4,441 research outputs found

    Creating Change through Arts, Culture, and Equitable Development: A Policy and Practice Primer

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    Across the nation, artistic and cultural practices are helping to define the sustainability of urban, rural, and suburban neighborhoods. In the design of parks and open spaces; the building of public transit, housing, and supermarkets; in plans for addressing needs for community health and healing trauma; communities are embracing arts and culture strategies to help create equitable communities of opportunity where everyone can participate, prosper, and achieve their full potential. And artists are seeing themselves -- and being seen by others -- as integral community members whose talents, crafts, and insights pave the way to support community engagement and cohesion."Creating Change through Arts, Culture, and Equitable Development: A Policy and Practice Primer" highlights both promising and proven practices that demonstrate equity-focused arts and culture policies, strategies, and tools. The report describes the role of arts and culture across the nine sectors below. Within each policy chart there are goals, policies, and implementation strategies that can help achieve communities of opportunity. These policies have yielded such outcomes as: support for Native artists in reservation-based cultural economies, the creation of a citywide cultural plan, engaging low-income youth of color in using digital media, and efforts to address redevelopment, employment, food access, and environmental justice

    Senior Cohousing: An Alternative for Hawaii's Elderly

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    Hawaii has a high elderly population compared to the mainland United States. There are a number of factors that contribute to the high percentage of elderly in Hawaii, which includes lifestyle, weather, genetics, and diet, to name but a few. Currently, there are a limited number of housing options available for the elderly in Hawaii. Current forecasts indicate an increase in the retirement population, which will further stress the elderly housing situation of the State. The theory of senior cohousing communities, as an alternative form of elderly housing in Hawaii, is based on a literature review of the historical successes already in practice in other locations outside of Hawaii. Case studies of faith-based organizations in Hawaii that exemplify designing, building, and living in community were chosen, analyzed, and incorporated into a prototype design that is reflective of Hawaii. Surveys of senior residents, currently living in a community setting in Hawaii, were conducted. GIS mapping was utilized to determine the optimal site selection for locating community resources that are vital to the elderly population. Senior cohousing communities can offer seniors the security of living amongst other seniors who will be integral members in their daily lives. Faith-based organizations can be the foundation upon which these communities are built. Inherent components of these organizations could include land holdings, outreach social services, parish ministries, and community-service programs. All of these can play a vital role in the success of these communities. Senior cohousing communities can be another alternative to the current senior housing options available in Hawaii. The compilation of this project’s research and findings has resulted in a guideline that can aid the public in the process, site selection and design to further the development of such communities

    Physical Activity and the Built Environment Among Adults on O‘ahu.

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    Ph.D. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2018

    Honoring Indigenous Knowledge: First Nations Annual Report 2020

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    First Nations recognizes that accessing healthy food is a challenge for many Native American children and families. Without access to healthy food, a nutritious diet and good health are outof reach. To increase access to healthy food, we support tribes and Native communities as they build sustainable food systems that improve health, strengthen food security and economies, increase control over Native agriculture and food systems, and promote Native food sovereignty

    First Nations Annual Report 2020

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    The year 2020 is not one that will be forgotten.On the 40th Anniversary year of First NationsDevelopment Institute, the world experienceda deadly pandemic and the aftershocks thatcontinue to plague communities locally andglobally

    Nā Pua Makani Wind Farm: The Shifting Winds of Renewable Development in Hawaiʻi

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    In 2015, Hawaiʻi set the most ambitious renewable energy portfolio goal in the nation by vowing to reach 100% renewable energy by 2045. Since then, many renewable energy development projects in Hawaiʻi have been met with strong community opposition, including the Nā Pua Makani wind farm (NPM) in Kahuku. The aim of this project is to analyze the process timeline of NPM to identify factors in the development process that contributed to organized protest, and to offer recommendations for improving the process. In order to get a full picture of the events throughout the Nā Pua Makani project’s timeline, my research involved analysis of documents from the Public Utilities Commission and interviews with the stakeholders including residents of the impacted communities, legal representatives, and representatives from the final developer. Throughout my research, I found that poor community engagement was a key component of the conflict surrounding NPM. Subsequently, I use a development framework outlined in the United Nations’ Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) Manual to identify how NPM fell short in their community engagement process, and recommend that the Hawaiian Electric Company include language within their request for proposals requiring a signed consent agreement between the developer and host community. Additionally, I review how NPM has changed the renewable development landscape in Hawaiʻi to date, and explore development options alternative to utility-scale projects that may have less impact on environmental justice communities

