GCSE AQA Geography Fieldwork- Chelmsford

Everything you will need for GCSE AQA Geography Fieldwork, if your school studied REGENERATION in CHELMSFORD.

What is our human geography enquiry question?

Has regeneration had a positive impact within central Chelmsford?

What is urban regeneration?

The attempt to reverse the decline in urban areas by improving the built environment, attracting people back to the area and boosting the local economy.

Justify the choice of fieldwork question.

Parts of Central Chelmsford have recently undergone regeneration, but this has not happened everywhere. Therefore we can compare the regenerated area with the existing area, in order to investigate its impact.

Name the 5 features of Chelmsford that have undergone regeneration.

Retails, accommodation, leisure, restaurants and bars, and the public realm.

Give the three justifications of our chosen location (Chelmsford).

Accessibility, low risk and proximity of regenerated and not regenerated areas.

In what way is Chelmsford easily accessible?

It is only 15 minutes away by coach.

Give the three risks identified in the risk assessment in Chelmsford.

Road Traffic Collisions, Anti-social behaviour and Adverse Weather.

How did we reduce the risk of road traffic colliding with us?

All students should use formal pedestrian crossings and observe the highway code.

How did we reduce the risk of anti-social behaviour/ stranger danger?

Students should work in groups no smaller than 4, students must have the mobile contact details of members of staff, and students should be briefed on how to respond to any anti-social behaviour experienced.

How is the risk of harm due to adverse weather reduced?

Warm clothing and layers with waterproof. Appropriate footwear.

Give the three methods of data collection that we used at Chelmsford.

Environmental Quality Survey (EQA), Pedestrian Count and Questionnaires.

What sampling technique did we use for the EQA?

Systematic Sampling

Describe HOW we did the EQA.

Every 40 paces (of the same person) we used a bi-polar scoring system (from -2 to +2) using pre-defined categories, collecting at 10 points for each transect and calculating an average.

Why did we use systematic sampling for our EQA?

To remove bias, to ensure data collection is manageable in the time available and to ensure there is sufficient data to represent the whole area.

Why did we use a bi-polar scoring system for our EQA?

To show the variations to be seen, especially between the 2 transects.

Why did we collect data at two transects for all of our data collection?

In order to see if regeneration has had a positive impact, by comparing the area that has been regenerated with the area that has not.

What area of Chelmsford that we studied had undergone regeneration?

Bond Street and Southern Section of High Street.

What area of Chelmsford that we studied had NOT undergone regeneration?

Duke Street and northern section of High Street.

What type of Sampling Technique did we use for the Pedestrian Count?

Stratified Sampling

How did we undertake a pedestrian count in Chelmsford?

Complete 3 pedestrian counts at pre-decided locations on each transect based on existing knowledge of the area. Count the number of people passing you in one minute.

Why did we complete 3 pedestrian counts in each area?

To improve the reliability of results as anomalies are clear to see.

Why did we select 1 minute to complete each pedestrian count in?

To give enough time to see a representative amount of people, whilst still being efficient.

For our pedestrian counts, why did we self-select the areas at intervals along the transect?

To observe if there are areas within a transect that have a higher number of people.

What would the presence of an area within a transect with a higher pedestrian count suggest? Why is this important?

It would suggest that the area is popular, attracting more people to the area, which is a key feature of successful regeneration schemes.

How did we complete a questionnaire at Chelmsford?

Each person completes 1 questionnaire in each location. People were asked every 20th person, and were asked 3 closed questions. We then collated the results from the year group.

Why did we collate the results of our questionnaire from the whole year group?

AS questionnaires can be time consuming, so this ensured the data was representative whilst taking minimal time.

Why did we ask closed questions in our questionnaires?

As we had limited time available, and needed to collect data that was easy to collect, present and analyse.

Why was completing a questionnaire important to understanding the success of regeneration in Chelmsford?

As a key part of regeneration is meeting the needs to the people who use the place, so the space must be used for work, leisure, shopping or entertainment. Asking for people’s views allows us to access this.

