Monthly Archives: September 2023

Female Perceptions of Parking Safety at the First/Last Mile: An Analysis of Cal Poly Pomona

Female Perceptions of Parking Safety at the First/Last Mile: An Analysis of Cal Poly Pomona. By: Nikole J. Sanchez & Jaden R. Oloresisimo

Celebrating the graduates in my 2023 Senior Projects class at Cal Poly Pomona Department of Urban & Regional Planning. Today we big up this team:

Female Perceptions of Parking Safety at the First/Last Mile: An Analysis of Cal Poly Pomona

By: Nikole J. Sanchez & Jaden R. Oloresisimo

Abstract: This research studies women’s perspective of safety by analyzing women’s fear of victimization at the first/last mile. The first/last mile refers to the very first and last distance of a traveler’s journey such as an automobile driver’s distance from their car to their building and their building back to their car. Research has found that women endure greater fear of victimization than men at the first/last mile due to varying levels of vulnerability, the continuity of violence, and perceived risk caused by the physical conditions of transportation infrastructure. The greater opportunity there is for hidden danger, the greater the perception of lack of safety, the perception of vulnerability, and the fear of victimization.

This research focuses on learning and engaging with women’s perceptions of safety (compared to men’s) in college campus parking. Using Cal Poly Pomona as a case study, this research follows a quantitative methodology through surveys addressing physical and non-physical variables known to impact women’s fear of victimization. The overall goal of this research is to recognize which variables are most impactful to women’s fear of victimization and to create women-endorsed solutions that negate women’s fear.

Research team presenting at the 2023 Cal Poly Pomona Urban & Regional Planning Senior Projects Day. Photo: Jonathan Pacheco Bell

Embedded Planning at APA CA Conference 2023

At the APA California Conference in Fresno, I spoke in the session “A Community Driven Vision and Plan.” I discussed how #EmbeddedPlanning helped the Del Amo Action Committee develop its own bottom-up Vision Plan for unincorporated West Carson, an #EnvironmentalJustice community in Los Angeles County.

Summary:
The Del Amo Community Vision Plan is a remarkable document. This is a project of the Del Amo Action Committee (DAAC) with initial funding by the Rose Foundation, Center for Health, Environment and Justice and California Environmental Protection Agency. It was entirely community led.

Input was gathered from community residents and agency partners over the course of 20 months with the hope that the efforts would set this vision into motion.

The Community Vision Plan was documented with hard work and endless meetings of the community core group members (Bruce Bansen, DAAC Youth Volunteers, Don and Mary Garstang, Jan Kalani, Margaret Manning, Cynthia Medina, Savannah Medina, Rosa and Mary Vega, and University of Dominguez Hills Interns, DAAC staff and board members: Cynthia Babich, Brenda Bibee, Florence Gharibian, Jan Kalani and Lydia Valdez).

All planners can learn from this community-driven effort.

Speakers:
➖Cynthia Babich, Del Amo Action Committee
➖Andrew Flores, AICP, LA County Department of Regional Planning
➖Jonathan Pacheco Bell, 4LEAF, Inc.
➖Christian Mendez, Kearns & West