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Publication Beyond Ridership: The Impact of Rural Demand-Response Transit on Quality-of-Life in Rural Communities-A Case Study from Great Barrington, MA(2024-09) Coleman, TateTraditional funding formulas used by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to fund operations of U.S. public transit programs rely heavily on quantitative metrics such as ridership per service hour and riders per revenue mile. However, these metrics often fail to capture the full impact of transit services, particularly in rural areas where transit serves as a critical lifeline for seniors, individuals with disabilities, and workforce riders. This study explores the impact of rural demand response transit on rider quality-of-life, focusing on a program evaluation case study with the TriTown Connector, a demand-response transit (DRT) program in Southern Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The TriTown Connector, serving a population of approximately 17,000 across 250 square miles, offers a unique opportunity to evaluate alternative measures of transit program effectiveness. This study uses travel diaries in conjunction with traditional surveys to assess the service's quality-of-life impacts. By exploring how collecting qualitative and quantitative rider data can assist with evaluating rural DRT impact on rider quality-of-life, we aim to understand how the service affects riders’ mobility and well-being throughout their daily lives. This study concludes that incorporating quality-of-life data collection methods into rural transit performance evaluation can provide a more comprehensive assessment of rural transit services, better reflecting their true value to the communities they serve.Publication A Commons or Not? A Case Study on the Conflict over Coastal Access in Rhode Island(2024-09) Joe MegaIn Rhode Island, like much of the nation, public access to the coastal zone is diminishing because of exclusionary practices by coastal property owners. In response, a conflict between coastal access proponents and coastal property owners has gripped the halls of power – from the local to State level – leading to the passage of a new statute that attempts to bolster the public’s constitutional right to access the shore. The rights of private property owners have come up against this commitment by the State, perpetuating the conflict forward – all while the coast faces the duality of increased development and the increased effects of climate change. This work builds on existing research on the commons to critically engage with this conflict at the State level and in the Town of Westerly. Textual analysis of relevant State and municipal documents and public comments gathered by the State’s Commission for Coastal Access was done at both levels. Textual analysis paid particular attention to narrative elements present in documents and how these elements relate or don’t relate to prior research and historical developments of the commons. Keeping in line with the literature review, the ways these elements affect the production of the coastline was also considered. In summations, textual analysis of key documents built towards an understanding of the narratives as they have unfolded within the case study areas. Documentation of the narrative indicated that fire districts manage and enclose the commons and that the narration of the process of enclosure in planning documents contributes to the issue of privatization. In contrary to theories on the commons, spatial conceptions remained under referenced in the narrative – especially when compared to other elements that supported a claim to the space of the coastline, such as rights-based rationales. In relation to these findings, I stress the importance of continued critical engagement with narratives and commons theory as a means of identifying contributing factors and possible solutions to diminishing amounts of coastal access in the State.Publication Analysis of a Demand Response Transit Resource Forecasting Model, from Planning to Practice(2024-09) Coleman, TateTraditional funding formulas used by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to fund operations of U.S. public transit programs rely heavily on quantitative metrics such as ridership per service hour and riders per revenue mile. However, these metrics often fail to capture the full impact of transit services, particularly in rural areas where transit serves as a critical lifeline for seniors, individuals with disabilities, and workforce riders. This study explores the impact of rural demand response transit on rider quality-of-life, focusing on a program evaluation case study with the TriTown Connector, a demand-response transit (DRT) program in Southern Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The TriTown Connector, serving a population of approximately 17,000 across 250 square miles, offers a unique opportunity to evaluate alternative measures of transit program effectiveness. This study uses travel diaries in conjunction with traditional surveys to assess the service's quality-of-life impacts. By exploring how collecting qualitative and quantitative rider data can assist with evaluating rural DRT impact on rider quality-of-life, we aim to understand how the service affects riders’ mobility and well-being throughout their daily lives. This study concludes that incorporating quality-of-life data collection methods into rural transit performance evaluation can provide a more comprehensive assessment of rural transit services, better reflecting their true value to the communities they serve.Publication Regenerative Farming Practices as Nature-Based Solutions: Potential Actions for Municipalities in Massachusetts(2024-05) Harrison, HelenThis paper explores potential opportunities for municipalities to engage with farmers to promote