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Exploring Social/Cultural Factors that Influence the Motivation of Muslim Women to Walk in Their Neighborhoods (A Case Study of Detroit Metro Area)

Mohebbi, Mehri
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6033-3526
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1561474879942593

Abstract Details

2019, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Regional Development Planning.
One’s gender, ethnic, and racial identification in urban life affect their social experiences, and as an example, their transportation choices. Investigating social factors (including gender identification) influencing Muslim women’s walking behavior is the core question of this dissertation. During the last two decades, the walkability discourse changed its emphasis from 5Ds (e.g., density, design, diversity, distance to transit, and destination accessibility) and their significance in promoting walking behavior to the interconnectedness of walkability and social equity. The level of accessibility to urban resources was depicted as one of the key drivers for social equity in urban areas. The essential point is that walkability discourse has predominantly focused on macro-scale studies that utilize federal and national data. This exaggerated emphasis on macro-scale data has diminished researchers’ ability to understand qualitative data and fine factors that impact one’s decision to walk or not walk in urban neighborhoods. Although there are studies focusing on social and cultural factors affecting walking behavior in the last ten years, there is an enormous lack of micro-scale studies, that are significant specifically in case studies targeting hard-to-reach population (e.g., Muslim community). Micro-scale studies reveal social inequalities and health disparities in urban areas, and deciphers individuals’ desires, needs, and concerns related to their multimodal transportation choices. Conducting micro-scale studies is even more critical for traditional communities with specific religious or cultural values, which limits their social life and diminish their access to urban opportunities. This dissertation focuses on socio ecological model of walking behavior and applies the model to Muslim women’s walking behavior in the Detroit Metro Area. For this dissertation, I draw first on a two year and half participant observation in public spaces, religious ceremonies, and personal interactions with Muslim women in observed cities in the Detroit Metro area. After a long pre-recruitment process, I came up with criteria to identify gatekeepers to access the community to ease recruitment of Muslim women for semi-structured interviews. The second phase of this study consisted of 78 semi-structured interviews with Muslim women in the Detroit Metro Area. Each interview took between 35 and 120 minutes. Study participants were Muslim women in the age range of 18-55 residing in the Detroit Metro Area. The preliminary findings of the study revealed that different forms of microaggression played a significant role in discouraging Muslim women from walking in their own neighborhoods. Two following factors were also considerably mentioned by study participants: 1) the percentage of Muslims living in every observed urban neighborhood (representing the level of residential segregation) and 2) their feeling of being discriminated against in their own urban neighborhood.
Carla Chifos, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Annulla Linders, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Danilo Palazzo, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
199 p.
Urban Planning
Interview Study; Religious Microaggression; Muslim Women; Multimodal Transportation; Qualitative Method; Community Immersion

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Mohebbi, M. (2019). Exploring Social/Cultural Factors that Influence the Motivation of Muslim Women to Walk in Their Neighborhoods (A Case Study of Detroit Metro Area) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1561474879942593

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Mohebbi, Mehri. Exploring Social/Cultural Factors that Influence the Motivation of Muslim Women to Walk in Their Neighborhoods (A Case Study of Detroit Metro Area). 2019. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1561474879942593.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Mohebbi, Mehri. "Exploring Social/Cultural Factors that Influence the Motivation of Muslim Women to Walk in Their Neighborhoods (A Case Study of Detroit Metro Area)." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1561474879942593

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1561474879942593
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.