The First Walking Ethnographic Exercise

Departure

I visited Brooklyn Heights on Wednesday, July 18th, at around 1:30 to 3:30 pm. From my house, it took approximately 25-35 minutes via G and A train to get to the High Street-Brooklyn Bridge station.

Record

I started recording my routes verbally after I got off the train station at Brooklyn Heights. I voice-recorded my trip for 40 minutes to an hour but the recording is 15 minutes long due to the pauses. I noted my geographical locations, named the streets and directions I took, and described what I was seeing. The verbal recording helped me to be more observant of the neighborhood, because I had to look in order to explain it. I was more descriptive of my surroundings than when I’d just think about them in my head. My descriptions were particularly detailed for the shapes around me and the situations I encountered. In general, it supported my trip by making me more engaged.

My Voice Record:

(15 minutes)

Route

(red: my trip, blue: going home)

Visual Materials

Cadman Plaza Park:

Brooklyn Bridge:

Prospect Street Past Brooklyn Bridge:

York Street Subway:

Sands Street + Pearl Street:

Jay Street + Concord Street:

Saint James Cathedral Basilica:

Kings County Family Court:

Korean War Veteran’s Plaza:

Clint Street + Pierrepont Street:

Beautiful Stair Railing on Pierrepont Street:

Metal lamp in front of Chase Bank on Clinton Street:

Reflection

I was often surprised by the beautiful architecture of Brooklyn Heights. I especially liked the design of a turquoise-colored stair railing at a residential house. I’ve shown it in photographs above. Most buildings, including houses, were generally bigger and taller than those in other parts of Brooklyn. I accidentally walk towards Downtown Brooklyn in the middle of my trip, and started to see way more state-run buildings such as courts and schools. I also began to see more people, especially more visitors and bikers in Downtown Brooklyn. It was a very hot day, and I was surprised by how busy most streets were. I walked past by many people, people of various races, who seemed to have diverse professions. I saw at least two big groups of people—a group of elementary school students on a field trip, wearing the same blue shirts and waiting for the green light, and a group of high school students right outside a big school. I found myself sweating a lot towards the end of my trip.

 

Going Back Home

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