Lower 9th Ward NENA
Part 1: Research Question
Lower 9th Ward NENA is an organization that is primarily concerned with providing safe and healthy living and working environments. Working with the NENA community members, being exposed to their various programs and approaches it is clear that NENA does not base adequate housing solutions merely on the provision of more housing; but rather looks at each family or household with a case specific approach. Some families are provided with help for maintenance of their homes, some are provided with plumbing and electrical supplies, several community members are assisted with resume counseling services and those who need it are given new homes. Each case manager engages with the ‘Client’ (respective family/ household) through personal dialogues and sees the project through from start to finish. From acquiring adequate funding to assisting the client through the recovery/ rebuilding process is all carried out through mutual dialogues. What is important to consider in this approach is the personal stake holding and responsibility of each client towards his/ her own life.
Research Question:
With respect to my earlier goal statement, I would like to work with issues pertaining to housing and community development. How can standards of Sustainability and Environment Ecology be defined within an existing socio-cultural urban context through personal and case specific associations that seek to create healthier homes in cohesion with healthier societies? Can these standards further inform existing policies or can they be scripted as indicators that can govern policy level decisions?
Part 2: Research Design Proposal
Goal: To establish a system chart that would help me script a series of indicators that may be used as guidelines to design context specific policies.
Methodology:
Step 1: A series of interviews within NENA as well as with allied resources will be conducted as steps towards identifying these indicators.
Interview 1: Shoun Evans; Case Manager/ Housing Counselor, NENA
Interview 2: Wanda Talton, Economic Development, NENA
Interview 3: Ken Dyman, Architectural Design Director, NENA
Interview 4: Coordinator/ Fellow/ Guide of the Global Green Project, Global Green Resource Center
Interview 5: Lower 9th ward resident (if possible)
Step 2: assimilating the acquired information into a system map that illustrates NENAs approaches and interventions within the community.
Step 3: conducting parallel president studies that illustrate other comparative approaches.
Step 4: designing a few basic indicators that could be projected as parameters that may influence/ guide policy level decisions.
Results: