The West End Revitalization Association's Community-Owned and -Managed Research Model: Development, Implementation, and Action

Abstract

T he shift to a community-based participatory (CBPR) research paradigm has been beneficial to many academic, government, and CBOs in addressing EJ and public health issues. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] The CBPR approach (1) acknowledges the community as a unit of identity, (2) builds on community strengths and resources, (3) facilitates a collaborative, equitable partnership involving power sharing and empowerment process, (4) fosters co-learning and capacity building, (5) focuses on a balance between knowledge production and intervention, AbstractBackground: Principal investigators (PIs) of communitybased projects are predominantly university faculty who partner with community-based organizations (CBOs) to find a place to conduct research in communities that will cooperate with their research objectives. University-managed research models (UMRMs) are not always beneficial for CBOs because the university usually manages the study, collects and owns the data, and leverages control at each stage of research, without priority to resolution of problems impacting the quality of life of participating communities.

Towards Communities of Practice in Global Sustainability

“…Since then, community residents collaborating with environmental health scientists in universities and community-based organisations have monitored workplace toxins, air and water pollution, household lead, flame retardants in consumer products and environmental chemicals in breast milk (Morello-Forsch et al 2009). On-the-ground data collection techniques, such as 'ground-truthing', seek residents' knowledge to identify pollution sources located in their communities and verify compiled data derived from standardised risk-screening of environmental indicators (Heaney et al 2007).…”

Governance Structures and the Lack of Basic Amenities: Can Community Engagement Be Effectively Used to Address Environmental Injustice in Underserved Black Communities?

“…[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Local officials can use the ETJ as de facto residential segregation to marginalize historical neighborhoods of color and place noxious land uses in the ETJ which can impact the health of affected residents. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Recent literature emphasizes the importance of racial residential segregation in leading to differential exposure of populations of color to health risk factors such as pollution from locally unwanted land uses as well as differential access to resources such as basic amenities, medical services, and good housing stock. [25][26][27] This emerging area of research indicates that segregation acts as a major driver of environmental health disparities.…”

“…Basic amenities include public regulated drinking water and sewer services, garbage collection, paved roads, gutters and ditches for stormwater management, accessible roads, street lighting, and sidewalks. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Basic amenities provide the health-promoting infrastructure that act as the building blocks for neighborhoods. Neighborhoods with limited basic amenities may have higher levels of neighborhood stress, lower quality of life, less vitality, lower property values, greater exposure to negative living environments, and worse health outcomes.…”

“…Neighborhoods with limited basic amenities may have higher levels of neighborhood stress, lower quality of life, less vitality, lower property values, greater exposure to negative living environments, and worse health outcomes. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] For example, literature has shown that living in communities without infrastructure and resources (e.g., sidewalks, parks, grocery stores, good transportation networks) impacts healthy food access, physical activity opportunities, and obesity and diabetes prevalence. [30][31][32][33][34][35][36] Also, residents without access to regulated drinking water and sewer services who use private septic systems for sewage disposal purposes and well water as their primary drinking water source may have septic system failure.…”

“…[19][20][21][22][23][24] Due to ETJ and JPA zoning practices that exclude ''underserved'' and ''unserved'' communities from public, regulated sewer and water services, we believe these populations may not only have increased exposure and health risks from fecal microbes, but these health risks are exacerbated by the presence of noxious land uses (i.e., landfills, wastewater treatment plants, hazardous waste sites) in their neighborhoods. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] In the following sections of the article, we will discuss these issues from the perspective of the West End Revitalization Association (WERA).…”