Our mapping rules:
• Follow the first car that drives past us. (Chrysler)
• Follow them until they get to their destination/we lose them
• Continue to go straight until we found another Chrysler
• If ever we came to a fork in the road we would alternate turning right and left
• If the vehicle was going the opposite direction, if it was safe to do so, we should u-turn to follow
Our specific roles while mapping:
• Jeffery - Drive, locate Chrysler's, and try not to get in a car accident or pulled over.
• Joelle - Photograph cars, navigate and keep an eye on the car ahead and shout "GO GO GO! We're losing them. We're losing them!!"
• Mikayla - Keep track of the GPS drawing and make sure everything was running smoothly
• Elaina - Written documentation/observations of the passengers and car we were following
Observations of the cars/people that we followed
1. Woman?
Lost her at King and North
2. African American man
3. Gray van, the same car as the person before
Lost right away because we saw another car
4. Older African American man. Green car.
5. Younger (20s) white woman
6. Middle aged white man
Parked at the Milwaukee Academy of Science High School
7. First time there were passengers in the car, they were children
8. Red car
20s African American man
Stopped at a school
9. Truck with furniture in the back
Middle aged white man
Parked at a house
10. Community care van, extra tall
Went to the hospital
11. Silver convertible, says "Fox Valley Suzuki" on the back
African American Woman
We stopped following her at capital because our time was up
Grilled cheese sandwiches started this journey.
ReplyDeleteFinalizing rules for our map at the Cheese mart was a really good idea. I suggest you all go there sometime.
We discussed what kind of car we should follow: A red car? A hunk of junk car? An expensive car? A specific make? Finally we decided. "Alright, the next car that drives by we will follow. A Chrysler? Lets do it."
It was really hard to follow a car at first. We ended up losing the first car almost right away. Once we got into a certain area of Milwaukee though it wasn't so hard to find Chryslers. Jeff and I had a great system of keeping track of the cars while Mikayla and Elaina made good observations of the drive and drivers we followed.
We wondered if any cars caught on that we were following them. A few drove around in residential areas... Jeff stated "alright guys..this is gonna get weird." It was kind of weird. But hilarious and exciting at the same time.
We successfully followed at least half of the cars to their destination. We ended up in parts of Milwaukee we never would have been before.
Lots of funny things were said and insightful comments made. Overall, we had a great time.
This data tells me something. Specifically, I know where these Dodge/Chryslers were driving. I know where they went.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. And it was fun. I felt like a spy. I love feeling like a spy.
But I think this data tells us more than that.
It shows boundaries. We drove into one part of town and for 95% of our drive, we couldn't get out. The routes were contained. (This relates to our own driving habits. If i don't have to, I don't leave my neighborhood. You don't either. Unless you don't like your neighborhood.)
We couldn't cross I-43. Just couldn't. Cars wouldn't go that way. That's a barrier.
If we did this exercise in every different neighborhood in MKE, I predict we'd see a similar pattern: people staying in their neighborhood, that is for the majority.
If we did this exercise based on type of car, I think our maps could be very interesting sets of data to point to. For example, if we only followed luxury cars, we could say, "This is where people with money go." (That is, if we feel like judging how much money people have based on their car.)
Or, hybrid/electric vehicles--"This is where people who care about the environment or don't like buying gas go."
The map we made talks about place. We stay in one place? Maybe. I think so. But we'd need more data to conclude this.