Fieldwork (urban)

Question 1

What is the title/aim of our investigation?

Answer 1

To investigate the changing use of urban environments in Dubai.

Question 2

List our three main hypotheses.

Answer 2

1. The newer buildings and environments will be more aesthetically pleasing than older areas
2. The size of buildings will be bigger in newer areas
3. The function of the buildings will be higher in newer areas

Question 3

Why did we choose the following areas to investigate urban land use:
Heritage Village
Al Fahidi Street
Sheikh Zayed Road

Answer 3

• Heritage Village: historic district, accessible, low-rise buildings, tourist-related land use
• Al Fahidi: transition zone, accessible, busy area, lots of small
• Sheikh Zayed Road (SZR): modern CBD, high-rise offices, luxury hotels, high-income commercial use, assess impacts of rapid urbanisation

Together, these locations follow a transect through distinct urban zones, allowing us to compare how land use and environmental quality change from old to modern parts of the city.

Question 4

Suggest our enquiry question.

Answer 4

How does urban land use and building quality change from Heritage Village to Sheikh Zayed Road?

Question 5

Evaluate different types of secondary evidence we may have used and why.

Answer 5

• Maps or historical maps would help as we could see how things have changed over time in terms of land use and function.
  :) They are easy to access, zoom, and measure distances, and allow comparisons between locations
  :( May be outdated, especially in fast-developing areas. They do not provide data on environmental quality or building function
• Old newspapers or reports help as we can see how things have changed over time in terms of land use and function.
  :) They help us look for changes and also give us details and personal opinions
  :( May be biased or lack accuracy (not always peer-reviewed)
• Photographs from archives help us idenitfy key features and also things we could have missed at the time
  :) Useful for ocomparing past vs present land use
  :( May not match the exact fieldwork location

Question 6

Evaluate different types of primary evidence we may have used.

Answer 6

• Land use survey (functional score)
  :) Direct observation and accurate for what’s there currently
  :( May be subjective if not clearly defined
• Environmental quality survey (bipolar analysis)
  Gives numerical (quantitative) data which can be compare to each site
  :( Results may be biased and vary between groups. -> could do it at different times of day, multiple locations
• Field sketches
  :) Helps identify land use and environmental features
  :( Only captures one moment in time so it may be selective or miss details

Question 7

The environmental quality survey is a form of primary data. Outline the methodology and why it is used. Suggest how it helped prove/disprove our hypothesis.

stretch: how could this method be improved?

Answer 7

The EQS gives a list of things related to the environment (e.g. attractiveness, noisiness, safety, etc.). You have to stand in one spot and rate the area for each one on a scale from -5 to 5.
This helps support hypothesis 1 that the newer buidlings and environments will be more aesthetically pleasing than the older ones.
The method was good to undertake because it allowed us to compare sites. By plotting the results on a bar chart, it was clear that the nicest area was the Heritage village, and the worst was Al Fahidi street. This is not what we expected because our hypothesis was that the HV would be the worst as it is the oldest, however, because it is a tourist attraction, its cleanliness and attractiveness has been maintained more so than Al Fahidi.
To improve this method, we could take more readings from mutiple locations at each site then calculate a mean score for every analysis.