From Stories to Strategy: Oral Histories as Qualitative Evidence For Neighborhood Planning

Author

Randip K. Parhar, CUNY Graduate CenterFollow

Date of Degree

9-2025

Document Type

Master's Capstone Project

Degree Name

Master of Science

Program

Data Analysis & Visualization

Advisor

James Lowry

Keywords

Data Analysis, Text Analysis, Data Visualization, Oral Histories, Public Libraries, R

Abstract

Developments in neighborhood planning have sought more grounded and community- engaged approaches to space and service design. This capstone project examines how oral history recordings can serve as a data source for neighborhood planning. It asks “How can computational methods of analysis be applied to oral history recordings to provide a source of information for neighborhood planning?” using Jamaica, Queens, as a testbed. Using R as a computational tool, the project applies foundational text mining techniques, such as term frequency analysis, n-gram analysis, and topic modeling, to explore patterns and themes within the recorded narratives. These methods can provide a data-driven overview that helps guide and inform a deeper, qualitative interpretation. This project's intended audience is city officials, urban planners, and public librarians, who may benefit from its insights into how empirical data from oral histories can be incorporated as a planning practice for informed neighborhood planning.

Recommended Citation

Parhar, Randip K., "From Stories to Strategy: Oral Histories as Qualitative Evidence For Neighborhood Planning" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6472