Analyzing Community Needs in the City of Urdaneta Using Text Analytics

Abstract

Community needs assessments are one of the functions of city managers/administrators to find ways to collect accurate data/information that represent the most important needs of a community. In such assessments, a commitment to community participation is very important to determine current situations and identify issues for action, establishing the essential foundation for vital planning. That’s where a community needs assessment comes in; it can be used to inform and improve any community development initiative. The main objective of this study is to conduct a needs assessment focusing primarily on identifying community needs in the City of Urdaneta. This study utilized a mixed method whereby data were collected and analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively to analyze the community needs of the City of Urdaneta. The quantitative data were used to describe the population that resides in the city, and they were the respondents to the study. This method was utilized to obtain a direct picture of the services that the City of Urdaneta is providing to its stakeholders and provide a better understanding and explanation of their needs. The result reveals that respondents were not satisfied/dissatisfied with the drainage management provided by the city, especially when the rainy season comes, which resulted in flooded streets around the city. Based on the flood-prone map, some barangays were situated in flood-prone areas, worsening the flooding problem. The result also shows that the city should manage people with mental health and animals roaming around the city as they may pose a danger to the public. However, the respondent is satisfied with the services provided by the city based on the comments/opinions based on the word/ word patterns such as “improve services”, “good services” and “excellence services”. It is suggested that the city government should improve the city drainage system to eradicate or minimize flooding during rainy seasons, provide better mental services to stakeholders, and provide services that will control stray animals that roam around the city since they could endanger the public.