Virtue Ethics,Social Difference,and the Challenge of an Embodied Politics

Following the revival of virtue theory, some moral theorists have argued that virtue ethics can provide the basis for a radical politics. Such a politics essentially departs from the liberal model of the moral agent as an autonomous reason‐giver. It instead privileges an understanding of the agent as conditioned by her community, and in the case of social oppression and marginalization, communal virtues may become a vehicle for social change. This essay compares political appropriations of virtue theory by Christian theologian Stanley Hauerwas and secular feminist thinkers Lisa Tessman and Margaret Urban Walker. Hauerwas and feminist theorists both embrace a kind of embodied vulnerability as a political virtue, arguing that it enables more genuine social recognition. The virtue feminist critique is more robust than Hauerwas's, however, insofar as it understands mutual recognition to involve acknowledgment of social difference and the concomitant pursuit of justice.     

A Walk in the Invisible City

This essay discusses the performative interventions of the contemporary Belgian artist Francis Alÿs in Mexico City and how they create a critical focus on urban reality in the Latin American mega-cities, and outline ways of intervention and interaction in the modern disassociation of the city’s economical, social, and cultural levels, taking up the challenge to suggest their unity through imagination and art.     

Changes in road-user behaviors following the installation of raised pedestrian crosswalks combined with preceding speed humps,on urban arterials

In this study, raised pedestrian crosswalks were installed at non-signalized mid-block crosswalks situated on urban arterial and collector roads. A raised crosswalk is built by installing a trapezoidal speed hump on the crosswalk area, building a preceding circular speed hump, in each travel direction, and adding traffic signs. A controlled field-study was conducted at eight sites, sixteen pedestrian crosswalks, where road user behaviors were compared in the after versus before the treatment periods. Two settings of raised crosswalks were applied at the study sites: a 15 cm high trapezoidal hump combined with 8–10 cm high circular humps, and a 10–12 cm high trapezoidal hump combined with 6–8 cm high circular humps. Field observations included video-recordings and free-flow speed measurements. Following the installation of the raised crosswalks, at most sites, a substantial decrease was observed in vehicle travel speeds while approaching the crosswalks, which was maintained over-time. In addition, at some crosswalks, improvements were found in the rates of giving-way to pedestrians by the vehicles, vehicle-pedestrian conflicts and shares of pedestrians who cross within the crosswalk boundaries, while the changes in keeping safe crossing rules by pedestrians were mixed. Overall, the changes in road user behaviors following the installation of the raised crosswalks were positive and associated with safety improvement of pedestrian crossing conditions. Based on the study results, raised crosswalks with preceding speed humps can be promoted as a pedestrian safety-improving measure on busy urban roads.     

Contributions of the relational context to career adaptability among urban adolescents

The combined and unique contributions of four relational factors to four dimensions of career adaptability were examined for a sample of 322 urban high school students. When all variables were considered simultaneously, canonical analysis revealed that support from family, teachers, and close friends, and peer beliefs about school contributed significantly to the explanation of the four dimensions of career adaptability, school identification, perceptions of educational barriers, career outcome expectations, and career planning. When controlling for the other relational variables, family support contributed unique variance to the explanation of perceptions of educational barriers and career outcome expectations. Teacher support contributed uniquely to school identification and perceived peer beliefs contributed uniquely to perceptions of educational barriers and school identification.     

Implementing a teacher-student relationship program in a high-poverty urban school: Effects on social, emotional, and academic adjustment and lessons learned

The primary purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of a program designed to improve adolescents' relationships with at least one teacher in an urban high school. All participating students were nominated by teachers as having significant emotional and behavioral problems and approximately half of these youth were randomly assigned to an intervention that included increased positive involvement between each student and one teacher within the school. Teacher ratings of students' social, behavioral, emotional, and academic adjustment at pre- and post-intervention indicated that students in the intervention group had higher grade point averages than did students in the control group following the 5-month intervention but no differences were observed on other variables. Challenges associated with conducting school-based, relationship-focused interventions in high-poverty urban environments and several lessons that were learned in the process of initiating this project are discussed.     

Community Gardening: A Parsimonious Path to Individual, Community, and Environmental Resilience

The goal of this paper is to introduce community gardening as a promising method of furthering well-being and resilience on multiple levels: individual, social group, and natural environment. We examine empirical evidence for the benefits of gardening, and we advocate the development and testing of social ecological models of community resilience through examination of the impact of community gardens, especially in urban areas. The definition of community is extended beyond human social ties to include connections with other species and the earth itself, what Berry (1988) has called an Earth community. We discuss the potential contribution of an extensive network of community gardens to easing the global climate change crisis and address the role of community psychologists in community gardening research and policy-oriented action.     

