Upon arriving in Mart for the first time, one of the most notable aspects of the town was the large number of run down, abandoned buildings. Similar to the decaying and vanishing Lithuanian rural settlements, many of the buildings in Mart are in poor physical state. According to Karvelytė-Balbierienė, Mlinkauskiene, and Gražuleviciute-Vileniške (2009) there is a relationship between the economy of rural areas and the physical state of that area's environment. That is, in rural areas facing an economic decline, the physical state of historic buildings and landmarks is likely to decline as well. Because of the poverty within the community, there is a lack of ability to maintain these historic buildings. Other reasons for the decay of buildings include abandonment, inappropriate use, lack of maintenance, ownership problems, and inaccessibility to community members (Karvelytė-Balbierienė et al., 2009).
When these historic sites are lost, so too are reminders and symbols of the community's past. Restoring historic buildings, can contribute to a revitalization of the rural community by promoting entrepreneurship, economic development, and tourism (Karvelytė-Balbierienė et al., 2009). The restoration of the Masonic Lodge in Mart, TX could potentially help stimulate the social and cultural development of the community. Not only would the lodge provide a space for the community to gather, but it would also help build relationships between residents. Moreover, restoring the historic lodge would help to preserve some of the history and culture of the African American community in Mart.
2. This study examined whether or not urban community gardens are perceived as spaces in which people of different races can successfully integrate and benefit from community gardens, using a case study in St. Louis. Compare and contrast how this concept applies to a poverty-stricken, racially-divided southern, rural location such as Mart, Texas.
Shinew, Gloverm, and Parry (2004) discuss the application of contact theory and the use of community gardens to improve racial relations in St. Louis. Contact theory is based around the idea that positive, sustained contact with individuals from different races is one way to improve race relations within communities. The creation and use of community gardens is one way in which this sustained contact among residents can occur. If utilized, community gardens can serve to beautify the land while also increasing bonding and bridging social capital among residents (Shinew et al., 2004).
In a community such as Mart, TX in which there is a large number of people living in poverty and a large divide between different races, a community garden could be a useful tool to help improve interracial relations and to provide a space for all members of the community.
3. The author discusses how the “Barbie” image serves as a global agent in shaping women’s ideas of beauty and presents the particular interpersonal and socioeconomic consequences of this image in Nigeria. Compare and contrast this to the particular needs of young African American girls in Mart. How does the “global” discussion mask the intra-country need for discourse on the topic?
Through increasing globalization and the creation of commercial products such as "Barbie," Western beauty standards have penetrated other countries and cultures (Okafor, 2007). Barbie is tall, blonde, white, and extremely thin. Although the "multicultural" Barbies that are marketed have darker skin and traditional cultural clothing, their body type and facial features remain the same. In countries such as Nigeria, the Western ideal of tall, thin, and white women has had particularly negative consequences. More traditional Nigerian views of beauty are being replaced by the Western ideal which has led to an increase in the use of skin whitening products and cosmetic surgery among Nigerian women (Okafor, 2007).
Although this article talks about this issue in a global sense, it is definitely an issue in our own country. Young girls and women from cultures and races other than the dominant culture and race are bombarded with images that imply that you need to be white, blonde, and thin to be beautiful. Most of what they see are images of "Western beauty" which can have severe consequences for these young girls as they grow and develop. There is a great need for more positive images of racially and culturally diverse young girls and women in American culture.
The branding of Fjærland as a book town can be compared to the way that Mart is being promoted as an artistic town. The rural development in Mart is revolving around different types of art such as gardening, reading, writing, architecture, and other forms of fine art. The image construction in Fjærland helped increase the economic development of the town while also building up the community. The income generation and community rejuvenation projects in Mart will hopefully help to revitalize the Mart community and engage the citizens in a similar way that "book town" promoted the development of Fjærland.
5. This study examined 2 different approaches to participatory rural development in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), Pakistan. Compare and contrast the types participatory rural development in this province to what we can expect in Mart. While the article in based more on wide-scale initiatives to capital formation and capacity building, you should focus on the participatory elements. How are we going about involving Mart citizens in terms of institutional and capacity building?
Shah (2009) discusses participatory rural development in contrast to more traditional views of community development. Participatory development ensures the participation of community members throughout the entire development process. On the contrary, more traditional approaches utilize a top-down style of planning in which "experts" make the decisions and community members are largely not included in the process. According the Shah (2009) the use of participatory development allows for the inclusion of stakeholders as well as more flexible approaches to community development. Participatory approaches are also beneficial in that they take into consideration the culture and values of the community members rather than trying to impose the values of outside developers (Shah, 2009).
The participatory approaches discussed in Shah's (2009) article are similar to what we can expect in Mart. Much of our work centers around engaging and involving community members in our projects. It is important that Mart residents are involved in our projects throughout the process in order to ensure that the community's voice is being heard and to create sustainable products. In the process so far, the Mart community has been involved in much of the planning of the art co-op as well as the community garden. However, the work is not done and we must continue to recruit new community members into our project and make sure that we facilitate an open dialogue among residents. If we can continue to involve the Mart community as active group members, our projects will become true reflections of what the Mart residents want for their community.
I agree that in order to successfully facilitate projects within the community, an open dialogue among residents will have to be maintained. With that being said, I keep asking myself~ what does that look like in practice?
ReplyDeleteIn terms of each article it is important that we keep in mind the dynamics of racial tension and the ways race discourse manifests itself. I hate to sound pessimistic but without close attention to race relations none our projects will sustain Mart as a whole; to keep from only affecting certain sectors we will constantly need to be aware of race relations and making their experiences cohesive.
ReplyDelete"If we can continue to involve the Mart community as active group members, our projects will become true reflections of what the Mart residents want for their community."
ReplyDeleteYES!