A few weeks ago, our class time was partially devoted to discussing survey information that Harry needed to gather for the town of Williston. We didn't quite realize it at the time, but we were going to be the ones walking through town and hading out surveys. The questions are focused on finding out the positives and negatives of the place, as seen by the residents. After chatting with Harry about the basic idea, we set-up a day to meet him there and proceed.
With no set classes on Friday, it was good for the four of us in second year of graduate architecture. We picked a beautiful day to be outside and also a pretty good day to catch residents at home, as it happened. Since Harry is very organized, he had maps for each of us that showed our areas and had the number of surveys that we need to collect figured out. He gave us some tips on what to say and what to do and what not to do.
Each of us had an area with a particular character. My area included residential areas that were very close to downtown and some closer to the schools. Many of the people I spoke with were retied, but there were some younger residents that I met. The neighborhoods that I visited were well-kept and the residents were welcoming. There were some who were unwilling to fill out the surveys, but were generally pretty nice about telling me no. One lady inquired as to whether I was comfortable going door to door to visit people that I didn't know. I told her that it isn't something that I do very often, but that I believe in the process of community involvement and that that process can help rural communities is South Carolina, which I really care about. Also, I think that Harry works really hard and is really motivated, and with a little help, he can get a lot accomplished.
Additionally, I think that it was a good way for me to learn about information gathering and how that informs later stages of a community design or planning process. In other projects we've come in later in the game and missed some of the initial phases, but with Williston, we'll see the process from the start through the community workshop phase, which will happen in late April. I'll have to admit that I was initially skeptical about how much I could learn from handing out surveys, but I think I gained a lot. First, I understand Williston better because I met some of the residents and spent time walking around. Also, I have a better understanding of a portion of Harry's job and how valuable the initial information is for generating ideas and developing a direction.
With no set classes on Friday, it was good for the four of us in second year of graduate architecture. We picked a beautiful day to be outside and also a pretty good day to catch residents at home, as it happened. Since Harry is very organized, he had maps for each of us that showed our areas and had the number of surveys that we need to collect figured out. He gave us some tips on what to say and what to do and what not to do.
Each of us had an area with a particular character. My area included residential areas that were very close to downtown and some closer to the schools. Many of the people I spoke with were retied, but there were some younger residents that I met. The neighborhoods that I visited were well-kept and the residents were welcoming. There were some who were unwilling to fill out the surveys, but were generally pretty nice about telling me no. One lady inquired as to whether I was comfortable going door to door to visit people that I didn't know. I told her that it isn't something that I do very often, but that I believe in the process of community involvement and that that process can help rural communities is South Carolina, which I really care about. Also, I think that Harry works really hard and is really motivated, and with a little help, he can get a lot accomplished.
Additionally, I think that it was a good way for me to learn about information gathering and how that informs later stages of a community design or planning process. In other projects we've come in later in the game and missed some of the initial phases, but with Williston, we'll see the process from the start through the community workshop phase, which will happen in late April. I'll have to admit that I was initially skeptical about how much I could learn from handing out surveys, but I think I gained a lot. First, I understand Williston better because I met some of the residents and spent time walking around. Also, I have a better understanding of a portion of Harry's job and how valuable the initial information is for generating ideas and developing a direction.
