Analyzing a Place Worksheet

Project #1 Worksheet                                                          

Your Place: Veterans Way Light Rail Station

What are the intended functions of the place?                       

    The intended function of the Light Rail Station is a nice, shaded waiting place for riders going on the Light Rail.

What overt messages does the place send (i.e., openly communicated through signs)?

      The message that the Station sends is that they are very informative by communicating through voice of speaker system and scrolling screen. They also are very informative through signs and directions on tickets machine.

What covert messages does the place send (i.e., hidden messages)?

       The hidden message at the light rail station is that they are making it a nice and safe way of transportation with the calming colors and clean environment.

Have previous users left traces behind in the place?

        Just like any other means of public transportation there are people that could care less and vandalize or leave there trash but with the Light Rail still being somewhat new, the matiness is still keeping it relatively clean so there are no traces of previous users.

Has the place been re-appropriated (i.e., beyond its original functions)?

      The Light Rail Station has only been used as a waiting station for the light Rail.

What social or cultural customs did you observe (i.e., rules governing appropriate behavior)?

       The social custom I observed was that you allow either the elderly or disabled or someone who needs a seat more than you, you give up your seat for them. 

Who has access to the place?  Are there insiders and outsiders?

     Everyone has access to the Light Rail Station it is a public place.

Who owns the place?

     Since the Light Rail is public transportation, the city owns the Station.

What is the place’s value (i.e., monetary or otherwise)?

      The Light Rail Station has some monetary value because the ticket machines.

Are there official representations of the place (i.e., online, in promotional materials)?  Do they accurately capture the place as you experienced it?

        The Light Rail has its own page on the Valley Metro Website and there are brochures that give real photos of the stations and the rail and does give the light rail an actual depiction of it.

Is the place in transition, a changing place?

         The Veterans Way Light Rail Station is not in transition it is completed but down the line they might expand the station or make fixes to what is there now.

What conflicts or tensions are there in the place?

         There are no conflicts or tensions at the station.

 

What is the place’s history?  Do you see evidence of the past there in the present?

     There is no evidence of the places history because before the station was built it was just a road.

How does this place differentiate itself from other places?  What other places is it similar to, but how is it different from those places?

      The Veterans Way Light Rail Station is very similar to the other Light Rail Stations but what makes this station different is view of the campus and “A” Mountain. No other station has a view like the Veterans Way Station.

What questions do you have about your place?

       What made them choose the number of seats? What made them choose the that particular setting of the station?

Key Features / Profiles (taken from the Norton Field Guide (Goggin and Bullock) Chapter 16, pages 165-166)

An interesting subject.  What is unusual about your place?  Alternatively, is there something ordinary about it that you can show in an intriguing way?

     What is interesting about the Light Rail is that it brings different types of people together and then on the other side, the light rail station is just the same as the other stations.

Any necessary background.  What background information will you need to include about the place in order to situate readers?

       Some background information I will need to get is technical detail about the actual light rail.

An interesting angle.  Rather than trying to tell readers everything about the place, what angle(s) might you use?

     I could tell about the station from the Light Rail drivers point of view or a matiness workers point of view.

A firsthand account.  Did you interact with people in the place or participate in some way?  What experiences did you have there that you can write about using “I”?  (Yes, first person point of view is encouraged, especially for this paper.)

      I did interact with people at the Light Rail Station. I can talk about my experiences on the Light Rail for examples going to the football games.

    

Engaging details.  What specific information must you include in your description of the place?  What potential does your place have for the use of sensory images, figurative language, dialogue, anecdotes, and showing rather than telling?  What do you want the dominant impression to be?

     I want the dominant impression people get is that the Light Rail Station is a nice, safe place for people to wait for the Light Rail. The potential use of sensory images is sight and hearing.

Generating Ideas and Text (taken from the Norton Field Guide (Goggin and Bullock) Chapter 16, pages 168-169)

Explore what you already know about your subject.  Why do you find this place interesting?  What did you already know about it?

      What I find interesting about the Light Rail Station is that the people who ride the light rail are not who I thought would ride it. I didn’t know much about the Light Rail Station before going there and riding the Light Rail.

If you’re planning to interview someone, prepare questions.  What would you like to ask someone in the place in order to better understand it?

    Why did you choose the Light Rail rather than he bus?

Do additional research.  Does your place have an online component?  How else might you gather additional research?

    The Light Rail has its own page on the Valley Metro Website. I can also go to the Transportation Center and there they can give me information on the Light Rail.

Analyze your findings.  What patterns, images, or recurring ideas or phrases did you use to describe your place?  What contrasts or discrepancies do you see?

      Nice and safe environment.  A place is not a place without the people.

Come up with an angle.  What is most memorable about your subject?  What most interests you?  What will interest your audience?

      The most memorable part of my subject is the people who are waiting at the Light Rail station. I feel like my audience would connect with the people who ride the Light Rail and interest them.