Essay On The Sidewalk Walk

1. Observation
1.1 Site Description
It is shocking to imagine how rectangles of concrete laid on the floor can create such an impact on the lives of the people who walk above them. For this project, I decided to visit the historic sidewalk on the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Orchard Avenue. Located near the University of Southern California at 1057-1199 W. Jefferson Blvd, this sidewalk is significant because it is considered the gateway between two worlds. This sidewalk stretches for nearly 0.2 miles and holds a variety of activities within it. In order to make precise observations, I decided to narrow my surveillance to the last 250 feet of the sidewalk due to the constant activity I saw happening on it. This sidewalk can be considered
The first time I walked by the sidewalk was on a Friday afternoon. To be specific, I went on November 3, 2017 at around 3:30 P.M. It was a chilly Friday, roughly 65 degrees and the forecast that day had stated that there was a 25 percent chance of showers or even rain. Because my first visit was on a Friday, there was not a lot of activity on the sidewalk. This is because many students do not have classes on Friday, so the amount of human traffic dramatically decreases compared to what is seen on earlier days of the week. I also believe people did not go out due to the chance of rain and the fear of getting wet. I did see however, a total of 10 people come out of there housing complexes during my 10-minute observation. Four of them hopped into their cars and drove off, (I presume they went to go do errands) and the other 6 went to go buy food from the food trucks lined up along the sidewalk. The second time I visited the sidewalk was 4 days later. I went on a Tuesday morning on November 7, 2017 at 11:00 A.M. What I noticed during my 2nd visit was the significant increase of activity. My phone indicated that it was a comfortable 72 degrees with clear skies. The sidewalk was in full effect as students and the community were using it to go to campus, go to work, and
The simple layout of a place can make a big difference in the quality of life of a person. In order to fully understand the significance of sidewalks and their importance to the city and people, there must be a clear definition on what type of interactions sidewalks promote. For instance, according to Jan Ghel the “physical environment is one of the factors that influences the activities to a varying degree… outdoor activities, and a number of the physical conditions that influence them” (Ghel, 610). If all the conditions are met than the results are evident when a good environment is seen. Having a good environment can alter the broad spectrum of human activity. A good environment can lead to social activities which depend on the presence of others in public spaces. Ghel states that social activities include greetings and conversations between people, communal activities, and passive