Attitudes Toward Controversial Human Services among Minority Populations

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9308857 TAKAHASHI Considerable research has been devoted by scholars to analysis of individual and collective reactions to the siting of controversial facilities, which are recognized as necessary but are seen as undesirable when situated nearby. Although many studies have focused on the dynamics of "NIMBY" (not in my back yard) responses to "LULUs" (locally undesirable land uses) that have negative physical environmental externalities, much less attention has been given to the analysis of reactions to human- service facilities like homeless shelters and facilities for treatment of people infected with AIDS. Initial studies of community reactions to such facilities disclosed that gender, income, and other socio-economic characteristics are highly correlated with individual and collective acceptance of these activities. National attitudinal studies indicated that interregional, intraregional, and other locational factors may also influence community acceptance of human-service facilities. This Research Planning Grant will enable a capable and productive young geographer to begin examination of attitudinal variations among different ethnic and racial minority groups. Questions in a national survey first administered in the late 1980s will be adapted to take into account cultural and linguistic differences among several minority populations, with pilot tests of modified instruments conducted on a set of minority groups in Orange County, California. Results from these pretests will be used to refine national survey instruments so that they elicit better information regarding socio-demographic variations in attitudes toward human-service facilities and other LULUs. This award will move a promising line of research on an important topic through a critical phase in the development and testing of instruments designed to elicit critical information about variations in attitudes among different groups of people. By improving data-collection procedures, this line of research will better contribute to general understandings about the human geography of individual and community attitudes regarding siting of contentious land uses. The award also will provide a valuable boost to the independent research career of a highly qualified woman who has not previous received federal research support. ***