All posts filed under: Research

Analyzing Density Bonus Developments in the City of Los Angeles

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On February 22, 2016, I started the GIS Specialization Course with UC Davis through Coursera. For those of you who have paid attention, I have started the final course of the specialization: Geospatial Analysis Project. As with other Coursera specializations, this is a Capstone project that is the culmination of the previous courses. For this project, I have to propose, design, analyze, and present a geospatial analysis project from start to finish. This week requires the creation of my project proposal, which is as follows (if any of you have suggestions on data sources and/or analysis, please feel free to comment): What is Density Bonus? Density Bonus is a program through which a developer can apply for a project with a unit density greater than that allowed by the current land use zoning, as calculated from unit floor area and floor area ratio (FAR). In exchange for the higher density, the developer must set aside a certain number of units to be affordable: this is by restricting the rent levels or sale prices to targeted income levels …

Bakersfield Site Analysis

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In January 2016, I was given the opportunity by Mr. Frank Tripicchio to work on a site analysis project on a property in Bakersfield, CA. The objective was to create recommendations on best uses for the property through demographic and economic analysis. To help me with this report, I brought on Oliver Yang, who worked with PKF Hospitality Consulting. The Project The site is located on the Southwestern corner of the intersection between Highway 178 and Comanche Dr., about 5 miles away from downtown Bakersfield. It is an undeveloped, five-acre parcel with two residential communities in the immediate area. I conducted spatial analysis with data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the City of Bakersfield to visualize the current building and zoning conditions in the area as well as the demographic distributions. We assessed community needs by looking at current services, businesses, and retail in the area and found a gap in the supply. As the site is fairly remote, there is a lack of businesses servicing the area. There are around 3000 residential rooftops in the surrounding …

Short Post: Biology and Life

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I have been looking for a steady job now for almost a year now and one of the questions I get asked the most is why? Why am I pursuing or want to pursue a career in such and such? People really want to know where you are coming from and what your vision of the future is. Honestly, even though I know my answers, sometimes I have to look back to the beginning and ask myself why? Why am I now fascinated by the use of space in cities and urban environments? Why am I pursuing a career in understanding the urban? Like most stories, there is a beginning. As a young child, I was always chasing after butterflies, digging up earthworms, and collecting fish. Their movements and their features fascinated me. Metamorphosis, the transformation from an ugly caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly, captivated my imagination and in many ways it is a metaphor for life. I never though much of it until high school, where I met a wonderful biology teacher by the …

WLM Financial Marketing and Branding

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During September 2015 to January 2016, I worked as a Marketing Coordinator/Analyst for the real-estate broker WLM Financial. Based in Inglewood, CA, the company focused on providing first-time home buyers with financial advice and loans needed to purchase their home. Using my knowledge of GIS and demographics, I identified the locations of their target markets. I proposed ten cities in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area that they can look to expand marketing operations into. On the broker side of business operations, I looked at home sales data, mortgage data, and property prices to locate other states that WLM Financial can look to apply for broker licenses. After getting to know their operations, targets and goals better, I created a marketing and a branding plan for the company. In terms of brand building, I used their current website and Facebook page as points of interest and set goals to be reached by July 2016 and July 2017. I created a social media schedule for them to post select content and to generate more reach and views to …