GEOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENT ON BUILT ENVIRONMENT:
How Spaces are Being Used in the Neighbourhood
Done By: 110 IDU Group3- Goh Xiao Ni, Shannon Chan, Chin Keralynn, Isabella & Chen Huilin
The Neighbourhood
The neighbourhood we chose for this assignment is Yishun. Yishun is a residential town in the north-eastern corner of Singapore. It is a vibrant place with approximately 201 000 residents.
Pavilion
The Spaces : Pavilion, Coffee Shop, Fitness Corner and Children’s Playground
With residents ranging from new-borns to the elderly, the are different facilities for people of different age groups to use. We chose to observe the pavilion, coffee shop, fitness corner and children’s playground and investigate how people make use of these spaces.
The pavilion is a sheltered, rectangular area right beside the carpark. It is approximately 22m by 9m. The floor is made of ceramic tiles, and is surrounded by pebbled floorings. There are a total 4 of fans mounted on the walls. There are incandescent light bulbs on both the ceiling and pillars. These lights will automatically turn on at 7pm. There are also seats by the side of the pavilion. Other than that, this place is just an empty space which can cater to many people's needs.
It is used the most at two time periods. One is in the morning at around 9-10am while the other is in the evening at around 5-7pm. As this place is relatively new, it is still in good and new condition and have not been renovated, although the walls and pillars have been re-painted once.
Street Map
The Pavilion
How people use the space:
Many activities can be carried out here. Large-scale events like Malay weddings, baby showers and birthday parties have been held here. At the same time, Chinese funerals were also held here. Other than these, interest groups make use of this space frequently. Awards ceremony were also held using the pavilion. However, many residents just use this space to carry out small-scale activities such as sports activities like badminton, soccer and cycling.
For sports activity-Badminton
The pavilion has a large area and can be used to carry out various activities.
The Pavilion
How people use the space:
For community events-Flea Market
The Pavilion
Other than the residents, other members of public living across the street or in the Yishun constituency comes here and frequents the place. Members of the community club often come here to carry out their activities too. They can use the Activity Group Room at the Community Clubs. However, as they have to book a slot before they can use it, and also have too pay a fee for using the place, it becomes a hassle and they prefer to use the pavilion instead.
The taichi and qigong interest group come here every Saturday while other groups come to use this space randomly. People from all walks of life frequent this place at random too.
Residents who met for the very first time playing badminton together.
A sketch of the paviliom
How people use this space
How people use the space:
For interest group activities-
Taichi and Qigong
For community events-Flea Market
Fitness Corner
A Chinese resident who rented a stall. She is selling hair accessories and baby’s clothes and other items.
A Malay resident who rented a stall is putting up tudongs (Malay headdress/ cover) and other items for sale.
Flea Markets are held here. Residents can apply to rent a stall beforehand and set up their booth to sell their goods on the day itself. Residents from Yishun Riverwalk as well as other members of public come here to have look and buy the items that they fancy.
The community club make use of such community events to promote other community events. They also provide basic information regarding the CC for residents. They are also put up notices for new courses at the CC and information regarding interest groups, such as gardening and baking, for interested residents to join.
The Taichi and Qigong interest group make use of the pavilion to carry out their activities every Saturday from 7am to 9am.
The Fitness Corner:
The Fitness Corner
Sketch of the fitness corner.
The fitness corner taken from different angles and location. The fitness corner has a variety of equipment for the public to use.
The fitness corner is set in an oval shape and is approximately 21m and 10m at its two widest points. There are seats available people to sit and rest along the perimeter of the fitness corner. It has equipment such as monkey bars and parallel bars and information boards near the equipment to inform the public the proper way of using the equipment to prevent injuries. The floor is made from rubber to prevent injuries if a fall or collision occurs. However, the equipment is made of metal.
Coffee Shop
The Fitness Corner:
How people use the space
For Physical Activities
A mother supervising and filming her daughter, who is exploring the facilities in the fitness corner
The residents and members of Pacific Activity Centre carrying out their workout session. They have such sessions every day unless the weather is not favourable.
In the morning at around 9, members from Pacific Activity Centre comes to the fitness corner to workout. However, other residents of different ages join in too.
It is most oftenly used in the the mornings at around 9.30am and in the evenings. People ranging from childrens to the elderly make use of this space for their activities. Childrens use the basic equipments such as monkey bars and "ladder", while teenagers use this space to just chit-chat or train for their NAPFA. Adults use this space to warm up before they carry out the excercise regime while the elderly uses this space to carry out excercise routines.
It observed that the elderly go to the fitness corner in groups and almost everyday morning except during weekends. The children usually go there every evening but there are exceptions. It was observed that the adults and teenagers use the space only a few days during the week.
There are alternatives such as parks. However, as they are located some distance away from the area, it would be more convenient for the residents to use this space instead.
The Coffee Shop
The coffee shop is set in a rectangular shape and is designed simply. It is approximately 20m by 11m. There are tables and seats on the interior are rectangular and are fixed and nailed to the floor. The tables on the exterior are circular and foldable. As the coffee shop has just re-opened, many stalls are still unoccupied and put up for rent. Previously, all the stalls have been occupied and in business. However, due to the poor quality of food, business was slow and it eventually closed down. The owner of the coffee shop have since changed and currently, only 7 of the 10 stalls are occupied. Current stalls sell food items such as mixed vegetable rice, ban mian, western food and zi char etc.
Coffee Shop
Sketch of the coffee shop.
