Very Soft Analysis

The soft analysis that I focused on last week came to fruition from multiple visits to the site. The data I collected was very soft because it came from conversations with people and my own interpretations of feeling in and around the site.

While sitting in from of site one for a couple hours (in front of Halal Meat & Grocery Store). I noticed that there was a lot of activity in and out of the residential portion of the building. The people entering were between 20 – 45 years old. The people that entered the building were a bit “sketchy” mainly because they spent about one to two minutes inside. It leads me to believe that there might be some drug deals going down inside. It may have been something else, but that activity opened up my eyes a bit.

I then spoke with a woman that worked inside the nick nack store called Ladies Handbags, Electronics, Ornaments and Fashion Wear. I asked her several questions but the highlight of the conversation was that she wishes the area was a little safer. She said that people were poor in the area and that she had been broken into several times. The store had absolutely no activity when I sat in front for two hours and she said that is pretty much the busiest it ever gets. It is a surprise to me how a store like this stays open. Another item that I found intriguing in our conversation was that this store used to be located in Davis Square. She said that the rent became too expensive in that area and they were forced to move to Union Square.

Along with this interview are the simple diagrams of my feelings around the site. The images are the highlights of my diagrams.

I actually just found this crime report website. Maybe it could be helpful moving forward with analysis:

http://www.crimereports.com/map/index/?search=400somervilleave+Somerville+MA