HUMAN FIELDWORK

Weymouth Fieldwork Hypothesis

The regeneration for the Olympic Games has had a positive impact in Weymouth

Weymouth Location

A seaside town in Dorset, South West England

Justification for Weymouth Site

It hosted the 2012 Olympic sailing and underwent significant urban regeneration, allowing for the study of social, economic, and environmental impacts

Three Data Collection Sites

Site 1: Weymouth Harbour; Site 2: Brewers Quay; Site 3: Weymouth Seafront

Environmental Quality Survey (EQS) Method

A bipolar survey (-3 to +3) rating criteria like aesthetics, litter, and open space at each site

Pedestrian Count Method

Standing for 5 minutes in pairs, counting people in both directions, and repeating 3 times for an average

Land Use Survey Method

Using an aerial map and the RICEPOTS key to classify buildings via visual inspection

RICEPOTS Meaning

Residential, Industrial, Commercial, Entertainment, Public building, Open space, Transport, Services

Strength of EQS

Produces quantitative data to assess the "look and feel" (social/environmental) of the area

Strength of Pedestrian Count

Quantitatively assesses how busy/successful an area is; higher counts suggest more economic success

Strength of Land Use Survey

Indicator of local economy strength; high commercial use suggests an attractive, successful area

Weakness of EQS

The ratings are subjective despite efforts to benchmark

Weakness of Pedestrian Count

Difficult to count everyone on busy days, leading to potential inaccuracies

Weakness of Land Use Survey

Difficult to classify buildings with multiple uses or unclear purposes

Improvement for EQS

Benchmark the scoring beforehand so all researchers agree on what a specific score (eg, +3) looks like

Improvement for Pedestrian Count

Repeat the count more times for a more accurate average or use more people to count

Improvement for Land Use Survey

Ask employees/customers about the building's purpose or research the premises online

Data Presentation: EQS

Clustered bar chart

Pros/Cons of Clustered Bar Chart

Pro: Easy to compare sites and read scores, Con: Unclear what the score meant (eg, did +3 mean "lots of litter" or "no litter")

Data Presentation: Land Use

RICEPOTS codes recorded on a base map

Pros/Cons of Land Use Base Map

Pro: Easy to read and compare sites spatially, Con: Map scales were inconsistent and some new buildings were missing

Data Presentation: Pedestrian Count

Proportional circles on a base map

Pros/Cons of Proportional Circles

Pro: Visually easy to understand and site-located, Con: Hard to extract accurate numbers from the circle scale

Finding: Land Use Survey

Sites were dominated by tourism-based businesses (entertainment, hotels) with no vacant buildings

Finding: Pedestrian Count

Weymouth seafront had the highest count, likely due to a July 2022 heatwave

Finding: EQS Survey

All sites scored high for aesthetics and tourism, showing successful environmental regeneration

Key Secondary Data for Weymouth

Approximately 400,000 tourists visit annually, contributing £200 million to the local economy

Fieldwork Conclusion

The hypothesis was proven correct; regeneration had a positive impact through improved infrastructure and investment

Reliability Issue w method

Conclusions are based on data from only one day, which is heavily influenced by weather and time of year

Evaluation: Overall Improvement

Return to Weymouth at different intervals throughout the year to average results and use more secondary data