The areas that scored well in Cambridge and Ilford urban areas have generally good environmental qualities. Ilford High Road and Sidney Street are quite similar. Ilford High Road Is pedestrianised but some of it allows traffic. It is busy, but it is also quiet, has good air quality, and has a few trees and plants. People who use the environment respect the area.
Litter in the area is low because there are many council bins which are used frequently, however near the restaurants, where people are likely to get a take-away, there is quite a lot of litter. This was also the scene in Cambridge on Sidney Street.
The overall similarity of environment is that in both areas, the quality varies. It only changes across the urban area of Cambridge and Central Ilford.
The exchange, although it is not an out of town shopping centre, is similar to the Grafton centre in Cambridge because it has the biggest percentage of chain stores. Also in both areas there are no convenience shops because people do not go to a large shopping centre to buy low order goods such as bread and the newspaper.
Also on Ilford High Road the main type of shops is chain stores, which is the same as the CBD in Cambridge.
There are only a few department stores in both areas, 1 % in both areas are department stores. As the main function of the Grafton Centre, Cambridge CBD, The Exchange, and Ilford High Road are commercial and shopping areas. They are similar in this manner because the same functions mean the same type of users, but the users are different as explained in the next chapter.
The Hypothesis for this piece of work is 'not all city and town centres are the same'. The above similarities between the two areas make it obvious that that there are actually relationships between the two areas. The environmental quality does vary throughout the urban area of both Ilford and Cambridge, and many areas have similar levels of noise, air pollution, and stress.
The roads are also similar as they have the various tasks of taking traffic in and out of the CBD. Also each of the urban areas has a variety of functions. The overall functions change in Cambridge and Ilford but some are also similar. For example, shopping is a major source function in both areas. Overall the environmental quality and land use are similar in Ilford and Cambridge.
How is Cambridge different from Central Ilford?
The aim of this chapter is to outline the main differences between Central Ilford and Cambridge. The research that was completed will be used to highlight the main differences between the areas and therefore prove the hypothesis 'not all city and town centres are the same'.
There are a lot of differences between the two areas. The functions of the two areas are also different because Ilford Town Centre is mainly for shopping and not for shopping and education like Cambridge. The environmental quality and the users are different for Cambridge and central Ilford.
There are no tourists in Central Ilford but there are in Cambridge as it is a World Heritage Site, which means that it is a site recognised by the UN of special interest. There are no tourists in Ilford because it has not got the same tourist element as Cambridge. In Cambridge, there is a river, which is used for recreation, and the tourists use it. In Ilford the River Roding is not used for recreation.
In Cambridge there are many universities but in Ilford there are no universities so there are not many students that are using the area. This is a major difference because having different users means that the function may also be different. Also, in Central Ilford there is a Library and in Cambridge the Libraries are part of the universities.
Ilford does not have Cycle Lanes because hardly anyone in Ilford commutes to work on a cycle. There fore there are no cycle lanes. In Cambridge, however, there are plenty of cyclists and the area has developed around this. In Ilford people use Public Transport and there are only a few bicycle lanes and racks. l
The overall environment in Cambridge is much better then Ilford because Cambridge has to keep its tourist attractions well maintained. The people of Cambridge respect this aspect to keep the tourist industry in Cambridge going.
The users of Ilford were also different. This may have been because Ilford does not have an out of town shopping centre and this means that people that there would be more visitors to the area to do their shopping. They do not have anywhere out of town to go so they use the Exchange.
Cambridge and Ilford have many differences. This helps to show that the hypothesis 'not all city and town centres are the same' is true. There are no tourists in Ilford and this is the main difference between the two areas. Also there are not many students as there are no colleges in Ilford. There are schools but they are a considerable distance away from the CBD. The colleges in Cambridge are in the CBD and so the students will have to go through it to get to the colleges. This chapter proves that not all city centres are the same as there are many differences between Cambridge and Ilford.
Conclusion
The aim of this piece of coursework was to test the hypothesis, and answer the three questions:
1. What is Central Cambridge like?
2. How is Central Cambridge like?
3. How is Cambridge different to Central Ilford?
By collecting, recording and analysing the evidence the hypothesis can now be answered.
From writing this piece of coursework, it is now evident that the hypothesis is correct and that not all city and town centres are the same. The main differences between Cambridge and Ilford were that the functions of the two places were different. Cambridge had a commercial and educational function but Ilford had a mainly commercial one.
Also, the users of the two areas were different, because of the different functions. The CBD in Cambridge has many colleges and so the users of the CBD will be students. However, there were anomalous results for the questionnaire due to the time of day and year that the questions were asked.
In spite of this, from studying Cambridge and Ilford, it has become obvious that there are many similarities between city and town centres. The environments in both areas were basically the same and they both varied across the urban area. There were also some places in both areas that scored high and low.
The outcome of the surveys may have been different if the surveys had been conducted in other areas. They depended on the users of the land and the functions of the CBD. The users may have been different if the survey was conducted during school time and not lunchtime when people are looking for a place to eat.
The overall answer to the piece f coursework is that not all city and town centres are the same. There are similarities and differences but they are never the same.
Evaluation
I found this piece of coursework interesting because of the various surveys that we undertook. Some parts were easy because we had to give the environment a score from 1 to 5, and this was very interesting.
Whilst I was conducting the questionnaire, the people were very busy and they were trying to get around quickly. If they had stopped and answered the questionnaire I could have had better results.
The best part of this coursework was the land use survey because we had to measure the frontage of the shops and it was fascinating. I found the environmental quality survey difficult at times because the areas surveyed were very hard to judge under the given aspects.
If I had more time I would have improved the environmental quality survey to get a better understanding of what Cambridge and Ilford are like. I could do this by looking into the environment more carefully. I also could have surveyed more places.
Overall I found the coursework very interesting as I had the chance to see what Cambridge was like and I also got the chance to compare it to where I live. This has given me a better understanding of town centres.
