Browsing by Subject "Ramsey County Projects, 2018-2019"
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Item Assessing Transit Access to Ramsey County Service Facilities(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2018) Tomhave, BenThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. Ramsey County wanted to assess the accessibility for visitors and clients of County-owned service facilities to make informed decisions about future capital investment in or relocation of these facilities to better meet the needs of the public. Ramsey County project lead Max Holdhusen worked with a graduate student in David Haynes' GIS 5578: GIS Programming, who used GIS analysis to determine public transit access to three Ramsey County Corrections Facilities. Based on this analysis, the student concluded that midday transit access is inadequate for residents of northwestern Ramsey County, and that if the central corrections facility were moved slightly to the northwest, it would be located in a region of higher client density and transit accessibility. The student's final report, presentation, and a poster summarizing the project are available.Item Barriers to Recruitment and Retention of Entry-Level Employees: Perceptions from Employers in Ramsey County(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Lyftogt, Kayla; Malone, Jack; Murray, John; Wang, YiThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. The mission of Ramsey County's Workforce Solutions (WFS) program is to strengthen the economic success of the community through personalized and effective workforce development. It serves as a resource for both job seekers and businesses by providing training opportunities and personalized assistance in searching and applying for jobs. Businesses also receive assistance with recruiting, screening, training, and retaining workers. WFS staff know there are many program participants who experience transportation barriers that prevent them from accessing or keeping jobs. Ramsey County project lead Max Holdhusen worked with a team of students in PA 5041: Qualitative Research Methods, taught by Dr. Greta Friedmann-Sanchez, to conduct a needs and barriers assessment of transportation resources and options through interviews with employers in suburban Ramsey County that face challenges in recruiting and maintaining job seekers due to a lack of public transportation options. The students' final report, presentation, and a poster summarizing the project are available.Item Building Community Resilience to Emergencies in Vulnerable Populations(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Chong, Hannah; Opoku, Akua Y.; Redmond, Meghan; Schossow, MeganThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. Ramsey County knows little about social assets or vulnerabilities to emergencies among many demographic groups in the community that would potentially increase or reduce their resiliency in the face of natural and human-created disasters. Ramsey County project lead Karma Kumlin-Diers worked with a team of students in PA 8081: Planning and Public Policy Capstone, taught by Dr. Dan Milz, to identify indicators of social vulnerability and resiliency specific to the identified communities of Ramsey County; use data collected to inform internal and external processes related to outreach, communication, and collaboration in working with vulnerable communities; and provide a template for effectively engaging with vulnerable communities. The students' final report and presentation are available.Item Culturally-Appropriate Crisis Intervention for Karen Families in Ramsey County(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Students enrolled in SW 8352This project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. This project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. Ramsey County Behavioral Health provides comprehensive mental health and chemical health services to children and adults, many of whom lack access to treatment. A substantial number of Karen refugees--a minority ethnic group from Burma’s eastern border along Thailand--have settled in St. Paul. Karen residents are currently underrepresented in their use of all behavioral health services, particularly crisis intervention services. Anecdotally, staff hear that people experiencing mental health crisis are either using the emergency room, go without care, or receive services through the corrections system after an arrest. Ramsey County project lead Nikki Miller worked with teams of students enrolled in SW 8352: Intervention Methods with Families, taught by Katrina Cisneros, to better understand the inherent resiliency and family-oriented perceptions of mental health and wellness within the Karen community, with the goal of assisting Ramsey County to shift service delivery and use of resources to align with the strengths and needs of Karen families. The students' final report and presentation are available.Item Empowering Youth Voters in Precinct 1-9: Strategies for Increasing Youth Voter Turnout with a Racial Equity Framework(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Dunn, Emma; Lee, Sumee; Sjostrom, EmmaThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. Historically, Ward 1 Precinct 9 in St. Paul, which encompasses the Frogtown Neighborhood, has experienced lower-than-average election turnout when compared to the rest of the state, especially among voters ages 18-24. Ramsey County Project Lead Dave Triplett worked with students in Doug Chapin's PA 8081: Election Administration Capstone Workshop to identify strategies to increase youth voter turnout in this precinct