Since I last wrote, I got back my feedback on my initial proposal, met with the potential project partners, and have continued to read books that I find relevant to the subject matter that I might be interested in talking about. I then followed up with my advisor this past week–which helped me define the relationship that I wanted to have with the project partners going forward, and begin my work in finalizing the question through rigorous background research and analysis of my interests. One major piece of feedback I got on my proposal is that I need to be able to narrow the exploration down. This made sense–I was intentionally broad with my focus because I wasn’t sure in terms of the methodology, focus, or related facets of my research. I will use this blog to help narrow down these interests.
The biggest piece of feedback I recieved was that my topic needed to be narrowed, with particular potential solutions given as options such as converting suburbs into denser pedestrian pockets, reverting suburbs into nature and shifting demands back into cities. I think that while all of these interest me, the two concepts that interest me the most are suburbs to nature and shifting demands towards city living, with a strong preference for the latter. This is for two reasons. Firstly, my interests primarily revolve around the practical “how will we get there” and the aspirational “what will it look like afterwards”. These apply to both, but naturally lean closer to the idea of actually practically looking for ways to get the demand for suburban living to reduce and making urban settings more appealing. Another piece of feedback was to avoid the utopian, which naturally leans more towards the practical nature of looking to shift demands.
I also think that this leans towards my interests because a primary interest of mine is looking at how government rulemaking is relevant to demand and the results. Especially in the US, zoning laws can be so restrictive that suburban single-family homes and single-use zoning are the only viable strategies, but the rulemaking doesn’t change because the common perception of “ideal living” is so heavily intertwined with suburban living and car-use. The types of legal development obviously does differ elsewhere, but perceptions of aspirationality being associated with housing definitely do exist elsewhere (especially in relationship to raising children). This opens up multiple threads for further research–should I potentially look at reasons that people believe suburbs are better in general or for children/urban design facets that would make them willing to move to urban settings? This, while interesting, would probably not be new research. Nor would I be sure on how to transform it into innovative/publishable research. The testability/practicality of this interest remains a major question for me that I’m not quite sure how to evaluate, though I do think the innovative aspect will come as I continue to read more literature on this subject.
The other feedback I recieved was centering my question geographically/temporally. Though the temporal aspect is more clear to me (in the present with a prospective interest in the future), but the geographic aspect is more interesting to me since I do think suburban development is a phenomenon that exists everywhere. My primary experience with this topic is obviously the American context–and this is indeed how I became interested in the subject, so if I had to explicitly decide I am inclined to potentially specifically talk about America. That being said, the British/Scottish context does interest me too—and indeed the same phenomena of suburban development becoming more common over urban development is present even in Edinburgh, so a broader look (or even comparison?) could interest me as well.
I do think where I need further guidance is in terms of figuring out how to turn my general idea into a specific testable question. The theory is one thing–the easier one to work on–so that I can decide where in this broad idea I want to focus on–but methodology remains a big stressor for me.
I think going forward, my blogs will definitely focus on literature that can help me learn more about this topic and guide my inquiry.
12 March 2025 at 11:31
Your blog thoughtfully navigates the challenge of narrowing your research focus, particularly in exploring suburban vs. urban living preferences and the impact of government rulemaking. Incorporating behavioural studies or digital planning tools could strengthen your methodology and provide innovative insights. Keep questioning, learning, and building on these insights!