This research aims to delve into the critical role of public funding in providing vital nutritional and educational resources for low-income families residing in Flint, Michigan, specifically those with children under 18. By aiming to shed light on the significant link between access to sufficient and nutritious food and educational opportunities supported by public funding. Analyzing previous research on this topic, comparing the similarities, and examining the holes in the research. This research seeks to provide a thorough understanding of how these vital aspects affect the well-being and prospects of children in Flint. In particular, the research will highlight the direct impact of public funding on food insecurity, food assistance, and education, a pressing issue faced by many families in the area.

City plans guide the development of infrastructure and public services in an area, but there is a growing emphasis on cultural planning. According to scholars like Kovacs (2011) and Ashley et al. (2021), cultural plans are a framework for improving community and economic development by integrating the arts and a neighborhood's values in the planning system. This shift reflects a broader understanding of how culture plays a vital role in the growth of an environment through building place identity, fostering social cohesion and supporting financial revitalization. This project examines about 90 cultural plans from cities nationwide to gain insight into how they engage with social justice themes such as equity and diversity in the planning process to shape more inclusive and representative landscapes. We began by analyzing existing plans, searching for terms indicative of cultural consideration such as gentrification and traditions, to explore how existing cultural development plans address questions surrounding crime, race and belonging. We aim to assess how municipalities define and prioritize communities in order to uncover the benefits and limitations of using cultural planning as a tool for equity and inclusion. By identifying what is emphasized and what is overlooked, this study highlights opportunities to strengthen cultural plans so they better reflect the diverse needs and voices of communities.

As gentrification reshapes historically disadvantaged communities, the experiences of longtime residents are often overshadowed by narratives of rebranding and economic growth. These changes can alter the character of a community, displacing lower-income residents and disrupting its cultural fabric. As a result, those who remain are often left in a neighborhood that no longer reflects their history or identity. Chicago provides a critical context for examining the impact of gentrification on social cohesion and community well-being, given its history of segregation and racialized housing policies. Unlike studies focused on displacement and demographic change, this research examines the impact of a changing neighborhood on the long-term residents who remain. The research examines the effects of gentrification-related neighborhood change on these residents' wellbeing, particularly as it affects social networks and sense of belonging. This study draws aggregate-level data from the Healthy Chicago Survey, an annual community health assessment conducted since 2014. The dataset compiles publicly available variables from multiple survey cycles and includes measures of social, economic, and physical health from all 77 community areas. Stata will be used to evaluate how indicators of neighborhood transformation correlate with perceived social cohesion and self-reported wellbeing. The findings of this study aim to assess the impact of neighborhood-level gentrification indicators on the aggregate wellbeing outcomes reported in the Healthy Chicago Survey. This research contributes to a growing body of work examining the public health and psychosocial consequences of neighborhood change. Understanding these relationships may provide insight into the connection between wellbeing and changing neighborhood conditions.

Understanding how regional dialects are perceived across the United States offers critical insights at the intersection of sociolinguistics and social psychology. From a social psychological perspective, dialects function as social cues that influence identity formation, group affiliation, and implicit bias. Stereotypes and linguistic ideologies, often learned in early childhood. They contribute to social judgments about speakers and reinforce perceptions of in-group versus out-group membership. Building on research in language variation, dialect perception, and intergroup attitudes, we investigate how region of origin, social exposure, and familiarity with dialects shape listener evaluations of speech. Using an online survey, we examined dialectal attitudes between speakers from three major American English dialect regions: the South, the Midland, and the West. We hypothesized that listeners would favor their own regional dialect while exhibiting differing degrees of negativity toward others. Additionally, we explored how geographic mobility and perceptual familiarity impacts dialect classification and evaluation. Our research shows how social psychological mechanisms—such as group identity, stereotype formation, and perceptual categorizations shape dialectal ideologies and contribute to broader social dynamics. This work advances both sociolinguistic theory and social psychological research by highlighting how language functions as both a marker of identity and a site of social judgment, which we see with historically stigmatized groups like the Southern dialect. By better understanding the underlying social dynamics fueling inter-group judgments, we can more mindfully combat stereotyping and its real world consequences.