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: 163

2022 | Student Client Project

Saved by the… Bus? Analyzing Safety Outcomes on Streets with Bus Lanes
Erik Felix

Client: Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)

Public Transit

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Client Project

State Transportation Funding in California: Progressive Targets or Prehistoric Thinking?
Benjamin Bressette

Client: California Integrated Travel Program

Transportation Finance

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

2022 | Student Client Project

Transportation Challenges to Healthcare: Evaluating the Transportation Needs of Patients at Saban Community Clinic
Nataly Rios

Client: Saban Community Clinic

Access to Opportunities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Client Project

Try Transit! Lessons Learned From Metrolink Riders to Incentivize a Post-Pandemic Mode Shift to Commuter Rail
Elizabeth Owen

Client: Southern California Regional Rail Authority

Public Transit

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Client Project

Using Data Science for Equity at SFMTA
Ryan Caro

Client: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)

Public Transit

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2022 | Student Applied Policy Project

Zero Emission Delivery Zones: An Analysis on U.S. Implementation
Matthew Forbes, Emily Marshall, Marium Navid, Karleigh Shepard, Ryota Abe

Client: World Resources Institute

Environment, New Mobility

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

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

California Government Screening Maps: An Investigation into Geographic Prioritization in Support of State Climate and Planning Goals
Shelly Quan

Client: California Air Resources Board

Access to Opportunities, Environment

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2021 | Student Client Project

Daylighting Public Funding Streams: Increasing Equitable Access to Public Transit Across California
Eric Dasmalchi, Natalie Amberg

Client: Caltrans

Public Transit, Transportation & Communities, Transportation Finance

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2021 | Student Client Project

Equity Lenses: Targeting Equitable Community Investment Across Southern California
Jayne Videecharoen

Client: Southern California Association of Governments

Public Transit, Transportation & Communities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2021 | Student Client Project

Evaluation of Bus All-Door Boarding: Analysis of Dwell Time Performance
Alexander Murray

Client: LA Metro

Environment, Public Transit

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

Matching L.A. Travel Patterns and Metro Bus Service
Edgar Mejia

Client: LA Metro

Environment, Public Transit

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF

2021 | Student Client Project

One Light, Two Light, Red Light, Green Light: An Analysis of Signal Priority on the Metro G Line
Yu Hong Hwang

Client: LA Metro

Environment, Public Transit

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 Client Project

Towards Achieving Carbon Neutrality in California: Forecasted Transportation Expenditures on Fossil Fuel Vehicles and Zero Emission Vehicles from 2020 to 2045
Allison Yang

Client: UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation

Environment, Transportation Finance

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

2021 | Student Client Project

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

Client: Washington State Ferries

Public Transit, Transportation & Communities

REPORT | POLICY BRIEF