Hope is a powerful force that has the ability to transform individuals and communities. Students at OU-Tulsa are conducting a study to learn more about Tulsa’s level of hope. They want to learn how hopeful Tulsans are, both individually and collectively, and what is needed to encourage hope in our city. Please take 5 to 10 minutes to complete this survey and help these students and our community learn more about hope.
According to this recent Tulsa World column by Ginnie Graham, “the prosperity of a community may depend on the level of hope at the individual and collective levels.”
OU professor Chan Hellman, has been researching hope — the capacity and outcomes — for the past few years. According to the Graham article, Hellman states that “the findings so far show hope is a buffer to adversity and stress, predicts good outcomes, and can be increased and sustained.”
Shawn Schaefer, director of the OU Urban Design Studio, and a longtime member of Smart Growth Tulsa’s Advisory Board, has had an interest in how the built environment, meaning man-made surroundings, has an influence on behavior and health outcomes. The two are now collaborating on this project to examine how architectural environment and other factors are related to hope.
“If hope is such an important part of the human condition, are there some environmental issues we can influence (such as through policy) to improve the health and well-being of Tulsa?” Hellman said. “From these informal discussions, Shawn and I decided to turn this into a highly experiential class in which the students would help lead the study.”
This is an ambitious project and we hope you take a few minutes to participate.
