Honors Projects

Negotiating Neoliberalism: Community-Based Organizations and the Production of Urban Place

Caroline S. Devany — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:09:39 PDT

Focusing on two community-based organizations’ roles in producing urban place, this thesis contributes to the “New Urban Politics” literature that explores the neoliberal governance of space. Synthesizing participant observation, informant interviews and ideas introduced in Henri Lefebvre’s Production of Space my thesis explores the possibility of aesthetic practices rooted in everyday life to create alternate subjectivities of people and place. While both organizations engage urban governance in ways that do not directly contest neoliberalization, they each affirm participants as agents in the production of urban place in ways that can destabilize the marketization of everyday life.

The Painted City: Public Art, Placemaking, and Communities in the Twin Cities

Lora Marie P. Hlavsa — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:25:28 PDT

Over the last century, mural painting has become an increasingly prominent fixture within the urban landscape. Decorating the walls of urban streets throughout American cities, mural paintings can be considered powerful tools within urban communities because of their ability to create place through inspiring meaningful relationships between populations and space, represent marginalized populations and provide a means for expression for communities. Using the case studies of Northeast Minneapolis, the West Side of Saint Paul, and Lake Street, this paper examines the purpose of mural artwork within urban communities, focusing on spatial and contextual analysis to determine the impact of this highly accessible form of public art on varying types of communities.

Geographies of Poverty and Retail: the Impact of Supermarket Expansion on Food Insecurity in Cape Town

Stephen D. Peyton — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:20:30 PDT

The rapid rise in supermarkets in developing countries over the last few decades has resulted in the radical transformation of food retail systems. In the city of Cape Town, the introduction of supermarkets has coincided with rapid urbanization and increasing levels of food insecurity. In the context of a neoliberal approach toward economic development and redistribution, regulatory policies have largely ignored urban problems of food insecurity; therefore, retail modernization has become a largely unregulated market-based solution to improving food access for the poor. However, the introduction of formal food retail formats is often seen as conflicting with the informal food economies established in lower-income neighborhoods of this metropolitan area. Through a mixed-methods approach, this paper assesses the spatial distribution of supermarkets within Cape Town and whether this geography of food retail combats or perpetuates food insecurity, particularly in lower-income neighborhoods. Spatial analysis using Geographic Information Systems at a city-wide scale is combined with a qualitative case study utilizing semi-structured interviews and observational analysis in a township neighborhood in order to develop a more complete understanding of the role of supermarkets in complex, hybridizing urban food environments.

Medical Metropolis: The Impacts of the Healthcare Industry on Rochester, Minnesota

Agata J. Miszczyk — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:46:09 PDT

Specialized-function cities are dominated by one or two related industries that comprise the majority of the economic base of the area. Rochester, Minnesota is a prime example of such a city. The case of Rochester challenges much of conventional theory regarding economic diversification and spillovers of different economic systems. This case study presents new ideas regarding these spillovers and the success of specializations, as well as provides an in-depth analysis of the affect the Mayo Clinic - a premier medical facility – has on the local infrastructure and economy. This study illustrates how the healthcare industry has shaped Rochester's urban form; with particular emphasis being placed on the characteristics, expansion, and zoning of the Central Business District. The study also examines the unique public-private partnership between the City and the Mayo Clinic that has formed as a result of the intense specialization, and how the nature of this relationship shapes development discourse along with urban growth mechanics. This collaborative effort contributes to the use of the medical industry as a tool for urban and economic development in Rochester

Challenging Rust: Race and Rightsizing in Detroit, an American Post-Industrial Context

Andrienne Palchick — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 13:05:35 PST

Cities in the American Rustbelt face the considerable challenges of depopulation and economic decline, but they are also increasingly viewed as places ripe with opportunities for innovation and an exciting re-imagination of urban space. This paper examines the Detroit Works Project, a re-envisioning and revitalization initiative in Detroit, to explore larger questions of accessibility and inclusion in U.S. post-industrial cities. It is an investigation of how to structure these revitalization efforts within cities where networks of actors, who invested in urban industrial growth, created policies which built the geographies of unequal access, racial segregation, and systemic marginalization that persist today.

