Running head: URBAN RESIDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF BARRIERS AND RESOURCES IN DEVELOPING STRONGER COMMUNITIES THROUGH COMMUNAL GARDENING 1
PLEASE ASSIST WITH REVISIONS. THE COMMENTS AND CHANGES ARE IN BLACK, RED, AND YELLOW HIGHLIGHT. I AM NEEDING HELP WITH ALIGNMENT, RESEARCH QUESTIONS, THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK, THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, ETC…….
Urban Residents’ Perceptions of Barriers and Resources in Developing Stronger Communities Through Communal Gardening
Problem Statement
It is not known how urban residents perceive the influence of community gardens on the quality of life within the neighborhood. The way in which urban residents perceive the influence of communal gardening on stronger communities through both social and environmental factors are implicated in injustice (Hornik, Cutts, & Greenlee, 2016). Based on the argument by, Lardy, Little, Madewell and Valentine (2013), in most urban modern communities, the idea and presence of fresh fruits and vegetables is almost an extinct ideology virtually replaced with processed food. However, they also mention that the culture of community gardening essential but challenging. Its importance is that it helps in promoting recreation, social, and economic development of the urban centers. The Community Network of Brevard is one of the community groups that has taken the initiative to set up urban communal gardens. This organization has so far established three functional gardens. The organization’s complete gardens are Ethos, located in Florida Institute of Technology, Logos community garden in Satellite Beach, and Pathos. For the past few years, the essence of urban agriculture seems to have been lost. Anggreni (2017) shows that “urban areas have over the years lost the cultural linkage to the agricultural community” (p. 5).
Therefore, the idea of communal gardens can be a viable approach towards helping to mend the broken link and solve the challenges affecting urban centers. Sharpe et al., (2016) states that there are varying views about community. Some studies suggest that there is more weight placed on the issue of social interaction and other studies focus more on the geographical space and the functionality of community (Sharpe et al., 2016, p. 4). However, one thing that brings all these societies together is that they are compose taxpayers that should be given equal distribution and considerations regarding the distribution of resources (Mauro, Fava, & Kostner, 2018). Food is becoming a convenient good regardless of a nutritious cultural experience that is shared enjoyed, and healthy and culture emerging. Internationally, there exists taxpayer’s influx residing and occupying in communities in the urban areas (Larson et al., 2016). Communal gardens could be made into more use through supplying citizens in the urban areas with vegetables and fresh fruits (Crosby, 2017, p. 656). While there seems to be an increase with the growth of community gardens, there are several issues such as individual responsibility, land ownership, management, among other topics as the gardens continue to grow.
The gardens in Brevard are a vital and transitive sustainability initiative for the surrounding communities. It is, therefore, incumbent for the local public administrator to put in place adequate and significant measure of running and maintaining these gardens. Firstly, the community network of Brevard lacks the strategies and terms that define the management of their gardens (Eichholz & Lindeman, 2017). The work lies with the local gardeners without a clear definition of their responsibilities as they work based on volunteerism. This situation translates to an acute concern for the lack of order. Secondly, the organization does not define its purpose of establishing these urban communal gardens. If anything, they justify the establishment of the facilities based on the far-reaching benefits that come from the establishment of any garden. Therefore, the sense and necessity of having these three gardens fail to come to the surface. Lastly, the community has not drawn its strategies to realize their mission, which is to maintain nature’s beauty of the ecosystem while helping people to realize economic, environmental, and social needs.