What did we use to present our data from our EQA?

Comparative Divergent Bar

How did we create a comparative divergent bar?

We created an axis going from -2 to +2 and plotted each of the 5 categories for both transects. We then coloured the two transects in a different colour, providing a key.

Why did we present our EQA using a comparative divergent bar?

As we wanted to be able to compare data for the regenerated v.s existing area, but also each of the individual categories.

Why did we also want to compare each of the individual categories of our EQA in our presentation?

As we wanted to show which part of the environment were judged to be most positive.

What presentation technique did we use for our pedestrian counts?

Located Proportional Symbols

How did we present our pedestrian counts using Located Proportional Symbols?

For our 6 locations (3 on each transect) use a scale to create bars, and a key to show which transect they are from. Then locate the bar on the map at the location that the data was collected from.

Why did we use located proportional symbols to present our data on pedestrian counts?

In order to visually show how the number of pedestrians varied in different areas of Chelmsford, and to compare the two transects to assess the success of regeneration.

Describe our results from our Environmental quality survey.

The average for the EQA was higher along Bond Street with 1.5 compared to Duke Street with -1.25.

What category of our EQA showed the greatest difference between Bond Street and Duke Street?

Traffic

What did the EQA demonstrate about Bond Street?

That it has a nicer environment across all categories of the survey, being cleaner, with less noise and pollution and less vandalism

Why might Bond Street appear better maintained than Duke Street?

Due to pedestrianisation AND privatization, meaning that there are cleaners, CCTV and Security, to ensure a nice environment.

Describe our results from the Pedestrian Count.

There were more pedestrians along Bond Street Southern section of the high street, with 130 compared to Duke Street and Northern section, with 73.

What was the point with most pedestrians?

The entrance to Bond Street.

What was the point with least pedestrians?

Opposite the Golden Fleece Pub on Duke Street.

What might cause the pedestrian count to be higher at the Southern transect?

A nicer environment, shown by the EQA and a greater concentration of shops and services.

Describe the results from our questionnaire.

94% said that Bond Street has a positive impact on Chelmsford, and 72% said that Bond Street was most attractive, compared to only 1% saying Duke Street.

What did the questionnaire show about regeneration?

That generally, people believe that it has had a positive impact on Chelmsford.

Give two problems with the use of an Environmental Quality Survey.

The EQA is subjective, meaning that each person will have a different view on the quality of the Environment. Also, we only measured EQS scores every 40 paces, meaning that our data may not be representative.

Give a statement that supports the reliability of our EQA?

Our results from the EQA agree that the environment of the Southern Transect is nicer than the Northern Transect. This is further supported by annotated photos, questionnaire responses and pedestrian count data.

How could we improve our EQA?

Take EQS scores at more regular intervals, and get a range of people to complete these tests and take averages, to reduce subjectivity.

Give some problems with the use of our Pedestrian Count data.

We conducted the pedestrian counts at different times of day, the northern transect is close to many transportation services which increases pedestrian count, and when busy, it is difficult to count, leading to human error.

What evidence supports the reliability of our Pedestrian Count data?

All pedestrian counts were higher in the southern section, increasing validity of results. All other results also supported the Pedestrian Count.

How could we improve the reliability of our Pedestrian Count data?

Conduct the pedestrian counts at the same time of day, and revisit and recount at the same area at several times of the week.

Give two problems with our questionnaire.

We had to ask people opportunistically as people would say no, increasing bias. Also, there were a large number of elderly people, decreasing our sample’s representativeness.

Give two reasons why our questionnaire was reliable.

As our conclusions agreed that Bond Street has been successful, which is supported by other data. Also, we collated our answers, increasing sample size.

How could we improve our method of questionnaire?

Ask questionnaires at several times of day, week and year, and ensure that our sampling technique removed bias.

Give three other types of data that would be useful in assessing the effectiveness of regeneration in Chelmsford.

• The income of shops before and after regeneration

• the property price for city centre apartments before and after regeneration

• The number of people travelling to Chelmsford before and after regeneration.