#doesculturematter

Observations in Rosemary's Playground

-young children running around with laughter in the jungle gym

-teenagers playing basketball (all males)

-basketball players loud and arguing over calls

-older guys playing handball with bikes parked in the back of the court

-guys waiting behind the basket to play next

-one court is having a physical game and guys are starting to get heated

-younger guys playing baseball with their father

-girls walking in groups chatting

-very few adults outside the park

-kids going to the corner store

-some basketball players with shirts off

Junction Boulevard Observations:

-Many stores-->People going in and out of stores, mostly females and children.

-Man handing out free fliers to advertise a store.

-Man in front of a store repeatedly shouting that his store buys gold.

-Two children are buying hotdogs at a nearby hotdog stand.

-Worker from the Thai food restaurant taking a smoke break.

-Children telling their mom to take them to McDonalds.

-Woman having trouble getting into the Chase bank with her credit card.

-Fire hydrant opened, so neighborhood children can play with it.

-An elderly man with one leg is begging for change.

-A lot of people walking around.

-7 Train station--> people going up and down the stairs of the train.

Fieldwork at Carl Schurz Park Promenade 5/3/15 4:29pm-4:51pm

- Variety of people here

- Benches on both sides of the promenade. On one side you can watch the people walk by and on the other you watch the river. It's really nice weather, around eighty degrees with a breeze.

- There's an old white woman in a wheelchair sitting in front of a bench, just watching the people go by. She's with a young black woman and an old white man reading a newspaper, probably her husband.

- The man keeps telling her "Isn't this pleasant" and "It's good to get you out of the room" and "Breathe deeply and look at the sky! There's not a cloud in the sky!" Woman seems pessimistic, responds "The temperature has taken a serious drop"

- At another bench, two women with strollers in front of them are chatting leisurely

- Old-ish man sitting at a bench next to them, alone, looking at river

- Parents walking with a boy around eight years old, they seem frustrated. Mom is yelling at boy because he wants to stay at the park and they need to leave. But this is an exception - most people are calm.

- Lots of fathers and sons walking by with footballs, soccer balls, etc. in their hands

- Many bikers and dog walkers

- Group of teenage girls in almost identical outfits and sunglasses walking by with ice cream cones

- Some kids playing hide and seek

- Many calm parents with younger kids in strollers are strolling by

- Person with cane is walking along, looking around

- Mostly everyone is strolling peacefully along, soaking in the good weather

- Joggers with headphones

- Father is taking pictures on his phone of his two helmet clad daughters by the river

- Woman is taking pictures on her phone of the flowers

- A woman with a rolling machine to help her breathe like in the fault in our stars is walking by with a man.

- Multiple young couples sitting on benches staring at the water

- Roller blading daughter dad duo

- Woman has a stroller with a little dog wrapped in a leopard blanket

- A man has a kite and is starting to fly it. His kids are intrigued, the kite is drawing the attention of everyone. Pretty soon a bigger group of kids is gathered around the kite flyer. The kids are delighted, but everyone else on the promenade is too. Adults are looking up at it and smiling.

- The man is letting his kid fly the kite, and he's taking pictures of him on his phone.

- Dude is passing me who's walking, listening to music, AND reading

- Parents are having fun with their kids

- Couple walks by, arms around each other

- All in all, there's a happy, carefree atmosphere

- Everyone seems to be dressed comfortably

Observations

(Starbucks location in midtown manhattan)

-there are seats and tables everywhere, spread out all around from where the baristas are making drinks

-all the seats are filled up

-most of the people are taking pictures and speak foreign languages such as French, Chinese, Russian and Urdu

-one of the people have a name-tag, saying that they’re a tourist from France who is currently touring with a French travel company

-very crowded

-some toddlers roaming around the place who are eating scones

-everyone (excluding the toddlers) is drinking vanilla frappuccinos, coincidentally

-majority of people have the grande size drink while some have venti size

-everyone has sunglasses with them too

-some people are wearing the “I Love New York” logo sweater

Date: Monday, 05/04/15

Start Time: 4:00 p.m (Daylight)

End Time: 7:00 p.m (Daylight)

Conditions: 83° at start, 76° at finish

Location: High Line (1.45 Mile Linear Park)

High Line is a linear park built adjacent to and above an abandoned railroad called the 'West Side Line'. It is 1.45 miles in length, and was created to commemorate the wild plants that had grown atop the railroad following its disuse. High Line is not very known to the majority of the New York City population. High Line garners around 5 million visitors annually, compared to Central Park, which receives an estimated 40 million visitors annually. Albeit, High Line is not a park in the same way Central is. It is not as large, and attracts people mainly due to the view of vegetation with an urban backdrop.

The majority of the population I observed on this day was composed of young adults, the elderly, or couples/groups (couples: non-romantically) Rarely did I see people below the age of (about) 20 unaccompanied. Through the course of my observations at High Line park, I have come across multiple similarities in the behavior of the people present on this day. They are very unconcerned with the behavior and mannerisms of others, as proved by the lack of concern displayed when three young men on skateboards glided closely past them, when a group of girls began to dress a tree in a bikini, or by the multiple people sleeping on these benches.

Due to what I believe to be a combination of the weather, their comfort zones, and the immediate environment, people were generally walking at a slow pace. At times where narrow walkways or heavy traffic would advise them to speed up, a low amount (3 out of 5) did. This behavior is common in places such as this: in a place where you are surrounded by nature, there is no similar feeling of urgency as there might be on a city street.

An interesting moment arose when a women began to speak of tourists in an obviously mocking tone. I found that there wasn't any distinction or identifying factor to differentiate people that were from New York City and people that might not have been: most people were documenting their trip, speaking at a generally acceptable tone, and keeping to themselves (as is a 'social-norm' in New York City). However, there were a few exceptions to this, as not everyone holds the same expectations and feelings of what is acceptable. Instances occurred such as a photographer getting extremely close to a couple to take a picture. To my surprise, these two people did not react with obvious discomfort. Their conversation did not stall when he bent over in front of them to capture the balcony view they sat in front of, and continued well after he left. At High Line, there was no shortage of photographers, professional or not. Two, seemingly strangers, had even stopped to discuss their pictures! I found this significant because whenever I had previously seen photographers, they were even more separated from the overall population.

As I was leaving High Line, I witnessed more than ten people with their shoes off, feet on the public chairs and (stone) benches. This was drastically different from when I'd arrived, as I had not seen one person without shoes on. I believe this to be because of the significant thinning of the crowd at High Line, the time, and their differencing standards (from others) of what is publicly appropriate. Nonetheless, what struck me as most notable was a woman with an evident fascination for what this park had to offer. The woman was simply staring at the trees across from her, with a serene and pleased expression on her face. She seemed content to just watch them, with no care of how still they were.