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: 163

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 Client Project

Changing Plans: Flexibility, Accountability, and Oversight of Local Option Sales Tax Measure Implementation in California
Jeremy Marks

Client: Caltrans

2020 | Student Comprehensive Project

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

Client: City of Culver City

2020 | Student Client Project

Cool Pavement Evaluation: Sun Valley, Los Angeles
Falak Fatima Zaidi

Client: Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services (StreetsLA)

2020 | Student Client Project

Decision Making Frameworks: Streetscape Cooling Interventions
Madeleine Sims

Client: Tree People / Climate Resolve

2020 | Student Comprehensive Project

Flattening the Traffic Curve: Infrastructure-Light Solutions
Yidan Chen, Yu (Esther) Huang

Client: City of Culver City

2020 | Student Client Project

Meeting Travel Needs: Becoming Reacquainted with a Community’s Unmet Travel Needs
Annaleigh Yahata Ekman

Client: Gateway Cities Council of Governments

2020 | Student Client Project

Need for Speed: Opportunities for Peak Hour Bus Lanes Along Parking Corridors in Los Angeles
Mark Hansen

Client: LA Metro

2020 | Student Client Project

Off the Rails: Alternatives to Policing on Transit
Ma'ayan Dembo

Client: Alliance for Community Transit - Los Angeles

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

Socioeconomic Disparities and Pedestrian Collision in Orange County, California
Peter Garcia

Client: Latino Health Access

2020 | Student Client Project

The Effect of Bus Lane Management Techniques on Operator Experience, Safety, and On-Time Performance
Cassie Halls

Client: LA Metro

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

2020 | Student Applied Policy Project

Utilizing E-Scooters to Reduce Carbon Emissions Attributable to the Transportation Sector in Santa Monica
Daisuke Kaji, Jun Luo, Makoto Tanikura, Kerry Browne, Hank Kaplan

Client: Santa Monica Planning & Community Development Department

2020 | Student Client Project

Whose Budget is it Anyway? Demystifying the City of Los Angeles Transportation Budgeting Process
Katherine Stiegemeyer

Client: Investing in Place

2019 | Student Client Project

A Scoot, Skip, and a JUMP Away: Learning from Shared Micromobility Systems in San Francisco
Forest Barnes

Client: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)

2019 | Student Client Project

A Time and a Place for Every Rider?: Geographic and Temporal Changes in Bay Area Transit Ridership
Jacob L. Wasserman

Client: Metropolitan Transportation Commission

2019 | Student Client Project

Advancing a Mobility as a Service: Lessons Learned from Leading-Edge Public Agencies
Tomoko Kanda

Client: King County Metro

2019 | Student Applied Policy Project

Charging Infrastructure Strategies: Maximizing the Deployment of Electric Drayage Trucks in Southern California
Gabrielle "Libby" Bradley

Client: Southern California Edison