Blog Three- Administering the Survey

I administered surveys in the block groups south of Hwy 78 and east of Hwy 301. This area of Bamberg is comprised of a mixture of housing value and condition ranging from beautiful, well-kept historic homes, to smaller middle income and manufactured homes, to dilapidated shacks. I was surprised that the condition of the housing could have such a broad range in what seemed to be a less than one mile radius. Most of the houses were occupied with only a few abandoned homes and ‘fixer-uppers’ dispersed throughout. Except on Hwy 78, there did not appear to be any businesses in this section of the community, however, there were several small neighborhood churches. Due to the fact that the surveys were administered from 1:30pm to about 5:00pm, I thought that the results would be a little skewed, as those residents who are home between these hours tend to be house wives (generally in a higher household income bracket) and retirees. However, I was surprised when the first three surveys that I gave were to white males, two of whom were middle-aged. I was able to get a diverse sample of the population for the survey, which will be a more accurate depiction of the community and will enhance the outcome of our survey.

For the most part, the residents were willing to participate in the survey until around 4:00pm, at which point many of whom were just returning from work and did not want to spend the time. As expected, those residents who were most unwilling to take the survey lived in the upper middle-income section of the neighborhood. Perhaps it is not that this portion of the population was less willing to take the survey, but rather they were less interested, as they tend to be more satisfied with their community and less attuned to the areas in which the operations of the local government may be insufficient. Surprisingly, those living in the large historic homes were quite willing to participate, as were those residents living in the lower income section of the neighborhood. I had the opportunity of speaking with a young African American man living in the lower income section of the neighborhood who said that all he really wanted was a store: “a Wal-Mart or a Foot Locker, or something”. Although he did not want to fill out a survey, his remarks informed me that the young people in Bamberg probably have very few places to go. The middle-income minority participants seemed to be the most wary of taking the survey. Some said that their children always take care of ‘that sort of thing’, and others wanted to make sure that something was actually going to be done with the information they provided before they wasted their time. One older African American woman, in particular, was very skeptical of my intensions, and I assured her of our mission. I hope for her sake, and for the sake of the rest of the community, which seems to be eagerly awaiting something new and different, that this class will produce a plan that will really help the City of Bamberg and its people.

Blog One- My Interests in Taking Rules of Engagement

My interest in taking Rules of Engagement lies primarily in the fact that, as a student of city planning, I feel that it is essential to gain real life experience in the art of hosting a charrette. Community interaction and participation is a fundamental part of the planning process through which the planner discovers the true interests and desires of the community as a whole and can make decisions that will be most beneficial to the people of the community. In addition, charrettes may provide the planner with key knowledge of the interests of the minority and the less represented groups among the community. Although the importance of charretting and community input is made known to the planning students, there are few opportunities to actually take part in hosting a charrette in our curriculum.

In addition to learning the skills involved with charretting, I am looking forward to interacting with the people of Bamberg to affect change in their community. It seems as though the City of Bamberg has some historic infrastructure in the downtown area that they are interested in preserving and possibly reusing. The city’s website boasts of beautiful historic homes and some of the best public schools in the state, as well as being a great place for families, retirees, and industry. Additionally, Bamberg City Council’s mission is to enhance the city’s beauty, business opportunities, and overall quality of life. I hope that our project will assist the city in their mission.

One concern I do have, however, is that while I am interested in interacting with the people of Bamberg, especially those groups that tend to be more marginalized, I hope that they will be interested in interacting with us and willing to participate in our ‘school project’. Marginalized groups, especially those in rural communities, tend to have a history of being promised progress and then, in the end, there is nothing to show for it. As public participation is a key element for the success of our plan, I hope that a diverse group of the community members responds positively to our mission.