in future elections. The students' final report and presentation are available.Item Energizing Voters, Connecting Citizens to Candidates(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2018) Students; Students enrolled in POL 1914This project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. Historically, Ward 1 Precinct 9 in St. Paul, which encompasses the Frogtown Neighborhood, has experienced lower-than-average election turnout when compared to the rest of the state, especially among voters ages 18-24. Ramsey County project lead Joe Mansky worked with students in Dr. Scott Abernathy's POL 1914: Generation Now: Young Adult Political Action first-year undergraduate seminar to explore strategies for increasing youth voter turnout and candidate engagement in the precinct.Item Environmental Stewardship: Reducing Food Waste While Improving Food Security(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Chapman, Tyler; Fleming, Katlyn; Graham, Linnea; Hammell, Abbey; Lupini, Matthew; Mack, Isaiah; Tillmann, MollyThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. In 2015, 12.7% of the population in Ramsey County did not have consistent access to enough food for an active and healthy life, or had limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate food. At the same time, food remains the largest source of solid waste by weight in Ramsey County, accounting for 26% of the total trash collected for disposal each year. Ramsey County project lead Rae Eden Frank worked with students participating in the Economic Development Fellowship Consulting Program to investigate strategies for reducing food waste and diverting edible food to sources where it can be distributed for human consumption. The students’ final report and presentation, and a poster and project brief summarizing the project, are available.Item Exploring Business Attitudes toward the Riverview Corridor Modern Streetcar Line(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Walter, AshleighThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. The Riverview Corridor is a proposed modern streetcar line along a 12-mile route that will connect the Union Depot in downtown Saint Paul and the Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America, as well as the neighborhoods in between. Business owners along W. 7th Street have raised concerns about the streetcar’s impact on on-street parking, disruption to businesses during construction, pedestrian/bike safety, aesthetics, noise, and long-term impacts on the affordability of commercial-retail space along the corridor. Ramsey County project lead Frank Alarcon worked with a graduate to conduct focus groups and interviews with affected business owners to acquire a deeper understanding of their issues and concerns early in the planning process, and inform an upcoming Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and future planning for construction and operation of the modern streetcar line. The student's final report is available.Item Exploring Design Options for Modern Streetcar along West 7th Street(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Students in ARCH 3250/LA 3002This project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. The Riverview Corridor is a proposed modern streetcar line along a 12-mile route that will connect the Union Depot in downtown Saint Paul and the Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America, as well as the neighborhoods in between. Concerns have been raised about the streetcar’s impact on on-street parking, disruption to businesses during construction, pedestrian/bike safety, aesthetics, noise, and long-term impacts on the affordability of housing and commercial-retail space along the corridor. Ramsey County project lead Frank Alarcon worked with students in James Wheeler and Kristine Miller’s ARCH 3250/LA 3002: Community Design Studio to examine these and other stakeholder concerns, as well as opportunities made possible by the introduction of modern streetcar along West 7th Street, and identify potential design options or solutions. The student's final report is available.Item Exploring the Use of PACE for Multi-Family Buildings in Ramsey County(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Streitz, RyanThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. The Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program is a loan program that provides financing for energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy retrofits for commercial, industrial, and multifamily residential properties. PACE helps property owners overcome the challenge of gathering up-front capital for energy improvements, and makes it easier to transfer the cost of the improvements if the owner decides to sell the property. Nationally, PACE has been a successful tool for retrofitting residential properties. Thus far, PACE has not been used to finance any multifamily residential projects in Ramsey County. Ramsey County project lead Mary Lou Egan worked with a student in Jennifer Edwards' PA 5721: Energy Systems and Policy course to investigate the potential use of PACE for multifamily residential projects, using case studies of such projects in other states. The student's final report is available.Item Green Infrastructure and Placemaking Strategies for the Rush Line Bus Rapid Transit Project(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Bloodworth-Apolloni, Sophia; Frenette, Gina; Johnson, Annika; Seo, Seonghyun; Thompson, RyanThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. The Rush Line is a future bus rapid transit line that will provide all-day, high-frequency