Sociology – �鶹��Ƶ

Sustainable Transportation in City of National City: A Community Perspective

Ada Inman — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:29:40 +0000

In Fall 2024, San Diego State University (SDSU) student researchers enrolled in Dr. Norah Shultz’s Sociology 407 course collaborated with National City and SDSU’s Sage Project to support ongoing efforts aimed at improving transportation access, safety, and sustainability in District 1. This collaboration was part of a larger initiative tied to the City’s Sustainable Mobility Plan, a strategy funded in part by a Caltrans Sustainable Communities Grant. The grant enables planning efforts that center equity, encourage walking, biking, and public transit use, and promote inclusive community participation. Within this framework, the student-led research sought to gather feedback from individuals who live, work, operate businesses, or commute in and around District 1. The goal was to better understand how existing transportation systems influence experiences of mobility, safety, and access in this part of the city, with special consideration to walking, biking, and public transit.
The class organized into four research groups, each focused on a specific topic area: non-car traffic, older adults and their unique mobility needs, drainage infrastructure, and car traffic. Over the course of the data collection period, researchers gathered responses from residents, business owners, and commuters familiar with District 1. While each group explored a different factor impacting transportation, common themes arose. Respondents raised concerns about sidewalk conditions, poor lighting, signage clarity, and localized flooding. Older residents expressed appreciation for services like Free Rides Around National City (FRANC), while also noting limitations in transit stop comfort and accessibility.
Participants in the drainage group emphasized how flooding-related obstacles, notably near Paradise Creek and the San Diego Bay, interfered with safe and routine travel. Across surveys, participants appeared passionate in their desire to contribute to infrastructure planning through meetings or other direct feedback opportunities. This invested interest highlights the importance of maintaining open, accessible channels for community input in future City-orchestrated efforts. The report concludes with several community-informed recommendations, including improvements to sidewalks and crosswalks, transit stop upgrades, clearer signage, drainage investments, and more inclusive outreach strategies. Altogether, these findings offer insight into how community perspectives can support and complement the City’s continuing work to enhance mobility and transportation access throughout District 1.

Sustainability and Sovereignty for Southeast San Diego: Uplifting the Community by Providing Career Resources and Fresh Produce

Ada Inman — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 17:05:49 +0000

Building on previous research done by student researchers at San Diego State University through the Sage Project and its collaboration with the San Diego Urban Sustainability Coalition, Dr. Norah Shultz’s spring 2023 Sociology 407 course split into three groups to investigate how the San Diego Energy and Equity Campus (SDEEC) could be of service to underserved communities in Southeast San Diego. The groups designed three surveys, each to assess the degree to which the community would be interested in utilizing the following sustainability resources via the SDEEC: training in careers in sustainability, fresh produce distribution, and sustainability internships for high school students. Results across surveys indicated a positive attitude towards these resources, despite a lower-than-expected level of understanding around the concept of sustainability itself. Many respondents were not aware of the SDEEC at all. Group 1, which surveyed community members about their interest in sustainability career trainings, found that people were most interested in vocational training in the following areas: environmental education, smart home installation, and government jobs. Group 2, which investigated the community’s interest in acquiring fresh produce at the SDEEC, found that most respondents had difficulty finding affordable, quality fruits and vegetables locally. A vast majority of respondents expressed interest in going to the SDEEC for fresh produce, whether it be a farmers market or a community garden. Group 3, which surveyed young adults to ask them retroactively how interested they would have been in a sustainability internship for students back when they were in high school, found that participants would have been most interested in internships centering around pollution prevention and greenhouse gas management, farmers markets and community agriculture, and water sustainability.

National City Brownfields: Resident Thoughts on Community Improvements

Ada Inman — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 15:41:04 +0000

National City’s industrial history has led to an excessive number of brownfields plaguing the community. In an effort to rectify this problem, city officials partnered with the Sage Project on a project funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). One goal of the project is to gain insight into how community members feel about their environment and potential improvements they would like to see. Professor Norah Shultz’s SOC 407 Research and Experimental Methods class was tasked with conducting a survey-based community research project to answer this question. This cross-platform survey, utilizing in person and electronic recruitment, was created and implemented by the class. There was special care taken to learn about National City so that the questions and recruitment strategies were tailored to the community of interest. With no incentive for participation, 100 people participated in the survey. These surveys revealed a strong sense of community and a need for further education on the topic of brownfields. Issues noted were a need for improvement to the physical environment, a lack of adequate housing, and a desire for more community centers and parks rather than retail space. While continued research would be beneficial, the findings shared in this report provide suggestions for improvements in an underserved community.

Socioeconomic Struggles and Opportunities with Guaranteed Income: Community Engagement, Self-Actualization, Healthcare, and Economic Mobility

Ada Inman — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 15:12:30 +0000

With support from the Sage Project at San Diego State University and in collaboration with the Black Women’s Resilience Project (BWRP) and Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFSSD), student researchers created a community needs assessment to collect information about the struggles of single Black mothers who live in the health equity zip codes established in San Diego County. The purpose of this research was to provide more insight into the characteristics of and challenges faced by Black mothers in San Diego in preparation for the launch of a new guaranteed income (GI) initiative of the BWRP and JFSSD, which will provide up to $1,000 a month for low-income Black mothers. The focus of this needs assessment was to measure participants’ feelings or status related to the four domains of focus as outlined by the BWRP: civic engagement and belonging, Black culture and self-actualization, behavioral and physical health, and economic mobility. First, the class was tasked with developing an understanding of these domains, as well as how GI programs typically function. The student researchers were then tasked with creating questions to reflect these domains and were split into eight groups based on the zip codes of interest. Once completed, researchers utilized multiple methods to recruit participants for the survey within the target population. The needs assessment was posted using QR codes on posters in community centers and links in online community groups, as well as administered in person by some groups. Sociodemographic results of participants displayed that roughly one third of the respondents fit the target population of the needs assessment, though responses from members of other racial or ethnic backgrounds, incomes, or marital statuses have been included to provide insight into the differing needs of mothers across the county. Results of questions on civic engagement and belonging displayed a significant disconnect between individuals and the communities in which they reside, especially for Black women. Regarding Black culture and self-actualization, results highlight a lack of feelings of agency by Black participants. Results of questions on economic mobility foreground the financial challenges that women face when providing for their home, despite the fact that nearly one third of the participants indicated that they are employed full time. As for behavioral and physical health, results displayed a disparity in insurance coverage between single and married individuals, as well as a lack of healthcare resources across the board.

“Social Determinants of Health and Their Impact on Black Women in San Diego County: The Social, Economic, and Environmental Factors that Shape Health Outcomes”

Ada Inman — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 15:07:43 +0000

In collaboration with the Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFSSD) and under the guidance of the Sage Project, student researchers at San Diego State University collected existing data to aid the launch of the Black Women’s Resilience Project (BWRP)—a new initiative being launched by the JFSSD to support Black women living in San Diego. The student researchers assembled data from multiple surveys relating to social determinants of health (SDOH) in order to illustrate how Black women’s physical health outcomes are impacted by various social, financial, and environmental factors in San Diego. The goal of this research is to assess which SDOH most negatively affect Black women’s health outcomes in order to assist the BWRP in developing community-centered interventions. Overall, the findings suggest that Black women (and other women of color) consistently experience worse SDOH than White women, and thus experience worse physical and mental health outcomes. Possible recommendations for the BWRP include financially targeting SDOH with higher impacts on health outcomes and including financial planning in their service offerings to clients.

Rural Planning Project: Wallowa County Fairgrounds

Ada Inman — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 14:59:48 +0000

The Wallowa County Fairgrounds in Enterprise, Oregon is working alongside REV, Devco Engineering, and EOU faculty and students to develop a Master Plan to ensure the grounds remain a community asset, gathering place, and event venue for years to come. [...]

