Student Capstone Projects

UCLA Luskin master’s students are required to complete a capstone project to earn their degree. Master or Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) projects can take the form of an applied planning project (client project), a comprehensive group project or a thesis. Master of Public Policy students complete an applied policy project. 

  • The Client Project is applied planning research on a real-world problem conducted by MURP students. ITS-supported client projects have taken national honors in recent years, including 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021.
  • The Comprehensive Projects are similar, in many respects, to the client project, but larger in scope and scale. These projects simulate real world planning practice in that they incorporate students from various areas of concentration working together to research a problem from multiple planning angles.
  • Master’s theses focus on posing and answering a research question in planning that has not previously been answered. Research is conducted by a MURP student in conjunction with a faculty committee.




Total Results: 177

2023 | Student Applied Policy Project

Micromobility Equity in Los Angeles
Abraham Cheung, Alberto Murillo, Nicholas Perloff-Giles, Chia Yun Chang, Masamichi Ishikura

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

Access to Opportunities, New Mobility

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2023 | Student Client Project

PARK Smarter: Lessons in Curb Pricing for New York City
Purva Kapshikar

Client: New York City Department of Transportation

Parking, Traffic, Transportation Finance

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2023 | Student Client Project

Rethinking Transit Safety: Understanding and Addressing Gender-Based Harassment and Enhancing Safety on San Francisco’s Muni System
Greer Cowan, Pearl Liu

Client: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)

Public Transit

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2023 | Student Client Project

Safe Routes to School in St. Louis and Beyond
Jin Zhang

Client: Trailnet

Transportation & Communities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2023 | Student Client Project

Slow Streets! Your Streets? An Evaluation of Speed-Reducing Countermeasures on LA Slow Streets
Jackson Zeng

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

Environment, Transportation Finance

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2023 | Student Client Project

Transportation Equity Through Cycling
Elliot Shaw

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

New Mobility

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Client Project

A Tale of Two City Streets: Evaluating the Safety, Congestion, and Cut-Through Effects of Road Diets
Bryan Robert Graveline

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

Traffic

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Applied Policy Project

Designing a Carsharing Pilot Program for Los Angeles
Atsushi Seto, Steven King, Richard Diaz, Ha Luong, Michaela Byrd

New Mobility

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Client Project

Equity and Mileage-Based User Fees: An Analysis of the Equity Implications of Mileage-Based User Fees Compared to the Gas Tax in the SCAG Region
Shinah Park

Client: Southern California Association of Governments

Transportation Finance

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Client Project

Identifying Excess Pavement: A Quantitative Analysis of Streets in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
Andrew Jarnagin

Client: North Central Texas Council of Governments

Traffic

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Client Project

Increasing Access to Groceries at the Century Villages at Cabrillo
Aziz Fellague Ariouat

Client: Century Villages at Cabrillo

Access to Opportunities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Client Project

Mobility Hubs: Lessons Learned from Early Adopters
Douglas Arseneault

Client: FASTLinkDTLA

New Mobility

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Comprehensive Project

Planning Indicators: Non-Auto Mobility
Antara Murshed, Karen Phan, Miranda Mead-Newton, Benjamin Silverstein, Paul Guirguis, Ellen Schwartz

Client: LA Metro Office of Extraordinary Innovation

New Mobility, Public Transit, Transportation & Communities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Comprehensive Project

Planning Performance Indicators: Access to Opportunity
Luis Daniel Cruz, Paola Tirado Escareno, Zhendong Long, Aurelia Camacho, Danielle Parnes, Arturo Jacobo, Rachel Lu

Client: LA Metro Office of Extraordinary Innovation

Access to Opportunities, Environment

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Client Project

Saved by the… Bus? Analyzing Safety Outcomes on Streets with Bus Lanes
Erik Felix

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

Public Transit

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Client Project

State Transportation Funding in California: Progressive Targets or Prehistoric Thinking?
Benjamin Bressette

Client: California Integrated Travel Program

Transportation Finance

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Client Project

Take the High (Volume) Road: Analyzing the Safety and Speed Effects of High Traffic Volume Road Diets
Kimberly Venegas

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

Traffic

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF | JOURNAL ARTICLE

2022 | Student Client Project

Transportation Challenges to Healthcare: Evaluating the Transportation Needs of Patients at Saban Community Clinic
Nataly Rios

Client: Saban Community Clinic

Access to Opportunities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Client Project

Try Transit! Lessons Learned From Metrolink Riders to Incentivize a Post-Pandemic Mode Shift to Commuter Rail
Elizabeth Owen

Client: Southern California Regional Rail Authority

Public Transit

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Client Project

Using Data Science for Equity at SFMTA
Ryan Caro

Client: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)

Public Transit

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF