Community engagement is key to the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government’s work, and UGA students are exploring how to do so with creative, innovative research methods.
When Vinson Fellow Claire Scafidi embarked on a research project to inform design decisions for revitalizing a Gainesville neighborhood , she began with demographic resources such as census data and Qpublic.
But her work didn’t stop there—she took it into the field. Driving around Gainesville, the international affairs and Latin American and Caribbean studies major noticed that many small businesses along the corridor represented three countries: Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Scafidi leveraged knowledge gained from her studies to identify flag colors, national birds (playing off Gainesville’s reputation as Poultry Capital of the World) and indigenous textiles. The resulting project proposes public art that showcases such elements as a reflection of the community.
“It’s fun to be creative and look at different ways to solve a problem,” Scafidi said. “This project tied into my areas of study and allowed me to apply my academic knowledge in a real-world setting.”
This spring, she was honored with a Best Paper Award at UGA’s Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO) Symposium.
Her mentor, Leigh Askew Elkins, who manages the institute’s planning, engagement and policy unit, has partnered with Gainesville for more than a decade. Projects informed by the Institute of Government’s research and community engagement work have helped generate more than $318 million in private investment for the city.
“This research dovetailed perfectly with our efforts to create a collective vision for the Atlanta Highway corridor. It opens new areas of understanding of a vibrant part of the community before we launch a robust public input process this summer and fall,” Elkins said.
Scafidi credits the fellowship with expanding her understanding of effective public service.
“This experience taught me how you can make such a difference. It showed how much we can do from a bottom-up perspective and create awesome communities resilient to outside changes,” she said.
The institute also tapped into its longtime partnership with the UGA College of Environment + Design to address infrastructure concerns in the neighborhood.
Graduate students in Doug Pardue’s landscape architecture studio class developed and facilitated on-site, interactive “game-style” activities to gauge community needs.
Noting the lack of pedestrian-friendly spaces and adequate lighting, the students recommend transforming underused parking lots into temporary community plazas. Such pop-up plazas—with movable furniture, flexible shade and community-created street art— offer colorful public spaces that can improve quality of life.
Laying the groundwork for future engagement gives the Institute of Government leverage moving into the next phase of work.
“The solutions recommended by these students will help residents envision what’s possible in their neighborhoods and reflect their needs. It’s a great way to showcase UGA talent and serve the community,” Elkins said.
For more about the Vinson Fellows program, visit https://cviog.uga.edu/about/student-opportunities/vinson-fellows-program.html
For more about the UGA College of Environment and Design, visit https://ced.uga.edu/