Читать книгу GIS Research Methods - Steven J. Steinberg - Страница 47

Of course, examples of sociospatial research occurred well before GIS and computer technology existed. In this section, we examine a historic example of sociospatial thinking and multiple methods in urban England. Between 1886 and 1903, Charles Booth conducted an in-depth study of poverty in London, England. His approach involved conducting field research by visiting every street in London. Through this approach, he was able to document the social, economic, and environmental conditions for residents (Fearon 2008). He was interested in examining the relationship between space, time, and social class. His grounded-theory approach to research eventually disproved original statistics that had underestimated the poverty rate in London at 25 percent. Booth’s detailed, on-the-ground examination of poverty illustrated that poverty levels were really closer to 35 percent (Fearon 2008).

His research project took a number of years to complete and is a good example of sociospatial research that considers space, place, and social indicators in a holistic fashion. Booth methodically visited all homes within a designated geographic area to assess urban poverty (figure 1.11). Today, that same work could be undertaken more quickly using computers rather than manual analysis. As a researcher, Booth employed both quantitative and qualitative methods (he took detailed field notes on the survey-gathering process of poverty data). Booth was definitely ahead of his time as a researcher because he incorporated interviews with survey data and field observations. Additionally, he simultaneously achieved a holistic and spatially specific review of poverty using this process. Had Booth had access to GIS in 1903, he could have provided interesting analyses to policy makers, and it would not have taken twelve years to do so.

Figure 1.11 A map created by Charles Booth that indicates levels of poverty in London, 1898–99. Courtesy of the Library of the London School of Economics and Political Science, reference LSE/BOOTH/E/1/6.

The interesting thing is that social inequalities always exist within a particular environmental context. In other words, every community has its haves and have-nots, just like in the days of Charles Booth and his study of poverty. People from different income levels will vary in terms of their ability to access different resources and in their general life chances. Incorporating GIS today into research projects on inequality can open up an entirely new way of looking at a topic. Using GIS allows a researcher to consider and actively model the spatial context and the inequalities that exist within that context. Not only can GIS model real environmental and spatial inequalities, it can also model “perceived” inequalities. This becomes extremely important to the social scientist interested in perception and how perception influences action. In Booth’s case, there were real manifested inequalities that he did not perceive. Being able to physically map out and “document” these conditions made the issue of urban poverty more real for the larger population.