Revealing the Cues Within Community Places: Storiesof Identity, History, and Possibility

Abstract

Place-based approaches to community change have become increasingly popular strategies for addressing significant social problems. With their intentional focus on 'place,' most efforts have sought to gain greater understanding into how neighborhood contexts affect people. However, while both aggregate characteristics and social dynamics of neighborhoods have been subject to scrutiny in the literature, less attention has been paid to understanding how the environmental characteristics of neighborhoods and communities as places have meaning for residents. The present study used an innovative methodology called Photovoice to obtain a greater understanding of the meanings residents ascribe to the salient characteristics of their neighborhoods and communities. As part of a place-based initiative, 29 adult and youth residents in seven distressed urban neighborhoods photographed and dialogued about the meaningful physical attributes of their community. According to participants, place characteristics provided cues about their personal histories as members of the community; communicated messages about the value and character of the community and its residents; defined social norms and behavior within the community; and provided markers that could remind residents of who they are and inspire a sense of possibility for who they could become. Implications for practice are discussed.

Ageing well in the right place: partnership working with older people

“…For residents who struggled to verbally articulate their experiences, the option to take part in the research extended to photovoice sessions. Photovoice is a visual method (Wang & Burris, 1997) grounded in qualitative participatory research principles used to explore personal experiences of a particular phenomenon (Nowell, Berkowitz, Deacon, & Foster-Fishman, 2006). This method is often used to facilitate community engagement whilst simultaneously producing powerful images that have the potential to influence policy agendas in the areas of public health, education and social work (Catalani & Minkler, 2010).…”

The false consensus effect: A trigger of radicalization in locally unwanted land uses conflicts?

“…On the one hand, on the notion of place and the psychological ties with places (i.e., place attachment, and place identity): LULU oppositions can be deemed as place-protective actions that arise when the projects threaten place-based identities and their realization is likely to disrupt the emotional bonds that residents establish with the meaningful places in which they live or with whom they identify with (Devine-Wright, 2009). (Nowell, Berkowitz, Deacon, & Foster-Fishman, 2006), but that individuals are not always totally aware of their emotional attachment to place. However, they are likely to increase their awareness when an event forces them to leave it (Fried, 2000) or threatens to disrupt this bond, as in the case of land uses that have a deep impact on the place itself.…”

Heavy Metal, identity and the social negotiation of a community of practice

“…We explore both relational and spatial dimensions of community (cf. Nowell, Berkowitz, Deacon, & Foster-Fishman, 2006;O'Donnell, 2006). This is necessary because we are all embodied beings who live in a material world and who collectively construct communities and reaffirm relationships through participation in shared activities (cf.…”

“…He proposed that people and environments are 'mutually defining' in that they shape and give meaning to each other. It is though engagements between people within particular places that the meaning of these spaces and identities performed by those frequenting them are forged (Nowell et al, 2006;O'Donnell, 2006). Communities are often located in what others have referred to as 'activity settings' (Gallimore, Goldenberg, & Wiesner, 1993).…”