The Life, Death and Rebirth of University Avenue: Exploring the Relationship Among Transportation, Urban Form and Neighborhood Characteristics

Jillian G. Goforth — Thu, 31 May 2012 09:01:51 PDT

The impending light rail transit development along University Avenue in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota has led to local curiosity about both the past activities and the future possibilities for this urban street. Part I of this paper explores the social, economic and physical evolution of University Avenue and its relationship to transportation eras. Part II argues that there is a connection between the urban form of each transportation epoch and the rate of crime along University Avenue. The study concludes with the prediction that safety will improve following construction of the Central Corridor Light Rail line.

Empowerment by Design?: A Case Study of Women Living in New Urbanist Neighborhoods

Charlotte C. Fagan — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:39:11 PDT

Post-World War II suburban developments are often designed with a strict division between the private and public spheres, and are often characterized as placeless, lifeless, and an intellectual void. Since suburbia is often defined as a feminized space, these stereotypes frequently fall on women. New Urbanism, as a design school, is a push-back against placeless suburbs, and attempts to integrate the public and private spheres. This case study examines two New Urbanist developments in the Twin Cities area with the intent of understanding how women interact with their built environment in suburban neighborhoods that are designed differently than traditional subdivisions. The main question my research aims to understand is: are New Urbanist developments better designed for women than traditional suburban subdivisions? I argue that the two New Urbanist developments I analyze, which represent two forms of New Urbanism and two different suburban locations, demonstrate that New Urbanist developments do have the potential to realize feminist design and be empowering for women, but are limited in their ability to do so by their location within the metropolitan region.

Placing Agency in Neoliberalism: Contested Citizenship in Spaces of Migrant Organizing

Joseph Rasmussen — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:25:45 PDT

The presence of millions of immigrants without recognition from the federal government presents serious challenges to American democracy and its legitimacy. By analyzing immigration activism in Austin, Texas, this paper will consider how those excluded from formal citizenship seek full membership, or at least its associated rights and protections, and how institutions at a variety of scales responds to these efforts. This activism challenges prevalent notions of what citizenship means, expanding the lines of who deserve rights and protection, and constructs participatory citizenship at the city level rather than relying on the more passive, exclusionary model of federal politics.

Designing More Inclusive Streets: the Bicycle, Gender, and Infrastructure

Ainsley Henry Judge — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 08:54:57 PDT

The number of bike commuters is increasing in cities across the U.S., but men are cycling at double the rate of women cyclists. This paper focuses on how different bike infrastructure and street design options relate to gender and how streets can welcome or inhibit different users. A survey conducted in October of 2010, analyzes the ways in which men and women cyclists in the Twin Cities prioritize and perceive characteristics of the street. The results and culminating research address how to most effectively and inclusively incorporate all cyclists into the urban geographic setting.

Mapping the Mahajanga Basin: Using GIS to Explore Spatial Relationships in Madagascar's Geology and Paleontology

Anne Brown — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 09:25:17 PDT

Tha Mahajanga Basin, located in northwestern Madagascar, is a region of intense geological and paleontological study, but has never before been subject to spatial analysis. Since 1993, expeditions conducted by Stony Brook University, Macalester College, and the University of Antananarivo have uncovered a rich sampling of more than six thousand specimens and observations including fossils of non-avian dinosaurs, crocodiles, and turtles. This paper analyzes the spatial relationships between paired groups within the fossil record as well as wider regional trends to address paleoenvironment. A combination of spatial analysis and statistics are used to determine the patterns existing between fossils or between geological features and fossil distribution. Crocodiles and turtles are tested for their significance as taphonomic controls, under the assumption that they should always co-occur in the fossil record and the absence of one may represent an unusual environmental event. Statistical analyses include correlation and goodness of fit tests to determine if significant relationships exist between the geology and paleontology in an area. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and ClusterSeer were utilized to assess linkages between fossil groups and address questions of paleoenvironment. Findings suggest that crocodiles and turtles are more spatially and temporally correlated compared to other paired groups. In addition, body size and environmental distributions shown by the fossil record yield further insights into Madagascar's late Cretaceous environment, which has wider application in Earth's geologic and biologic histories.

