Introduction
Nowadays, communities nationwide experience many issues that prevent them from prospering. Due to various barriers, members of underprivileged communities struggle not only financially and academically but also in terms of health and relationships. As a result, it is crucial to support such individuals. In the given case, a specific change effort targeting youth empowerment in an underserved urban neighborhood will be the center of attention, applying interpretive and radical planning.
Interpretive Planning
The first design that will be used is interpretive planning. The goal of this design is “to learn what is best as one responds to human need” (Netting & O’Connor, 2012, p.763). In this case, the first step is to conduct a community assessment. Communicating with community members, such as youth, parents, and organizations, will make it possible to determine the acute issues and solutions with accessible resources.
The next step will be to organize local meetings where each community member can be engaged. Establishing a secure environment for people is essential to enabling them to voice their worries (Netting & O’Connor, 2012). Furthermore, with the help of the previous steps, collaborative goal setting and the co-creation of strategies will be attainable, considering members’ input. Finally, the change managers must maintain a line of communication for continuous feedback.
Radical Planning
Another design that will be applied in the change effort is radical planning. It involves “advocacy, transactive, and radical theoretical approaches to planning” (Netting & O’Connor, 2012, p.766). Aside from viewing the residents’ perspectives, addressing the systematic barriers that might take the form of advocacy will be essential. In order to bring change, empowerment will be among the pillars of successful outcomes (Netting & O’Connor, 2012).
Leadership programs, training sessions, and various platforms for self-growth for youth will be the main empowerment strategies. Besides empowerment, raising awareness and building coalitions are other essential aspects of effective results (Netting & O’Connor, 2012). Similar to the previous design, evaluation of results and adjustments will be required.
Conclusion
In summary, the case study focused on a transformation initiative using radical and interpretive planning to empower children in an underprivileged urban community. Interpretive planning, whose objective is to discover the optimal course of action when attending to human needs, is the first design that has to be applied. Radical planning, which combines transactive, radical conceptual planning approaches and representation, is another approach to transformation.
Reference
Netting, F. E., & O’Connor, M. K. (2012). Chapter 36: Program planning and implementation. In M. Weil, M. S. Reisch, & M. L. Ohmer (Eds.), The handbook of community practice (pp. 757-778). SAGE Publications.