This summer has been very enlightening for me. I think I went into this experience with very few expectations, and I felt a bit unprepared. The last minute community partner switch left me with very little time to consider and plan my research project, so I arrived in Spain without having much actual direction. It was only after beginning to work in the Ecosistema Urbano office, as well as spending time in the plazas and parks of Madrid, that my project began to take shape. Though I could read and theorize about the public space before I got there, there were some things that I did not understand until I actually got there.
In terms of my organization, I felt very welcomed as soon as I got there, and the other intern gave me an introduction to the project he was working on, which I was also supposed to work on. However, I didn’t get assigned a concrete task until a couple weeks later. I don’t fault them for that though because they are a busy firm, working on several large scale projects. It was also just very interesting to see everyone working on their different projects, and hear about the process of designing and building these public spaces all around the world. When I did get an assignment from them, it felt very relevant to me and I was very interested in my tasks.
It took me a couple of weeks to get settled into my research project. I took some time to orient myself in the city, and figure out what places I wanted to study. I think if I were to do this project again, I would have spoken to my advisor and planned out a specific schedule of what parks/plazas to go sooner. I did end up doing this, but it might have been helpful if I had had it a few weeks earlier. Once I made this schedule I adhered to it pretty well, and was able to go to several parks and plazas, taking notes while I was there. I do wish I had spoken to my advisor Andres a little earlier than when I first did, because he gave me some very helpful notes and recommendations. I think it may have been helpful, though not necessary, to have some more guidance and input on my project overall. This was definitely more difficult because I had a later start than everyone else, because of the partner switch.
I think despite those hiccups, I was able to successfully learn about, and grow to understand, the function of Madrid’s parks and public spaces. I am thankful that I found friends and was able to get very acclimated to life in the city. The temperatures got very intense, especially towards the end of the summer. I saw how people adapted to this climate, through taking siestas, having late dinners, and spending time with friends later at night. Climate change will only continue to aggravate this problem, so I was able to see that climatic comfort is an important element of public space, which is also a focus of Ecosistema Urbano.
This experience gave me more confidence in my ability to both brainstorm and execute projects. At the beginning of the summer, I was worried I might feel a little lost with my project, but I was able to provide myself with direction and a clear focus. My advice to anyone embarking on a similar project, would be to make sure you have research topics and methods that truly interest you, because it makes the experience a lot more enjoyable and rewarding. 🙂
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