Search

Consistent and accurate measurement of public perceptions of water quality is useful for understanding water use behaviors, policy development/support, and community engagement, all essential for sustainable water management. Toward consistent and accurate measurement, we refined and examined the initial psychometric properties of a Water Quality Perception Scale (WQPS). In this study, we report an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with 18 items on a group of respondents (N = 154), which identified one primary factor, 'Individual Water Quality Perception,' consisting of 13 items and two additional factors represented by the remaining 5 items. Subsequently, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed with (n = 147 participants), including both original (n = 74 assessed at a separate time from their original assessment) and new participants (n = 73). The results of the CFA affirmed the initial loadings of the 13-item WQPS in a single factor. The scale demonstrated internal consistency, with coefficients of 0.93 and 0.90 (Cronbach's alpha) in the two samples, and the measure showed convergent validity with the Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale (HWISE), (r = -0.41 and -0.49 in the respective samples). This scale holds promise toward consistent and accurate measurement instrument for researching public perceptions of water quality, guiding policy and public initiatives to improve water management strategies. Avenues for further development and use are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the housing issues that people who have been in prison face, this article examines the permitting process to operate a vocational and life skills training program for the formerly incarcerated in Salt Lake City, UT, called The Other Side Academy (TOSA). This article employs participant observation, personal and public meeting conversations, planning division staff reports, public comments, and newspaper articles to answer the following question: How was TOSA described in the public input process for a conditional use permit? The author examines how TOSA neighbors first opposed the project and then came to support it. But even with community support, planning staff struggled to find a zoning code that would allow TOSA operations. In the end, the final decision to approve the conditional use permit came to the hearing officer, who sided in favor of TOSA. In this case, planners can learn about the zoning obstacles that reentry housing faces and how those obstacles can be overcome. Finally, academia and planning divisions need to better educate planners involved in administrative process into understanding the intent of the code to achieve just outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Planning Education & Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although planners today generally agree that nonprofits should be involved in postdisaster recovery planning, they lack insight into the capacity of nonprofits to be engaged in recovery and whether this capacity differs by organization type. This could lead to the marginalization of small nonprofits in planning, affecting social capital formation and the sustainability of recovery plans. Using data from field research and a survey of registered nonprofits in Puerto Rico after the 2017 Hurricanes Maria and Irma, we compared the recovery capacity of small versus medium/large nonprofits. Our study shows that small nonprofits experienced lower levels of operational impact than medium/large ones but also reported lower levels of postdisaster grant funding and attended fewer postdisaster networking events and workshops. Our study also shows that small nonprofits desire additional training and technical assistance to engage with broader recovery institutions. Planners can help by providing such training and promoting networking between small and larger organizations to encourage institutional learning. Community-based recovery planning benefits from engaging with small nonprofits because they typically have greater connection and interest in local matters. Our study shows that small nonprofits may not have the capacity to engage in recovery despite wanting to do so. Planners can help small nonprofits to be better engaged in recovery by helping to build their capacity through pre-event training in disaster recovery, facilitating pre- and postdisaster workshops on recovery financing, and facilitating pre- and postdisaster networking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Puerto Rico, after Hurricane María, about 60% of all applications received by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)'s Individuals and Households Program (IHP) were declared ineligible. Why would such a large number of households in Puerto Rico have been unable to obtain assistance from FEMA? To answer this question, interviews with 10 disaster survivors and 15 stakeholders were conducted. The author found that individuals were denied based on their inability to prove homeownership, no contact for inspection, and duplicate application, among other reasons. The article offers recommendations for how nonprofit groups can participate in postdisaster recovery efforts as well as how to advocate at the local and federal level for disaster victims effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars of migration have focused on economic conditions but mostly unemployment as the main driving force behind outmigration. However, the literature has rarely concerned itself with how declining economic conditions linked to national debt affects the perception of people and their decision-making related to migration. By employing a case study of Puerto Rico, this article attempts to examine how economic conditions driven by a growing debt might be related to outmigration. A regression analysis shows that there is a moderate relationship between migration flows and debt, while a weak relationship exists between outmigration and unemployment. To further understand the relationship between debt and outmigration, this article relies on personal interviews with 15 individuals who moved to Florida between 2013 and 2017. Interviews show that economic concerns related to the debt crisis in various shapes and forms have become a dominant narrative explaining why people leave. I employ a political economy framework discussing concepts such as neoliberalism, deindustrialization, financialization, austerity, and colonialism to understand the fiscal and migration crisis of the Island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is concerned with homeless families that returned to the shelter and qualified to participate in the Rapid Rehousing Program (RRHP) again. Because RRH is a short-term voucher where families rent in the private market, one of the main barriers to finding housing is having an eviction record. Focus groups with tenants and case managers/service providers, as well as interviews with landlords participating in The Road Home's RRHP in Salt Lake County, found that families tend to find housing in buildings where other homeless families with multiple evictions and criminal records are concentrated. Tenants often encounter lenient landlords, only to be evicted at a later time. Families returned to the shelter for various reasons, but mainly because after their RRH voucher ends, households end up violating their leases due to nonpayment. The article offers recommendations to those administering RRHP about how evictions and becoming homeless again can be prevented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]