An Investigation Into The Hypothesis That The Opening Of Festival Place In Basingstoke Has Had A Negative Impact On The Existing Town Centre

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An Investigation Into The Hypothesis That The Opening Of Festival Place In Basingstoke Has Had A Negative Impact On The Existing Town Centre

By

Will Hooper

10SK GCSE Geography Coursework

Year 10 Eggar’s School


2nd November 2003

H/W

GCSE Geography Coursework.

Basingstoke Field Trip Study.

6th October 2003.

Introduction to Basingstoke Field Study.

Hypothesis: The opening of Festival Place in Basingstoke has had a negative impact on the existing town centre.

Organising Question:

  1. How has Festival Place affected the existing town centre?

Introduction:

        Based upon my personal experience visiting Basingstoke both before and after the construction of Festival Place, I predict that the hypothesis will be false. Whilst Festival Place has probably taken business away from the town centre, it has also given those businesses a new more developed place to open up their businesses in Festival Place, an increased volume of potential customers visiting Basingstoke, and the opportunity to build upon their business and make more money.

Although the mall brings in more people and pollution to that area of town, it is also well away from any homes in the area and the increased pollution level from the cars is so insubstantial that it makes little difference and does not really affect the towns pollution levels.

        I am going to collect data in graphs, maps, questionnaires, diagrams and the internet. To collect data in questionnaires, I will ask people questions and put this into graphs and/or charts. For the maps, I will study them and take note of urban areas, shopping areas, car parking and many other factors. When creating the graphs, I will use the questionnaires and any other form of data collection I have that can be shown in graphs or charts. Diagrams will show the details in my work.

Map 1: Basingstoke Town Centre and Festival Place

(source: www.multimap.com)

The map on the previous page shows the location of Festival Place in relation to the town centre in Basingstoke.  The aerial photograph below covers the same area showing the buildings prior to the Festival Place development, giving an indication of the building structure and land use.

(source www.multimap.com)

Map 2: Basingstoke and Surrounding Catchment Area

(source www.multimap.com)

        

The map above shows the approximate location of Festival Place, introducing Festival Place and the centre of Basingstoke in relation to the surrounding catchment area and the local transportation network.

Method for the Basingstoke Field Study.

        I will use many different ways to collect data. One of these ways is to use a questionnaire that I will aim to complete with at least 10 questions, some of which will be from the questionnaire sheet provided, others that I have developed. I will aim to collect data from roughly 10 people and, if possible, go back to Basingstoke on another day to get more results. I will present the data from the questionnaire in graphs, and possibly data charts, on Excel or another form of software that lets me create graphs. I will use a questionnaire because it shows me an honest and independent opinion of what the public think. I will also ask some shop managers to see what they think about the impact of Festival Place on Basingstoke town centre.

        I will investigate the use of a land survey map to mark different land uses and later on colour code it and try to identify a pattern. If relevant, I will present the data from the land-use survey map in colour codes for each section.

        I will take a camera along and if anything supports the hypothesis being true or false, I will photograph it. If I take any photos, I will present them where necessary to support whether the hypothesis is either true or false.

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        I will also be using a bi-polar analysis to compare different locations around the area during the visit. I will present the data for the bi-polar analysis in a table that has been provided by school. I will use a bi-polar-analysis because it is a good way to compare different areas around Basingstoke’s town centre and Festival Place.

        When I am asking the questionnaires to the public, I will stand by the escalator closest to the station (1), outside HMV (2), outside Debenhams (3), out side Marks and Spencer (4) and outside the upper floor for BHS (5).

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