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Browsing by Author "Gupta, Khushboo"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Downtown Christiansburg Inc.: Recommendations for achieving a more vibrant Downtown Christiansburg
    Olberding, Beth; Gupta, Khushboo; Hammes, Ross; Stephenson, Ronnie (Virginia Tech. Office of Economic Development, 2018-05)
    Christiansburg was established in 1792 and became an incorporated town in 1833, with its downtown serving as a commercial center and heart of the town until the rise of big box stores in the 1990s. Today, a local, all-volunteer, non-profit organization in Christiansburg, called Downtown Christiansburg Inc. (DCI), wants to be a major organizing force in revitalizing the downtown. The organization has undergone changes, and now its members wish to understand DCI’s role better in revitalization efforts. DCI commissioned the Virginia Tech Office of Economic Development (OED) to conduct an analysis of the downtown, and review the strengths and weaknesses of DCI with respect to opportunities presented in downtown Christiansburg. OED researchers took several approaches to this research, beginning with a socio-economic and mapping analysis of the downtown, an assessment of downtown revitalization best practices, and interviews with comparable organizations. The OED team then analyzed local perceptions of downtown Christiansburg and DCI through interviews with business owners, local government officials, and residents; over 100 community surveys distributed via social media; and two facilitated sessions with community and DCI board members.
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    The Economic Impacts Of Trichoderma And Cocopith In Bangladesh, India, & Nepal
    Travis, Elli; Olberding, Beth; Alwang, Albert; Gupta, Khushboo (Virginia Tech. Office of Economic Development, 2019-02)
    OED travelled to Bangladesh, India, and Nepal to work with IPM and USAID to assess how Trichoderma and cocopith affect farmers, factory owners, manufactures, nursery owners, and day laborers who use these natural products in their efforts. The report outlines how these products can affect the economic livelihood of a number of people.
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    Recommendations for Wonder Universe (Formerly known as Children’s Museum of Blacksburg)
    Moayerian, Neda; Jackson, Zach; Gupta, Khushboo; Lettau, Eve (Virginia Tech, 2019-08)
    A graduate student led project worked with children's museum Wonder Universe to help them develop ideas to double their annual attendance as they moved into a new location. The report outlines best practices and recommendations for the museum to better serve the region.
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    Same Ecosystem, Different Entrepreneurs: An assessment model for measuring diverse entrepreneurial ecosystems
    Lyon-Hill, Sarah; Tate, Scott; Cowell, Margaret M.; Gupta, Khushboo; Keneshlo, Yaser (Virginia Tech. Office of Economic Development, 2017)
    This paper explores how to measure entrepreneurial ecosystems with an urban-rural mix by using Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s four indicators framework and while accounting for the needs of different types of entrepreneurs from main street to high growth firms.
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    Smart City and Related Implementation Challenges - Case Study: Kakinada and Kanpur
    Gupta, Khushboo (Virginia Tech, 2020-02-13)
    With advancement in information and communication technologies (ICT), Smart Cities are becoming a popular urban development strategy amongst policymakers and city managers to respond to various threats posed by rapid urbanization such as environmental degradation and increasing inequality (Hartemink, 2016). Therefore, globally, regions ranging from small towns to megacities are proposing and investing in smart city (SC) initiatives. Unfortunately, the prolific use of this term by city managers and technology vendors is clouding the view on what it really takes to become a SC (Van den Bergh and Viaene, 2015). Consequently, cities are experiencing multiple implementation risks when trying to turn a smart city ambition into reality. These implementation risks reflect the gaps or missing pieces in the current organizational structure and policies designed for implementing SC projects at the city level. They can be understood better if the process of SC transformation is explored using diverse cases of cities undergoing such a transformation. However, the current studies on SC initiatives at the local, regional, national, and international level have focused on: 1) strengthening the SC concept rather than understanding the practical implementation of the concept – i.e., discussing SC characteristics and outcomes rather than focusing on the challenges faced in implementing SC projects; 2) cases that have already been developed as a SC or are soon to become a SC, leaving out the opportunity to study cities undergoing SC transformation and the identification of implementation risks; and 3) cases from more advanced economies. Taken together, these observations reveal the need for research that focuses on SC initiatives in a developing nation context. More specifically, there is a need for researchers, city managers, and policymakers in these regions to focus on the process of SC transformation to identify implementation risks early on in the process. Understanding these risks may help the development of better risk mitigation strategies and result in more successful SC projects. This research explores SC implementation risks in two cities currently undergoing a SC transformation in India – Kakinada and Kanpur. While examining the risks landscape in these two cities, the research also explores what city officials are focused on when implementing SC projects. This research finds that: 1) implementation risks such as Institutional, Resource and Partnership, and Social are crucial for implementing SC projects; 2) in the cities of Kakinada and Kanpur, Institutional risks that relate to gaps and deficiencies in local urban governance such as overlapping functions of multiple local urban development agencies, have causal linkages with other risks such as Resource and Partnership risks and Financial risks, which further delay project implementation; and 3) city officials and industry professionals implementing SC projects in Kakinada and Kanpur have a slightly different perspective on smartness, however both the groups focus on External smartness of the city – i.e., projects related to physical infrastructure such as mobility and sanitation – rather than Internal smartness of the city – i.e., strengthening local urban governance, increasing citizen engagement, etc. Overall, this research proposes that there is a need to frame the concept of a SC around both Internal and External Smartness of the city. This research will be of special interest to: 1) cities (in both developed and developing nations) currently implementing SC projects by providing a framework to systematically examine the risk landscape for successful project implementation; and 2) communities/institutions (especially in developing nations) proposing SC initiatives by helping them focus on components, goals, and enablers of a SC.
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    Understanding the What, Why, and How of Becoming a Smart City: Experiences from Kakinada and Kanpur
    Gupta, Khushboo; Hall, Ralph P. (MDPI, 2020-04-21)
    Rapid urbanization can result in challenges, such as overcrowding, congestion, and a lack of urban services. To address these challenges, an increasing number of communities are exploring the concept of a smart city (SC). Although rapid urbanization is a problem for cities around the world, its consequences can be severe for those located in developing nations. While previous studies have focused on SCs that were built from the ground up, there is a critical need for studies that focus on how to advance SC initiatives in developing regions faced with limited land and resources. This study identified two proposed SCs in India—Kakinada and Kanpur—which are currently implementing SC projects to explore their SC transformation. This case study aims to explore how “smartness” is understood in these cities and examines the local conditions shaping SC objectives by studying the existing issues in the cities, the proposed projects, and the perception of SC experts on a) what they understand by “smartness”; b) why cities want to become smart; and c) how they will become smart. The study findings indicate that although the high-level goals of the proposed SCs in India are similar to those of existing SCs in developed nations, the underlying objectives and strategies vary and are shaped by the urbanization challenges facing the Indian cities. This research also highlights the key questions a SC planning effort should address, especially in a developing nation context.