CRITICAL NEIGHBOURHOOD IMMERSION

JEPPESTOWN

What kind of surface and area creates the most interaction between people?

I started my process of inquiry by studying the movement of people through specific spaces and intersections along John Page drive. As they moved through or entered into those spaces, I documented the number of interactions that occurred and the duration of those interactions to determine which of the spaces served as the best catalyst for interactions and which of the spaces could sustain the interactions for the longest periods of time, based on the surrounding surface conditions, the size of the space and the activities that occurred in that space or in the vicinity of that area of study.

What I found was that along John Page Dr from the intersections of Margaret Mcingana St to Hans St and all the intersections in-between were predominantly hard surfaces with few activities occurring and the size of the spaces were small as there were just sidewalks. I noticed that there were very few interactions between people along this strip of road and of those interactions that occurred, none lasted more than 5mins. I never had a single interaction with anyone along this strip of road.

At the intersection of John Page Dr and Park St there was a change of surface at the park to a more soft and possibly more comfortable surface, with a much larger open area with one or two small vendor activities. I noticed that there were more interactions than the first strip of road but the duration of those interactions still lasted less than 5mins.

At the intersection of John Page Dr and Marshall St the surface became hard again and the size of the spaces smaller with no activities. I noticed a drop in the number of interactions but a few of the interactions lasted longer than 5mins but less than 10mins. I had one interaction with two men who came up to me and asked me what I was doing and we spoke for about 8mins.

At the intersection of John Page Dr and Main St the surface was hard and the size of the space opened up a little with a large amount of activities occurring in that space and in its vicinity. I noticed a large rise in the number of interactions with the majority of them lasting between 5-10mins and a few lasting between 10-20mins. At this intersection, I had 3 separate interactions that two lasted between 5-10mins and one was a short memorable interaction with a toddler.

In conclusion, the areas that created the most interactions were the areas with lots of activities and moderate sized open spaces. The longest duration of interactions happened within the park and not on any of the intersections.