Rayman Mohamed - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Rayman Mohamed

International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 2009

Septic systems are found on many residential lots. Unfortunately, the lack of maintenance by hous... more Septic systems are found on many residential lots. Unfortunately, the lack of maintenance by households results in the failure of these systems. In turn, this has considerable negative environmental, public health, and fi scal consequences. Governments have responded with a plethora of education programs aimed at making households aware of their systems and of the need to maintain them. Nonetheless, failure rates remain high. This article uses public goods theory to show that households do not maintain their septic systems because it is not in their rational self-interest to do so. Educating households is an insuffi cient response. Similarly, it is not in the rational self-interest of local governments to establish effective regulations. State-established regulations, combined with incentives and sanctions to ensure implementation by local governments, appear to offer more environmentally and fi scally sustainable solutions to the problem.

Obesities

There is a lack of research on how perceptions about urban spaces are associated with obesity. We... more There is a lack of research on how perceptions about urban spaces are associated with obesity. We surveyed 347 residents in a rapidly changing area of Detroit, Michigan about their perceptions of urban amenities and the ambient environment. We use principal component analysis to reduce the urban amenity and ambient environment variables to a manageable number. We use a spatial error model to account for spatial autocorrelation. We find that more urban amenities are associated with decreased obesity. A one-percent increase in residents’ perceptions of the availability of urban amenities is associated with a 0.13 percent decrease in obesity. Adverse ambient environments are associated with increased obesity. A one-percent increase in residents’ perceptions of adverse ambient environment quality is associated with a 0.12-percent increase in obesity. Addressing residents’ perceptions about urban spaces can provide planners with an additional tool to tackle obesity.

Urban settings are increasingly faced with challenges across natural and engineered environmental... more Urban settings are increasingly faced with challenges across natural and engineered environmental systems, threatening the sustainability of urban centers where >50% of the world's population resides. The pressures of aging infrastructure, water and air pollution, and environmental justice exemplify the growing need for urban professionals to employ complex scientific reasoning across disciplines where they can effectively address the multi-faceted issues of urban sustainability. Here we present an innovative model for preparing the next generation of public, private, and academic leaders to address complex problems in urban sustainability. Specifically, we outline the design and implementation of an integrated, adaptable graduate training program, with the goals of science leadership, curriculum relevancy, community impact, broader applicability, recruitment into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs and careers, and program sustainability. This pr...

The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences: Annual Review

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

There is a lack of research on obesity that uses primary data and fine-grained information on nei... more There is a lack of research on obesity that uses primary data and fine-grained information on neighborhoods. I use primary data for 367 participants in Detroit to examine neighborhood predictors of obesity. These data were supplemented with public data. I considered multilevel and spatial modeling, but the data lent itself best to ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions. I find that socioeconomic factors, the built environment, transportation usage, and perceptions of neighborhoods are important predictors of obesity. Importantly, litter is associated with higher levels of obesity. Planners can take measures to reduce litter and collaborate with other policy-makers to encourage less driving, though drawing direct lines of causality is complicated.

Urban Affairs Review

Despite evidence that households pay more for lots or houses in conservation subdivisions, develo... more Despite evidence that households pay more for lots or houses in conservation subdivisions, developers are sometimes reluctant to build them. I use a spatial autoregressive model to shed light on this contradiction. The presence of nearby conservation lots reduces the value of a given conservation lot. I present two possible explanations for this result: (1) Lots located close to each other are indicative of higher density, which is frowned upon by Americans, and (2) conservation lots compete for views and rural aesthetics, and the construction of one lot decreases their availability to other lots. Results for other independent variables corroborate these explanations. Developers’ reluctance to embrace conservation subdivisions in some locations might be a result of regulations that discourage their development. More research is needed on how regulations for conservation subdivisions vary across the United States and how these affect developers’ decisions.

The American Review of Public Administration, 2007

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2007

The literature in the US has extensively examined the policies of state and sub-state areas that ... more The literature in the US has extensively examined the policies of state and sub-state areas that are well known for their anti-sprawl measures. This has resulted in little knowledge of what is happening elsewhere. This paper provides a case study of one of the lesser-known states, Michigan, which is representative of the vast majority of non-growth management states. The study finds that Michigan has been influenced by trends from the better-known areas. This has led to a host of state, regional and local-level initiatives, sometimes wrapped in the language of economic development, aimed at curbing sprawl. However, there is little evidence that these initiatives are successful. This is primarily due to the absence of state level mandates for planning, a lack of funding and a strong home rule tradition. The findings are probably repeated in many states across the nation: a proliferation of initiatives, which, with only few exceptions, will not represent best practices.