Blues Intergovernmental Council

Ada Inman — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 14:57:41 +0000

Rural areas of the western United States are often dominated by public lands. Eastern Oregon is no exception with vast areas designated as National Forests, BLM lands, wilderness areas, wildlife areas, as well as state-owned lands. Members of the Blues Intergovernmental Council (BIC) were interested in how the management of our National Forests impacts the socioeconomic conditions in the counties where they are located. The report linked on this page was produced by a team at the REV Center to address this question.

Faculty and students at Eastern Oregon University are working with the Blues Intergovernmental Council to provide the council with facilitation support services. In 2022, a team at the REV completed a report providing a socioeconomic analysis describing the impacts of forest-related industries on local economies in 14 counties in eastern Oregon and Washington.

City of Joseph Buildable Lands Inventory

Ada Inman — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 14:53:09 +0000

This rural planning program involves Joseph officials working with Eastern Oregon University students and faculty members to develop a Buildable Lands Inventory. The goal is provide the city with information to support the long-term needs of Joseph. This documentation is being compiled by university graduate and undergraduate students performing policy analysis and reviewing city codes. This work gives students real-world experience while providing information the city can use to update its comprehensive plan. The Joseph effort is funded by the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development and supported by ECONorthwest.

Sustainable Development Priorities for Communities of Concern in Southeast San Diego: Transportation, Parks, Groceries, and Equitable Access to Resources

Ada Inman — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 18:28:28 +0000

With the support of the Sage Project and in partnership with the San Diego Urban Sustainability Coalition, student researchers conducted survey research to help construct a Community Benefits Initiative. The purpose of this research was to ascertain the equitable and sustainable development priorities of communities of concern in Southeast San Diego, which itself was broken down into multiple subregions. The survey questions were formulated after the construct of sustainability was conceptualized according to its attributes: transportation, parks, groceries, and equitable access to resources. Then, the research team broke into sampling groups, each tasked with collecting responses from a specific geographic region or subregion according to their own sampling method. Finally, the results were cleaned, coded, and recoded. While there were some discrepancies between communities, sociodemographic results indicated that the sample was for the most part representative of the target population. Results from the transportation section of the survey demonstrated the heavy reliance on cars as a form of transportation, and the negative appraisals of walking, biking, and public transportation. Public transportation was seen as inaccessible, and other infrastructure such as sidewalks and roads were seen as inadequate. Local parks were predominantly viewed positively, but significant complaints regarded safety and cleanliness. Results concerning grocery stores focused on the lack of options, the lack of health food stores, poor quality of produce, and the high cost of groceries. Finally, participants indicated a lack of easy access to childcare and community centers, among other community resources.

Addressing Food Deserts and Park Equity in Southeast San Diego

Ada Inman — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 19:17:16 +0000

With the support of the San Diego State University (SDSU) Sage Project, the San Diego Urban Sustainability Coalition, and the previous research done by SDSU Sociology 407 students, Sociology 796 student researchers worked to analyze prominent concerns of the Southeast San Diego community. Based on these primary concerns, SOC 796 student researchers then worked to address these issues through community engagement suggestions, and potential collaboration with the San Diego Energy Equity Campus. Based on surveys conducted by SOC 407, it was concluded that prominent concerns in Southeast San Diego were in relation to food deserts, disagreement with education fund distribution, and lack of park equity. Therefore, student researchers looked into why these issues were at the forefront and the different ways that could potentially be perpetuating inequality and preventing social and economic growth. After analyzing prominent concerns, focus shifted to how we could address these issues in ways that were both sensitive and timely, yet still allowed for cultivation, community, and community engagement. The final part of this report suggests ways in which the San Diego Energy Equity Campus could work to address these primary concerns of community members. The suggestions and recommendations are enclosed within this report.