fieldwork

Question 1

title of enquiry

Answer 1

How has the redevelopment project at Greenwich Peninsula improved the natural environment?

Question 2

primary data collection methods

Answer 2

1. environmental quality survey at 4 chosen sites
2. land use map of the entire redevelopment site
3. questionnaire outside the O2 Arena
4. field sketch of River Place (with annotations using secondary data)
5. digital photographs (to support primary data collection)

Question 3

secondary data collection metods

Answer 3

1. researched history of the area for field sketch annotations
2. researched historical photographs of River Way (formerly Ceylon Place)
3. visitors map at Greenwich Ecology Park
4. used Google Maps to locate Greenwich Peninsula on a national and local scale

Question 4

what was one risk of your fieldwork enquiry and how was the risk reduced

Answer 4

in order to reduce the risk of traffic accidents while crossing the road, we used traffic lights and zebra crossings, looked both ways, and avoided distraction from friends or mobile phones

Question 5

assess the suitability of the location chosen for your human geography enquiry

Answer 5

• accessible on underground network, north greenwich is located on Jubilee LIne which is walking distance from our school
• TMT we were able to collect primary data for a 5 hour period
• large site which is reasonably flat and accessible on foot by pedestrians, step free access
• TMT able to move around the site comfortably on foot
• Greenwich Peninsula area is a large area of redevelopment including residential, commercial, green open space and transport links
• TMT we were able to collect a range of primary data to help us to understand the impact of redevelopment on both the human and physical environment

Question 6

how could the questionnaire be adapted to make it more useful

Answer 6

• increase number of respondents to increase reliability and identify anomalous results
• repeat questionnaire in evening to investigate sphere of influence and establish how scheduled events impact travel distance (eg Little Simz concert) to increase validity of study
• request more information under business category to find out which type of industry people work in, determining the extent of the knowledge economy in the area

Question 7

how could the environmental quality survey be adapted to make it more useful

Answer 7

• to improve reliability, repeat the survey at different times of year to determine how weather impacts subjective judgements
• use digital photos back in the classroom to support the judgements for each site
• use a decibel metre to compare noise pollution at each site, so that subjective judgement is removed
• we could repeat this to make it a fairer test
  To make the survey more valid, we could visit another area of redevelopment to better understand our baseline for judgements

Question 8

describe the Greenwich Ecology Park

Answer 8

• we visited the Ecology Park in the Greenwich Peninsula to assess the impact of redevelopment on the natural environment
• prior to redevelopment this area was a brownfield site, prone to flooding due its location next to the River Thames
• following the industrial revolution, this area was no longer in its natural state
• during our time in the Ecology Park we took digital photographs and completed an environmental quality survey
• we completed the survey in the bird hide

Question 9

justify the environmental quality survey

Answer 9

• we used stratified sampling (planned locations) to assess the impact on 4 sites around the Greenwich Peninsula
• subjective data collection method: to support our judgements we collected data on the same day and recorded notes on any changes in the weather that might influence our judgements
• digital photographs supported our judgements
• explored a range of indicators/categories which included noise pollution, access to green open space, litter and the extent of physical disorder such as graffiti

Question 10

why was the land use map effective

Answer 10

• did not require any specialist equipment
• we used a code developed on the day to indicate land uses, e.g. PL for parkland
• this was efficient and we are able to check our results as a class

Question 11

explain how the sphere of influence map helped you interpret the data

Answer 11

• sophisticated technique using a base map from Scribble Maps (secondary data)
• layered with arrows showing distance, frequency and origin of visitors to the area
• map was created using the questionnaire data “where have you travelled from today?”
• layering of the lines on top of the map are a visual representation and allow us to determine trends such as how far people travel to come to the area surrounding the 02 Arena
• gives us an indication of the sphere of influence on this day at this time.

Question 12

explain how the environmental quality mapping helped you interpret the data

Answer 12

• sophisticated technique, with a base of the Greenwich Peninsula area with the 4 sites located and the outcome of the subjective environmental quality survey for each site presented as bar graphs
• bar graphs helped us to interpret the data using colour (and a key) and size of the bar for each indicator of environmental quality, for example, noise pollution and vandalism and graffiti

Question 13

explain how environmental quality mapping can help you interpret data

Answer 13

• able to identify trends in the data and which area had the highest environmental quality based on the subjective criteria used
• data presentation technique was completed using GIS site Scribble Maps and Google Tools such as chart wizard and slides, made the process efficient

Question 14

Area of Greenwich Peninsula redevelopment site

Answer 14

121 hectares

Question 15

Describe Greenwich peninsula before redevelopment

Answer 15

Was a brownfield site, disused (derelict) since the closure of the gas works (now the site of the O2 arena)

Question 16

How has the regeneration project improved the economy

Answer 16

• provided services and facilities - o2 arena and retail outlet
• meets the demand from customers and supports the economy
• car park generates significant revenue
• developed a global sphere of influence with the O2 arena attracting musicians on world tours

Question 17

How has the design district improved the area

Answer 17

Increased number of graduates wishing to work in research and design (quaternary industry)

Question 18

How has the redevelopment helped the community

Answer 18

Created community cohesion with spaces such as the parkland

Question 19

How has the redevelopment helped housing

Answer 19

Built new homes to meet the need for housing in the SE of England, particularly the demand for 1 and 2 bedroom apartments

Question 20

How has the redevelopment helped the environment

Answer 20

• created opportunities for renewable energy use through solar power and wind turbines
• created habitats including lakes, marsh, shingle beach and wildflower meadows. 37 species of bees and rare moths are promoted

Question 21

How has the regeneration project improved accessibility

Answer 21

• improved accessibility of the area with TFL
• North Greenwich Station has an underground and bus terminal accessing north and south London
• also Uber boats and IFS Cloud cable car

Question 22

How has the regeneration project retained history

Answer 22

Retained history of the area, with River Way undergoing renewal and not redevelopment

Question 23

Questionnaire results

Answer 23

• visitors travelled outside London, from Essex and the Caribbean to visit the o2 arena
• if we conducted the survey in the evening, more international travel

Question 24

Land use map results

Answer 24

• all areas are now redeveloped or under construction
• there were no derelict areas that were run down and affected by physical disorder such as vandalism and graffiti

Question 25

Environmental quality survey results

Answer 25

- indicated positive results at all 4 sites for building care and condition, open space and access to services. - one negative was the noise of construction in Greenwich Village - quality of the environment was highest in the Ecology Park allowing us to conclude that the natural environment had improved

Question 26

Field sketch results

Answer 26

- demonstrated the significant change over time, explored secondary to understand the history of the area. - air pollution rates are lower than when industry dominated the area

Question 27

Why is the reuse of brownfield land environmentally sustainable

Answer 27

Avoids development on greenfield sites and allows land to be cleaned, managed and improved

Question 28

What was the Greenwich peninsula like historically

Answer 28

- brownfield site left derelict and disused following closure of gas works - industrial decline left the area environmentally degraded - limited ecological value

Question 29

How many hectares does the ecology park cover

Answer 29

1.72 hectares

Question 30

Why is the ecology park good for biodiversity

Answer 30

- lakes, marshland, shingle beaches and wildflower meadows - support biodiversity including 37 species of bees, rare moths and frogs which are promoted eg through frog day in spring - regeneration has enhanced physical geography of the area

Question 31

What did the land use map show

Answer 31

- no derelict land remaining, supported by digital photographs - field sketch demonstrated significant change over time when compared with secondary data showing the area’s industrial past