Poor management has been at the forefront of the challenges facing urban community gardens. The primary factor that contributes to this problem is the lack of enough funds. Most of the networks that run these facilities depend on resources from their local authorities. It is a drawback that has created the issue of resources dependence, which retards the growth of these gardens significantly (Barthel, Parker & Ernstson, 2015). The Community Network of Brevard falls a victim of this problem, and how the administration runs their gardens is not adequate, and this research paper narrows its focus on this network. (This is all interesting, but I don’t see the connection between what is written above and the stated purpose for the research of….” It is not known how urban residents perceive the influence of community gardens on the quality of life within the neighborhood”. I concur and find myself without an answer to what the problem actually is. Why do we need to know this? To solve what problem related to community gardens
Purpose Statement
The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore how urban residents’ perceptions on barriers and resources in developing stronger communities through communal gardening located in Florida.(when you read the preceding sentence out loud, it doesn’t make sense as written) Did you leave out a verb? Perhaps how the perceptions contribute to or impede (depending upon your problem statement that needs to be rewritten.) Urban community gardens have in the recent past served as a vital tool to engage groups of persons and individuals in activities that pursue to offer environmental, administration, social, and individuals wellbeing of urban areas. According to Derkzen, van Teeffelen, Nagendra & Verburg (2017), community gardening is considered one of the paramount tools that can be used for urban planning and development mainly due to its proven abilities to promote social, economic, recreational, cultural, and environmental enhancement. Many cities and significant towns have recognized this fact, and they are engaging in a race to set up these facilities. Anggreni (2017) studies show that “urban areas have over the years lost the cultural linkage to the agricultural community” (p. 5). The community Network of Brevard is one of the community groups that has taken the initiative to set up urban communal gardens. This organization’s complete gardens are ethos, was grown in them. According to located in Florida Institute of Technology, Logos community garden in Satellite Beach, and Pathos.
These gardens are an essential and transitive sustainability initiative for the surrounding communities. It is mandatory for the local public to? accept and consider measuring the running and upkeep of these gardens. However, urban areas historically obtained their identity form the kind of food that Eichholz and Lindeman (2017) “the community network of Brevard lacks the strategies and terms which describe the management of their gardens” (p. 25). The act rests with the local gardens without a clear definition of their responsibilities as they work centered on volunteerism. Sharpe et al. (2016) proposes that “there are numerous definitions of community, with some focusing on social interaction, while others relate to geographical space and the functionality of community” (p. 4). This takes your topic in a new direction and if used, you need to develop the use of “community” in relation to gardens as pertaining to your purpose and likely specific to your study of Brevard. This situation renders to a serious unease for the absence of order. Also, the organization does not define its purpose of establishing these urban communal gardens. The sense and necessity of having these three specific gardens fail to come to the surface.(I don’t understand the previous sentence) Finally, the community has not drawn it tactics to achieve their mission, that is to preserve nature’s beauty of the ecosystem at the same time as helping individuals to understand their economic, environmental, and social requirements. What do you mean by this? What is the community mission? I agree this would need to tie to your study purpose and original statement. What is the scale of your study? Florida? Brevard neighborhood? It is unclear. How does the previous statement relate to your first sentence….” It is not known how urban residents perceive the influence of community gardens on the quality of life within the neighborhood”???
Nature of the Administrative Study
The study will identify the perceived barriers by the urban residents or members of Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne Florida, City of Satellite Beach, and City of Cocoa Beach Florida to the development of community gardens to build strong, sustainable urban communities. The study will focus on using a qualitative approach to identify the barriers in which all the cities face in terms of community gardening and its efforts in finding sustainable long-term innovative solutions in building stronger communities for the present and future citizens/members. Now it appears you are going to look at the role of perception in understanding the barriers faced in community gardening? The literature review shows that previous studies have not focused their effort on identifying the barrier and suggesting ways to address the challenges to these gardens. You will have to show this; there is a lot of literature on the issue. I suggest that you focus your research more specifically to find the researchable question If analyzed from various studies; legalization, policy documents, participant observations, focus groups with gardening coordinators, and interviews it might be possible to identify firsthand the results of the legal and policy barriers concerning community gardening. Also, a lack of political and planning support establishing greener in urban areas has proven a barrier in some studies as well. Okland (2015) notes, “understanding the extent of this, as well as where to address mapping the mental models of project practitioners, project owners and stakeholders with regards to sustainability will be a promising start” (p.108). This qualitative research will assist in understanding the phenomenon that has not been documented. Data collection will focus on approaches such as interviews with questionnaires for surveys, interview questions, key informants, public administrators/indigenous government, and urban residents. This is not, as the other reviewer points out, cohesive. Are you going to do a qualitative study? Then you likely will not do surveys. How are you going to use key informants? What do you mean by the last list of people and how will be involved? This is not cohesive. (Interviews and Surveys are two different data-gathering methodologies. It is confusing when you mix them up. Interviews use interview questions to gain data. Survey data comes from questionnaires)
Research Questions
The focus of the research is to examine the perceived barriers that are affecting community gardens? (or is it the perceive success or use of…community gardens) as well as the legal framework and the policy approaches within the state and national level that might impact the growth of the gardens. If this is what you are studying, it is a separate study. It might be needed to better understand and develop a researchable question so rather than abandon it entirely, consider what you actually need to know. This goes back to problem/purpose/RQ and how they link. (What??? This last part of the sentence is a huge leap! There is nothing mentioned about this in your proposed Research Question) Several???? research questions will guide this research to see to its success. However, the central question that will direct this study is; Where and how has the administration of the Community Network of Brevard failed in its management? Again, yet another study (The preceding question is very, very different than what you proposed to study earlier in the Prospectus) This study will seek to address the above question and several others which rise as sub-questions of the focus guide. These are;
a. How does the administration of the Community Network of Brevard manage their barriers to their urban gardens?
