Decisions

From the previous trial we decided we wanted to compare "stitches" of properties along the two harbours. 
We chose roads leading towards the sea. 
We obtain data from houses around the chosen roads.
We would only select properties that had was marketed with some association to water. eg. the image advertising the property had a view of the harbour or it mentions water in the property description.
We neglected the CBD because we soley only wanted private residential properties.
We chose properties that have an advertising image.
     Due to the above requirement this limits our data to properties sold, rented or for sale in the last 2 years.

Trial One

Here is our first attempt at mapping the data we collected on residential properties in relation to their proximity to water. 

From this trial we realised that we wanted to compare how far inland water influences property value rather than only comparing data from properties in close proximity around the coast. Also, this test made us aware of how  particular  symbols and methods of representation are read and that we need to be careful.  For example the line coming out of the each property represents the land value per square meter but may indicate to a reader of the map the view that property may have.

Collecting Data - Trial One

We collected data for a test map. Data was collected about property's along the coast. For each property we obtained several pieces of information

1. An image used to advertise the property
2. Address
3. Land Value
4. Land Area
5. Floor Area

Eg.

Development

Our project took has made quite a progression in terms of what we wanted to pursue for this mapping exercise.

We found that we needed to really figure out it what information we wanted to  find.  We have gone off on a bit of a tangent from what we originally was heading towards as we discovered collecting memories from people about places would be quite difficult to first obtain, then translate into data that we could analyse and map carefully. 

Rather than collecting stories/memories to show how a place with/by a body of water becomes significant by its telling we have decided to collect data to show how proximity to a body water can give more significance to property's value.


This idea came from discussions concerning the value of water and questioning this in terms of how it is valued in Auckland.

Previous post : "Auckland can be characterized in many ways with water. It is predominately surrounded by water and it is an area uniquely situated in between two main bodies of water:  Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean." 

We decided to collect some data along these two bodies of water. 

Collaborations

I was talking to Shelley about undertaking this mapping process together. The scope of the project could potentially become quite large and the 3d map installation could also be a big undertaking. We got talking about the texts she had read and how they have relevance. She also could identify with this topic and could see the data collected being presented in a hanging installation to represent the ephermal quality that memories have.

This could be a interesting direction. Perhaps the hanging installation could reveal particular places/memories from different viewpoints.

This discussion reminded me of an artist, Claire Morgan, that I have admired over the years and the beautiful moments she captures in her work:

Seminar Mapping

So from the reading I'm quite interested in the idea of the stories/memories of a place that come about by its telling and it is these personal relationships that give places a particular significance. People make a place. 

Auckland can be characterized in many ways with water. It is predominately surrounded by water and it is an area uniquely situated in between two main bodies of water:  Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean.

Cities are nothing without people, and Auckland would not be Auckland without its waters. I want to find out the relationships the city has with its people through its key/defining element of water. I want to map physical bodies of water in Auckland that people identify/encounter/associate with by collecting a selection of stories/memories revealed about different places.

Methodology:

I want to collect data by asking fellow Aucklanders to list places say five* physical bodies in Auckland and why. This might be an informal discussion with people in person, using social media or via a survey. I hope to find reasons that invoke a particular memory, significance or reputation, and if they have been there. The number of places asked for may vary depending on initial findings. *(Subject to change: The more places required increases the likeliness of naming a place purely for reputational reasons)

This research gives situational data as well as personal/intangible data that could encompass a number of different categories for how Aucklanders might identify themselves with a place; culturally, social, spiritually.

Test example: I asked my mum to 'name 6 bodies of water in Auckland and why did she named those places.'

1) Jellicoe Park fountain-  Where Jane(her sister) had her first house.

2) Mission Bay fountain - Where her sisters and her always went to when they were little.

3) Albert Park fountain - City place to rest and where she would go when she would sometimes pick me up from uni.

4) Buckland's Beach - Where Cindy (her sister) lives and where we would sometimes have big family gatherings.

5) Devonport - famous place for its beautiful sunset and view of Auckland Central City.

6) Museum fountain - Where she took her wedding photos.

Forms of representation that you might employ in making the mapping:

At the moment I'm quite keen on creating a 3D map or an installation of some kind.

Example: Map Installation - Melbourne Museum - 2007

The array of columns that greet the visitor to the Melbourne Museum are manufactured from specially punched and folded perforated aluminium and 6mm thick aluminium flanges. The columns are finished with automotive paint which have been mounted permanently on heavy steel plinths that are able to be moved by forklift to create space in the Museum Foyer when needed for private functions.
Inside each column is a range of acrylic formed display boxes that house samples of site specific goods from various parts of Victoria. This installation job presented it's own challenges owing to the size and weight of the objects that needed to be moved on an occasional basis. When the viewer stands in a specific place in the entrance foyer, perspective joins all of the columns up to create a map of Victoria.

I like how the map is revealed from a certain perspective. Like a place is revealed from a person's own memories.

Janice Caswell

I was researching how one might map memories because I'm quite interested in how you could map something so intangible and ephemeral. Janice Caswell has an interesting methods of mapping memories.

She says her work arises out of a desire to capture experience and an impulse to locate, arrange and secure the past. Her work also embraces the mind’s faulty processes in trying to accomplish this. She creates her mental maps in the form of large scale wall drawings and works on paper. She connects a system of color coded circular points with drawn lines or threads to define a space and re-create a past experience using an organizational map constructed from her own memories. She admits that there is no way for her to accurately chart these memories, but she is more interested in the process of how the mind organizes information and how that can play out visually. When you look at her work you get a sense of how memories can be so intertwined, that making them fixed points on a timeline could be impossible to sort out.