COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY ASSIGNMENT: Evaluate Social Contact Features In Your Environment
Instructions
Take a walk around your neighbor and look for environmental features that encourage or discourage social contact or neighboring as discussed by Kuo, Sullivan, and Coley (1998) and Sullivan, Kuo and DePooter (2004).
Make a note of features that might promote community contacts: front porches where people sit, pedestrian walkways and sidewalks, streets with less automobile traffic and more pedestrian traffic, public areas where children can safely play while adults can both supervise them and talk to each other.
During your observation, consider the following: Do these features encourage saying hello, conversation, or other neighborly contacts, even with people you don't know? Does the lack of such facilities discourage such contact? Are there other features that encourage contact?
Next, visit common spaces such as parks or playgrounds, no matter how small. During your observation, consider the following: Is there pedestrian traffic and neighborly contact? Are spaces open to public view in ways that help keep them safe? Does greenery, benches, or other features promote neighborly contacts (Kuo et al. 1998)?
Write an essay in which you discuss your findings in relationship to your understanding of what is involved in assessing the individuals within their environment. Provide recommendations to help make the neighborhood more encouraging for social contact.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.