    A Musically Embedded Curriculum for Rural Elementary Schools

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    Rural school districts across the nation have been at a crossroads for decades. The amount of funding and resources provided to these small towns is often meager and falls short to provide the schools and students with the proper education, teacher training, curriculum, building maintenance, and other necessary educational materials. School officials and board members in these areas across the nation each year have had to make the hard decisions of what to prioritize and what will have to fall by the wayside. Unfortunately, cuts in budgetary and educational reform have regularly faced music education programs and it has become easier and easier for these school districts to reduce prioritization of the arts. However, since the rural education districts make up approximately one-third of the nation’s schools, this is no longer something that can be ignored. While funding issues may not have easy solutions, and families sometimes do not have the choice or opportunity to move their child into a district with ample funding, a bridge needs to be built. Statistics show that students who have an opportunity to express themselves in this artistic manner in school are happier, more willing to complete work in other subject areas, and excited to attend school each day. This study seeks to offer realistic solutions to the lack of music education opportunities in these rural elementary environments. This study aims to demonstrate that with the careful selection of music curriculum that works to embed the skills of music with other necessary skills in other subject areas, professionals in these rural school environments can bring the enrichment of music education to the general classroom no matter the educator’s musical skill level. We are a nation that seeks to constantly find ways to approach standards from cross-curricular foundations where students can be introduced to necessary skill sets from a variety of perspectives and subject areas. This can also be true for the arts and used for the greater good of all students – not just those naturally gifted in creative patterns. The use of a musically embedded elementary curriculum for the rural education setting gives general educators opportunities to expose students to musical outlets and therefore offering them a wider perspective of their futures

    Carbon Free Boston: Social equity report 2019

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    OVERVIEW: In January 2019, the Boston Green Ribbon Commission released its Carbon Free Boston: Summary Report, identifying potential options for the City of Boston to meet its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The report found that reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 requires three mutually-reinforcing strategies in key sectors: 1) deepen energy efficiency while reducing energy demand, 2) electrify activity to the fullest practical extent, and 3) use fuels and electricity that are 100 percent free of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The Summary Report detailed the ways in which these technical strategies will transform Boston’s physical infrastructure, including its buildings, energy supply, transportation, and waste management systems. The Summary Report also highlighted that it is how these strategies are designed and implemented that matter most in ensuring an effective and equitable transition to carbon neutrality. Equity concerns exist for every option the City has to reduce GHG emissions. The services provided by each sector are not experienced equally across Boston’s communities. Low-income families and families of color are more likely to live in residences that are in poor physical condition, leading to high utility bills, unsafe and unhealthy indoor environments, and high GHG emissions.1 Those same families face greater exposure to harmful outdoor air pollution compared to others. The access and reliability of public transportation is disproportionately worse in neighborhoods with large populations of people of color, and large swaths of vulnerable neighborhoods, from East Boston to Mattapan, do not have ready access to the city’s bike network. Income inequality is a growing national issue and is particularly acute in Boston, which consistently ranks among the highest US cities in regards to income disparities. With the release of Imagine Boston 2030, Mayor Walsh committed to make Boston more equitable, affordable, connected, and resilient. The Summary Report outlined the broad strokes of how action to reach carbon neutrality intersects with equity. A just transition to carbon neutrality improves environmental quality for all Bostonians, prioritizes socially vulnerable populations, seeks to redress current and past injustice, and creates economic and social opportunities for all. This Carbon Free Boston: Social Equity Report provides a deeper equity context for Carbon Free Boston as a whole, and for each strategy area, by demonstrating how inequitable and unjust the playing field is for socially vulnerable Bostonians and why equity must be integrated into policy design and implementation. This report summarizes the current landscape of climate action work for each strategy area and evaluates how it currently impacts inequity. Finally, this report provides guidance to the City and partners on how to do better; it lays out the attributes of an equitable approach to carbon neutrality, framed around three guiding principles: 1) plan carefully to avoid unintended consequences, 2) be intentional in design through a clear equity lens, and 3) practice inclusivity from start to finish

    Ma Kahana ka ‘Ike, Lessons from Kahana, O‘ahu: Building Capacity for Community-Based Coastal Resource Management

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    M.S. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2018
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