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The team first met to discuss preliminary methods for site evaluation before any investigations were conducted to establish a unified research method and consequently a cohesive report. Our initial observations concluded that Memorial park had a substantial user base, who largely remained within the park for extended periods of time and were made up of larger groups. While Tom Davies Square had little to no group activity and primarily consisted of solo people, fast moving, for goal-oriented visits. In reviewing Jan Gehl and Svarre Birgitte’s book titled “How to Study Public Life”, it was noted that if the site was under populated, extended visits would prove fruitful in order to eliminate unreliable data through counting. This also lent well to comparative analysis, reviewing data taken from multiple days. It was from here that it was concluded that Memorial Park would be best understood from a single extended visit and Tom Davies Square to be studied over two sessions of equal length. After these conclusions, three sets of maps were created to assist in plotting where individuals preferred to congregate and if possible, for how long. This method also lent well to plotting movement, revealing both popular and unpopular thoroughfares which were not immediately recognizable. Following Gehl’s recommendations, we employed tracing, tracking, mapping and counting to best understand the park users.

Methodology

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