I live in a 1930’s housing estate in Hackney Central. My commute to the Barbican takes me approximately 30 – 40 minutes, depending on how long I need to wait for an Overground train to Liverpool Street Station. I never look up/learn the train departure times, as the longest wait will only be 10 minutes. I always take an identical route.
For the purposes of this observation exercise I will only be looking at this commuting route in one direction, from Hackney to The Barbican. This is for my own convenience, as the return route is essentially a mirror of this one. I am planning to split this trip into five legs, each of which will be approached in detail:
HACKNEY OUTDOOR LEG
A 5-minute walk from my flat in Hackney Central to Hackney Downs Overground Station. The land is owned by Hackney Borough Council.
HACKNEY DOWNS STATION LEG
A 2-minute walk from the entrance of the National Rail/Overground Station to either Platform 1 or 3, depending on which train is arriving first. The return route brings me into either Platform 2 or 4. The station is run and managed by London Overground.
OVERGROUND/ABELIO GREATER ANGLIA TRAIN LEG
The train from Hackney Downs Overground Station to Liverpool Street Station can take between 8 and 15 minutes, depending on which train I take. Most of these trains are run by London Overground, but a minority are Abelio Greater Anglia trains.
LIVERPOOL STREET STATION LEG
I have a 3-4 minute walk to get from my platform at Liverpool Street Station to the exit at Eldon Street.
CITY OF LONDON OUTDOOR LEG
A 10-minute walk from my exit from Liverpool Street Station to The Barbican Centre, taking me across land owned by Broadgate, The City of London Corporation and CityPoint.
Initially I had expected to approach research into each leg in order, completing Hackney Outdoor before moving onto Hackney Downs Station etc. But it quickly became apparent to me that this approach meant I was only engaged for a small portion of each of my commutes. Instead what has emerged, not being able to switch off, is that I’m conducting field research into all of the legs whenever I travel the route. So the resulting research will probably be presented out-of-order, mostly dictated by ease of accessible information, before being collated back together and rationalised on completion of this project.
