MendeStudy

Introduction
Aim:
TocompareMendetoUrbanModels

Hypotheses:

A town centre has a distinct CBD, identified by the ground floor landuse,
SQIandcongestion.
The quality of the builtup environment will behigherin the CBDthaninthe
surroundinghousingareas.
TheCBDwillbemorecongestedthanoutsidetheCBD.

Expectations:
We expect that in the CBD there are gonna be shops (chains), and also banks.
Publicbuildingssuchas launderettes. Itshouldbethehistorical/religiouscenterwith
museums,mosques, churches etc.Rentfor residential housing would beexpensive
asititnearthe sphere of influence.Tallbuildingsasnot much land space andalso
offices near the center as they would be near the workforce, nodal point. A good
transport systemsuited forcars, busses, trams,trains. The outer ring roads should
havewidelanesto preventtrafficjams,tomakeplaceseasilyaccessiblefortourists.
Additionalthecityshouldbeattractivetotourists,toattractthemback.

SketchMap:

Methodology:
1. StreetQualityIndex
Tofind theStreet Quality Index (SQI)weviewed10differentsiteslooking10metres
in all directions. We ratedthen rated thestreetquality from 110, (10beingthebest
rating). We rated them on 7 different aspect, egcongestion,and derelictbuildings.
Thehighestscorepossiblewouldbe70.
Evaluation
The method has it flaws as it is very subjective and opinion based. Depending on
age groups opinions may vary, additionally the weather could make an impact on
howwejudgetheareas.

2. PedestrianandVehicleCount
For the Pedestrianand VehicleCounteachgroupwasassigned1site,meaningthat
we covered 8 sites in total. All the groups had to start at the same time either at
12:00 or 15:00. Every pedestrian orvehicle that passedgottalliedfor a periodof 5
minutes, and it was noted if they were going in or out. Then at the end added up
together.
Evaluation:
Theresultwere quite successfulassplittingthe groups meantthat every partofthe
city was covered. Although we only took the survey at one certain time of the day
meaning that the results could change at different times, eg rush hour, or late at
night.
3. GroundFloorLandUseMap
Usingagoad mapwith agridon topwe walkedaroundand thedominantlanduse.
Wenoteddownaletteronamap,(egs=shops,v=vacant).
Evaluation:
It wasn't very successful asmanyshops were closed and hadtheirshuttersclosed
makingitdifficult toidentifywhatthepurposeofthebuilding.Moreoveritwasdifficult
to complete the task due to time restrictions and having tocoverawhole city. This
meantthatwehadtosharedatabackatEagle'snestinsteadofMende.

4. Transect
For the transect,each group wasassignedone ofthe 4transects.Every3buildings
we notedthenumbersofstoreys,thebuildingfunction,vehiclerestrictionandageon
abookingsheet.
Evaluation:
Itdidn'tgo toowell asweweremoretemptedtonotedownthe buildingswithashop
or restaurant than a residential building. Additionally some buildings it for some
buildingsitwashardtodistinguishbetweenonebuildingandother.

DataPresentation

SQIGraph
I choose to represent thedatainabarchartasitisveryclearandunderstandable.It
also allows you to estimate key values. Thenegatives about this data graph isthat
the smallerdatais moredifficulttoread,itlacksextraexplanationswhichisessential
fordatagraphs, toalsobemanipulatedbyfalseimpressionsandthefailuretoreveal
key assumptionssuch as causes,effectsand patterns.Withthedata I can say that
the SQIis higherneartheCBD,astheSQIishigheratsites1,2,3,withanaverage
of 45 pointsanditdecreases thefurtheraway you gofromtheCBD.Suchasatthe
sites,5,6,7weretheSQIisaround35.

LandUseMap
I choose to represent the data in this way as it is very clear and understandable,
because its very clear and understandable, the colours make it easy to read and
identifybuildingsandstructures. Thenegativesofthisstrategyisthatmendeisquite
asmallcity,whereasifthisweretobeappliedinalargecityitwouldtakealongtime
to map out and identify every structure and colour. With the daterepresented I can
identify that the CBD is near to the centre, linking back to the hypotheses. In the
CBD you can find buildings like Offices, Public Buildings, Shops, and Religious
Buildings. Building size also increasesslightly furtheraway from the CBD,and less
conested.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the hypotheses states that "A town centre has a distinct CBD,
identified by the ground floor landuse, SQI and congestion." For Mende this is
correct, as a religious building at the centre just like we expected, additionally
shops/restaurants can be found surrounding it. The hypotheses also states that
"The quality of the built up environment will be higher in the CBD than in the
surrounding housingareas."thisisalso correctasbuildingstoreysintransects4and
3 surrounding the CBD were higher than transects 1 and 2. Finally the hypothesis
statesthat "TheCBD willbe morecongestedthanoutside theCBD."thisispartially
true as the church and several large buildings are found in theCBD,although you
canfindseveral buildings near theedgeandthebuildingsizedoesincreasesfurther
awayfromtheCBD.