Critical Appraisal of healing in place of decline. Hamilton, Canada. Essay Example

Critical Appraisal of healing in place of decline. Hamilton, Canada. Essay Example Critical Appraisal of healing in place of decline. Hamilton, Canada. Essay Critical Appraisal of healing in place of decline. Hamilton, Canada. Essay Essay Topic: Hamilton Landscapes of a place provide for hurting or healing an individual living in the place. A place of residence provides identity and security to the person. It is the â€Å"setting of daily life† (Gesler 1992, 1993; Porteous. 1990). With improvement in economic conditions industrial places were labeled as ‘places of decline’. â€Å"Access to unadulterated nature and to green space has become central to conceptions of individual health and community well being† (Gesler, 1993; de Vries et el 2003; Takano et al; 2002). Certain places may become stigmatized and the people living in these places are assumed to lack awareness. â€Å"Individuals rarely identify their own neighborhood as polluted in relation to others. †(Bush et al 2001 and Bickerstaff and Walker 2001). The main objective of the case study made by Sarah Wakefield and Colin McMullan on Hamilton, an industrial city in Canada is to establish that renegotiation of local place image is central to the maintenance of wellbeing of its residents. The Central theme of this study is based on, how healing processes play a part in less than pristine places, unhealthy places. The case study includes in depth interviews with local residents, local officials and reports with details of descriptions of the areas and the feedback responses from the respondents between July 1996 and March 1999. Three separate research programs conducted in two suburban communities . It had a sample population of respondents with maximum difference in age, gender, distance from site of pollution, neighbor hood types, respiratory health, with or without children and members of local and environmental group. The third group also consisted of prominent Municipal members, representatives of the local government, health and social service organizations. Data collected from different groups, tape-recorded interviews transcribed and analyzed developed a set of key themes of relevance . They told similar stories. Steel industry formed the backbone of Hamilton and the people here earned more . The city appeared a smoke piled, ugly industrial wasteland known as the ‘Birmingham of Canada’, (Peace, 1989, p. 76) with the image of an ‘ugly blue collar town’ (Elliot. 1999). Northeast Hamilton had a bigger proportion of low income households, low in education, more unemployed, less ethnically diverse and high home owners. The physical environment of Hamilton was hazardous, with local harbor being the dumping ground for sewage and industrial waste. The Socio-demographic figures on Ontario’s health survey, endorse the above facts. Air pollution remains, with dust smoke odor, making an extensive effect on daily life. Social and environmental ills of north-east Hamilton make it a poorer health place than the rest of the city. Over the last four years, extensive cleanup efforts have been taken. Effort made on image makeover began with citizens reorienting themselves by associating with ‘good’ places that are recognized as healthy urban areas and alienating themselves from more polluted ‘bad’ areas like ‘North-end’. The residents tried to reduce the social stigma of staying here, by taking pride in having home ownerships and strong social connections. Image reconstruction occurred at two scales, one at the regional level attempting to redefine the place as a naturally inviting place, and the other at the local level emphasizing health making features, drawing marginal boundaries, promoting the healthy aspect of social ties, reliability and mutual help. The positive features of image constructions say, that, even if a place is understood to be disadvantageous, its residents may still vouch for the health affirming features related to their daily lives. The author of the study Sarah Wakefield and Colin McMullan have drawn up a fairly detailed and factual study of therapeutic landscaping in Hamilton, an industrial city in Canada. The author wants to point out that a place or dwelling may be marked as ‘good ‘or ’bad’ depending on the healthy features associated with the place. Yet its residents may not agree with the ‘bad’ element of the place in totality. The facts and figures given by the authors corroborate the findings, making the study a true experience. The details of experience of the residents only add to the conformity of the study. Thus the arguments raised by the authors are well supported with facts, figures, and feedback from the residents. The introduction to the study appears too elaborate and abstract, making it difficult to hold the span of attention of the reader. Comprehending the real purpose of study is vague and makes room for boredom to creep in. The style of writing is not much clear. Facts stated are not crisp and to the point. Too many facts have been brought under the consideration for a reader, adding to the ambiguity of the exploration. Actual information has been, more or less, lost between the quotes and citations made by the authors. Absence of clear demarcation of topics in paragraphs has made the whole reading lackluster. The interest wanes in the beginning and it is only after the feedback details of the interview are placed, that reading of the study gathers momentum. I think the paper should be given an ‘average’ grade. There is plenty of room for improvement in making the reading interesting. Language structure needs to be kept simple. The complex sentences used makes comprehension difficult. The completeness of the study definitely speaks for the success of the exploration, but it is complete with its limitations. Work Cited Bickerstaff. K. Walker. G. 2001. Public Understanding of air pollution: the ‘localization’ of environmental risk. Global Environmental Change (2) 133-145. Bush. J. Moffatl. S. Dunn. C, 2001. Even the birds round here coughs: Stigma, air pollution and health in Teesside Health and Place 7 (1) 47-56. Elliot. H. 1999. Restoring Balance is the Goal, Hamilton Spectator, 15 Dec, ppA12. DeVries, S. Verheej. R. A, Groeneweger. P. PSpreeuwenbergP. 2003, Natural environments healthy environments, an exploratory analysis of the relationship between geenspace and health Environment Planning, A35 (1717-1731). Gesler. W. M. 1998, Bath as a healing place. In Kearns R. A. Puting Health into Place. Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, New York pp 17-35. Gesler . W. M. 1991, the Cultural Geography of Healthcare, University of Pittsburg Press, Pittsburgh, PA. Gesler. W. M. 1992, Therapeutic Landscape: Media issues in light of the new cultural geography. Social Science and Medicine 34, 735-746. Peace. W. 1989 Landscape of Victorian Hamilton: the use of visual materials in recreating interpreting the past. Urban History Review xviii 75-85.