other U.S. cities, the pace, intensity and scale of redevelopment has caused dramatic spatial and social transformations. Although research has shown that older built fabric provides economic and social benefit for cities, neither regulations created by planners for guiding redevelopment nor strategies created by preservationists for retaining urban heritage have been successful in reconciling these different, yet interconnected, sets of values. We engage three Seattle neighbourhood case studies to clarify and evaluate policies, programs and strategies used by planners and preservationists for reimagining neighbourhood transformations. This work suggests a need for more creative, integrative collaboration between the two fields to simultaneously engage – and reconcile – social and economic tensions caused by urban redevelopment.
Keywords
Renaissance; Urban Planning; Biological Evolution; Historic Preservation; Seattle (wash.); Everyday Heritage; Seattle; Urban Conservation; Urban Renaissance; Redevelopment; Change Management; Neighborhoods; Regulation; Urban Renewal; Transformations; Cities; Preservation; Urban Areas; Planners; 21st Century; Cultural Heritage
Shang, Luming; Aziz, Ahmed M. Abdel. (2020). Stackelberg Game Theory-Based Optimization Model for Design of Payment Mechanism in Performance-Based PPPs. Journal Of Construction Engineering And Management, 146(4).
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Abstract
Payment mechanisms lie at the heart of public-private partnership (PPP) contracts. A good design of the payment mechanism should consider the owner's goals in the project, allocate risks appropriately to stakeholders, and assure satisfactory performance by providing reasonable compensation to the private developer. This paper proposes a Stackelberg game theory-based model to assist public agencies in designing payment mechanisms for PPP transportation projects. The interests of both public and private sectors are considered and reflected by a bilevel objective function. The model aims to search for solutions that maximize a project's overall performance for the sake of social welfare while simultaneously maximizing return for the sake of private investment. A variable elimination method and genetic algorithm are used to solve the optimization model. A case study based on a real PPP project is discussed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed model. The solutions provided by the model reveal that the optimal payment mechanism structure could be established such that it would satisfy owners' requirements for overall project performance while optimizing project total payments to contractors.
Keywords
Construction Industry; Contracts; Financial Management; Game Theory; Genetic Algorithms; Investment; Optimisation; Organisational Aspects; Project Management; Public Administration; Transportation; Public-private Partnership Contracts; Good Design; Private Developer; Stackelberg Game Theory-based Model; Ppp Transportation Projects; Public Sectors; Private Sectors; Private Investment; Ppp Project; Optimal Payment Mechanism Structure; Project Performance; Project Total Payments; Stackelberg Game Theory-based Optimization Model; Performance-based Ppps; Public-private Partnerships; Analytic Hierarchy Process; Weighted Sum Method; Multiobjective Optimization; Algorithm; Incentives; Projects; Network; Success; Branch
Acolin, Arthur; Colburn, Gregg; Walter, Rebecca J. (2022). How Do Single-Family Homeowners Value Residential and Commercial Density? It Depends. Land Use Policy, 113.
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Abstract
This paper develops estimates of the relationship between local density and single-family home values using 2017 transactions for five U.S. metropolitan regions: Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Seattle. Proposals to build new commercial and residential development projects that would increase local density commonly face opposition from local homeowners. Academic literature links the response from homeowners to concerns that higher density is associated with lower property values but there is limited empirical evidence establishing this relationship at the local level. We find a positive and significant relationship between density and house value in the core area of the five metropolitan regions we analyze. Within 7.5 miles of the center of these metropolitan regions, a 10% increase in surrounding built area density is associated with a 1.1–1.9% increase in house prices per square foot. For outlying areas, the estimates are smaller and even negative in several cases. We instrument density based on topographic and soil characteristics and find similar results. These findings point to the need for a more nuanced discussion of the relationship between local density and housing values.
Keywords
Population Density; Soil Density; Single Family Housing; Home Ownership; Housing Development; Housing Discrimination; Home Prices; Los Angeles (calif.); Density; Single-family House Value; Urban Form; Residential Development; Real Estate; Property Values; Residential Density; Development Programs; Housing; Estimates; Metropolitan Areas; Development Projects; Empirical Analysis; Families & Family Life; Soil Characteristics
Though Transit Equity Day is just one day, the issue of equity on Seattle’s public transit is an ongoing and important conversation to Seattle and King County residents. Neighborhoods across the county have unequal access to transit lines; bus stops are often located in inconvenient or dangerous places due to oncoming traffic and lack of sidewalks; and bus schedules are irregular or sparse, with long wait times. These are just a few of the challenges folks might experience before getting…
Congratulations to Assistant Professor of Real Estate and CSDE Affiliate Arthur Acolin for being awarded a $10,000 Tier 2 seed grant for his project, “Accessory Dwelling Units as Potential Source of Affordable Housing Across Generations”. This grant is part of CSDE’s quarterly call for seed grant applications and is intended to help faculty initiate new research endeavors that have high relevance to population science and a strong chance of building towards extramural funding. Acolin will be conducting a joint project…
College is a time of exploration and discovery for all students. It is a time that often shapes how we view the world. Going through this transition during a moment of turbulence in the world can shape that experience significantly, which is exactly what happened for Assistant Professor of Real Estate, Arthur Acolin. As an undergraduate, international student in the US in 2008, the housing bubble and subsequent recession shaped Acolin’s future as a researcher and professor. “The subprime crisis…
The Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans) announced in January 2021 the project proposals selected for funding. Qing Shen, Professor of Urban Design and Planning and Chair of the Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Urban Design and Planning is among those selected for project funding. Shen is working alongside Co-Principal Investigator Catherine (Casey) Gifford–Innovative Mobility Senior Planner–on the applied research project titled “Supplementing fixed-route transit with dynamic shared mobility services: a marginal cost comparison approach”. The project goal is to address a…
Climate change, smart cities, urban economics and the interaction between human behavior and built environment
Research interests: Infrastructure Economics and Planning, Energy Infrastructure, and Urban Economics
The Urban Design & Planning Interdisciplinary Ph.D. at the University of Washington is one of 39 Ph.D. programs in urban and regional planning in North America, and one of the oldest, founded in 1967.
This program brings together faculty from disciplines ranging from Architecture to Sociology to focus on the interdisciplinary study of urban problems and interventions. Covering scales from neighborhoods to metropolitan areas, the program addresses interrelationships between the physical environment, the built environment, and the social, economic, and political institutions and processes that shape urban areas. The breadth of this program permits students to pursue doctoral studies in the various aspects of urban design and planning as well as in a number of related social science, natural resource, and engineering areas.
The Program seeks to prepare scholars who can advance the state of research, practice, and education related to the built environment and its relationship to society and nature in metropolitan regions throughout the world. The program provides a strong interdisciplinary educational experience that draws on the resources of the entire University, and on the laboratory provided by the Seattle metropolitan region and the Pacific Northwest. The program emphasizes the educational values of interdisciplinarity, intellectual leadership and integrity, and the social values of equity, democracy and sustainability. It seeks to promote deeper understanding of the ways in which public decisions shape and are shaped by the urban physical, social, economic, and natural environment. The program envisions its graduates becoming leaders in the international community of researchers, practitioners and educators who focus on improving the quality of life and environment in metropolitan regions.