University of Southern California

Research News

Study Looks at Expired Foods in Low-income Areas

September 25, 2009

A USC study has found a good reason to check the expiration date on market foods. Researchers, working with residents in lower-income areas of Los Angeles, counted at least one expired poultry, beef or dairy product in about a third of the store visits made over a one-year period. USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor LaVonna Lewis presented some of the project's data at the 2009 California REACH US Conference.

More research news headlines

  • A Tribute to U.S. Resilience
    July 27, 2009

    A comprehensive study spearheaded by the USC-based Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) has determined that the economic impacts of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack were actually less severe than previously estimated.
  • Study: Nonprofits Promote Civic Engagement
    June 11, 2009

    Nonprofit groups are becoming increasingly active through the promotion of causes on their online sites and serving as bridges of civic engagement, according to a new study by David Suarez, assistant professor at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.
  • "Geography" Charts What's Hot and What's Not
    April 29, 2009

    Elizabeth Currid, assistant professor at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, presented her paper, "The Geography of Buzz: Art, Culture and the Social Milieu in Los Angeles and New York," during a recent research seminar at Lewis Hall. The paper was co-authored by Sarah Williams, director of the Spatial Information Design Lab at Columbia University.
  • Ahead of the Curve in Addressing Sustainability
    April 23, 2009

    Dan Mazmanian More than a decade ago, when sustainability issues were still a specialized curiosity, USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor Daniel Mazmanian turned his attention to the emergence of locally-based environmental policies in several communities and regions across the nation.
  • Study Finds Emergence of "Homegrown Majority" in CA
    April 21, 2009

    The San Francisco Chronicle featured research led by Professor Dowell Myers of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development discovering that "homegrown" Californians will soon outnumber those who came from elsewhere. The story noted that more than 70 percent of teens and young adults were born in California, up from barely half in 1990. "People have felt it's a state full of newcomers, every man for himself, we don't need to invest in the next generation because they're different," said Myers. "We're waking up to the fact that we're a self-reliant state whose future depends on who is here already." Click to view full report.
  • Rose Appointed to Committee on Earthquake Resilience
    April 6, 2009

    Adam Rose, research professor at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and coordinator for economics at the USC Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE), was appointed in March to the committee on National Earthquake Resilience - Research, Implementation, and Outreach. The committee is part of the National Research Council, which operates under the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

    According to the NAS, the committee aims to develop a viable "road map" for earthquake hazard and risk reduction in the United States. The project is sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

    The road map will be framed around the "objectives for achieving national earthquake resilience in public safety and economic security stated in the ... strategic plan of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) submitted to Congress in 2008," the NAS Web site states.

    One of the committee's specific goals is to host a national workshop centered on evaluating the basic and applied research, seismic monitoring, knowledge transfer, implementation, education, and outreach activities needed to achieve national earthquake resilience over a 20-year period.

    Dr. Rose joins 10 other leading national scholars in the area of natural hazards. His expertise in the area of disasters includes modeling the economic consequence of natural hazards and terrorism, resilience and mitigation.
    ยป Click here for more information on the project.
  • Local Experts Take on Transportation Issues
    April 2, 2009

    Los Angeles' "transportation transformation" was the subject of a recent panel discussion hosted by the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development. The event took place at the downtown headquarters of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It was the third event in the SPPD Dean's Speaker series, which has focused on the revitalization of Los Angeles.
  • New Book Examines Foundations, Public Policy
    March 25, 2009

    Foundations and Public Policy: Leveraging Philanthropic Dollars, Knowledge and Networks for Greater Impact, a new book edited and co-authored by USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development faculty, explores the implications -- and potential impact -- involving the efforts of nonprofit organizations to shape public policy.
  • From Good Intentions to Common Corruption
    March 24, 2009

    As the Obama administration prepares to disperse economic stimulus money for infrastructure, a timely new book sheds light on special districts -- the "shadow governments" that will be responsible for spending a large portion of these funds. In her book, Paying the Toll, Louise Nelson Dyble, associate director for research at the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, documented how the bridge district grew from well-intentioned public corporation with bipartisan support to notorious organization rife with corruption.
  • Local Port Stakeholders Pack METRANS Town Hall Event
    March 18, 2009

    With cargo flow down about one-third since last year, port stakeholders packed the 10th METRANS Town Hall meeting on March 11 in Long Beach. More than 1,000 people, including longshore workers, terminal operators, logistics providers and elected officials, attended the event. The topic was how to make the San Pedro Bay ports competitive and protect high-paying local jobs.
  • SPPD, Viterbi Students Win Transportation Scholarships
    December 12, 2008

    Eight USC students conducting research on transportation projects ranging from toll roads to airport runway incursions have been recognized with scholarships from two Southern California chapters of the Women's Transportation Seminar. Two of those students are from the School of Policy, Planning, and Development.
  • Transportation Center Still on the Move
    October 22, 2008

    METRANS celebrates 10 years of research and education on metropolitan transportation. For the past decade, the center has aimed at "generating the highest quality basic and applied research," according to METRANS Director Genevieve Giuliano, professor and senior associate dean at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.


  • Why do Los Angeles County Hospitals Continue to Lose Money?
    During a time when most California hospitals succeeded in converting their negative operating margins to positive ones by 2005, Los Angeles County hospitals continue to face a negative median operating margin. This reality stands in contrast to nearby Orange County and San Diego County hospitals, which have a small yet positive margin (about 1 percent). This study, conducted by Prof. Vivan Wu and funded by the John Randolph Haynes Foundation, will attempt to address this paradox.

  • Bostic Awarded $350,000 to Study 'Impact of Community Development Financial Institutions'
    Professor Raphael Bostic was awarded a $350,000 grant over the next two years from the MacArthur Foundation to study the "Impact of Community Development Financial Institutions." Since 1994, the U.S. Treasury Department has certified 700 institutions and provided them funds to promote community and economic development in targeted communities. This research intends to discover whether such funds have been successful in improving the commercial environment and neighborhood quality of their targeted markets.

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