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Full-Text Articles in Urban Studies and Planning
When Nature Invades: Resident Perceptions Of The Austerity-Driven "Rewilding" Of An Urban Park In Rock Island, Illinois, Christian S. B. Elliott
When Nature Invades: Resident Perceptions Of The Austerity-Driven "Rewilding" Of An Urban Park In Rock Island, Illinois, Christian S. B. Elliott
Anthropology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works
In an era of rapid urbanization, changing climate, and increasing political division, parks represent increasingly important places for urban residents to interact with and feel connected to the natural environment and receive a number of mental and physical health benefits. Unfortunately, in an age of austerity politics, parks and recreation departments in Midwest Rust Belt cities often lack adequate funding to maintain such public spaces. Recently, the business-minded Rock Island, Illinois Department of Parks and Recreation has implemented a creative cost-saving management solution: “naturalizing” sections of its city parks. This interdisciplinary study uses a mixed methods approach to discover how …
Promoting Environmental Justice Populations’ Access To Opportunities With Suburban Boomtowns: An Interdisciplinary Mixed-Methods Approach To Addressing Infrastructure Needs, Jandel Crutchfield, Courtney Cronley, Kate Hyun, Erin Findley, Mehrdad Arabi
Promoting Environmental Justice Populations’ Access To Opportunities With Suburban Boomtowns: An Interdisciplinary Mixed-Methods Approach To Addressing Infrastructure Needs, Jandel Crutchfield, Courtney Cronley, Kate Hyun, Erin Findley, Mehrdad Arabi
TREC Final Reports
This study used a community-engaged interdisciplinary approach to assess the gaps between economic growth and transportation infrastructure development, and the impact of potential gaps on access to opportunities for environmental justice populations within North Central Texas, where population growth has increased over 100% since 2000. The interdisciplinary team, comprised of social work and civil engineering researchers, in partnership with the regional homeless coalition, measured residents’ perspectives of the economic growth in the area over the past decade, the extent to which transportation infrastructure has matched the economic growth, and the implications for access to affordable quality housing, employment, quality public …