Rejuvenating Neighborhoods and Communities Through Parks—A Guide To Success www.NRPA.org National Recreation and Park Association © 2011 All Rights Reserved 34 During the OST Meeting As mentioned previously, organizers of the OST session provide a place, time, and structure so the people interested in a particular issue can come together Ideally, those participants will have a meaningful discussion in an orderly and timely fashion and leave the meeting with some sense of accomplishment, no matter how difficult the issues This means that the essential role of the OST facilitator is to explain the process to the group, then stand back and let the participants organize themselves into groups to discuss the topics of greatest importance to them While it is difficult to assign a specific time frame to OST meetings, the following is a sample for a meeting of two to three hours Depending on the size of the group and range of interest within that group, there can be concurrent discussion sessions Organizers and facilitators can serve as timekeepers 15 minutes Welcoming remarks; explanation of the OST process 15 minutes Attendees put ideas for the OST event up on the wall 15 minutes Attendees review posted ideas and establish the agenda 45 to 60 minutes Discussion sessions 30 minutes Review of discussion sessions 10 minutes Closing remarks; statement of next steps Go-Along Interviews Go-along interviews are a method of qualitative research that can be used to gain information from grassroots participants and members of the neighborhood or community The emphasis is truly on “go along”: the researcher accompanies an individual or small group of people while they examine specific aspects the neighborhood or area firsthand R M Carpiano, a sociologist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B C , is a leader in this methodology, which largely has focused on projects related to health and community building By extension, this technique can be beneficial in public park and recreation settings as well Dr Carpiano indicates that go-along interviews are valuable for generating insight, to: • Explore and improve and understanding of people’s experiences with their immediate physical surroundings • Enhance an understanding of the social, cultural, and historic context that residents assign to the geographic area Source: R M Carpiano, 2009 Come take a walk with me: The “go-along” interview as a novel method for studying the implications of place for health and well-being Health & Place, 15:263–272 The Marvin Gaye Park and Go-Along Interviews Autumn Saxton-Ross, Ph D , a staff member of Washington Parks & People, used go-along interviews to gather information for Marvin Gaye Park Saxton-Ross’s work and results can serve as a model for others who desire to implement this participatory action research approach (See Parks & Recreation, September 2010) Ross-Saxon used a snowball sampling technique to select interview participants She conducted the interviews over a three-month period within the designated boundaries in the Marvin Gaye Park area The 24 questions she developed were aimed at determining participants’ definitions of neighborhood and community, their experiences with Marvin Gaye Park, their personal involvement and perceptions related to outdoor recreation, and their feelings of personal safety in light of recent changes in the park
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