How people use the space
The coffee shop is the most busy at during lunchtime, from 11am to 1pm, and dinnertime, from 7pm to 8pm. Other than the residents who live here, contractors and office workers from other areas also come here to have their lunch during lunch breaks. The residents from other residential areas such as Yishun Natura and Yishun Greenwalk also come here to have their meal as it is more convenient. People ranging from children to the elderly come here to eat during mealtimes. People are seen coming here everyday. There is no other alternative as the nearest coffee shops are all at least two bus stops away and prove to be very inconvenient in terms of travelling there.
Other than having their meal here, it is observed that the coffee shop is a place where people meet up to chat. Several groups of people were observed to be having long conversations over coffee or tea. Other groups were seen lingering after finishing their meal just to continue the conversation the had while eating. Some were also seen reading a book or watching videos on the phone in the coffee shop.
For Having a Meal and Holding Conversations
People having their meal and holding a conversations at the same time.
Children's Playground
The Children's Playground
The Children's Playground
Here, children can make use of the equipment for play. Parents supervising their children were also observed to be playing with them occasionally. Other parents who know one another would strike up a conversation and chat until it is time for them to bring their children back home. Sometimes, it is the grandparents who bring their grandchildren down to the playground to play and we can see the intergenerational bonding through their interaction. Children also make friends when playing games such as 'Catching' and 'Ice and Freeze' at the playground.
There are alternatives such as the playgrounds at Yishun Nature Park and the playgound nearer to Block 335C. However, both playgrounds are only suitable for children above the age of 7 and are not able to cater to the needs of children below the ages of 7. Whereas the playground between Block 334C and 333C.
The playground is most often used in the evenings, from 5pm to 7pm. However, people are also seen using this space in the mornings from 9am to 10am. The playground is mostly used by children and youths of ages ranging from 3-16. Adults were also seen supervising the younger children as they play. People are seen coming here everyday unless weather conditions are not favourable.
This place have never been renovated but the seats along the perimeter of the have been repainted as the paint had started to peel off.
This is a playground targeted at children from 3-5 years old and 6-12 years old. It has playground equipment such as swings, slides and rocking horse. Most of the play equipment are made of durable plastic. Similar to the fitness corner, the floor is made from rubber to prevent injuries if a fall or collision occurs. This place also is set in an oval shape and is approximately 27m and 15m and its two widest points.
Sketch of the children's playground.
How people use the space
For Physical Activities and Bonding
Situation
A housewife bringing her child down to the playground in the morning.
When it comes to the evening, many children will come down to the playground, with the supervision of several parents or grandparents.
These spaces are easily accessible as they are open to the public, unlike private residential areas. It is also easy to get here as there is a bus stop and 2 carparks nearby so the public can easily get here by private or public transporatation. There are also signboards to indicate the location of these spaces so people who are visiting this place for the first time can easily get there. Many residential areas are near these spaces so people can come here easily to make use of the spaces.
While supervising their children or grandchildren at play, some of the adults will start a conversation that lasts until it is time for the children to go back home.
Grandparents and grandchildren at the playground. Through their interaction, we can see the intergenerational bonding.
Interview #1
Interview #2
An interview with a non-resident of Yishun Riverwalk who is a frequent user of the fitness corner
An interview with a 9-year-old male resident who frequently uses the pavilion for sports activities with his friends/classmates from school.
-A resident of Yishun Riverwalk.
-Used the pavilion very often, at least four times a week, during the holidays but only during the weekends during school term.
-Mainly does sports activities in the pavilion, such as riding on bicycles, playing badminton or soccer with his friends from school,
-Likes the pavilion as it is sheltered and has a large area and has shade so it is very suitable for many activities.
-Finds that the pavilion blocks out some wind when playing badminton, as compared to playing in the court, making it more suitable.
-Prefers playing in the pavilion than at the badminton court or in the field and thinks that it is the best place to meet up with his friends for outdoor activities. It is more convenient for him and his classmates as they all live here.
-Often meet up at his friends' houses to play games such as Monopoly when they are all free.
-Obsereved that people also used the pavilion for events such as Malay weddings, baby showers, birthday parties and Chinese funerals. He had also seen people racing their remote control cars here and found it very cool. He finds that a lot of people use this place for different activities.
-A resident of Yishun Natura, a residential area which is a street away. She is also a member of the Parent Support Group of Northview Primary School, where her children study at.
-Comes here as she thinks there are more facilities. The facilities at Yishun Natura is very limited; therefore she come here to make use of the facilities instead.
-Uses the fitness corner for daily workout session with a group of people of varying ages. She oftens stays behind to chat with the other participants.
-She also bring her children who are 8 and 11 respectively to the playground here to play in the evenings as she finds that the equipment at the playground at Yishun Natura are targeted at children below 7 and not suitable for her children. There are also more people here, so she believes that her children get to interact with more people. Believes that it is better for her children to be outdoors, rather than being cooped up in the house with their mobile devices.
-Knows some of the PSG members living here so while watching the children play, they chit chat here and discuss some of the upcoming events that we are organising as the PSG.
-She often meets up with other PSG members in their houses to cook together . Several of them also take zumba and yoga classes at the community club together, carrying on their friendship beyond the space.
-Likes using the spaces as the facilities are in very good condition. She noticed that once a facility is damaged and needs maintenance, the area would be cordoned off and attended to quickly. She also likes thee environment as there is a lot of flora, meaning fresh air.
-With facilities in good condition, a large land area to carry out activities, and seats for parents to just sit there and supervise their children playing, she likes it here at the fitness corner very much.
-Wishes that there are more community gardens in the neighbourhood. As of now, there are only a few community gardens in Yishun, none of them new residential areas, like in Yishun Natura, Yishun Riverwalk and Yishun Greenwalk. She feels that it would be good in there are community gardens in each of this residential areas for residents to bond through gardening.
THE END
GEOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENT ON BUILT ENVIRONMENT: How Spaces are Being Used in the Neighbourhood
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