Week 9: Public Plaza Survey (Finally!)

Hi everyone!

I am pleased to share that I have finally started my Public Plaza Study. I have been responsible for doing the survey of Forsyth Plaza and the survey of Forsyth Street. I am doing this study at different times of day and on different weather days.

Forsyth Plaza is a public space right off of the Manhattan Bridge. It is at the corner of Canal Street and Forsyth Street. In this area, I completed two hour long surveys. One tracked movement and how residents and visitors used this space. The other survey tracked how many people entered this space and what demographics dominated this public area in Chinatown.

I have included a screenshot of one of surveys I filled out this week. This one was for tracking people entering Forsyth Plaza.

My other responsibility was to survey Forsyth Street. If you have been reading my previous blog posts, you know that I have spent a lot of time on this block in Chinatown because that’s where a lot of street vendors in Chinatown sell their produce. Like the Forsyth Plaza study, I tracked movement, use, and people in the area. I wrote down and observed vendors, sellers, and people who entered the “marketplace”.

In terms of exciting news, the Public Plaza Study is the last part of research needed for the Commercial District Needs Assessment. The draft for the Commercial District Needs Assessment should be ready for the Small Business Services at the end of the month. I have enjoyed being a part of this research and this opportunity. I have learned so much about the businesses in Chinatown and their unique struggle. In the upcoming weeks, I will start writing a research paper that will answer the question that I had posed for my senior project. I have a few more sessions of the Public Plaza Study to do next week so stay tuned to hear more about my experience wrapping that up.

Thanks for reading!