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MA/PhD Theses Abstracts of Current Students & Alumni |
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Hardin, Jennifer. 1995. Public Involvement, Transportation Planning, and Applied Anthropology Research: A Community-Based Needs Assessment for Additional Public Transportation in Sun City Center, Florida.
Abstract: In today's urban society, the need
for motorized transportation is a fact of life. In the United States,
this issue is especially prominent because land-use patterns and the
American obsession with the automobile have led to extreme reliance on
the personal automobile. This situation has been exacerbated by federal
transportation policies that have favored automobile transport. Even
when fixed-route bus or rail service is available, millions of Americans
are unable to utilize such services due to age, physical or mental disability,
or income status. In response to the actions of affected populations,
efforts have been made at the federal level to ensure that citizens have
a voice in transportation policy through citizen participation activities.
Mounting environmental awareness in the 1960s, coupled with growing citizen
concerns over changes being made to their communities without the consideration
of their views, prompted the federal government to mandate public participation
efforts in transportation planning (Weiner 1992:81). The most common
approach to be used in the field of transportation has been the largely
ineffective public hearing. However, a new era of public involvement
in transportation planning may well be on the horizon with the passage
of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991.
ISTEA requires state DOTs and local MPOs to work proactively to include
all interested parties throughout all stages of the transportation planning
and project development process. ISTEA encourages the use of innovative
public involvement techniques designed specifically to create effective
partnerships between planners and citizens. Within this context of proactive
transportation planning, applied anthropologists have many opportunities
to assist in the development of plans and the implementation of projects
that are truly participatory in nature. This thesis explores the issue
of public involvement in transportation planning by providing an example
of a needs assessment I undertook in a retirement community located outside
of the Tampa metropolitan area. A community-based needs assessment was
conducted to provide the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority
(HART) and the community of Greater Sun City Center with information
regarding the perceived public transportation needs that exist in this
retirement community. The community-based needs assessment for additional
public transportation in Greater Sun City Center that I participated
in as an applied anthropology researcher provided a window of opportunity
that led to the issue of South County community circulators moving from
a low-priority wish list to eventual implementation. The anthropological
perspective that I brought to the research helped to build and consolidate
relationships among representatives from the community and transportation
officials in Hillsborough County. However, it was the efforts and initiative
of these persons, rather than my research, that made the South County
Community Circulator Pilot Project a reality, thus providing a good example
of how communities may become empowered through meaningful public involvement.
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