Photovoice Elevates Community Voices on Greenspace and Health

The Southwest Center on Resilience for Climate and Health (SCORCH) recently led the Greenspaces and Health Photovoice Study. The project culminated in a public exhibition that highlighted how community perspectives can inform future planning and design. CAPLA’s Ashley Danforth and Shujuan Li participated in the endeavor. 

“This is a project studying how greenspaces impact health using a participatory research method,” said Maiya Block Ngaybe, postdoctoral research associate and adjunct faculty with SCORCH. “Participants are asked to be the researchers, collecting data about their lived experiences in their community through pictures.”

Photovoice was jointly proposed by scholars from CAPLA and the College of Public Health. 

“It is a great example of CAPLA’s commitment to shaping the built environment in the Sonoran Desert and beyond through research, service and practice,” Li, professor of landscape architecture and urban planning, said.

Danforth, a recent graduate, participated in the project while in the MLA program at CAPLA. 

“Members from CAPLA were able to help participants further analyze influencing ecological and design factors that may have contributed to their experiences in our unique Sonoran Desert region,” she said. 

Danforth said the best part of pursuing a degree at CAPLA is that there are so many opportunities at your fingertips, such as this one. 

“With combined knowledge from my courses, graduate research work, club involvement and personal interest in staying engaged in community organization, I felt prepared to join our Photovoice team and give the project my best,” she said. 

Li said opportunities like this are important for the development of CAPLA students.

“Participation in this type of project promotes interdisciplinary training for students by integrating scientific, community and design research with design practice to better serve communities,” she said. 

Danforth learned a lot from her involvement, but the most meaningful lesson was the importance of dialogue and connection within communities. 

“Participants gave their time and personal stories to make this project come to life, demonstrating how sharing experiences can unite people and inspire collective action,” she said. 

Photovoice shifts traditional research by positioning community members as experts on their own experiences. Participants documented how parks, trees and other green areas affect their daily lives and then worked together to identify themes that emerged.

“Community members know better than anyone what is going on and have the chance to also share their story more truthfully than a researcher could,” Block Ngaybe said. 

The project engaged residents from heat-vulnerable, mosquito-prone and low tree-equity neighborhoods in Tucson. Their contributions revealed how greenspaces support physical, mental and spiritual health while also fostering family connections, community-building and stress relief.

“As we took pictures in the community, I became aware of green spaces,” Participant Maria Ramirez-Trillo said. “I was no longer taking for granted what was around me.”

Participants also identified challenges, including safety concerns, maintenance issues, hostile design elements and the loss of shade from tree removal and renovations. 

Image

The exhibition, held at the Lionel Rombach Gallery on March 31, featured photographs and reflections from 13 community researchers and created opportunities for discussion among residents, researchers and visitors.

“Community-driven projects are more valid since it’s straight from the community rather than interpreted by researchers,” Block Ngaybe said. 

Involving residents directly in the research process helps create spaces that communities value and support, ultimately improving use of those spaces and strengthening community health.

“I hope people can appreciate the beauty around us if we take the time to look,” Ramirez-Trillo said. “The pictures we took became a small attempt to capture what is important to keep our communities vibrant.”

Researchers are continuing the work with a survey examining greenspace preferences across Southern Arizona. The ongoing effort aims to ensure future planning and design decisions reflect the priorities and lived experiences of the communities they serve.

Visit the exhibition site here.