and support the adoption of regenerative farming practices. With agriculture, ecosystems, and communities confronting climate change and other environmental crises, this paper proposes that regenerative farming practices can serve as nature-based solutions that improve the resiliency of farms and communities alike. To investigate this thesis, the following research was conducted: case studies of three western Massachusetts organic farms, including semi-structured interviews with key personnel; reviews of municipal plans in their respective communities; a case study of a California county’s plans for sustainable agriculture and carbon farming; semi-structured interviews with seven food system planners working in western Massachusetts; and a literature review including selected Massachusetts and New England plans relating to food systems, climate change, and ecosystem health. The study found that the most salient barriers to adopting regenerative farming practices in the study region were lack of long-term access to land, the financial risks associated with changing farming practices, and lack of skills and knowledge. The most important potential actions for municipalities were promoting communities of practice in regenerative farming by supporting community farms and peer learning groups; promoting regenerative farming on agricultural land under municipal control and through key partnerships; including regenerative farming practices as nature-based solutions in municipal plans and regulations; and promoting these practices on farms to improve the resilience of riparian buffers and flood plains and as urban green infrastructure.Publication Energy Efficiency Programs at All Utilities: An Analysis of the Factors that Lead Electric Utilities to Invest in Energy Efficiency(2013-02) Pletcher, Christopher JWhile the utilization of energy efficiency has grown in recent years, it has not been distributed evenly across the country. In some states, over 2% of a utility’s budget is spent on energy efficiency; in other states that number is 0. Much of the growth in energy efficiency has been due to state policies and the development utility-level energy efficiency programs. Yet, all utility programs are not created equal. Because they are often exempt from state regulation (and therefore state energy efficiency policy), publicly-owned utilities have traditionally lagged behind IOUs when it comes to EE programs. This research quantifies energy efficiency programs in four Midwestern states: Iowa, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. The first part of the thesis evaluates 474 electric utilities as to whether they had an energy efficiency program in 2010. The second part of the thesis evaluates each utility’s EE program spending in terms of energy and utility specific factors, as well as socio-economic, housing stock and political variables. Through descriptive statistical analysis and the creation of a predictable linear regression model, this thesis identifies relationships between the dependent variable (EE program spending as a % of a utility’s total revenue) and commonly cited barriers to EE program development. Through the analysis, this study finds widespread EE program coverage in Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. Also, it finds states are the greatest predictor of utility energy efficiency program spending. A utility’s ownership type and the share of homes that heat with electricity are also significant predictors of program spending.Publication Incorporating Sustainable Building into Local Development: An Assessment of Green Design Practices within the MetroWest Corridor Partnership(2012-01-01) Brown, JacquelineOne of the most urgent long-term issues is the impact of climate change and learning how to mitigate and adapt to its effects through adopting new development approaches over time. Learning more about sustainability and green buildings will hopefully help cities and towns address these future challenges of achieving local developments while decreasing global warming rates. Because there is at present relatively little data in Massachusetts about use of more sustainable practices in particular communities and regions, this thesis looks at the MetroWest Corridor region in Massachusetts as a case study to learn more about its new development methods: in what ways and to what extent do MetroWest towns include sustainable building practices in their planning codes? The MetroWest Corridor is discussed through basic review of its history and current projects within the region. This study included distribution of surveys to thirty municipalities in the region, and the information collected helped to clarify what and how much has been done to promote green building practices. The limited findings from this study indicate that a simple survey by itself will not provide a complete understanding about sustainable projects in terms of what is known or done by local planners. However, with more thorough research methods, there are ways to better identify current local sustainable building projects, policies and programs in Massachusetts, even if they were only partly understood from these limited prelminary survey results.Publication Cruise Tourism in St.Lucia; Promoting Locally Owned and Operated Tourism Businesses(2012-05) Styles, Kristin MSmall Island Developing States (SIDS) face a unique set of challenges when it comes to the field of Planning. In 1992, the United Nations Earth Summit brought international attention to SIDS; the combination of geographic isolation, small size, and limited resources were listed as a few of the unique environmental and economic disadvantages facing these islands. The island of St.Lucia, located in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean, is classified by the United Nations as one of the vulnerable SIDS in the Caribbean