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 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.

Do you have a student research project idea? Let us know by July 19, 2024

Propose Project Idea




Total Results: 15

2024 | Student Client Project

The Impacts of Sidewalk Autonomous Delivery Robots on Vehicle Travel and Emissions A Focus on On-Demand Food Delivery
Yu-Chen Chu

Client: Coco Delivery

Environment, New Mobility, Traffic

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2023 | Student Client Project

Center of a Tension: An Analysis of Center Turn Lanes
Michael Rosen

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

Environment, Traffic

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

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 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

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

2021 | Student Client Project

Assessing Public Outreach About Slow Streets in San Francisco
Lena Rogow

Client: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)

Environment, Public Transit, Traffic, Transportation & Communities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2021 | Student Client Project

It’s Not Just a Sign: Traffic Calming Gives Bump to Safety – A Cost Benefit Analysis ofTraffic Calming in the City of Los Angeles
Asiya Patel

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

Environment, Traffic, Transportation & Communities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2021 | Student Client Project

Lessons for Upgrading Los Angeles’ Slow Streets: A Feasibility Study for Making the L.A. Slow Streets Program Permanent in a Post-COVID City
Madeleine Garces

Client: Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Transportation

Environment, Traffic, Transportation & Communities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2021 | Student Client Project

Slow Your Roll! An Analysis of LADOT’s Slow Streets Program
Jan Yonan

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

Public Transit, Traffic, Transportation & Communities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2021 | Student Comprehensive Project

Transit-Oriented Development Without Displacement: Strategies to Help Pacoima Businesses Thrive
Laura Daza García, Lauren Hiller, Charlotte Will, Samikchhya Bhusal, Bertha L. Calderón Chiñas, Talia Coutin

Client: Pacoima Beautiful

Environment, Public Transit, Traffic, 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

2018 | Student Client Project

Gaining Wait? Analyzing the Congestion Impacts of Road Diets in Los Angeles
Dylan Jouliot

Client: Southern California Association of Governments

Traffic

REPORT

2016 | Student Client Project

Who Wins When Streets Lose Lanes? An Analysis of Safety on Road Diet Corridors in Los Angeles
Severin Martinez

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

Traffic

REPORT

2014 | Master's Thesis

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

Environment, Traffic

REPORT