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Urban Planning

Urban, city, and town planning seek to inform land use, development, and transportation infrastructure to accommodate the needs of the community, often with the explicit goal of maximizing both economic vitality and overall quality of life. RAND helps to inform policymakers who plan long-term urban services and neighborhood design, from determining the public health implications of proximity to parklands or inner city waste abatement to the role of urban planning in nation-building efforts.

Commentary

Climate Change Is Only One Driver of Explosive Wildfire Season—Don't Forget Land Management

The fire seasons that have been scorching huge areas and wiping entire towns from the map appear to be the future. Accepting that wildland fires are a part of our environment and working to live with fires rather than continuously fighting against them may be the most responsible path forward.

Aug 16, 2021
Report

Adapting to Adversity amid a Global Pandemic: Stakeholder Insights About Progress and Next Steps for Taking Integrative Action to Build Resilient Systems

In 2020, the global pandemic and ongoing chronic stressors caused multiple shocks in the United States. The authors describe recommendations to advance an integrative resilience research and practice agenda based on recent stakeholder experiences.

Jun 11, 2021
Journal Article

Infrastructure Resilience to Navigate Increasingly Uncertain and Complex Conditions in the Anthropocene

Resilience theory can help infrastructure managers navigate increasing complexity of the systems and environments in which they operate.

Mar 4, 2021
Journal Article

Modeling the Uncertainty of Potential Impacts on Robust Stormwater Management from Neighborhood-Scale Impervious Cover Change: A Case Study of Population-Based Scenarios in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

This work presents a method for applying high-spatial resolution population-based scenarios to pre-existing stormwater models. We explore the impact of two long-term population growth scenarios for the Pittsburgh region.

Feb 4, 2021
Journal Article

Addressing Impact Evaluation Gaps in Belt and Road Initiative Projects in Africa: The Standard Gauge Railway Project in Kenya as a Proof of Concept

Proposing new directions for evaluation framework development targeting the Belt and Road Initiative projects, using the Standard Gauge Railway project in Kenya as a proof of concept of our proposed evaluation framework.

Oct 7, 2020
Journal Article

Emerging Infectious Disease, the Household Built Environment Characteristics, and Urban Planning: Evidence on Avian Influenza in Vietnam

This study examines the relationship between the mix of household-scale water supplies, sanitation systems, and construction materials, and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza among poultry in Vietnam.

Sep 16, 2020
Journal Article

Disaster Risk Reduction in Cities: Towards a New Normal

This chapter introduces some of the key issues facing scholars and practitioners of disaster risk reduction in urban areas, which are now home to over half of the global population.

Sep 3, 2020
Journal Article

A Complexity Approach for Reducing Disaster Risks for Marginalized Urban Populations: Comparing DRR Interventions Across Four Cities

This chapter conceptualizes cities and their risks as a complex adaptive system and examines the methods for risk reduction.

Sep 3, 2020
Journal Article

Applying the Knowledge Product Evaluation (KnoPE) Framework to Two Urban Resilience Cases in the United States

This paper describes the development and testing of the Knowledge Product Evaluation (KnoPE) framework,which represents a structured approach to evaluating the utility of decision-support tools for urban resilience.

Feb 27, 2020
Commentary

Green Infrastructure in Los Angeles: An Olympian Feat

Los Angeles has an opportunity to reinvent itself by harnessing the collective spirit of Olympics development, climate activism, and Measure W funding. No single project can address all LA's environmental needs, but many diverse projects could provide an opportunity for synergies and to create a new “city feel,” the way palm trees, traffic, and movie-touting billboards do now.

Feb 11, 2020
Report

Implementing a New Mobility Vision for Rancho Higuera in a Deeply Uncertain, Fast-Changing World: Results from RAND Corporation Participatory Local Planning Workshops

Culver City seeks to reimagine mobility, shifting from cars to other transit modes. A RAND team helped the city develop an implementation plan using decision making under deep uncertainty (DMDU) methods embedded in a participatory "shadow" process.

Jan 3, 2020
Commentary

Bargain-Hunting Robocars Could Spell the End for Downtown Parking: Cities Need to Plan Ahead Now

Imagine a scene from the near-future: You get dropped off downtown by a driverless car. You slam the door and head into your office or appointment. But then where does the autonomous vehicle go? It's a question that cities would be wise to consider now. Self-driving cars may be on the roads within the next decade or two.

Aug 29, 2019
Journal Article

Pathways to 2050: Scenarios for Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy

Climate change is among the most profound challenges of all time, and the private sector is an essential partner in any decarbonization pathway. Timely business leadership can help ensure choices that are beneficial for both companies and society as a whole.

Jun 4, 2019
Journal Article

Research Handbook on Climate Change Adaptation Policy

This topical and engaging Research Handbook illustrates the variety of research approaches in the field of climate change adaptation policy in order to provide a guide to its social and institutional complexity.

Jun 4, 2019
Journal Article

Evaluation of Walk and Bicycle Demand Modeling Practice

An evaluation of the current state of research and practice in regional pedestrian and bicycle demand modelling for both commute and noncommute trips. The results of the study were connected to planning needs and practice.

May 16, 2019
Essay

Resilience and Adaptation Strategies Can Address the Impacts of Climate Change

With climate change already generating storms, heat waves, and droughts beyond historical norms, local governments need to do more to prepare. A decisionmaking framework developed by RAND allows communities to stress-test ideas, weigh the trade-offs, and plan for a range of possible futures.

Feb 26, 2019
Report

How can crowd behaviour modelling be used to prevent and respond to violence and antisocial behaviour at Qatar 2022?

This case study explores the potential for crowd behaviour modelling to inform crowd management strategies to minimise the risk of violent or antisocial behaviour taking place during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and to reduce harm if it does take place.

Dec 11, 2018
Multimedia

Wellbeing and Quality of Life in Cambridge

RAND Europe experts and Jane Paterson-Todd, Chief Executive of Cambridge Ahead, discuss the Quality of Life Survey, which aimed to understand what the typical employee of a Cambridge business feels about their quality of life. The research was commissioned by Cambridge Ahead, a business and academic member group dedicated to the successful growth of Cambridge and its region in the long term.

Sep 30, 2017
Multimedia

Santa Monica's Wellbeing Project

RAND experts and Santa Monica city officials discuss the Wellbeing Project, which aimed to evaluate overall community wellbeing and incorporate these results into city planning and governance.

Sep 29, 2017
Report

Urban Responses to Climate Change

More than 80 percent of the U.S. population lives in urban areas. Thus, cities lie at the epicenter of America's response to climate change. Analysis can inform how cities choose strategies and allocate resources.

Dec 7, 2016

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RAND Topic:
Urban Planning

Topic Synonyms:
City Planning

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