Tower Hamlets: Community Infrastructure

This story map explores the methodology and results of two research questions designed to identify the community infrastructure of Spitalfields and Banglatown and St Katharine’s and Wapping

My chosen questions: 

1. How does the quantity of cultural and educational facilities between Spitalfields & Banglatown ward and St Katharine’s & Wapping ward vary, and is there a relationship between this and deprivation? 
2. How do Spitalfields & Banglatown Ward and St Katharine’s & Wapping Ward differ in terms of environmental quality and accessibility?

Connelly, Markey and Roseland (2009) refer to community infrastructure as the distribution and variety of social services and facilities that support both the functioning and well-being of a community. It encompasses an array of social, economic and environmental elements that are important in:

• Increasing a populations quality of life
• Understanding the distribution and accessibility of infrastructure
• Informing urban planning
• Improving sustainable development

This is an important concept for Tower Hamlets as it has a youthful and diverse population that requires a strong and developed community infrastructure (Croucher, 2001). Benefits of a wide range of social and environmental services in this context would include:

• Increased social cohesion
• Increased academic engagement
• Social mobility
• An overall improvement to quality of life

For this project I utilised geographic information systems, qualitative methods (visual analysis) and quantitative approaches to achieve logical ground and methodological flexibility. Mixed-Method Research (MMR) allowed me to synergise multiple data sources in order to form multi-faceted conclusions for my research questions with increased validity (Dawadi, Shrestha and Giri, 2021)

This GIS research centres around Question 1, an investigation into service quantity and distribution of each ward

I began by collecting the names, latitudes and longitudes of all cultural and educational facilities in both wards

This method of geospatial analysis helps to answer the question presented prior as it has revealed the distribution of both cultural and education buildings within each ward and has also shown an uneven spatial distribution of services with Spitalfields and Banglatown possessing more amenities

Further research into the relationship between deprivation and service distribution would be required before conclusions can be drawn as correlation does not mean causation

This section of research focuses on research question 2, an investigation into the environmental quality and accessibility of both locations studied 

I took 3 images of the environment in each ward and used a shooting script to practice visual analysis

A shooting script, as discussed by Suchar (1997) is a qualitative tool structured as a series of questions about the investigated subject that prompt interpretive analysis. Shooting scripts are effective method of research with little bias as organising questions prior creates an environment of intellectual interaction and interpretation 

The importance of visual storytelling was discussed by Spiegel et al. (2020) as they explored the effectiveness of photographs in prompting discussions around the effect of different types of environments. They proved this by examining the impact of an oil pipeline on Indigenous land by taking photographs and by analysing them using shooting scripts and public interviews. 

1. Are green spaces and/or water sources present in the area?
2. What are the main sources of pollution in the area?
3. Is there evidence of methods of waste disposal?
4. Is it accessible?

Qualitative research revealed a higher quality environment in Wapping and St Katharine's that was more accessible

This section also focuses on question two, environmental quality, but from an alternative perspective

As opposed to visually analysing each environment, I investigated noise pollution across 15 randomly selected streets within each ward and applied descriptive and inferential statistics in order to form conclusions involving the quality of the environment

With both data sets I used excel's 'Data Analysis' to generate descriptive statistics for each data set allowing me to create histograms for each ward. Histograms are effective at graphically displaying the data in interval "bins" based on their frequency (Acevedo, 2012, pp.61–63).

Figure three and figure four present the idea that environmental quality is higher in Wapping and St Katharine's as the frequency of higher decibel recordings was greater in Spitalfields and Banglatown. The interval of 50-59 appears most popular in both data sets, however it is only in Spitalfields where data was recorded in the 70-79 interval.

Figure five shows the different statistics produced by excel that can be analysed to describe both sets of data. With a larger standard deviation of 9.58, it is clear that variation in noise pollution is greater in Spitalfields and Banglatown. This conclusion is supported by the range being 70.59% larger in Spitalfields and Banglatown.

Prior to applying a statistical test it is important to assess normality within collected data

• Figure three and four show normality by visually inspecting the histograms and adding a bell shaped curve
• By running the Shapiro-Wilk test for both sets of data. Spitalfields and Banglatown received a p-value of 0.202 and Wapping and St Katharine's obtained 0.2112, both of which are greater than 0.05, positively checking for normality (Acevedo, 2012, pp.156)

After declaring normality for both sets of data, I used the T-test to test for a significant difference between the means of each ward in order to select the correct hypothesis - H ₀  and H _A 

• Null Hypothesis (H ₀ ) = there is no statistical difference in the decibel readings between Spitalfields and Banglatown and Wapping and St Katharine's
• Alternative Hypothesis (H _A ) = there is statistical difference in the decibel readings between Spitalfields and BAnglatown and Wapping and St Katharine's

Figure six shows the t-value of 2.96832 with a p-value of 0.006074

We use the two tailed statistic because our null hypothesis suggested there was no statistical difference between the scale of noise pollution in each ward. Therefore, with a large t-value and small p-value below 0.05, we can discredit the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis that there is a significant statistical difference (95% confidence) between the decibel data in Spitalfields and Banglatown and Wapping and St Katharine's.

