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

2020 | Student Client Project

Meeting Travel Needs: Becoming Reacquainted with a Community’s Unmet Travel Needs
Annaleigh Yahata Ekman

Client: Gateway Cities Council of Governments

Access to Opportunities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2020 | Student Client Project

Need for Speed: Opportunities for Peak Hour Bus Lanes Along Parking Corridors in Los Angeles
Mark Hansen

Client: LA Metro

Parking

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2020 | Student Client Project

Off the Rails: Alternatives to Policing on Transit
Ma'ayan Dembo

Client: Alliance for Community Transit - Los Angeles

Access to Opportunities, Public Transit

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2020 | Student Client Project

School Transportation Equity for Vulnerable Student Populations through Ridehailing: An Analysis of HopSkipDrive and Other Trips to School in Los Angeles County
Samuel Speroni

Client: HopSkipDrive

Access to Opportunities, Transportation & Communities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2020 | Student Client Project

Socioeconomic Disparities and Pedestrian Collision in Orange County, California
Peter Garcia

Client: Latino Health Access

Access to Opportunities

REPORT

2020 | Student Client Project

The Effect of Bus Lane Management Techniques on Operator Experience, Safety, and On-Time Performance
Cassie Halls

Client: LA Metro

Environment, Public Transit

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2020 | Student Client Project

The Movement Towards Mobility Justice in Los Angeles: Building a Framework Grounded in Popular Education & Community Knowledge
Zully Juarez

Client: People for Mobiltiy Justice

Access to Opportunities, Transportation & Communities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2020 | Student Client Project

The Pedestrian Battle of Los Angeles
Jorge Cáñez

Client: Los Angeles Walks

Access to Opportunities, Transportation & Communities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2020 | Student Applied Policy Project

Utilizing E-Scooters to Reduce Carbon Emissions Attributable to the Transportation Sector in Santa Monica
Daisuke Kaji, Makoto Tanikura, Jun Luo, Hank Kaplan, Kerry Browne

Client: Santa Monica Planning & Community Development Department

Environment

REPORT

2020 | Student Client Project

Whose Budget is it Anyway? Demystifying the City of Los Angeles Transportation Budgeting Process
Katherine Stiegemeyer

Client: Investing in Place

Transportation Finance

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2019 | Student Client Project

A Scoot, Skip, and a JUMP Away: Learning from Shared Micromobility Systems in San Francisco
Forest Barnes

Client: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)

New Mobility

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2019 | Student Client Project

A Time and a Place for Every Rider?: Geographic and Temporal Changes in Bay Area Transit Ridership
Jacob L. Wasserman

Client: Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Public Transit

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2019 | Student Client Project

Advancing a Mobility as a Service: Lessons Learned from Leading-Edge Public Agencies
Tomoko Kanda

Client: King County Metro

New Mobility, Public Transit, Transportation Finance

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2019 | Student Applied Policy Project

Charging Infrastructure Strategies: Maximizing the Deployment of Electric Drayage Trucks in Southern California
Gabrielle "Libby" Bradley

Client: Southern California Edison

Transportation Finance

REPORT

2019 | Student Client Project

Class Act: An Assessment of Los Angeles Metro’s U-Pass Program
Ryan Yowell

Client: LA Metro

Access to Opportunities, Public Transit, Transportation Finance

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2019 | Student Client Project

Completing Our Streets: Lessons for Los Angeles from Peer Agencies Creating Safer, Multimodal Streets
Malia Schilling

Client: Toole Design

Transportation & Communities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2019 | Student Client Project

Congestion Pricing for Climate, Capacity, or Communities?
Austin Stanion

Client: AECOM

Environment, Traffic, Transportation Finance

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2019 | Student Client Project

Connecting the Dots… Ridership Changes, Underlying Causes, and Strategies for Pasadena Transit
Jesus Peraza

Client: Pasadena Transit

Public Transit, Transportation & Communities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2019 | Student Client Project

Improving First/Last-Mile Conditions Near Highways: An Investigation of Access and Coordination Barriers
Adam Russell

Client: LA Metro

Public Transit, Transportation & Communities, Transportation Finance

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2019 | Student Client Project

Land Use in a World of New Transportation Technologies
Monique Ho

Client: Los Angeles Department of City Planning

New Mobility, Transportation & Communities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF