The workhorse of this research thesis has been an analytical framework that analyzes the social ecosystem and development process of two- to four-unit buildings. The framework was inspired by Bloom and Dees whose work on community development financial institution Self-Help Credit Unions effectively analyzed its social ecosystem and re-shaped the home mortgage market and prospects for low-wealth borrowers and clients (Bloom & Dees, 2008). The first component of the social ecosystem are the “players” (individuals and organizations): a web of interrelated individuals and organizations who are capable of exhibiting some form of agency that is pertinent to two- to four-unit building market, including resource providers, partners, alternative providers of housing, customers, problem makers and bystanders. The environmental conditions represent a second component that shapes which players can exist and their relationship with each other, including the economy, laws and regulations, demographics, culture and geography. I augmented this framework by explicitly incorporating the process of real estate development, the acquisition, renovation, disposition and management of two- to four-unit properties.
The analytical process transformed many qualitative insights into a detailed examination of the social ecosystem. Though I recorded (with permission) all but a few of my interviews, I opted not to transcribe the majority of the interviews. I developed a 35-column database to organize the following background information for each informant, including detailed notes from the interview, and to perform a quick check about the important implications.
| Category | Informant Database Columns |
| Source Background | Information Type Name of Source Stakeholder Category Date Conducted Title & Affiliation Contact Information Permissions Granted |
| General | Causes of Vacancy Choice Neighborhoods Efforts |
| Environmental Conditions | Economics and Markets Politics Public Policy and Administrative Structures Geography and Infrastructure Social and Cultural Factors Historical Factors |
| Players | Resource Providers Competitors Complementary Organizations and allies Beneficiaries and customers Opponents and problem makers Affected and influential bystanders |
| Development Processes | Acquisition Renovation Sales, Leasing and Disposition of Buildings & Property Management Capital Availability |
| Preliminary Analysis | What people, event or situations were involved? What were the main theme or issues in the contact? Which research questions and which variables in the initial framework did the contact bear on most centrally? What new hypotheses, speculations, or hunches about the field situations were suggested by the contact? Where should the field-worker place most energy during the next contact, and what kinds of information should be sought? |
The primary reason for constructing a database was to translate hours of interviews into passages of written text (short of transcription) that could be re-organized and sorted by question as opposed to informant. Generating summaries of each question allowed them to be coded for the themes, conflicts, anecdotes and patterns. The classification scheme was employed through the discretion of the author according to criteria based on social ecosystem literature. Through an iterative process, I clarified the meaning of the categories, whether information was pertinent and where it falls in the analytical frame.