transit service in Ramsey County between Saint Paul and White Bear Lake by way of Maplewood, Vadnais Heights, Gem Lake, and White Bear Township. The new infrastructure that will be constructed as part of the project will have storm water impacts that will need to be mitigated. Ramsey County project lead Frank Alarcon worked with students in Amir Nadav’s SUST 4004: Sustainable Communities Capstone to explore context-appropriate storm water management techniques that could enhance the aesthetics and recreational value of the areas surrounding the Rush Line’s stations and guideway. The students' final report is available.Item Key Informant Perspectives on the Crisis Intervention Needs of Karen Families in Ramsey County, MN(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Larson, Savannah; Shepard, AmandaThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. Ramsey County Behavioral Health provides comprehensive mental health and chemical health services to children and adults, many of whom lack access to treatment. A substantial number of Karen refugees--a minority ethnic group from Burma’s eastern border along Thailand--have settled in St. Paul. Karen residents are currently underrepresented in their use of all behavioral health services, particularly crisis intervention services. Anecdotally, staff hear that people experiencing mental health crisis are either using the emergency room, go without care, or receive services through the corrections system after an arrest. Ramsey County project lead Nikki Miller worked with a pair of students enrolled in FSOS 4294: Research Internship, taught by Dr. Sara Axtell, to research the literature on crisis intervention programs, strategies, or approaches that are successful nationally in understanding and meeting the needs of the Karen or other traditionally underserved ethnic/racial communities; conduct telephone interviews with staff at organizations or agencies that serve Karen families to learn more about these programs, how they were initiated, how they operate, and best practices/lessons learned that might be transferable to the Ramsey County context; and recommend strategies to increase access to and use of county services by Karen families. The students' final report and a project brief summarizing the project are available.Item Mapping Community-Relevant Critical Infrastructure in Ramsey County(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Powell, Eli; Rotchadl, Wyatt; Li, XiaoranThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. Ramsey County knows little about social vulnerabilities to emergencies among many demographic groups in the community, or community assets that could potentially increase their resiliency in the face of natural and human-created disasters. Ramsey County project lead Karma Kumlin-Diers worked with a team of students in GEOG 5564: Urban Geographic Information Science and Analysis, taught by Dr. Ying Song, to Identify and map access to critical community infrastructure—those systems and facilities that, in a natural disaster or other emergency situation, are critical to helping the community endure and recover, and if inoperative or inaccessible, would make vulnerable populations more vulnerable. This included systems such as power, water, and sewer, as well as facilities such as hospitals and medical clinics, schools, places of worship, shelters, community centers, minority-owned small businesses, markets, community organizations, and other neighborhood gathering places. The students' final report, presentation, and a poster summarizing the project are available.Item Mapping Social Vulnerability(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Worman, Emily; Chan, Pak Ming; Morgan-Knox, MadellineThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. Ramsey County knows little about social vulnerabilities to emergencies among many demographic groups in the community that would potentially reduce their resiliency in the face of natural and human-created disasters. Ramsey County project lead Karma Kumlin-Diers worked with a team of students in GEOG 5564: Urban Geographic Information Science and Analysis, taught by Dr. Ying Song, to identify vulnerability indicators and use them to create a Social Vulnerability Index, showing areas of high and moderate social vulnerability, to identify concentrations of people at the highest risk. The students' final report, presentation, and a poster summarizing the project are available.Item PACE Financing for Naturally-Occuring Multifamily Housing(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Bemis, Corrin; Reineccius, Megan; Westling, AaronThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. The Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program is a loan program that provides financing for energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy retrofits for commercial, industrial, and multifamily residential properties. PACE helps property owners overcome the challenge of gathering up-front capital for energy improvements, and makes it easier to transfer the cost of the improvements if the owner decides to sell the property. Nationally, PACE has been a successful tool for retrofitting residential properties. Thus far, PACE has not been used to finance any multifamily residential projects in Ramsey County. Ramsey County project lead Mary Lou Egan worked with a team of students in Dr. Ed Goetz's PA 5261: Housing Policy course to investigate potential barriers to the use of PACE for multifamily residential projects, as well as possible incentives or other mechanisms to encourage the use of PACE for such