It’s been some time since I have had the courage to post something on this that was not related to the material that I have been reading, but here’s something in light of recent events and the vacations.
A number of sources have advised on noting progress on the research project through it’s life cycle using a research journal of some kind. I have nothing of the sort yet, unless this blog counts for something. I really should have done detailed work on that though, considering the degrees by which my project has evolved. The only record I have of the material I have been reading and producing is the write-up collection I send my supervisor!
This is clearly not what an effective research student does. In this endeavor, I will now try to write a little something each day (this seems ambitious even as I write out the sentence), if just to clear my head and straighten my thoughts.
So here I take a pause from re-reading Iain Sinclair’s excellent ‘Ghost Milk’ and note down the main paths that my research pathways have taken:
1. Started off with the idea that mapping out trends of environmental justice in some areas would be a good idea,
2. Environmental health in terms of urban regeneration,
3. Environmental regeneration,
4. Mega-projects and regeneration, with a focus on environment,
5. The Olympics as a mega-project,
7. Knowledge controversies and urban regeneration and Olympics
8. The role of faith communities in mega-projects
Although now I believe I have narrowed down my topic to something achievable in the time-frame of a DPhil, I honestly still don’t know what originally attracted me to the concept of urban regeneration. I am also considering the addition of the visual element in geography in terms of evaluating success and perception of projects of the scale of Olympics, but again, have to refine ideas to the point where they are not only feasible for a lone researcher, but also relevant and of interest to the field of environmental geography.
I am concerned as to what my immediate next steps will be in operationalizing what I hope to accomplish, so to start with, I will start by researching the people I would like to talk to.
Although this wasn’t as exhaustive a post I would have wished when I started writing it, it’s a start and I am rolling with it!
saherhasnain 