b. Has the management provided a purpose of their existence and the reasons as to why they run urban gardens?
c. What are the strategies that the administration of the Community Network of Brevard put in place to realize their mission?
d. How does the leadership of the network follow the standard principles of public administration?
e. Is there another network that runs urban gardens, and what have they done about their administration to perfect their work?
(These questions do not align with the stated purpose of the research early in the document? Focus the study down much more clearly)
Conceptual Framework
To understand how community gardens work, it is essential to point out its foundation and the theory behinds its development. The fastest rise of community gardens is traced back to the economic crisis of the 1970s where there was a shift to urban agriculture for self-sufficiency (Fletcher, Rushlow, and Berky 2013). Later, after the collapse of the socialist system, most countries ‘ sales market collapsed and thus(This is an introduction to the topic but does not show the theory behind your work to develop a conceptual framework. Please review and read on what a conceptual framework is, and how to develop one.) forced many of the farmers to be directly involved in the sale and distribution of agricultural products. Most of the newly developed firms that were smaller in acreage only focused on producing for their consummation. With this challenge, the urban dwellers had to shift their focus onto alternative food systems. Urban gardens emerged in the early 1960s and were closely associated with industrialization and rural-urban migration. Community gardens emerged in the backdrop of urban gardening. Their focus shifted from the emphasis on agricultural resource production to the strengthening community, bringing together residents and civil institutional. These gardens were located in public spaces and supported by the public, private stakeholders. Most of the community gardens were accessible to all residents. However, several barriers seemed to have affected the spread of community gardens in the years that followed. Community gardens can lead to the development of healthy communities by bringing people together in designing and maintaining gardens. Wayland et al. (2018) reveal that there is a constant debate when it comes to the conceivable transmission of communal lands from national authority to municipal authority (p. 53). (This section does not address the CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK you will use)
This research will make use of several sources of information. These sources are both primary and secondary. The primary sources of information will include and not limited to interviews with the administration of the Community Network of Brevard and the volunteer gardeners who work in the community urban gardens. It will also involve the study of the gardens’ routine through observation. (Stay away from OBSERVATION as a methodology. It is not appropriate given what you have noted earlier) Another primary source of information will be the observation??? of a different network that runs urban gardens and how successful their project has proved to be. You are all over the board. Observation is different from interviewing; how are you going to use secondary sources? Do you have a client organization in the Community Network of Brevard? The secondary sources will involve the study of scholarly articles on community urban gardens and articles on effective public administration.
Possible Analytical Strategies
As stated earlier in this paper, this research is qualitative. With this respect, the possible analytical strategies of data will be purely qualitative. These will include an in-depth analysis of the data obtained from scholarly articles that will be used in this study, under the analytical research strategy. This method will seek to answer the questions on “how” and “why” related to the running of urban gardens by the Community Network of Brevard. This study will also come up with a thematical model for data simulation. This is not what you are preparing to do in this prospectus. The model will be used to simulate the results of managing urban gardens in different ways, to seek the best way to govern these facilities to realize the best outcomes. The simulation will assist in carrying out the what-if analysis and clear uncertainties by providing precise results of the best management practices for urban community gardens.
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