A visual ethnography of an urban neighborhood

ABSTRACT

Atlanta is the fourth fastest gentrifying city in the United States, and a group of five neighborhoods is the subject for this visual ethnography. A problem list was derived from a qualitative study of 20 resident leaders/stakeholders which highlighted problems associated with important representative structures in the community. A visual representation is a way of “seeing, knowing and showing” their spoken and visual culture. This study is a snapshot of a community during a time of rapid change, and illustrated how residents reframed neighborhood deficit discourse as they knew that “change was coming.” This ethnography also described transformative strategies and how stakeholder and community activism bridged different social networks.

KEYWORDS:

• Gentrification
• urban
• visual ethnography
• atlanta
• qualitative

Author contribution

Dr. Carol Isaac is an associate professor of research in the Department of Educational Leadership. Her research interests include leadership, gender, and qualitative methodology.

Dr. Arla Bernstein is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Mercer University’s College of Professional Advancement. Her research interests include service learning, critical thinking, and strategic communication.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.