Analysis of Streamflow in the St. Croix River: A Hydrologic Model

Stephanie A. Kleinschmidt — Fri, 07 May 2010 11:51:26 PDT

This project assesses how streamflow is affected by anthropogenic changes to the environment, looking specifically at the St. Croix River Basin. In 2004 the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) published a report on streamflow in the St. Croix River at two gaging stations: Danbury and St. Croix Falls. The streamflow at the upstream station near Danbury, Wisconsin remained stable over time, while an increase was observed at the station in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin further downstream. In order to evaluate this disparity, this project utilizes a GIS hydrologic model to analyze the factors expected to be influencing the flow rate. Of primary focus are the effects of land use changes, including urbanization (an increase in impervious surfaces), land cover and agricultural practices, as well as other sources of increased runoff. Data came primarily from state and federal agencies, and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is the hydrologic model used. The result of this process is an analysis of the influence of anthropogenic factors on streamflow.

Negotiating Everyday Islam after Socialism: A Study of the Kazakhs of Bayan-Ulgii, Mongolia

Namara Brede — Tue, 04 May 2010 09:29:45 PDT

Using ethnographic interviews and participant observations from the Kazakh community of Bayan-Ulgii, Mongolia in June 2009, this study examines how Islamic discourses, practices, experiences, and scales of influence are negotiated in post-socialist Central Asia. To do this, local, national, and transnational dynamics of Mongolian Kazakh religious practice are considered alongside the individual-scale mediating roles of personal preference, social position, life course, power, and social networks. Islam in Bayan-Ulgii is shown to be integral to community and ethnic identity but also multifaceted, dynamic, and multi-scalar, militating against essentialist portrayals of Islam as monolithic or dichotomously split between “high” and “low” forms.

The Places of Birth: Navigating Risk, Control, and Choice

Hannah E. Emple — Mon, 03 May 2010 13:51:06 PDT

Through qualitative research in the Twin Cities, Minnesota and a literature review grounded in health and feminist geography, this paper analyzes how women, their families, and health care providers view and navigate places of birth. Over four million births occur annually in the United States, making birth the most common reason for hospitalization of women. Although 99% of women in the U.S. give birth in hospitals, a small but vocal minority seek alternative places to birth – primarily at home. Where to give birth is a contested subject infused with social and political significance. I suggest that place is highly significant to the experiences of birthing women. Specifically, I propose that care providers and patients navigate the perceived risks of birth to make and justify spatial choices about birth. I further suggest that risk management is a strategic framework for negotiating control, choice, and safety when it comes to places to give birth. Additionally, I discuss the interplay between advocates of hospital and homebirth and the use of spatial rhetoric about birth.

Who Draws the Line in El Paso, Texas: Multiscalar Interactions and the Chances for Border Reform

Robert L. Heyman — Mon, 03 May 2010 09:10:14 PDT

The question of how borders are defined and enforced has always been an important issue both to the state and to residents between whom make and must deal with those decisions. This project examines El Paso, Texas as a case study for shaping a more progressive future for border and immigration enforcement. It does so by reporting on 16 interviews with key actors in border policy discussions. El Paso offers an excellent opportunity to study how border and immigration enforcement approaches are negotiated between scales, including federal enforcement agencies, state government, city and county officials, and community activists. Immigration enforcement has been marked by massive increases in manpower, technology, and resources over the past 15 years, yet have failed to stem the tide of migration and resulted in the deaths of thousands of persons. This presents a particular challenge to border communities hosting both enforcers and undocumented migrants, and that are the main place where the impacts of border enforcement are felt, a challenge heightened by devolutionary movement of immigration enforcement to local actors. The project focuses particularly on the possibilities and challenges for community groups to harness the devolution of responsibility for immigration enforcement as a means of projecting border voices into the national debate. While still marginalized, it appears that the prospect for border involvement in progressive reform is strong.

A Greenway Runs Through it: The Midtown Greenway and the Social Landscape of Minneapolis, Minnesota

Aaron M. Brown — Mon, 03 May 2010 06:12:51 PDT

Minneapolis’ Midtown Greenway is a 5.5 mile bicycle and pedestrian corridor that replaced a grade-separated railroad line in 2000 and expanded to its current length in 2007. In an era of reinvestment in American inner cities and a heightened political awareness of both urban transportation alternatives and public spaces, the academic field of geography has much to contribute to the discussion about the viability, effectiveness, and success of projects such as this adaptive reuse of reclaimed, deindustrialized space. My research investigates results from a survey of 223 Greenway users, exploring participants’ demographics, residential proximity to the trail, and purposes for using the facility. My results are then compared to temporal and meteorological correlations of Greenway traffic and to Census-provided demographics of the surrounding neighborhoods. Hennepin County parcel data are also utilized to analyze how property values have changed based on proximity to the Greenway, and I also explore the spatial patterns of individual’s donations to the nonprofit that represents local’s interests for the trail. Focusing on the scalar dimensions of how this facility is related to the landscape provides an examination of a new piece of infrastructure that represents an emerging urban form poised to potentially revitalize, reorganize and reshape American cities.

