Columbus Circle
1.
5:45 pm first observations:
- Filling water bottles, drinking from water fountain
- Rickshaw drivers hanging around, waiting, not particularly pursuing customers. All seem to know one another. Mostly black
- Breakdancers & performers on informal "stage" (circle on the pavement next to the statue
- People watch the break dancers: some actively watching, some passively (they were sitting there when the dancing started)
- Take pictures of the statue, posing with the statue (wearing a Statue of Liberty hat)
- Read on iPad while sitting near the statue
- Some of the audience sits on statue facing performers. Most encircle performers, standing
- C. Circle is also a meeting point
- Some line up for ice cream but it's pricey: not many
- Some sit on peripheral benches
- Big crowd grows organically when performance starts. Approx. 60 and grows to 100. Some in crowd record with iPhones.
- Old people, kids and couples smile while watching the performance
- Trash collectors pass through
- A kid goes in the fountain, wades around
- Not many dogs
- High participation in performance (clapping, photos, respond to the performers' call to volunteer and be part of the choreography)
- Some sitting on the wall of the park, eating dinner, drinking coffee
Example of crowd members:
- Middle-aged man and young son walk out of the park, see the performers, immediately make a bee-line into the crowd and take out camera to take picture though he does not know what the performance is (can't see it from that far away). The kid approaches more cautiously, curiously, unconvinced.
Crowd composition:
- Diverse (Black, White, Indian, not so many Asians) all ages, families, couples, elderly, teens
Far away we see:
- Many runners, bicyclists, about 50 pass every minute. Mostly white.
2.
6:15 pm second observations:
Winnow down of categories and counting =
in 1 minute...
1. Rickshaw: 8
2. Performers: 5
3. Passers in and out: 23
4. Impromptu watchers: active and passive: 60-100
5. Resters: social and individual: social: 11 groups, individual: 13
6. Water-getters: 10
7. Park staff: 1
Secondary Observers Saw:
Saturday, September 15, 4:30-5:30pm
rickshaw 2 with passengers, 4 without passengers
walking dog 9
people with suitcases 5
people taking photos or video 12
people with headphones 3
street performers 5
coffee drinkers 5
with water bottles 10
eating corn 2
talking on the phone 6
using smartphone 12
runners 10
renting bikes 2
walking with a paper map 1
smokers 3
with shopping bags 29
people on horse carriage 4
walking holding hands 23
strollers 25
bike 69
watching performers 5
3.
Recommendations:
It helped to have the recommendations from the other group-- they noticed some specific attributes of the people in Columbus Circle that we had not noted-- such as carrying shopping bags, smoking, using paper maps, using smartphones as opposed to talking on the phone, etc.
Some of these additional observations confirmed behaviors we had already noticed and some affirmed our belief for the need to create a more structured, casual (though permanent) seating, table area.
1. Organize space better: bike racks, specified area for the rickshaws
2. Better lighting at night. Perhaps responsive to the music from the performers or the crowd itself
3. Changing display that shows which dance group is performing at the moment
4. Amphitheater were performers can be seen by ever-growing crowd. Currently once the crowd gets around 5 deep, you can't see around one another
5. Better use / highlighting of the statue itself? Again, lighting at night? Informational plaques?
6. Better use of the space behind the statue. Currently, neither the rickshaws, bicycles, nor performers use it as it is somewhat blocked from street-sight by the statue. So the crowds are more on either side.
7. More permanent cafe seats / tables. Many are having food on their laps, sitting on the statue or wall
SUMMARY...
What was learned, what was counter towards your original expectations or filled out your mental model in an interesting way?
- We did not expect to see the street performers and were surprised by how strong their presence is for Columbus Circle’s park entrance
- How many rickshaw drivers there were
- The two groups essentially owned that public space in that they are there every single day and build their living around their work at that entrance
What seems like a ripe opportunity?
- Better order for the haphazard bicycles and rickshaws. Better structure for the diners, coffee-drinkers, resters, sitters, etc. Such as permanent tables or high bars where people could dine and hang their bags / rest their bags rather than putting everything on the dusty ground
- Billboard for the dancers: showing which group is performing, perhaps a live video of them in the unused behind-statue space
- Amphitheatre-like stage
Timelapse video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEm39JyNdGo&feature=youtu.be
