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: 59

2018 | Student Client Project

Unequal Streets: Active Transportation Safety Disparities in the SCAG Region
Riley O'Brien

Client: Tom Vo

Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2018 | Student Client Project

Vision Zero’s Enforcement Problem: Using Community Engagement to Craft Equitable Traffic Safety Strategies
Rabi Abonour

Client: Alta Planning + Design

Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2017 | Student Client Project

Best Practices for Evaluating Vision Zero Projects
Colin Piethe

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

Access to Opportunities, Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2017 | Student Client Project

Reclaiming the Road: Reshaping Transportation in Playa Vista
Cat Callaghan

Client: Santa Monica Big Blue Bus

Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2017 | Student Client Project

Toward Zero Baltimore: An Analyzing of Intersection Related Pedestrian Crashes in the City of Baltimore
Shikha Jain

Client: Baltimore Department of Transportation

Access to Opportunities, Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2016 | Student Comprehensive Project

Delivering the Good: Strategic Interventions Towards a Just & Sustainable Logistics System in Southern California
Ariana Vito, Adriana Quiquivix, Dylan Sittig, Diana Benitez, Edber Macedo, Gabriel Gutierrez, Evan Moorman, Lindsey Jagoe, Kate Bridges, Mike Barrita-Diaz, Meghmik Babakhanian, Saly Heng, Sam Appel, Stephanie Tsai

Client: Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy

Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2016 | Student Client Project

Designing Grand Streets in LA: Assessing Physical Design Elements
Marissa Sanchez

Client: Here Design Los Angeles

Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2016 | Student Client Project

Fleeing the Scene: Hit and Run Collisions in Los Angeles
Rosemary McCarron

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2016 | Student Client Project

Taking Health to the LA Great Streets: Measuring Walking, Biking, and Safety
Jimmy Tran

Client: LA Great Streets Initiative

Access to Opportunities, Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2016 | Master's Thesis

The Influences of Intersection Roadway Characteristics on Pedestrian-Vehicle Collisions
Jasmin Youngeun Kim

Access to Opportunities, Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2015 | Student Client Project

(Re)visioning Overland Avenue: The Next Great Street
Melody Wu

Client: Palms Neighborhood Council

Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2015 | Master's Thesis

Open for Business? Effects of Los Angeles Metro Rail Construction on Adjacent Businesses
Rosalie Singerman Ray

Transportation & Communities

REPORT

2015 | Student Comprehensive Project

Oriented for Whom? The Impacts of TOD on Six Los Angeles Neighborhoods
Matthew Hom, Mark Friedlander, Mark Simpson, Laura Krawczyk, Allyson Ujimori, Mariana Huerta-Jones, Jake Connor, Aaron Ordower, Darryl Yip, Sheila Nem, Erica Lee, Katie Olson-Kenny, Vicky Wu, Chi Dang

Transportation & Communities

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
Amy Vetal, Jinghua Suo, Michael Coons, Darren Conly, Dao Doan, David Dawson, Lu Lu, Katie Lemmon, Esther Jung, Christopher Jones, Jessica Hyman, Nicholas Foster, Reuban Duarte, Lindsey Miller, Alek Miller, Bradley Cleveland, Taylor Choe, Kristi Bailey

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 Comprehensive Project

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

Client: LA Metro

Transportation & Communities

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