Objective:
– Practicing the preliminary interviewing process – Empathy – Step one of Design Thinking Method
– Practicing how to document the feedback
– Practice what information can be learned from a positive interview about the neighborhood
Walking around Yorkville (from 82nd to 91st street) was interesting to me because it felt like I was home in Canada. The playgrounds, parks, greenery, children, quietness, people and the view of the riverside were what made me think of home. However, Yorkville compared to the rest of the city and the area where I live (1st Ave) had a huge difference in terms of the vibrancy of the city and the people. I realized that the people at Yorkville were kind and caring, not assuming but the actual interactions with people and the conversations I had with the people. Walking on 84th street down to the riverside, there very few people because of the residential area. I mainly saw families of three or more (parents with children), people walking their dogs, etc.
When I reached the riverside, I saw many people with their dogs at the dog park. I began observing the people who were observing other people.
Questions
What brings you to Yorkville?
Do you come here often?
Do you enjoy coming here and how do you come here?
Are you a Yorkville resident?
What are your impressions of the people living in Yorkville?
What are the places here that you must go and visit?
I noticed that in my first interview, I started off with a casual conversation instead of going straight into the questions relating to my topic. I slowly engaged my topic into the conversation because I thought it helped the interviewee feel less awkward and feel more comfortable. It is important to make the person feel comfortable while meeting them for the first time and make yourself approachable. Although, in the first interview, I did not mention that I was recording as for the second one I asked for permission to audio record the interview.
