San Francisco State University
Urban Studies Senior Seminar (URBS 680)

The Urban Studies Senior Seminar is a practicum in policy and planning. Under the direction of Professor Ayse Pamuk (since 2001), co-direction with Professor Jasper Rubin (since 2008) and in collaboration with community clients, it teaches students to solve urban planning and policy problems by combining theory, substantive knowledge, and analytical skills in the context of a client-serving project. It provides Urban Studies majors an opportunity to practice working in a team and prepare a written professional report.  The students present their findings to a  jury including clients and faculty in order to learn how to deliver a professional report.  The course has been designated by SFSU as a Community Service Learning course (CSL) (since spring 2005). 


Student work completed

List by year
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

List by client (in alphabetical order; please use the year links above to access more information about individual projects)

Arab cultural and community center
      -
Marketing and fundraising strategy, 2007

ASIAN Inc
     
- Land use survey for mixed use and infill development in San Francisco's Sunset neighborhood, 2007
      - Asian-American small business analysis , 2005
      - Understanding the needs of Asian households in San Francisco and Santa  Clara counties, 2003
      
Asian Neighborhood Design

      - Columbus Avenue Corridor Study, 2006

BART
      - 24th Street BART plaza redesign, 2001

Bay Area LISC
      - Commercial gentrification prevention project through small business attraction, 2008
      - Bay View/Third Street economic impact project, 2006
      - Bay View/Third Street market study, 2005
       - Commercial revitalization: A resource guide for community organizations, 2004

Central Community Benefit District
      - Streetscape improvement plan, 2008

City of Berkeley, Department of Planning
       - Analysis of homeless services and needs in downtown Berkeley, 2006

EnCore
      - Excelsior Business Improvement District feasibility study, 2004
      - Exclesior shopper survey, 2004

Fruitvale Development Corporation
      - Fruitvale Transit Village, 2003

Geneva Valley Development Corporation
       - Preparing Heritage Homes residents for ownership through capacity building, 2002

Mission Economic Development Association
      - Land use and zoning analysis in the Mission, 2001

Mission Housing Development Corporation
      - Feasibility of limited equity cooperative housing, 2001

Mission Planning Council
      - A community guide to planning, 2001
      - Community resources web site, 2001
      - Sharing space: An informational guidebook on sharing office space, 2001

MKTHINK
      - Dwelling well on campus, 2006

Moore Iacofano Golstman, Inc.
      - Richmond General Plan update: Public health element, 2007 

Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates
      - Does transit access affect local economies?, 2007

Northeast Community Federal Credit Union
      - Mapping the location of predatory financial services in San Francisco, 2004
      - CDFI economic development and housing hot zone study, 2003

People's Grocery
      - Food security and urban agriculture in West Oakland, 2005

Public Policy Institute of California
     -
Study of the effectiveness of California's local Enterprise Zone administration, 2007

Resources for Community Development
      - Resident need analysis of on-site services for nonprofit housing developments in East Oakland, 2006

San Francisco Dept. of Human Services
       - Workforce development: Potential career opportunities in San Francisco, 2003

San Francisco Mayor's Office of Greening
      - Streetscape maintenance analysis, 2006

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
      - Bikes on light-rail vehicles in San Francisco, 2006
      - Travel delay analysis on MUNI buses, 2005

San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development
       - Resource and referral database for small businesses, 2008

San Francisco Parks and Recreation Department
      - Japanese Tea Garden visitors survey, 2006

San Francisco Planning Department
 
      - Documentation of cultural contexts in the Mission, 2008
       - Mission District historical demographic analysis, 2007
      - The historic Mission District, 2007
      - San Francisco's inclusionary housing program, 2007
      - SFSU Master Plan analysis, 2007
      - Census data analysis, 2004
      - Planning information technology needs assessment, 2003
      - Understanding housing production in San Francisco, 2003

San Francisco Planning and Urban Research      
     - Planning for growth in North American cities, 2008

San Francisco Stating Points

       - Child and family section of the First Steps report, 2003
       - Understanding the needs of families and children in San Francisco, 2003

South of Market Community Action Network
      - Establishing guidelines and a framework for community planning in SoMA, 2002

Supervisor Sandavol's office
      - Vacant storefronts: Improving appearance through code enforcement and community involvement, 2003

Urban Land Institute
      - Bay Area smart growth: Best practices for implementation, 2003
      - California Smart Growth Initiative, 2002

Urban Solutions
      - San Francisco's urban villages: Lower Haight and Market/Church neighborhood commercial districts, 2005
      - Community mapping project for SoMA, 2004

Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation
       - Land use study in the Tenderloin, 2002

Transportation for a livable city
      - Residential parking requirements in San Francisco: Do they affect travel behavior?, 2005
       - Complete streets analysis, 2005

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Region IX Office
      - California's farm worker and colonia communities, 2004

Visitacion Valley Community Development Corporation
      -
Post-occupancy evaluation of Heritage Homes/Britton Court, 2007
      - Resident satisfaction: Neighbors of the former Geneva Towers, 2007

Western South of Market citizen's Planning task force
     
- Neighborhood advisory council best practices, 2008
      -Transportation planning in San Francisco's Western SoMa neighborhood, 2007
     - Housing opportunity sites analysis in San Francisco's Western SoMa neighborhood, 2007
      - Land use analysis around existing Residential Enclave Districts, 2006
      - Land use and zoning analysis along San Francisco's Folsom Street, 2006
    
     

 

 
 

 

© Ayse Pamuk. All Rights Reserved.