projects. Based on their findings, the student team concluded that the Commercial PACE program as currently structured in Minnesota is not an appropriate tool for use with multifamily residential projects. The students' final report is available.Item Putting Residents First: Assessing Auto and Transit Access to County Service Facilities(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2018) Haney, PatrickThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. Ramsey County wanted to assess the accessibility for visitors and clients of County-owned service facilities to make informed decisions about future capital investment in or relocation of these facilities to better meet the needs of the public. A graduate student in Dr. Ying Song's GEOG 8290: Urban Mobility & Accessibility course used GIS analysis to determine public transit access to several of the county's most frequently used facilities. Based on this analysis, the found that most of the City of St. Paul and the southern half of Ramsey County have good transit access to service facilities, but that first-ring and second-ring suburbs have limited transit access to such facilities. The student's final report is available.Item Ramsey County Collaboration on Energy and Carbon Reduction(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Gilleland, Sophia; Gressen, Spencer; Schnoll, Samantha; Ward, Connor; Zumwalt, LukasThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. The goal of this project was to help determine what role Ramsey County can play to assist cities within the county to optimize their resources and leverage existing energy and greenhouse gas reduction work to accelerate county-wide efforts. Students inventoried the energy and climate initiatives and goals of cities in Ramsey County, interviewed representatives from local cities and technical experts, investigated successful models from other parts of the country, and articulated ideas for how collaboration among the County and cities could accelerate progress on energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals. The students' final report and a poster summarizing the project are available.Item Ramsey County Environmental Response Fund Impact Study(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Agyei-Boakye, Oforiwaa Pee; Banerjee, Saikat; Cable, Chloe; Newhoff, Morgan; Peng, Changwei; Yuan, CeThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. Ramsey County collects a small percentage of the mortgage registry and deed tax to help fund the clean-up of contaminated land. This Environmental Response Fund (ERF) is leveraged with private investment and other public funding for redevelopment projects within the county. Since the program’s inception, 22 projects have received $5.7 million in funding and 200 acres have been remediated. Although the fund has been successful in cleaning up brownfields, little was known about the broader outcomes of the redevelopment projects completed after 2012, the last time an impact assessment was undertaken. Ramsey County Project Lead Mary Lou Egan worked with students in the Economic Development Fellows Consulting Program to evaluate the impact of ERF projects in terms of public and private investment leveraged, tax revenue generated, and jobs and housing units generated, and identified ways to strengthen and improve the program going forward. The students' final report and a poster summarizing the project are available.Item Resilient Ramsey County: Building Internal Capacity for Climate Adaptation(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Dalton, Max; Guerrero-Combs, Maia; Peterson, Kai; Rank, HannahThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. In 2011, Ramsey County set goals to reduce energy use and incorporate renewable energy into its operations. In its most recent Strategic Energy Plan, Ramsey County formally established goals to reduce carbon emissions across county operations by 30 percent by 2025 and 80 percent by 2050 compared to 2008 levels. However, the County lacked a strategic approach to achieve these goals. Ramsey County project lead Mary T'Kach worked with a team of students in Fred Rose's PA 8081: Science, Technology and Environmental Policy Capstone Workshop to explore potential strategies and policies County departments could use to incorporate climate resilience and adaptation strategies into their programming, operations, and budgeting. The students' final report, presentation, and a handout and poster summarizing the project are available.Item Rethinking Shelter: An Analysis of Purpose, Policies, and Impact of the Ramsey County Family Shelter System(Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2019) Gomoll, Sara; Michels-Allen, Asher; Ohrn, Elizabeth; Salzer, JoelThis project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. Ramsey County wanted to more fully understand how its policies impact families’ shelter experience and exit from county-funded family shelters. Ramsey County project lead Maria Wetherall worked with a team of students in Dr. Maria Hanratty's PA 8081: Evaluating Homelessness Policy Capstone Workshop to: assess the level of county and shelter staff’s shared understanding regarding the purpose of family shelter in Ramsey County; understand the impact of current policies on the length of time families are in shelter, the experience families have in shelter, the reason the families exit shelter, and where the families exit to; and provide policy recommendations to maximize the scarce resource of family shelter space. The students' final report, presentation, and a handout summarizing the project are available.