Semi-structured interviews about sustainable and equitable development in the USA

We conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 individuals working in the broad field of sustainable and equitable urban development in the U.S.A. between August and September 2022. We used purposive and snowball sampling, targeting people with experience working in this field across multiple sectors, states, and types of organizations. Participants were informed and consented and interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Participants reported working in the following professions: Built environment, Transport & Mobility, Health and social care, Housing, Culture, Parks and Recreation, Water, Education, Energy, Workforce support, Sanitation, Waste, and Others. Participants' organization types included: local government, non-profit organizations, private sector, and others. Participants lived in various U.S. states.

Methods
We conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 individuals working in the broad field of sustainable and equitable urban development in the U.S.A. between August and September 2022. There were 21 interviews, in which two participants attended two interviews. Participants were informed and consented (following research ethics approval from University College London's Bartlett School of Energy, Environment and Resources low-risk procedure) and interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Interviews were conducted virtually. Transcripts were generated through Zoom's computer-generated audio transcription (n=8) or using Rev.com (n=13). Transcripts were anonymized using best practices for sharing human subject data. We removed data that could allow a person to be identified, including direct and indirect identifiers (such as descriptions of their employer, geographical location, and other data that would be unique to a specific place). Generic terms were replaced with identifiable data using brackets. For example, a participant's name would be replaced with [name]. In cases where a long description was not possible to de-identify, the relevant text was deleted and this was indicated in the transcription with a notation, such as: [details deleted].

The interview guide included the following questions: 

1

Can you start by briefly telling me about your role in INSERT ORGANIZATION?

2

We have arranged this interview to learn about your experiences working on INSERT X SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT project. Can you talk me through the background of this project and your role in it?

Prompts: How did this project come about? 

3

What problem or set of problems was this project trying to solve? 

Prompts: Who was experiencing these problems and how did your organization come to know about them? 

4

How did considerations of equity feature in this project? 

Prompts: Who brought this up and when? 

5

Who were the key players in this project?

Prompts: Did the project require collaboration with multiple departments/agencies? 

6

How were members of the community involved in this project?

Prompts: Which community groups or individual residents were involved and how?

7

On a project of this scale, there must have been tensions, setbacks, or challenges. Can you talk me through the toughest challenges and how you dealt with them?

Prompts: How did different people perceive the challenge? What strategies did you use to overcome the problem?

8

What kinds of compromises or negotiated solutions were required for this project, if any?

Prompts: What compromises were made (i.e. sustainability, equity, financial, other) such as increasing project budgets or making exceptions for innovations not allowed through local regulations? How did these compromises work for your organization?

9

Looking back on your work on this project, what moments felt like big ‘wins’ that contributed to the project’s successful completion?

Prompts: Would you describe these as innovative? Who was involved? How were these ‘wins’ achieved? 

10

In reflecting on your work in this area, what knowledge, skills, or capacities could make the work more successful?

Prompts: Is there anything that you think you might learn from peers across the globe about how to do this work?