Data supports conclusions made in the qualitative section of the StoryMap since visual analysis identified a lower quality environment in Spitalfields and Banglatown. Now, with data showing a significant difference in noise pollution, another factor contributing to environmental quality, we can be increasingly confident in saying that Wapping and St Katharine's has a higher quality and more accessible environment.

By investigating the community infrastructure of both Spitalfields and Banglatown as well as Wapping and St Katherine's, I have been able to identity some differences that may contribute to differences in quality of life, urban development and social mobility.

For example, the GIS section of this project highlighted disparities in cultural and educational facility distribution with Spitalfields hosting more amenities than its counterpart. With more cultural services, community cohesion and multiculturalism is promoted, creating safe and expressive regions with diverse populations.

More research would be necessary however to form conclusions between deprivation and service distribution as correlation does not always mean causation. It would be interesting to research the role and demographic of each ward as for example, despite having less services, Wapping may serve as a residential ward where residents are comfortable with commuting to access art and educational facilities.

Additionally, both my qualitative and quantitative research were successful in exploring the quality of the environment within each ward. Visual analysis and data collection in regard to noise pollution allowed for the following conclusion to be drawn:

• Wapping and St Katharine's in the ward with a higher quality and more accessible environment with less waste pollution, noise pollution and a higher overall variety of recreational spaces

It would be interesting to somehow investigate the effect of environmental quality not only on service distribution, but also on quality of life and sustainable development in order to understand how communities are constructed and adapted in order to support the residents they accommodate.

Acevedo, M.F. (2012a). Data Analysis and Statistics for Geography, Environmental Science, and Engineering. CRC Press, pp.61–63.

Acevedo, M.F. (2012b). Data Analysis and Statistics for Geography, Environmental Science, and Engineering. CRC Press, p.156.

Boyes, K. (2024a). 201 Bishopsgate.

Boyes, K. (2024b). Artillery Lane.

Boyes, K. (2024c). Bishop’s Square.

Boyes, K. (2024d). Spirit Quay.

Boyes, K. (2024e). St John’s Churchyard Garden.

Boyes, K. (2024f). Wapping Green.

Chang, K.-T. (2019). Introduction to Geographic Information Systems. New York, Ny Mcgraw-Hill Education, pp.178–180.

Connelly, S., Markey, S. and Roseland, M. (2009). Strategic Sustainability: Addressing the Community Infrastructure Deficit. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, [online] 18(1), pp.1–23. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26193242?saml_data=eyJzYW1sVG9rZW4iOiIyMzBmZWU2My0wNjk3LTRkM2MtODExZS00NDZjZGMzMjY4ZDgiLCJpbnN0aXR1dGlvbklkcyI6WyIwMjIyZmFjMy1mZTBkLTRmMDAtYWNkOS1jNTg1ZDMyMTkyYTQiXX0 [Accessed 18 Apr. 2024].

Croucher, R. (2001). Areca Nut Habits Amongst Children in Tower Hamlets, London. British Dental Journal, 190(3), pp.138–138. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4800906.

Dawadi, S., Shrestha, S. and Giri, R.A. (2021). Mixed-Methods Research: a Discussion on Its Types, Challenges, and Criticisms. Journal of Practical Studies in Education, 2(2), pp.25–36. doi:https://doi.org/10.46809/jpse.v2i2.20.

Spiegel, S.J., Thomas, S., O’Neill, K., Brondgeest, C., Thomas, J., Beltran, J., Hunt, T. and Yassi, A. (2020). Visual Storytelling, Intergenerational Environmental Justice and Indigenous Sovereignty: Exploring Images and Stories amid a Contested Oil Pipeline Project. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7), p.2362. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072362.

Steinberg, S.L. and Steinberg, S.J. (2015). GIS Research Methods : Incorporating Spatial Perspectives. Redlands, California: Esri Press, pp.330–351.

Suchar, C.S. (1997). Grounding Visual Sociology Research in Shooting Scripts. Qualitative Sociology, 20(1), pp.33–55. doi:https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1024712230783.