“A Community with Diversity of Culture, Wealth, Resources, and Living Experiences”: Defining Neighborhood in an Unincorporated Community

Abstract

To obtain a better understanding of how people living in an unincorporated region define their neighborhood, a long-term photovoice project was conducted. Thirty-one photovoice sessions and eight structured interviews were coded and analyzed to assess participants' neighborhood definitions. Participant's difficulties in identifying the geographic, physical and demographic characteristics of their neighborhood led them to use social interactions, place-mediated values, and civic engagement to define neighborhood.

A Review of Research Connecting Digital Storytelling, Photovoice, and Civic Engagement

“…If educators aim to build free, welcoming environments in which to help youth develop as active citizens, then work has to be done to think about community spaces as teaching spaces-inclusive places where kids can explore and learn about the world. Indeed, Fernandez and Langhout (2014) claim that attachment to people and places facilitates participation in one's community.…”

Living on the Margins of Democratic Representation: Socially Connected Community Responsibility as Civic Engagement in an Unincorporated Area

“…We conducted a community‐based photovoice project in Live Oak, an unincorporated area along the Central Coast of California with a growing Latinx population (28%). Live Oak is the third most populated area in the county with an estimated population of 30,000 (Fernández & Langhout, ). As is often the case in unincorporated areas, and despite the size of Live Oak, it lacks many basic neighborhood resources, such as post offices, health centers, and public facilities, like a community center or a public high school.…”

Theorizing Critical Placemaking as a Tool for Reclaiming Public Space

“…Low and Altman () explain that “place attachment” is an emotional bond with place, a sense of “insidedness,” that develops through shared cultural, historical, and political meaning and activities. Attachment has been found to be influenced by a wide variety of physical and social factors, including residence length, home ownership, mobility, neighborhood relations, neighborhood legibility, social capital, aesthetic qualities, green space, and access to services (Brown, Perkins, & Brown, ; Fernández & Langhout, ; Lewicka, ). Empirical studies suggest that place attachment is related to a higher sense of self‐esteem and pride, stronger neighborhood ties, collective efficacy, and civic engagement (Brown et al., ; Lewicka, ).…”

“…In‐depth narrative interviews with community members experiencing disinvestment or displacement could help to shed light on the meaning that individuals make of their personal identities in dialogue with the stories told about the places in which they live and work (e.g., Hodgetts et al., ). Participatory action research, such as Photovoice methodology, also holds promise in working with disinvested communities to identify problems and assets, consider dominant representations of the community, share underrepresented histories and perspectives, and collaborate on solutions (Fernández & Langhout, ; Nowell, Berkowitz, Deacon, & Foster‐Fishman, ; Sonn, Quayle, & Kasat, ). Equally important, such research could result in exemplary case studies that highlight community successes.…”