region. Since the 1992 Earth Summit, the literature on planning strategies for SIDS has shifted away from an economic based mass tourism strategies toward a culturally and environmentally focused sustainable tourism strategies; such as eco-tourism and community-based tourism. Mass tourism, through the form of cruise ship tourism, is currently the largest sector of the Caribbean tourism market. Based on the cruise tourism trends over the past 30 years, the Caribbean cruise tourism industry is expected to continue to grow at a rapid pace. The continual growth in this form of mass tourism contradicts the current planning policy trends toward sustainable tourism strategies. In order to better understand ways of connecting cruise tourism to small island sustainable tourism, this thesis examines aspects of the mass cruise tourism-sustainable tourism contradiction. This thesis evaluates the various types of tourism development strategies for SIDS, as well as, examines St.Lucia’s current tourism development policies. Interviews with local onshore business owners were then conducted in order to understand the relationship between local cruise-dependant businesses and the cruise ship industry. Finally, recommendations are given on ways to incorporate cruise tourism into St.Lucia’s existing community-based tourism goals.Publication Community Land Trusts and Rental Housing: Assessing Obstacles to and Opportunities for Increasing Access(2012-05) Ciardullo, MaxwellCommunity Land Trusts (CLTs) are an affordable housing model based in the principles of community control of land and housing, as well as the permanent affordability of home ownership. Because of their membership-based governance structure and limited-equity formula, they are uniquely positioned to target reinvestment in communities of color and low-income communities without perpetuating cycles of displacement. Though focused on home ownership, many CLTs have adapted the model to include rental housing. This addition has the potential to expand affordability and opportunities for community governance to lower-income renters; however, it also challenges CLTs as organizations with little experience developing or managing rental housing. CLTs interested in providing rental units also find limited sources of research guidance on the topic. This thesis intends to evaluate the reasons CLTs do or do not provide rental housing, the obstacles to providing rental housing, the strategies they use to overcome those obstacles, and the resources available to them. To achieve these objectives it assesses interviews with staff at 22 CLTs around the U.S. The research finds that CLTs begin providing rental units to meet the housing needs of low-income people who do not qualify for mortgages, and when the resources available to them supports this strategy. It also reveals that CLTs face significant challenges taking on large rental projects early in their rental careers, but may succeed with smaller-scale rental development and management. The findings suggest that CLTs require much more technical assistance in developing and managing rental properties. The modification of the CLT model to include renters also necessitates some re-thinking of how to provide the full benefits of the model to these new tenants, as well as how to best market the organizations to municipal officials. Lastly, this research aims to encourage planners to reevaluate housing policies biased toward home ownership, especially given the instability of the housing market and the increased demand for rental units. CLTs’ success with rental housing should also prompt these public officials to challenge the typical stereotypes of renters and understand the stability, flexibility, and sustainability that CLTs can bring to affordable rental housing.Publication Locating Environmental Justice Populations: A Method for Identifying Vulnerable Populations in Massachusetts(2012-01-01) Silverman, Zachary SEnvironmental Justice is an issue that has been relevant in the mind of the federal government for the past 18 years. Within society, the goal of Environmental Justice looks to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable populations through the siting of environmentally hazardous sites. Instead of over burdening specific vulnerable populations, fair distribution of hazards throughout the population is desired. Although there is a large body of research that study the location and impact of hazardous sites on the surrounding communities, there are few existing models which look to locate vulnerable populations through the use of quantitative data. Of the existing models none implement an intensity scaling method based upon the percent of the population that exist within certain study area dependent thresholds. The purpose of this study is to develop a multi level index that examines a study area based upon intensity scaling of census data as well as hazard siting proximity analysis. A gap in the current literature is filled by the creation of the index and introduction of intensity scaling. The final output of the index presents a method that is modular allowing for the application of each level of the index to be applied individual of the other level. The index can be used to support and facilitate decision making performed by local, state, or federal agencies, to prevent the over burdening of a community. A second use is as a predictive model, providing a base upon which a better understanding of the local impacts of future siting and/or removal of a hazardous site can be evaluated. A final use of this index is as a foundation upon which future research can be conducted, providing an environmental justice understanding of a region, allowing for targeted research to be performed.Publication Comparative Analysis of Maori of Aotearoa and James Bay Cree of Eeyou Istechee Cultural Heritage Values and