The Political Economy of Affordable Housing Development in Suburban Hennepin County, Minnesota

Patrick Malloy — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 07:48:35 PST

A shortage of housing affordable to low- and moderate-income households in job-rich suburbs is one of the biggest obstacles to upward mobility for those households, yet our understanding of the factors influencing the distribution of affordable housing development is weak. Focusing on suburbs in Hennepin County, Minnesota, I use qualitative case studies of eight cities and a statistical analysis of 39 to demonstrate that the geography of economic incentives to develop affordable units has the strongest influence. Contrary to common beliefs, opposition of middle-class suburbanites to affordable housing is a weak factor. Public policy should therefore focus on altering economic incentives.

Empowerment Zone Designation and Community Economic Development in Minneapolis, MN.

Elias Popuch — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:51:06 PST

The Empowerment Zone is a federal program designed to incentivize investment in economically blighted communities. The Empowerment Zone provides a combination of federal grant money for community development initiatives along with tax incentives for private sector firms that locate in zone areas. This study explores the effects of Empowerment Zone designation on community economic development in Minneapolis, MN. The project employs both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to study the Empowerment Zone. GIS mapping and analysis explores changes in socio-demographic stakeholders and government officials provide insight into the Empowerment Zone planning and implementation process. The Minneapolis Empowerment Zone program was able to bolster community development projects over the course of its existence, but it did not succeed in dramatically improving the employment options of zone residents or in facilitating entrepreneurial growth.

“The Bus Stops Here”: Place-making and Transit Justice Issues in the Twin Cities Public Bus Network

Megan A. Macpherson — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:12:38 PDT

This project engages the formation of place-narratives within the Metro Transit bus system by examining the structural factors and individual agents shaping a passenger’s experience of the bus. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, I bring together the literatures of transportation geography, and cultural/feminist geographies. Major themes from my research include the bus as a theater of performance/theater of conflict, the bus as a gateway to public life for those with limited mobility, and the bus as a relational space for specific passenger groups. Additionally, this project explores the significance of place within transit justice work in the Twin Cities. I propose that the concept of mobility, focused through the bus as a place of struggle and empowerment, allows for non-essentialist alliances within a diverse collection of stakeholders working to build a more just society.

Refugees, HIV/AIDS and Access to Medical Care: A Case Study of Cairo, Egypt

Anna Popinchalk — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:24:18 PDT

Urban refugees in Egypt are at high risk for HIV/AIDS because of the lack of adequate health resources, social stability and the intense stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS. Based on a literature review and semi-structured interviews conducted in Cairo, Egypt, this paper uses a vulnerability perspective to examine the challenges facing HIV-positive refugees in accessing necessary medical care. The combination of policy, structural forces and social relations results in a chain of causation that marginalizes refugees in Egyptian society. These social processes results in unequal access to health resources for refugees, thereby increasing their potential exposure to HIV transmission. This contextualized analysis of vulnerability and access to medical care highlights the potential to not only address the issue of HIV/AIDS services for refugees, but also to improve the economic, social and cultural standards of living for refugees in Cairo. Therefore a multi-faceted approach is necessary in order to find comprehensive solutions to address these underlying factors.

A Homeowner’s Last Gasp: Looking at the Redemption Process in Hennepin County, Minnesota

Michael Samuelson — Wed, 06 May 2009 11:30:58 PDT

While the causes of foreclosure are generally well understood, the outcomes of foreclosure have been poorly documented. Although rare, home redemptions – when foreclosed homeowners retain their home after it has been sold in a foreclosure auction – are a possible outcome. This paper explores the occurrence of foreclosure redemptions in Hennepin County, Minnesota in the year 2005, and examines how and why some homeowners were able to keep their house after being foreclosed upon. Using GIS data from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and County Assessor, this paper analyzes the likelihood and spatial patterns of redemption.