What does it mean to be local? Have you just arrived or did your parents live here? How many people do you know in this area?
These questions and many more can be answered by the signs and sights that are all around us. We first experience a site like a tourist; looking out for the spectacular views; speculating on the monthly rent of a penthouse riverside apartment or looking for the best pubs for the “right” vibe.
But what of the people who live here, work here, study here?
Making sense of a new area lead me to use colour for the base map to denote the density of housing; yellow for flats, orange for housing, blue for industrial/commercial spaces and green for spaces which provided patches for nature to colonise.
Looking out for the unusual, the unexpected and observing people coping with the everyday environment gave me insights as to what worked for people - and what didn’t, and why it didn’t. Using transparent layers meant that I could see whether certain “hot spots” contributed to the same feelings.
So getting to know an area well - this survey, means getting under the skin of a place - it’s the opposite of a tourist map where you only highlight the positives. These parts don’t need changing - but the forgotten, marginalised corners need a second chance.
