Extra : Public space observation assignment_Seo Eun Su

 There are many parks near the apartments in korea, where people can rest and enjoy activities outside. I especially like my hometown park because it is well- designed to walk along or go on a mini picnic with family. Since the weather is nice recently and I like to visit the park, I decided to conduct my observation project there.

 

The methodology for my observation are as follows. I went through it from March 1st to March 8th, for one week. The observer was myself, sitting on a particular bench that is placed on the branch road. The bench was placed between the entrance of a wide lawn and a walking road, so I was able to watch both sides. To briefly describe the place setting, there is a stream flowing beside the walking road, and it is well prepared to take a walk or ride bicycles with two tracks. Also, the lawn has many spaces for picnic and a playground for children. I divided the observation into three time zone according to meal timing. First is 10~11am which is between breakfast and lunch. Second is 3~4pm, between lunch and dinner. Third is 9pm, after dinner time. I carefully watched how people behave and wrote down what I saw each time in my notebook.

 

Now, let me describe what I have seen. My main interest was two things ; how people walk and where people sit. Since the physical settings influences people's everyday behavior according to Whyte, I wondered how it changes the way people interact in the park. The following are the results of my observation by time zone.

 

In the morning hours from 10~11am, there were only few people in the park, mainly elders or women with children. I guessed that this is because most of the population has already moved to workplace. I could especially observe how children behave. According to Whyte, The park stimulates impulse use and

Children do it more vigorously. Likewise, the very young ones I saw usually pointed at the park and tugged their mothers to go on in. Many of them were almost running dangerously that I was worried they would fall down.

 

After the lunch time in 3~4pm, There were fewer people than in the morning and most of them were sitting in the park spaces, so I concentrated on the sitting behaviors. It was sunny outside and almost everyone sitting were talking under the shadow of large trees. According to Whyte, trees provide a satisfying enclosure that people feel cuddled, protected. I could sense that people were laying down in a very relaxed posture or some of them even sleeping. Also, according to Whyte, In the park, the sound of water is perceived as quite pleasant. People have to talk near each other and enjoy a feeling of privacy. From what I saw, couples or families were talking to each other near the waterfall bench rather than other sits infront of more quiet regions. I can also say that this represents Whyte's theory that people prefer to sit in the mainstream.

 

Finally, the park was the most crowding 9pm after the dinner time. Especially there were many people who walked very fast on the walking road or running, and riding a bike. This sport people seemed to enjoy free time after their work. I decided to concentrate on walking. Interestingly, people who were walking slowly or trying to talk didn't move out of the main pedestrian flow. They stayed in it or moved into it, and the great bulk of the conversations were smack in the center of the flow. This matched Whyte's theory that people's standing patterns usaually take place in the middle of traffic stream. Also, They showed an inclination to station themselves near objects, such as a flagpole or a statue like Whyte said in the book. 

From this assignment, I was able to learn how I can find different interesting mindsets from watching public spaces. I never had a chance to carefully look at people's behavior even though I went to park every day, Through this opportunity, I became more interested in sociology and even love the place more!