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





Total Results: 59

2021 | Student Client Project

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

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

2021 | Student Comprehensive Project

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

Client: Pacoima Beautiful

2021 | Student Client Project

Washington State Ferries Wait Time Analysis and Rider Experience Study
Alexandra Weber

Client: Washington State Ferries

2020 | Student Client Project

Access Denied? Perceptions of New Mobility Services Among Disabled People in San Francisco
Madeline Ruvolo

Client: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)

2020 | Student Comprehensive Project

Complete Streets for Culver City
Bing Lin Nyang, Anna Geannopoulos, Guadalupe Huerta, Yue Shen

Client: City of Culver City

2020 | Student Client Project

Decision Making Frameworks: Streetscape Cooling Interventions
Madeleine Sims

Client: Tree People / Climate Resolve

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
Sam Speroni

Client: HopSkipDrive

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

2020 | Student Client Project

The Pedestrian Battle of Los Angeles
Jorge Cáñez

Client: Los Angeles Walks

2019 | Student Client Project

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

Client: Toole Design

2019 | Student Client Project

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

Client: Pasadena Transit

2019 | Student Client Project

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

Client: LA Metro

2019 | Student Client Project

Land Use in a World of New Transportation Technologies
Monique Ho

Client: Los Angeles Department of City Planning

2019 | Student Client Project

Mode Choice and Perceptions of the Built Environment in Watts and Jordan Downs
Dustin Khuu

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

2019 | Student Client Project

The Role of Transportation in School Access: A Case Study of the Geffen Academy
Esteban Doyle

Client: Geffen Academy

2019 | Student Client Project

Wheels for All: Ensuring Equitable Access to Dockless Mobility in Los Angeles
Karina Schneider

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

2018 | Student Client Project

Fast, Furious & Fatal: An Assessment of Speed-Setting Methodology in California
Ribeka Toda

Client: Nelson/Nygaard

2018 | Student Client Project

Feasibility of Form-Based Code for Transit-Oriented Development
Michelle Chung

Client: Los Angeles County Supervisional District 1

2018 | Student Comprehensive Project

Moving Metro Toward Transit-Oriented Communities
Nathan Serafin, Shayne Smith, Sarah Stockham, Warren Wells, Cameron Olson, Matthew Hartzell, Jordan Hallman, Kay Sasaki, Andrés Carrasquillo, Katrina Braehmer, Krystian Boreyko, Dan Broder, Jasneet Bains

2018 | Student Client Project

Pathways to Play: Opportunities for the City of Los Angeles
Ryan Kurtzman

Client: Los Angeles Mayor's Office