Scenario Planning for Restorative Justice in Lakeland

Final project for URSP708: Community Planning Studio (Fall 2022). University of Maryland, College Park.This report begins with a discussion of the concept of restorative justice and the three themes that guided and organized our work — community infrastructure, housing and land use, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. Following this introduction of the three guiding themes, the report contains a summary of our analysis of existing conditions, including a review of different planning sectors, a brief history of Lakeland, and a summary of plans and policies that have influenced the course of Lakeland. The next section of the report is a summary of the findings of our various community engagement approaches, including recommendations for future best practices for the city and the Restorative Justice Commission as they continue this work. Finally, we present the three planning scenarios — Status Quo, Reform, and Revolutionary — that envision various alternative futures for Lakeland.City of College Par

Pawndering Dog Parks for Prince George's County Parks

Final report for URSP600: Qualitative Research Design & Methods for Planners (Spring 2022). University of Maryland, College Park.Over the Spring 2022 semester, students investigated this topic while learning the skills associated with qualitative planning research. The researchers used methods that included archive and document analysis, environmental/behavioral and participant observation, soundscape and video documentation, critical cartography, and interviews. This study aimed to better understand how dog parks are used and the report makes recommendations for how to best design and locate dog parks to ensure their success. Questions of community, access, and equity were central to this inquiry. Seven case study sites were selected to examine a variety of park types, including variations in design, scale, location (urban/suburban), ecology (slope/stormwater issues, etc.), and material (grass/synthetic).Prince George's Department of Parks and Recreatio