Political Histories of Land Tenure Systems(2012-05) Schaeffer, ErinThis thesis relies on an interdisciplinary framework to conduct an investigation of seminal national policies and planning processes in New Zealand and Quebec Province, Canada related to sovereignty, indigenous land rights, and customary land tenure systems. Theoretical frameworks for this research include a comparative analysis of European legislative systems and traditional planning frameworks in relation to indigenous governance systems and land tenure systems for the Maori (NZ) and James Bay Cree (QC). Through interviews and experiential knowledge I will document tools and techniques that these indigenous communities use to navigate complex cross-cultural policy and planning processes for their own advocacy of cultural heritage values. From the Maori perspective, cultural heritage values include the concept and principles of kaitikatanga. James Bay Cree cultural heritage values include the concept and guiding principles embedded in Eeyou Iyihtiwin. These cultural heritage values represent abstract concepts and guiding principles that are embedded in and gain meaning from local context, cultural knowledge and customary traditions. The Maori and James Bay Cree share a similar orientation to the meaning and importance of land. Together these indigenous communities view land as the foundation for collective and individual identity and cultural traditions. From this perspective and meaning of land, the Maori and James Bay Cree recognize that people are a part of a greater interconnected system that spans across physical and metaphysical spaces. In practice, native or customary land tenure systems are based on cultural heritage values that support a spirit of reciprocity with an underlying expectation that a balanced system will provide for all life. This analysis may provide a new cross-cultural framework for policy and planning processes to provide opportunities for fair negotiation of sustainable land tenure systems and natural resource management.Publication Food System Planning in Western Massachusetts: A Community Organization Assessment(2012-02) Thompson, Arianna R. G.Comprehensive planning for regional food systems is a relatively new focus in the planning field. Heightened national awareness of the economic, environmental and equity implications of our current food system has magnified the importance of planning engagement on food-system issues. While addressing food system concepts is relatively new to planners, community-based organizations have been historic players in the development of food-system programs and critical food-system policy, particularly with regard to food access and local food production. This thesis reviews the status of the regional food system in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts through an assessment of the efforts of food-related community-based organizations working in the region. The data results provide a knowledge platform for the regional planning agency that supports collaboration with community-based organizations, builds upon current assets and opportunities for improvement, and facilitates strategies to address food-system barriers, in order to develop and sustain a viable food system for the Pioneer Valley region. This research intends to support two central conceptual objectives: first, providing evidence to support the key role of planning practice in food-system efforts; and second, highlighting the importance of planning and community-organization collaborations to achieve greater systemic impact. Finally, this research aims to expand available information regarding the role of collaborative planning and community organization partnerships in the food-system change process, so as to highlight assets and strengthen the integration of efforts towards building comprehensive and sustainable regional food system networks.Publication The Role of Structural Stormwater Best Management Practices, Impervious Surfaces and Natural Factors on Base Flow in Massachusetts(2012-02) Klosterman, Kimberly BThis research conducted a GIS analysis of twenty-eight sub-watersheds in Massachusetts and considered five factors which the literature suggested influenced base flow. The literature suggested a positive relation between precipitation, forest cover and base flow and a negative relationship between impervious surfaces, soil drainage class, slope and base flow. A multiple regression analysis of the sub-watershed information confirmed the literature for two factors (soil drainage class and slope) and questioned it on three factors (impervious surfaces, precipitation, and forest cover). The resulting predictive equation indicated that imperviousness and precipitation were the most significant factors affecting base flow. The first derivative of the predictive equation indicated that the interaction effects between these factors had a substantial impact on the base flow values. A number of land use impacts were also considered in this research. Natural land use features such as open land, wetland, forest cover, agricultural, and recreation uses were found to promote the infiltration and increase base flow. These uses promote base flow because their surfaces are more pervious than unnatural surfaces such as high density/multi-family residential, industrial and commercial areas which are mostly covered by impervious surfaces reducing base flow. The research also used a case study of two Massachusetts sub-watersheds to consider the effectiveness of structural stormwater Best Management Practices for promoting base flow. Two sub-watersheds were considered: the Neponset where stormwater BMPs had been implemented and Quinsigamond that had not implemented them. The case study results suggested that structural stormwater BMPs were effective in increasing base flow.Publication A Study of The