1. In the time that we observed Central Park we saw mostly, quiet leisurely activities. There were many parents and nannies walking with young children in strollers around the park. Oppositely there were a lot of older  people just sitting, chatting, people watching or reading. Many people made use of the park by jogging along the paths. A few people in business attire, perhaps on their way to work also made use of walking along the paved walk ways. Some business people also stopped briefly to sit and make phone calls in quiet areas. There was a rise in the number of business people after noon which may be because of the lunch hour. Throughout the time we spent in Central Park we mostly saw(what seemed like) tourists. Some tourist were riding the rentable bikes and some were riding in the horse an buggy carriages. Most were sightseeing and taking a large number of pictures or everything (the trees, the sculptures, the animals, other people). In heavily populated tourist areas there were performers (a harpist in Bethesda Terrace for example) and spectators giving them money. We also briefly observed children playing soccer on a field early in the morning. The children seemed to be apart of a school or day-care group. There were also a group of older student, seemingly college age, using the park as a setting in the shooting of a film.

2.The most common activities we observed were the ones that involved tourists. Specifically, picture taking was the most common activity. People using the park were more commonly found in concrete areas rather than the  green spaces of the park. Since picture taking tourist used the park the most that day,  the most heavily used concrete sections of Central Park were the iconic areas which are popular amongst visitors to New York City. For example, there were several people in the concrete rotunda near the Alice in Wonderland statue but there were even more people at the actual sculpture, which is a popular tourist attraction, although the area is actually smaller in size. There may have been a surge in tourist activity the day we entered the park because the weather was chilly and muggy. The bad weather may have led New Yorkers to stay inside but would not have had as much of an impact on tourists who are visiting New York for a short period of time.

3. Coordinate points that were close to monuments, sculptures, or other sites of attractions tended to have larger groups of people. These areas also included cafes or well known spots by tourists and locals alike, such as the boathouse. The most prevalent social uses for the park included picture taking, reading, and jogging. Tourist use of the park was easily notable as it was limited primarily to eating and taking pictures. Those who jogged or played organized games could arguable be locals and therefore doing these activities in the park are without going too much out of the way.

4. Human activities such as running, reading were most often found in regions of the park with high traffic passing through. Paths roads and walkways were where we found most of these activities. On the other hand, picture taking was done in large open spaces or in places with monuments or a site of attraction like the zoo or boathouse. Within these regions, people tended to be in larger groups as opposed to those who ran or read on a bench in pairs or alone.

5. One aspect of Whyte’s analysis of open spaces can most definitely be applied to Central Park–when there are places to sit, people sit. Though it was a rainy day, many people found momentary comfort on the benches in the walk ways. Though the wet weather did not create the optimal conditions for sitting on the grass, I know–as I’m sure many others do–that areas like the great lawn where sitting is invited are greatly utilized within the park. Other areas, like those around monuments have a large amount of benches surrounding them as to invite seating. I think the vast amount of seating, though not necessarily on ledges, would be sufficient in Whytes view. However, large monuments, like the fountains had ledges too low for sitting. This condition may be improved by increasing seating in that area over all. Since as in Whyte’s video, people attract more people, many of the people we observed were clustered. Similarly, Whyte asserted that people often cluster in high traffic areas in which one neither commits to the space, nor continues to move forward. This, was very common as many people tended to be around walk-ways rather than in main fields (though rain could largely account for that). For that reason, such walk-ways should be larger as to not block traffic. Perhaps instead walk ways should be more integrated into the park so there is less of a transition from said walk-ways into the park itself.

6. Yes, Owen’s argument about Central park as a barrier does hold up. We visited Central Park on a chilly Wednesday afternoon at 10 am and stayed until 12:30 pm and observed the social use of the park. The park was occupied by mostly joggers, nannies, and a few people simply walking through. It was quite dead throughout most of the park; with the exceptions of most popular tourist attracting areas. However once we exited the park it was easy to notice that there were more people rushing to get where they had to go. Owen states that people tend to choose the route with more pedestrian traffic. People choose not to walk through more open/ empty space and this includes Central Park. Walking where there is more traffic makes the distance of the walk seem smaller. This is why people decide not to walk through the park since there is less pedestrian traffic. This “trick of perception” is described as the reason for Central Park acting as a barrier. Our observations support this assertion.

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