Posted on April 21st, 2010 by Ellie Brodie in Archived project news
Tagged as: fieldwork, participatory mapping, research methods
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I recently facilitated two participatory mapping workshops in Enfield in outer London, the ‘suburban’ fieldwork area. These workshops aimed to get a feel for the ‘where’ bit of the Pathways research: where do people go to take part? What are the main ‘sites’ of participation in the local area? What are the key places that residents identify as important? And, what happens in these places?

The richness and diversity of places and the different ways in which people get involved in the area was striking - from the very local (e.g. Friends of Parks groups) to the global (e.g. fundraising for international causes through local churches or the activist network of the local fair trade group).

Mapping was a really effective way of gathering local people’s knowledge: I learnt a lot about the area that I hadn’t from talking to individuals, walking around observing the area and reading newspapers and reports. Participants were also positive about the experience of taking part: some fed back that they had enjoyed creating the maps, and others commented that they were surprised (and pleased) that they lived in a place where so much is happening.  

You can find out more about the Leeds workshops here, and the sessions in Suffolk here. And look out for our forthcoming report on all three mapping sessions, including our thoughts on the pros and cons of using this research method.

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