WHAT IF... part 2, RESEARCH... finding a problem

After grouping ourselves based on the photographs we took/collected... we were given the next part of the brief.

The task was to research into our chosen area... and subsequently find a problem, based on Leeds as a city from what we found.

We started our research looking into the history of leeds, the old vs the young, leeds in the 1800's/1900's compared to what it is like now. Trying to compare different attitudes to the city... what is the difference between the attitudes of the students and those of the older generation... what did they want out of Leeds, who respects it more?

After doing a lot of research into historical Leeds, we discovered a lot of it took place outside the actual city... most of the historic sights are found on the outskirts, in places that can only just call themselves 'Leeds'.

This really interested us, as we found that none of us had really thought about actually leaving the city center (where we are based/live/study/party) and explore the outskirts... maybe get a more cultural/historical experience.

Basing this as a stepping stone, we produced a survey for students, trying to find out the correlation between how long they had been in the city and the amount of historical places they had visited outside the actual city center... how often they even leave the center.

These were our questions...

1. HOW LONG HAVE YOU LIVED IN LEEDS?

1-12 months 1-2 years 2-3 years 3 years or more

2. WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN INTERESTS?

music art film animals literature sport science food

3. WHAT IS YOUR WEEKLY BUDGET INVOLVING LEASURE?

£1-10 £10-20 £20-30 £30-40 £40-50 £50 plus

4. WHAT IS YOUR MAIN MEANS OF TRANSPORT IN AND AROUND LEEDS?

bus walk cycle car taxi train

5. HOW OFTEN DO YOU LEAVE THE CITY CENTRE?

daily weekly monthly never

6. HAVE YOU HEARD OF THESE PLACES?

Harewood House Temple Newsam Kirkstall Abbey Headingley Castle

West Indian Center Thackary Medical Museum Tropical World

7. HAVE YOU BEEN TO ANY OF THE PLACES LISTED ABOVE?

yes no

From the results of this survey we discovered that our thoughts were correct... people who have lived here longer seemed to have been to some of these places, but the students that had just arrived hadn't even heard of most of them, and rarely ever left the city centre.

Also we found that a lot shared the same interests... music, art, food and film... so we thought we could find out about events maybe put on at these historic sights which would encourage people to leave the city centre and explore.

Our final problem is...

Students do know what is beyond Leeds city centre