Video Game Industry In U.S Metropolitan Areas Using Occupational Analysis(2011-09) Wong, HinlanThe video game industry is a billion dollar industry with an ever-growing fan base. Massachusetts, along with other states, has begun to take an interest in further developing this dynamic industry. A problem facing many policy makers and economic developers is accurately defining the video game industry, determining the types of workers that form of human capital within its workforce and where these businesses are located. This study helps to solve this problem by converting video game credits, found in all video games, into Standard Occupational Codes to identify the types of workers who comprise the industry and by conducting spatial analysis using Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS). It also uses the Occupational Information Network to evaluate what forms of human capital comprises the video game industry. The results show the video game workforce comprises both creative workers such as artists and musicians, but also computer programmers, engineers, and business management and marketing professionals. This workforce tends to be concentrated not only in larger U.S. metropolitan areas but also in regions with a significant high-technology workforce, college towns, and government laboratories. Also, as this diverse workforce contains a wide variety of skills and abilities, a common theme is being able to work together as a team to develop a product. This study is part of a growing body of research and initiatives to identify and to locate new, creative industries within metropolitan regions. This research will contribute to future research using occupational analysis to identify new and growing industries.Publication An Analysis of Defensible Space and Crime Prevention Through Design in Crime Hotspots of Select Boston Neighborhoods(2011-01-01) Teran, MarioThere is a lack of emphasis in the planning world, both academically and in the field, on preventing crime. Defensible Space and Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) has been the two main approaches taken by planners and criminal justice officials that is design-based and that has brought some level of collaboration between the two professions. This study will analyze the built environment of select crime hotspots in the city of Boston from a design-based crime prevention perspective in order to draw correlations between high crime areas and elements of design-based theories. Using GIS, a kernel density analysis is conducted in 8 of the 13 neighborhoods in the city of Boston. Pictures taken during field observations of the hotspots are used to compare strong and weak examples of design-based crime prevention theories. A CPTED matrix is also used to provide a weighted score to Roxbury, a neighborhood that ranks high in both property and violent crime. Overall, the kernel density results reveal that the hotspots in Roxbury tend to be higher in quantity but less dense and smaller in size than other Boston neighborhoods. This study reveals that for poorer neighborhoods the condition of land uses seems to be a more prevalent factor of the physical environment than the land-use mix that are exhibited in middle and upper class sections of the city. Urban planners play a key role in bringing together and maintaining land uses that will be less conducive to crime given a neighborhood’s or greater geographic area’s history and current socioeconomic and crime context.Publication Modeling Space Heating Demand in Massachusetts’ Housing Stock and the Implications for Climate Change Mitigation Policy(2011-09) Robinson, Nathan H.This research examines variation in average household energy consumption for space heating in municipalities in Massachusetts in order to explore the magnitude of variation among communities and potential causes. A dataset that aggregates natural gas consumption at the municipal level is used for a sample of municipalities in Massachusetts. Based upon this data, a regression model is developed to determine building and household occupancy characteristics that influence household energy consumption. The findings suggest dwelling size, tenure, and age are related to average household energy consumption. Based upon these findings, recommendations are developed for the restructuring of federal and state level energy efficiency programs.Publication An Ecosystem Approach to the Sustainability of Urbanizing Watersheds(2011-01-01) Raposa, Sarah LPolitical boundaries make watershed planning difficult despite the influence of many state and federal programs. Broad, top-down, watershed initiatives fail to reach many municipalities due to human resources, time and legalities. Thus, a watershed ecosystem based approach to city planning should be utilized in order to integrate a holistic and scientific foundation for land use decisions. However, there is a need for research for developing and applying a watershed approach to urbanizing watersheds. The goal of this study is to provide a series of science based transferable recommendations upon which municipalities can make land use planning decisions. These recommendations are informed by a watershed modeling and prioritization study conducted with the community of Northampton, Massachusetts. Analyses of water resource planning options were made concerning future development scenarios using an approach which links water quality and quantity, land use and government. A required component of the ecosystem approach, stakeholder participation, applied the Deliberative Attribute Prioritization Procedure (DAPP) for the first time in this context to assess the relative of different environmental concerns. The results of these stakeholder focus groups showed the importance of several key attributes including land use, water quality, water quantity, and impacts to neighborhing communities that were utilized in the watershed models. This thesis provides an integrated tool for water resource planning at the municipal level. However, without the effective transfer of these recommendations into existing policies like zoning, the results of the study have limited use. Therefore implementation of recommendations within municipal planning documents is an important component. This information will be utilized to evaluate priority water resource protection overlays by providing quantitative information and decision making within a community. A citywide watershed model and analysis used to guide policy-making and decision-making will assist in fulfilling the community of Northampton’s continuing commitment to work toward economic, environmental, and equitable sustainability, as well as provide a model for other communities.Publication The Impacts of Tourism and Development in Nicaragua: A Grassroots Approach to Sustainable Development(2007-09) Burney, Jennifer AtwoodABSTRACT THE IMPACTS OF TOURISM AND DEVELOPMENT IN NICARAGUA A GRASSROOTS APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SEPTEMBER 2007 JENNIFER ATWOOD BURNEY, B.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS DARTMOUTH M.R.P., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Ellen Pader This study examines the impacts of tourism and development in Nicaragua and how lessons learned from a case study review of tourism and development in Mexico and a Certificate for Sustainable Tourism in Costa Rica, as well as two ecotourism and sustainable development establishments in Nicaragua can be applied to Nicaragua policy. Nicaragua’s political history, land use and policy and the tourism industry are reviewed to determine how sustainable development could be guided by the adoption and implementation of a program based on Costa Rica’s certificate program.Publication Low-Income Mothers and Their Pursuit of Food in a Rural Massachusetts County: A Qualitative Study from a Feminist Point of View(2011-09) Gifford, EliseThis study reintroduces the disciplines of feminism and planning with the hope that planners will incorporate aspects of feminist theory, which has historically been overlooked by traditional western planning, into practice and subsequently better serve their communities. In an effort to demonstrate how a feminist approach can be useful to planners, this qualitative study rooted in grounded theory aims to develop an accurate portrayal of the food insecurity of low-income mothers in a rural Massachusetts county. Through an analysis of 33 interviews from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded Rural Families Speak project, categories of hunger, participant attitudes and opinions of different types of food assistance, and breaking stereotypes emerged. From these categories, the theory of tradition and the norm shed light on the food situations of participants and illuminated the influence of social expectations and subsequent participant reactions to such. By delving deep into the interviews and gaining a more complete understanding of the experiences of participants, planners are better equipped to function as advocates. Further implications for planners are discussed.Publication Exploring the Relationship between Neighborhood Social Interactions and Urban Sprawl in U.S Metropolitan Regions(2011-09) Carvajal, LilianaAs a pattern of growth, sprawl is often criticized for its extensive negative impacts. These impacts range from economic costs to health and environmental problems. Critics of sprawl have also emphasized the negative consequences of this type of growth for social neighborhood ties. The physical environment of sprawling areas, characterized by low population density, segregation of land-uses, and lack of public spaces does not provide spaces for social interaction. On the contrary, transit-oriented and mixed-use neighborhoods might encourage interaction among residents because individuals are more likely to walk from place to place which might increase opportunities for informal contact and gather. Although there is a large body of research that study the impacts of sprawl, there is little empirical research of the impacts of sprawl on social interactions among neighbors. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of sprawl impacts and to fill this gap in the current literature by exploring the relationship between urban sprawl and neighborhood social interactions at the metropolitan level. According to my results, while neither an overall index of sprawl, nor individual indicators are observed to have a statistical significant association with different dimensions of neighbor interaction; a statistical significant association was found between the use of public spaces and the type and frequency of neighbor interaction among participants in this research. As such, the use of public parks and plazas, public libraries, and in some cases community centers is positively associated with neighborhood social interaction. These results, obtained while statistically controlling for demographic characteristics, highlight the importance of public spaces on the behavior of participants.Publication Policy Relevant Measures of Urban Form: Leed-nd as a Potential Metric for Assessing Regional Sprawl(2011-05) Shiel, KyleIn recent years there have been many advances in the measurement of urban form. However, there is often a gap between the quantitative and qualitative approach, which can prevent useful policy application- scholars and policy makers often do not speak a similar language. This thesis seeks to answer whether LEED for Neighborhood Development can bridge the gap between the quantitative and qualitative and therefore serve as a useful policy metric for assessing urban form. Does it accurately capture an areas spatial structure and more importantly, is it policy relevant?