Paper 3: Human Enquiry

Question 1

Human: Why is this a suitable title for a geographical investigation:

Answer 1

Changing industry and employment structure is often seen as the cause of economic development and other positive impacts. The UK economy has moved from one where manufacturing is the main employer to an economy where the service industry and the quaternary industry are becoming the largest employers. We can understand the effects of these tertiary and quaternary industries by studying Canary Wharf

Question 2

Why was the location of Canary Wharf a suitable location:

Answer 2

Canary Wharf has a large quaternary industry – (financial services and banking), that employs thousands of people and services and tertiary industries. It is a good location to study the impacts of modern industry.
Canary Wharf is also a 20 minute tube journey away from school so is in an accessible location. The short journey time also meant we could spend longer there, investigating a wider range of impacts.

Question 3

Getting lost using public transport

Answer 3

Students clearly briefed on the route. Students travel in small groups with a member of staff and get on and off public transport as instructed.

Question 4

Danger crossing roads, collecting data near busy roads

Answer 4

Teachers deliberately selected a site with many pedestrianised areas and safe crossings.
Cross roads only at a crossing, when it is safe to do so, in groups.

Question 5

Land use mapping
How data was collected

Answer 5

Students walked around the commercial area of Canary Wharf.
They classified the land use (including a range of modern industries) and recorded their results on a map using a key.

Question 6

Land use mapping
Advantages:

Answer 6

A small area was quickly surveyed and classified, allowing us to observe main land uses and industries.
Data was presented in categories so it was easy to identify spatial patterns in land use and industry, and analyse them.

Question 7

Land use mapping
Disadvantages:

Answer 7

The exact land use wasn’t always clear, especially for high-rise multi-purpose buildings (some had shops/restaurants on the ground floor, but offices above).
Findings are not based on the whole Canary Wharf area, so might not represent the whole area.

Question 8

Land use mapping
improvements

Answer 8

If we had more time, we could have investigated the use of each building more carefully (e.g. by going inside and inquiring, or completing online research). However, we were generally confident with our classifications.
More time would have allowed us to complete a land-use map for the whole site. This would give a more reliable impression of land-use, and perhaps reveal contrasting land-use (e.g. more residential land use). However, we covered a fairly large amount of ground, and the findings were consistent with what we expected

Question 9

Land use mapping
data presentation

Answer 9

Colour-coded land use mapping was used to show a clear pattern in land use. The main land use was clearly Offices, as well as Offices with shops/restaurants.

Question 10

Land use mapping
data presentation cons

Answer 10

Limitations: However, our maps are 2D, making it harder to present multi-use buildings (different uses on different floors) clearly.
Therefore although appropriate for assessing overall patterns, it doesn’t present a fully accurate account of industry and land use.

Question 10

Land use mapping
Annotated OS map
Advantages

Answer 10

: OS is a trusted organisation; their maps are therefore reliable and updated fairly regularly, enabling us to observe current land-use (inc. buildings, open space and transport infrastructure)

Question 11

Land use mapping
Annotated OS map
cons

Answer 11

Disadvantages: OS maps don’t generally display the purpose of different buildings (therefore accurate annotations would still be needed).
OS maps are dense with information, much of it unnecessary for the enquiry. A ‘crowded’ map is harder to interpret.

Question 12

Land use mapping
results

Answer 12

The land use mapping showed the large majority of landuse was being used for modern industry, in particularly office use. This was combined with retail and restaurants. This indicates that modern industry has provided a large number of jobs, many of which are high paying. It also shows that lower-entry jobs are available for those with fewer qualifications.
The wide availability of public transport and safe pedestrian routes suggests a positive impact on the environment compared to more traditional industry that relies heavily on cars. However, the lack of residential space still suggests that many workers have to make long commutes.
The presence of green spaces e.g. Jubilee gardens also demonstrates a commitment to urban greening and promoting biodiversity.

Question 13

land use mapping supports conclusion

Answer 13

Overall, land use suggests a range of economic and environmental benefits of modern industry. The range of industries supports employment, and the open space and public transport options promotes biodiversity and low emissions. Although many workers commute a long distance, they are able to do so by train and bus.

