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

2015 | Master's Thesis

Wrecked by Work? Examining Work-Related Motorcycle Crashes in Colombia
Manuel Santana Palacios

Access to Opportunities

REPORT

2014 | Master's Thesis

How Do Taxis Work in Beijing? An Exploratory Study of Spatio-Temporal Taxi Travel Pattern Using GPS Data
Yifan Zhang

New Mobility

REPORT

2014 | Master's Thesis

Identifying Traffic-Related Air Pollution Hotspots in the Built Environment
Lisa Wu

Environment, Traffic

REPORT

2014 | Master's Thesis

Overcoming Barriers to Accessible Transit
Carla Paola Salehian

Access to Opportunities

REPORT

2013 | Master's Thesis

The Origins of Metropolitan Transportation Planning in Travel Demand Forecasting, 1944-1962
Cheryl Deutsch

Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2012 | Student Comprehensive Project

Connect in Burbank: Linking High Speed Rail, Air Travel and Business to Create a Vibrant, Mixed-Use District
Darren Conly, Michael Coons, Bradley Cleveland, Taylor Choe, Kristi Bailey, Amy Vetal, Jinghua Suo, Nicholas Foster, Reuban Duarte, Lu Lu, Katie Lemmon, Esther Jung, Christopher Jones, Jessica Hyman, Lindsey Miller, Alek Miller, Dao Doan, David Dawson

Client: City of Burbank

Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2012 | Student Client Project

Is Just Growth Smarter Growth? The Effects of Gentrification on Transit Ridership and Driving in Los Angeles’ Transit Station Area Neighborhoods
Will Dominie

Client: Bus Riders Union

Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2011 | Student Client Project

Benefit-Cost Analysis for Transportation Project Evaluation: Selecting a Tool for the Metropolitan Transportation
Michelle Go

Client: Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2010 | Student Client Project

Cycling in Los Angeles: Findings from a Survey of Los Angeles Cyclists
Jennifer Alexis Lantz

Client: Los Angeles Sustainability Collaborative

New Mobility

REPORT

2010 | Student Comprehensive Project

Metro Orange Line Sepulveda Station Transit Oriented Development Capstone Studio
Dante Doberneck, Jeremy Cogan, Haila Adamo, Ruby Horta, Kevin Finkel, Scott John, Jacqueline Torres, Steven Mateer, Kevin Kahn, Andrew Lee, Lauren Finkel, Eric Douglas, Raul Lugo

Client: LA Metro

Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2010 | Student Client Project

The Plane Truth: Air Quality Impacts of Airport Operations and Strategies for Sustainability: A Case Study of the Los Angeles World Airports
Colleen Callahan

Client: Coalition for Clean Air

Environment

REPORT

2010 | Student Client Project

Transportation and Travel Costs in Transnational Remittances: A Case Study of Remittance Costs from Los Angeles, California, to Oaxaca’s Valles Centrales
Ramiro Alberto Ríos Flores

Client: Technical Institute of Oaxaca: Regional and Technological

Access to Opportunities, Transportation Finance

REPORT

2008 | Student Client Project

Cleaner Skies, Brighter Future: Opportunities and Obstacles to Reduce Airport-based Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Laura Zahn

Client: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

Environment

REPORT

2008 | Student Client Project

First-rate Advocacy from Second-tier Issues: Participatory Transportation Planning in Low-Income Los Angeles
Vanessa Carter

Client: Strategic Concepts in Organizing & Policy Education (SCOPE)

Access to Opportunities

REPORT

2008 | Student Client Project

Where the Streets and Sidewalks End: Greening the Public Right-of-Way: Sustainable Solutions for the City of West Hollywood
Georgia C. Sheridan

Client: City of West Hollywood

Environment, Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2007 | Student Client Project

Curb Dreams: Allocating On-Street Parking for Carsharing
Andrea Osgood

Client: Berkeley Public Works Department

Parking

REPORT

2006 | Student Client Project

The Choices of Choice Riders Demand for Light Rail Transit in the Polycentric City: A Look at Culver City and Mid-City Exposition Line
Stephen Crosley

Public Transit

REPORT