Papers by Sabina Deitrick
Cornell University Press eBooks, Jan 15, 2022
Cornell University Press eBooks, Jan 15, 2022
This chapter considers how state progrowth forces reduced planning and environmental policy power... more This chapter considers how state progrowth forces reduced planning and environmental policy power at the local level. It analyzes the planning and governance responses in a small community that was selected by state officials to be the new location for a multi-billion-dollar cracker facility. The location of the facility, Potter Township, is a small municipality in Beaver County in Western Pennsylvania. With little prospect of stopping the project, local officials and the community sought to expand their capacity in planning and public administration through several concerted efforts to create benefits from the project that went beyond the actual project. Local officials moved beyond reactive stances in their will to act, showing that capacity itself is a fluid concept in planning and governance.
Over the digital age, civic movements and technological processes have advanced the use of inform... more Over the digital age, civic movements and technological processes have advanced the use of information in governments and communities. At the end of the 20th century, democratizing data became a movement of information transparency, dedicated to making public data public, with today’s technology now enabling “open data” for many governments. Unfortunately, there exists today a new “digital divide,” where many smaller municipalities have few digital support systems, continued reliance on paper public records, and limited access to public information for residents. This project and Spring Capstone class pulled together partners across the University of Pittsburgh interested in piloting a demonstration of how students can help to create and implement digital technology use in smaller communities, help to build the capacity for sustainable improvements, and help them move from paper to digital formats. Working with the Homestead and West Homestead boroughs and other partners, undergraduate and graduate students: 1) “Liberated” municipal data from paper to digital formats via scanning and data entry; 2) Developed electronic forms, with residents filling out permits on line rather than with pen and paper as the only option; 3) Created a web management and alert system that automated the rental property/fee notifications for the collection of rental property fees; and 4) Created a 311 mobile phone application available at Apple to submit complaints on five non-emergency, nuisance areas. The students’ work has led to direct advances in digital applications in these communities and can be extended to others. The capstone work will continue Spring 2016
Students at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs have... more Students at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs have worked to promote the use of digital governance for Pennsylvania’s local communities through Capstone seminars. Building on knowledge from previous years, the Spring 2017 Capstone Seminar on Digital Governance made recommendations to Pennsylvania\u27s State Planning Board, with concrete proposals for state leadership to help local governments, especially smaller communities, incorporate digital applications. The premise of this work is that digital technologies present opportunities for local governments to improve service delivery, and our graduate students in public administration have digital expertise to lend to these communities. Digital scholarship here represents a university-community partnership, as students work with communities to understand how digital tools can help municipalities operate more efficiently, effectively, and equitably
The purpose of this research project was to evaluate the current data collection procedures for b... more The purpose of this research project was to evaluate the current data collection procedures for bicycle and pedestrian projects utilized by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Pennsylvania's Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and Rural Planning Organizations (RPOs). The evaluation has assessed how additional data collection could support Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs) for planning and design activities. Current limitations of bicycle and pedestrian data collection were identified through an extensive review of PennDOT publications, Pennsylvania MPOs and RPOs current practices, survey of participating organizations in bicycle and pedestrian projects and detailed analysis of five selected and completed bicycle/pedestrian projects. Project goals and MOEs have been identified and recommendations have been provided regarding data collection and analysis methods to support Long Range Transportation Plans (LRTP), project development processes, and agency (PennDOT, MPO/ROP, Local Governments) roles.
Public Works Management & Policy, 1998
is a professor ofurban policy and economics at the University ofLouisville. He has researched and... more is a professor ofurban policy and economics at the University ofLouisville. He has researched and written extensively on economic development and environmental policy issues and is actively involved in applied and more theoretical research on the problems of regenerating urban brownfields. in addition to advising municipalities on contaminated land policy. His most recent book is Contaminated Land: Reclamation, Redevelopment and Reuse in the United States and European Union, which he coauthored with R.
American journal of health studies, Oct 21, 2020
This paper examines the relationship between subjective measures of quality of life in Pittsburgh... more This paper examines the relationship between subjective measures of quality of life in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and objective measures of neighborhood environment using Geographic Information Systems. The research analyzes differences in participant perceptions of health and environment by combining spatial cluster analysis with survey methods to understand the spatial context of subjective well-being. Environmental Justice Areas are used as objective measures of socio-economic differences in the spatial analysis. The results found significant statistical differences as well as spatial clustering of survey responses and contribute to recent research analyzing subjective well-being through spatial analysis of objectively measured neighborhood conditions.
American Behavioral Scientist, Sep 17, 2009
This article analyzes the gender wage gap in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, region and possible ex... more This article analyzes the gender wage gap in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, region and possible explanations for the disparity in earnings between women and men. Today, women’s labor force participation rates in Pittsburgh mirror national averages, but the gender wage gap in the region remains larger than the U.S. average. The article places women’s role in the workforce in Pittsburgh in the context of the regional economy and its changes. The major changes in the role of women in the Pittsburgh regional economy occurred during a period of major economic restructuring of the regional economy beginning in the 1980s, lagging women nationally. Economic restructuring in an older industrial region, such as Pittsburgh, changed both where people worked and who worked. The research then compares possible explanations for the gender wage gap in Pittsburgh to the United States using the Oaxaca decomposition. The results find that in Pittsburgh, women are not as concentrated in low-paying occupations compared to the United States, but are much more likely to be working in low-paying industries compared to the United States. The authors find that the legacy of Pittsburgh’s highly specialized industrial structure and its impacts on women’s labor force participation rates still exert a force today as the regional economy continues its restructuring process.
Journal of The American Planning Association, Dec 31, 2004
Abstract This article argues that community development efforts can be significantly improved thr... more Abstract This article argues that community development efforts can be significantly improved through careful attention to urban design. One potential design application is New Urbanism, which offers promising principles for integrating affordable housing into inner-city neighborhoods. These points are illustrated through a case study of four New Urbanist projects in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here, New Urbanists have been involved in community-based, inner-city revitalization efforts for more than two decades. This is often overlooked in a critical literature that focuses only on New Urbanist communities in the suburbs. While it is too early to pronounce final, comprehensive judgments on these Pittsburgh projects, they illustrate an important new direction that is worthy of close study by urban planners, community development officials, scholars of urban affairs, and urban designers. Like the best-selling first edition, this report offers specific design guidance to planners, developers, and others involved in laying out, regulating, and reviewing proposals for “traditional neighborhoods.” For this edition, Arendt revised the model ordinance and subdivision regulations to make them easier to implement. Illustrations on the CD-ROM are directly tied to the provisions of the regulations. The CD-ROM also includes the author's running commentary on the regulations.
Routledge eBooks, Oct 7, 2020
Journal of Planning Literature, Feb 13, 2008
Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, Feb 1, 2013
Over sixty years have passed since the Housing Act of 1949 began a quarter-century of federal urb... more Over sixty years have passed since the Housing Act of 1949 began a quarter-century of federal urban renewal programs in cities across the United States. Many neighborhoods were transformed by urban redevelopment projects in those years as the urban fabric was dramatically transformed, and many residents lost both their homes and their communities through urban renewal projects, often in devastating fashion. Keywords: African American; city; community
Cornell University Press eBooks, Jan 15, 2022
Built Environment, Feb 18, 2015
Journal of Urban Affairs, Jul 19, 2019
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Papers by Sabina Deitrick