Question 14

Overall conclusion:

Answer 14

The economic impacts of modern industry are the most evident. There is evidence of a range of industries and investment in the area. Environmental impacts are a little more mixed, but still generally high for industrial land use

Question 15

Bipolar Environmental quality survey
How was the data collected

Answer 15

Students completed 2 bipolar environmental surveys in contrasting areas, both with evidence of modern industry.
Students had a 5 opposite statements that described different aspects of the quality of the built environment e.g. about building quality, traffic congestion
Students ranked each feature from 1 very poor, to 5 very good, based on their own opinion.
Student responses were compiled and average data collected for the whole year group.

Question 16

Bipolar Environmental quality survey
Advantages:

Answer 16

Data can be collected quickly and easily. There are descriptive statements to help inform judgements, meaning mistakes are less likely
Bipolar scores help quantify qualitative information making data easier to present, contrast sites and inform conclusions

Question 17

Bipolar Environmental quality survey
cons

Answer 17

Disadvantages:
Student scores based on subjective opinion which is not reliable (but average results from the whole year group mean this is less of a problem)
Students based their judgements on a snapshot view at one point in a day, levels of noise, traffic etc would vary greatly throughout the day.
Students only visited 2 sites. These might not have been representative of all of Canary Wharf.

Question 18

Bipolar Environmental quality survey
possible improvements

Answer 18

Due to time constraints on the day, we only completed surveys on 2 sites. A larger number and variety would have given us a more reliable overview of environmental quality. However, the 2 sites we visited were contrasting and a reasonable distance apart.
Scores would also have been more reliable if we visited several times, at different times on different days. In particular, levels of noise & air pollution and litter are likely to vary. The sites might also have looked less attractive on days with bad weather. However, the scores were incredibly high, suggesting overall high quality environment.

Question 19

Bipolar Environmental quality survey
data presentation

Answer 19

Radar graphs: The radar graphs produced large polygons, clearing indicating a high total score and therefore positive impacts of the surrounding modern industry.
The distinctive shape and easy-to-read axis made it very clear which criteria were the highest scoring (e.g. building maintenance).

Question 20

Bipolar Environmental quality survey
radar graphs cons

Answer 20

Limitations: However, this form of presentation (of quantitative data) fails to communicate our additional notes (qualitative data) which we made to help justify our scores.
Therefore, it’s useful for overall observations about impacts of industry, but lacks context.

Question 21

Bipolar Environmental quality survey: Proportional pie charts
Advantages:

Answer 21

The pie charts overall size is proportional to the total score from the survey. It’s easier to compare the size of circles than polygons.
It’s still also possible to contrast scores across our 5 different criteria.

Question 22

Bipolar Environmental quality survey
Proportional pie charts cons

Answer 22

Disadvantages: Proportional pies are much more difficult to draw accurately. Human error could therefore make analysis inaccurate.

Question 23

Bipolar Environmental quality survey results showed

Answer 23

This shows that modern industry has generally had a very positive impact on the quality of built environment. There are high levels of maintenance (e.g. high scores for lack of vandalism and litter) on both sites, even site 1 which was much busier. This suggests money is being invested into bins, cleaning and security services.
Open space quality received high scores, especially in green spaces. However, busy spaces (transport hubs) unsurprisingly received lower scores for air and noise quality.

Question 24

Bipolar Environmental quality survey - to what extent did the results support the conclusion

Answer 24

Overall, modern industry has had a very positive effect on environmental quality. High scores show that workplaces and open spaces are maintained to a high standard, due to investment in maintenance. The large volume of pedestrians can sometimes cause noise pollution, but the low levels of car use mean that air pollution is relatively low.

Question 25

Mapped radar graphs (2 methods combined):

Answer 25

Mapping the radar graph onto the land use maps allowed us to observe patterns and make links between the two data sets. For example, the score for the ‘open space quality’ was far higher at site 1 (Jubilee Gardens, a landscaped garden). We can also link the lower score for noise quality to the proximity to the Canary Wharf Tube station.
In contrast, site 2 (Cabot Square) was further from public transport and mostly surrounded by office space, making noise and air pollution levels lower.