Writing a Critical Appraisal

Critical Appraisal of healing in place of decline . Hamilton , Canada

Landscapes of a place provide for hurting or healing an individual living in the place . A place of residence provides identity and security to the person . It is the setting of daily life (Gesler 1992 , 1993 Porteous .1990 . With improvement in economic conditions industrial places were labeled as `places of decline . Access to unadulterated nature and to green space has become central to conceptions of individual health and community well being (Gesler , 1993 de Vries et el 2003 Takano et al 2002

.Certain places may become stigmatized and the people living in these places are assumed to lack awareness Individuals rarely identify their own neighborhood as polluted in relation to others (Bush et al 2001 and Bickerstaff and Walker 2001

The main objective of the case study made by Sarah Wakefield and Colin McMullan on Hamilton , an industrial city in Canada is to establish that - renegotiation of local place image is central to the maintenance of wellbeing of its residents

The Central theme of this study is based on , how healing processes play a part in less than pristine places , unhealthy places . The case study includes in depth interviews with local residents , local officials and reports with details of s of the areas and the feedback responses from the respondents between July 1996 and March 1999 . Three separate research programs conducted in two suburban communities .It had a sample population of respondents with maximum difference in age gender , distance from site of pollution , neighbor hood types respiratory health , with or without children and members of local and environmental group . The third group also consisted of prominent Municipal members , representatives of the local government , health and social service organizations . Data collected from different groups tape-recorded interviews transcribed and analyzed developed a set of key themes of relevance .They told similar stories . Steel industry formed the backbone of Hamilton and the people here earned more .The city appeared a smoke piled , ugly industrial wasteland known as the `Birmingham of Canada (Peace , 1989 ,

.76 ) with the image of an `ugly blue collar town (Elliot .1999 . Northeast Hamilton had a bigger proportion of low income households , low in education , more unemployed less ethnically diverse and high home owners . The physical environment of Hamilton was hazardous , with local harbor being the dumping ground for sewage and industrial waste . The Socio-demographic figures on Ontario 's health survey , endorse the above facts . Air pollution remains with dust smoke odor , making an extensive effect on daily life . Social and environmental ills of north-east Hamilton make it a poorer health place than the rest of the city

Over the last four years , extensive cleanup efforts have been taken Effort made on image makeover began with citizens reorienting themselves by associating with `good ' places that are recognized as healthy urban areas and alienating themselves from more polluted `bad ' areas like `North-end . The residents tried to reduce the social stigma of staying here , by taking pride in having home...