Team Leader
Lindsay Sansom
Texas A&M University
Environmental and Occupational Health
lindsay.sansom@tamu.edu
Project Type
Research
Who Can Join
Graduate Students, Masters Students, Undergraduate Students
Project Description
This study will look at the role that parks play in fostering community cohesion, with a specific focus on MacGregor Park in Houston, Texas as our study location. Time spent in green spaces can lead to improved social cohesion. However, we don’t yet understand how this effect differs among varying types of park users and there is a lack of data particularly for socio-economically vulnerable populations. We believe that increased time spent in parks, especially participating in community events, will lead to strengthened community cohesion and we seek to understand how this effect varies across diverse stakeholders.
This proposed project seeks to answer the following question: can greenspaces like MacGregor Park in Houston, Texas, act as catalysts for social interaction and community bonding amongst diverse populations, thereby fostering more resilient and interconnected community structures?
Team members will assist with developing and administering in-person surveys and hosting focus groups for marginalized populations. Students will learn both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Priority will be given to students interested in participating for two semesters and gaining research credit.
Team Needs
Writing skills, data collection and data analysis skills, teamwork and cooperation, willingness to learn, and clear communication. Willingness to become CITI trained and collect surveys in the field. Experience with Microsoft Teams. GIS skills are a bonus, but desired skillset and I will be reserving space on the team for someone with at least intermediate ArcGIS skills.
Special Opportunities
The special opportunities that come with participating with this project are potential co-authorship on a paper, learning how to both collect surveys in the field and analyze survey data, learning how to write a peer-reviewed publication, and potentially presenting a poster on the research. Students will also be required to become CITI trained.