Changing Meanings Through Art: A Systematization of a Psychosocial Intervention with Chilean Women in Urban Poverty Situation

This study explores the experiences that women in urban poverty situation have about their participation in a psychosocial group intervention mediated by artistic techniques. An investigation was done using a qualitative methodology. Participants were ten women older than 21 years old who live in Santiago de Chile in poverty situation. Two group evaluations were performed during the intervention process and once it was completed, ten individual semi-structure interviews. The information was analyzed following the proposals of Grounded Theory, identifying negative experience about tiredness and sacrifice related to the circumstances they live in. It was possible, at the same time, to describe the benefits of an artistic activity including a psychosocial work over the individual well-being. The artistic creation was revealed as a way of expression, of re-viewing oneself and the environment, and relaxation. Transformation is discussed concerning self-affirmation, reparation and transference of this experience in their lives, as a preventive and protective resource to overcome their problems.     

Workforce Support for Urban After‐School Programs: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities

Organized after‐school programs can mitigate risk and build resilience for youth in urban communities. Benefits rely on high‐quality developmental experiences characterized by a supportive environment, structured youth–adult interactions, and opportunities for reflective engagement. Programs in historically disenfranchised communities are underfunded; staff are transient, underpaid, and undertrained; and youth exhibit significant mental health problems which staff are variably equipped to address. Historically, after‐school research has focused on behavior management and social‐emotional learning, relying on traditional evidence‐based interventions designed for and tested in schools. However, after‐school workforce and resource limitations interfere with adoption of empirically supported strategies and youth health promotion. We have engaged in practice‐based research with urban after‐school programs in economically vulnerable communities for nearly two decades, toward building a resource‐efficient, empirically informed multitiered model of workforce support. In this paper, we offer first‐person accounts of four academic–community partnerships to illustrate common challenges, variability across programs, and recommendations that prioritize core skills underlying risk and resilience, align with individual program goals, and leverage without overextending natural routines and resources. Reframing obstacles as opportunities has revealed the application of mental health kernels to the after‐school program workforce support and inspired lessons regarding sustainability of partnerships and practice.     

How to improve the walking realm in a car-oriented city? (Dis)agreements between professionals

PurposeUrban environments and transport systems can enable and encourage walking, and therefore play a key role in climate action, public health, equity of access, and population wellbeing. The question, especially in cities that have been dominated by car traffic, is how? The challenge is heightened by the multidisciplinary involvements in the design, operation, and maintenance of urban infrastructure.This study examines the views of professionals from different disciplines involved in delivering walking environments in Auckland, New Zealand. The study examines agreements and disagreements regarding users’ needs, priorities, challenges, and evidence gaps for delivering quality walking environments in a car-dominated city.MethodsPrimary data were collected through an online survey (N = 28) and a focus group, both involving professionals active in urban design, road safety, transport planning, public health, urban development and strategy. Analysis involved content coding and comparing the frequency of responses across professional groups.ResultsThe results indicated a consensus on the complexity associated with providing walking environments, as well as the importance of the quality of street environments. The lack of priority given to walking, car-dominated environments, and the inability to deliver change were seen as challenges. The inputs suggested a negative chain reaction linking the low priority of walking and the lack of consensus relative to users’ experience. There appeared to be a lack of common understanding of users’ needs and experiences and a paucity of evidence on this topic.ConclusionThe findings suggest the need for urban retrofit rooted in a sound understanding of users’ needs and experiences, and walkability as a sub-system of the urban environment. Recommendations include higher interdisciplinary collaboration at the policy and practice level, reviewed delivery processes, and better-quality data.     

Behavioral Self‐Regulation,Early Academic Achievement,and the Effectiveness of Urban Schools for Low‐Income Ethnic Minority Children

The independent and joint associations between child behavioral self‐regulation ability and school effectiveness in relation to academic achievement were examined in a sample of low‐income African American (n = 132) and Latino (n = 198) children attending kindergarten and first grade across a large metropolitan area. Child behavioral self‐regulation and school effectiveness were positively associated with both reading and mathematics performance. School effectiveness moderated the effect of behavioral self‐regulation on reading but not math achievement. Lower child behavioral self‐regulation during early elementary school was associated with lower reading achievement the following year but only among children attending less effective schools. Behavioral self‐regulation was not related to reading achievement among children attending more effective schools. Implications of these findings for policies addressing disparities in early academic achievement are discussed.