Renewal of aging underground infrastructure is a major challenge that municipalities in North Ame... more Renewal of aging underground infrastructure is a major challenge that municipalities in North America face every day. Traditional replacement of these underground utilities uses open‐cut excavation methods that can be expensive, particularly in built‐up areas. In contrast, ...

Frontiers of Earth Science, 2015

Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2014

There is a considerable literature on the relationship between sprawl and accidents. However, the... more There is a considerable literature on the relationship between sprawl and accidents. However, these studies do not account for the spatially correlated effects of sprawl on accidents. In our analysis of 122 jurisdictions in Southeast Michigan, we use a Bayesian spatial autoregressive model to estimate how injuries and fatalities in one jurisdiction are associated with sprawl in that jurisdiction and sprawl in neighboring jurisdictions; we also correct for heteroskedasticity in the data. Using principal component analysis, we create a sprawl index from five underlying land use characteristics. Our results show that the number of injuries and fatalities in a jurisdiction increases with the magnitude of sprawl in neighboring jurisdictions. We believe that this is because more drivers per capita in sprawled jurisdictions traverse similarly sprawled neighboring jurisdictions for daily activities. Furthermore, driving habits attuned to less defensive driving in sprawled jurisdiction are transferred to similarly designed neighboring jurisdictions, contributing to accidents in the latter.

Geological Engineering: Proceedings of the 1, 2009

Urban Studies, 2008

Abstract A growing literature has made the case for preserving rural open space and redeveloping ... more Abstract A growing literature has made the case for preserving rural open space and redeveloping inner cities. Together, these polices can contribute to the insideoutside strategy ofnew regionalism'. However, it is unclear whether citizens are willing to pay for ...

Urban Affairs Review, 2006

The environmental benefits of less land consumption and a growing interest in addressing the nega... more The environmental benefits of less land consumption and a growing interest in addressing the negative economic and social impacts of sprawl have resulted in calls for more sensitive subdivision designs. One such design is conservation subdivisions. However, not much is known about these subdivisions, in particular about their economics. This article addresses the issue by examining price premiums, investment costs, and absorption rates for lots in conservation versus those in conventional subdivisions. The results show that lots in conservation subdivisions carry a premium, are less expensive to build, and sell more quickly than lots in conventional subdivisions. The results suggest that designs that take a holistic view of ecology, aesthetics, and sense of community can assuage concerns about higher density. However, the potential negative consequences of conservation subdivisions require further study.

Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 2007

Across the nation, new residential development requires the construction of new infrastructure. H... more Across the nation, new residential development requires the construction of new infrastructure. However, financing the construction and maintenance of this infrastructure has become a contentious issue because of the various demands placed on local ...

Journal of Planning Education and Research, 2006

The phenomenon of satisficing-the setting of suboptimal targets to which people aspire (Simon 197... more The phenomenon of satisficing-the setting of suboptimal targets to which people aspire (Simon 1979)-has been widely observed among residential developers (Baerwald 1981; Hepner 1983; Leung 1987). 1 Drawing on behavioral theories of the firm proposed by Cyert and March (1963) and earlier writings by Simon (1957), Kenney (1972) attributed satisficing by developers to their bounded rationality. Because efficient land use requires developers to take advantage of all profit opportunities, suboptimal decisions by developers contribute to inefficient land use (Lucy and Phillips 2000, 27). 2 In particular, as efficient land use requires the full utilization of existing services and infrastructure, their underutilization by satisficing developers contributes to sprawl in the form of low-density and leapfrogging development (Nelson and Duncan 1995, 5). 3 In response, government policy makers have designed policies aimed at reducing risks to developers. Reducing risks is intended to help developers overcome the bounds on their rationality so that they will make decisions that result in more efficient land use. Early enunciations of this approach can be found in Kenney (1972, 220), and contemporary statements to this effect can be found in Berke, Godschalk, and Kaiser (2006, 200). Risk reduction policies include clear rules about zoning and allowable uses; fixed rather than negotiated exactions; transparent capital improvement programs; and predictable, streamlined approvals processes. Despite decades of experience, however, there is no evidence that risk reduction policies have caused developers to stop satisficing. Developers continue, for example, to choose exurban sites over locations promoted by policy makers. In light of their minimal impacts, it is time to step back and ask whether these risk reduction policies are based on a complete model of developer decision making. In particular, is bounded rationality the only explanation for the suboptimal choices that developers make? I address this question by drawing from the literature in behavioral economics, a field that studies the role of human psychology in economic decision making. Although this literature originally rested on the foundations of bounded rationality articulated by Simon (1957), it has blossomed since the 1970s to provide other psychological theories to explain economic decision making. 4 In this article, I argue that

Journal of Planning Education and Research, 2013