Caption: me and Derek Hyra after my successful dissertation defense at American University in October 2017.

Discretion, Incentives, and Converging Priorities: Urban Sustainability in Massachusetts

This dissertation, written for my PhD in Public Administration and defended in October 2017, is written in a three-paper format focusing on equity in sustainability, smart growth, and the ways in which the local, state, and federal governments interact on sustainability, respectively. The committee members for this dissertation were all brilliant scholars and excellent mentors: Dan Fiorino, Derek Hyra, Jocelyn Johnston, and John Carruthers.

You can download the dissertation, view it on ProQuest, and/or preview the contents by reading the table of contents below. Note that you can purchase a copy on ProQuest, but it will always be free to download here.

• CHAPTER 1: CONVERGING ON THE THREE SPHERES OF SUSTAINABILITY IN URBAN SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS
  • How is sustainability defined?
  • Methods
  • Why should sustainability be conceptualized with three spheres?
  • What are cities prioritizing in their sustainability efforts?
  • The three spheres of sustainability in Somerville’s redevelopment of Union Square
  • Are cities moving towards three spheres because of isomorphism?
  • Conclusion
• CHAPTER 2: THE PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN OF STATE SMART GROWTH POLICY AMID THE MYRIAD GOALS OF SMART GROWTH
  • What is smart growth?
  • How have smart growth policies performed?
  • State smart growth policy in Massachusetts: Chapter 40R
  • Data & Methods
  • How does Chapter 40R perform?
  • Conclusion
• CHAPTER 3: FEDERALISM AND URBAN SUSTAINABILITY IN THE UNITED STATES: DISCRETION AND CONSTRAINT
  • Methods
  • A brief history of federalism in the United States
  • Sustainability and federalism
  • Can cities ‘go it alone’?
  • Conclusion
• CONCLUSION
  • Contributions to the literature
  • Next steps for research
  • Closing remarks
• APPENDIX A EVENT STUDY CHARTS FOR CHAPTER 40R ANALYSIS
• APPENDIX B DIFFERENCE-IN-DIFFERENCES ESTIMATION FOR CHAPTER 40R ANALYSIS
• REFERENCES