Mitigating urban sprawl effects: a collaborative tree and shade intervention in Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Abstract

Communities in Phoenix are confronted with numerous challenges that adversely affect human health and safety, with disproportionate impacts on low-income communities. While some challenges are being addressed at the city level, new alliances at the neighbourhood level are initiating community development programmes and projects. This article reports on an intervention study carried out in collaboration with community representatives, city staff, and non-profit organisations to mitigate adverse effects of urban sprawl in the Sky Harbour Neighbourhood in Phoenix. Participatory research was conducted to design and test a tree and shade intervention. Challenges associated with navigating community desires and broader principles of sustainable development are discussed. The study offers a replicable and adaptable intervention research design aimed at empowering communities to meet urban challenges.

Keywords:

• intervention research
• sustainable development
• community development
• urban sprawl

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on an earlier version of this article, and acknowledge the efforts of the many involved with the Sky Harbour Tree and Shade intervention: residents of the Sky Harbour Neighbourhood (SHN) who attended our workshops, with special thanks to Hilaria Rodriguez; representatives from the City of Phoenix Parks Department, Police Department, and Neighbourhood Services Department, as well as from The Phoenix Revitalization Corporation and The Valley Permaculture Alliance. We thank Gateway Community College for providing spaces to host workshops. Finally, we are grateful to the School of Sustainability students who served as note-takers, interpreters, and child care assistants.

Notes

1 For an excellent account of the complex ways in which local knowledge is shaped by community and, in turn, shapes a community's ability to drive its own development and resource management, see Ostrom (1990).