A PSYCHO-SOCIAL IMPACT ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN NEW JERSEY'S PINE BARRENS.
Item
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Title
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A PSYCHO-SOCIAL IMPACT ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN NEW JERSEY'S PINE BARRENS.
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Identifier
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AAI8401953
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identifier
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8401953
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Creator
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RUBINSTEIN, NORA JANE.
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Contributor
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Leanne Rivlin
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Date
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1983
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, General
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Abstract
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This study concerns the 1.1 million acre region of Southern New Jersey known as the Pine Barrens. Its location in the heart of the East coast megalopolitan corridor has made it attractive to developers, while its unusual ecological qualities, its flora and fauna, vast supplies of pure water and extensive and valuable farm land have made its future growth patterns a source of heated debate among developers, environmentalists, farmers and many others. Designated as the first National Reserve in a program parallel to the National Parks, but designed to incorporate populated areas, it co-ordinated federal and state agencies in an attempt to plan future patterns by "preserving" particular sub-regions while promoting growth in others. The traditional landscapes have however been altered, impacting the traditional managers of the land, known locally as Pineys. This thesis examines the nature of environmental change in the region, the process of identity formation, and relationships between multiple user groups, and the impacts of change agents such as the Pinelands Commission on psychological and social values for the land, focussing on the long term residents of the Pine Barrens.;The method used was participant observation, and utilized archival analysis, networking, observation and attendance at local meetings and celebrations, exploration, visiting, interviewing, and the maintenance of an on-going record in journal form.;A conceptual model is presented which posits the existence in any given individual, of a Parson-ian "moving equilibrium" between divergent value sets. These include independence and interdependence, stasis and change, control and loss of control. They are considered fundamental to assessments of the positive or negative consequences of change and to the ascription of identity as developer, environmentalist, farmer, clammer, hunter or Piney. It is suggested that an understanding of the values of multiple user groups including those less likely to participate in the formal contexts of planning is not only appropriate, but necessary to effective regional planning. Recommendations are made for the development of a management plan by those most affected by its provisions, in conjunction with multiple interested publics, rather than as a product of external agencies and lobbyists.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
