Community Assessment



Community Assessment

Introduction

A Windshield Survey can be described as a form of information gathered by an individual after traversing through a particular neighborhood. It is an observational evaluation that aims at revealing particular aspects of the community such as available resources, community safety, communal relations, societal values, state of housing and zoning, the forms of ethnicity and race, open space and service centers, religion and politics, boundaries, stores, street health and morbidity as well as any common signs of decay media. This paper presents a Windshield Survey of San Francisco City Suburbs. Through personal experience, the paper presents a number of reflection concepts and the entire survey findings (Providence Bicycle Coalition, 2009).

A Windshield Survey of San Francisco City Suburbs

A Windshield Survey can be described as a form of information gathered by an individual after traversing through a particular neighborhood. It is an observational evaluation that aims at revealing particular aspects of the community such as available resources, community safety, communal relations, societal values, state of housing and zoning, the forms of ethnicity and race, open space and service centers, religion and politics, boundaries, stores, street health and morbidity as well as any common signs of decay media. The information gathered through a windshield survey is useful to a nurse especially in identifying purposeful information that can aid in recognizing inclinations, predicaments, needs, organizations, practices and other aspects that establish the state of health in a particular community. To analyze the components of a particular community acquired through a Windshield Survey; the concept of healthy cities becomes imperative ()Macfie, 2009. This paper presents a windshield survey with a reflection of the conditions of San Francisco neighborhood. The survey was carried on the 3rd and 4th days of August 2011. Through personal experience, the paper presents a number of reflection concepts and the entire survey findings (Gow, 2000).

Cities and towns are important for health and wellbeing

Although United States portrays a rural image, the country has become increasingly urbanised. A century ago, half of all United Statesers lived in an urban area; now the proportion in that category has reached 86 percent. The urban category includes United States's 16 major urban areas, as well as smaller towns and settlements:

Box 1: United State's urban areas

Statistics United State's rural/urban profile divides United State's population into seven categories on a rural-urban continuum. Three of these fit within the PHAC's definition of 'urban':

Main urban areas are Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Gisborne, Napier-Hastings, New Plymouth, Whanganui, Palmerston North, Kapiti, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill.

Satellite urban communities are towns and settlements with strong links to a main urban area (for example, Waikanae and Huntly).

Independent urban communities are towns and settlements, often in rural areas, with independence from main urban areas (for example, Westport, Masterton and Hawera).

Urban areas provide people with a range of opportunities (Ewing & Bartholomew et al. 2008). The economic and educational potential of urban areas tends to attract people, and the social and cultural potential is what makes cities and towns enjoyable places ...