The purpose of this study was to examine how big box retail stores, Wal-Mart in particular, affected the surrounding community. Over the past decades, Wal-Mart has earned the title of world’s largest retailer by offering the lowest prices found anywhere. Its success has raised many questions as to how their annual revenue was achieved and at what cost? Data was gathered from various methods including research, surveying, and an interview with a former City Manager of San Diego. This study...

The mortgage interest deduction (MID) represents the federal government’s largest housing subsidy. The MID is surrounded by significant debate regarding its equality and effectiveness. Opponents of the policy argue that it favors the rich, while supporters see it as a vital housing stimulus. The focus of this project is to provide a case study to use as complimentary evidence to the current literature, which is largely conceptual and policy based. To do this, the project is rooted in...

Urban design and community development are often divorced from one another as disciplines despite the profound influence the form of urban space has on the cohesiveness of a community. Using street musicians and the phenomenon of spontaneous breaking of social barriers as a context, this study argues for a holistic approach to design with community development in mind by demonstrating how social relationships between strangers spring up and how they are affected by the nature of urban form....

As our advancements in technology grow throughout the years, the ideas of sustainable cities or “eco-cites” slowly deteriorate. This study will examine the ideas of sustainable development in terms of satisfying people’s needs without putting a huge strain on our environment. The objective is to understand why it is so difficult to incorporate sustainability when it comes to city planning. The hypothesis is that we live in a generation where making money plays a crucial role, and...

Compact growth addresses the problems of sprawl and congestion and enhances the overall quality of life socially and environmentally. It follows an extensive measure to prevent environmental, economical and social ills within a community by witholding the values of the individual, the community and the environment. It encourages pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods that incorporates mixed-use and beautifies the neighborhoods. Community development needs to direct its attention back into the...

Topic: Teacher Preparation Education
A Case Study of UCSD’s Masters in Education and Teaching Credential Program

As cities and suburbs encounter critical, consequential problems related to sprawl and unsustainable growth, the pressing need to achieve more while concurrently using less has become a priority for urban planning. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential role that shipping containers have in engendering high-quality urban infill development. Specifically, the study provided expository insight into the challenges and opportunities container architecture faces in providing...

It looks at urban education. It looks at The Preuss School UCSD and Gompers Charter Middle School and asks about the spaces the schools provide and whether those spaces can be implemented into non-charter public schools.

In this research I discovered two major findings. The first has to do with the level of impact tires have on the structural environment. I found that tires are good to use for structural support of walls, however, they have to be very sturdy in order to hold when there are landslides or it rains. Therefore, since it rains a lot in TJ, using tires as support for walls is not very safe. Typically researchers view tires as polluting the environment. I found that tires do not pollute the...

With the opening of PETCO Park in 2004, and reinvestment within the community, Downtown San Diego has turned from a blighted community into a bustling center of activity. However, with the rapid ascent of residential and retail space, Downtown has seen an increase in the need for open space and widened public domain. The research presented in this case study examines the effects that privatization has had on the formation and transformation of public space in the Downtown San Diego community.