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2017

Wednesday, July, 11th, 2018 practica

In 2017, the students enrolled in the P track chose between one of three Practicum projects: Water Quality in the West Bank, Charles River Conservancy Swim Park Project or Cape Cod Urine Diversion.
Descriptions of the projects are below.

Unreliable Water Sources in the West Bank Revealing the challenges in Al-Walaja Village

With the success of the work in past practica, 1for3 and the Lajee Center decided to expand to the community of Al-Walaja village for this year’s WSSS project. The team consists of graduate students from Civil and Environmental Engineering, Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. They used strategies previously developed by WSSS students working in Aida and Al-Azza camps to develop a water quality monitoring program in Al-Walaja in collaboration with the community center, the Ansar Center. This area was chosen because drinking water often becomes contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, which have negative impacts on the health of village residents.

 

The goal of the project was to expand access to safe drinking water by developing and implementing a water quality monitoring and education program in the village of Al-Walaja.

 

Read final report here>>

Charles River Conservancy Swim Park Project Urban River Swimming: Six American Initiatives

In January 2017, the Charles River Conservancy contracted a team of graduate students from Tufts University’s Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning program to conduct a comparative analysis of river swimming efforts taking shape across the country. The goal of this analysis was to inform the design and programming of the Conservancy’s planned riverfront Swim Park at North Point Park in Cambridge. Through web-based research and key-informant interviews, this research aims to explore the diverse approaches and challenges faced by six US cities that are attempting to establish river swimming projects. By conducting a comparative analysis of these efforts, this project highlights national best practices and provides recommendations specific to the Charles River Conservancy’s Swim Park Project.

Download the final paper >> 

Urine Diversion and Re-Use Opportunities to Address Nutrient Overload on Cape Cod

The bays and estuarine environments of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, receive more nitrogen than what the waters can naturally assimilate. This excess nitrogen has led to eutrophication and degraded water habitats, resulting in the loss of eel-grass beds and shellfish growing areas. Nitrogen loading to Cape Cod’s watersheds must be reduced in order to restore ecological health.

However, making decisions about what to do and how much money to spend to address overnutrition in the water is a difficult task. As with much public decision-making processes, this challenge starts with education. This practica worked with Scott Horsley to evaluate these water sanitation issues in the cape and will develop an appropriate product.

Download the Final Powerpoint>>