Objective
Geographic principles are incorporated into our everyday lives. This assignment gives you the opportunity to choose one of two areas of the course and explore it in more detail. The areas cover material from a number of lectures but focus on two in particular: metal maps and neighborhoods.
Topics
There are two possible essay topics listed below. Each topic follows the same format for the submission, and involves academic data-based research, but the type of work in each varies. Choose one of these topics and read the PowerPoint lectures pertaining to them.
Topic 1. Mental Maps of Downtown Toronto drawn by students in GEO106.
In this topic, you will examine 10 mental maps of downtown Toronto drawn by past students in GEO 106 and evaluate them based on Lynch’s criteria. (See Mental Maps PowerPoint). The maps can be found in sets of 10 on the D2L course website. Choose ONE of the sets and use it. Be sure to indicate clearly on the essay cover template provided, which set you used. If you do not include the set number, the essay cannot be graded. Analyze the maps by doing the following: (1) calculate the proportion of times a feature is mentioned on each map in the set of 10 maps you chose and provide a tally and proportions table of the data, (2) draw a composite mental map from these tallies (see lecture 4, slides 33-46 especially, (3) draw a Lynch’s elements map from the composite mental map (composite mental maps are not the same as Lynch’s elements maps – read the slides), (4) analyze the composite and Lynch’s mental maps using the lectures and any other sources you deem appropriate and report your findings. No, you do not have to draw your own mental map of the downtown. Yes, there is a set of writing guidelines for the paper including structure, headings, and writing tips below. Please read this outline fully and follow it.
2. Neighbourhoods of Toronto
For this topic, you will be examining your local neighborhood using the neighbourhood profiles developed by the City of Toronto’s WellBeing Toronto and Urban HEART sites, as well as the Toronto Real Estate Board website , and your own observations. You may also use any other websites if they are reliable and referenced. The objective is to choose one of the neighborhood typologies from the Territory and Neighborhoods PowerPoint (Blowers, or Warren & Warren), and fit your neighborhood into it using the typology’s criteria. This means that you will have to select appropriate variables and find the data for them according to the chosen typology. For example, you will need to find a variable to indicate level of interaction for either typology (think number of parking lots and/or street parking, subway/bus routes/ridership data, and walkability scores). Once you have collected your data, describe, and analyse your neighborhood and fit it into one of the typologies. Provide maps, tables of any data, or anything else you feel is pertinent.
Submission:
• Deadline: The paper is due on the date given in the lecture schedule above and should be submitted through D2L.
• Format: This assignment should be word processed in good English prose, use research paper format headings (see below), and be single sided, 12-point Calibri or Times New Roman, 1.5-line spacing, with office normal default margins. It will be graded on the quality of the writing as well as the quality of the analysis. Number the pages, bottom centre. You can submit as a Word document or a PDF, but PDFs usually work best at keeping the formatting consistent with D2L. SUBMIT ONLY A SINGLE COPY OF YOUR ESSAY COMPLETE WITH ALL PERTINENT TABLES AND MAPS. DO NOT SEPARATE FIGURES FROM NARRATIVE.
• Title Page: You must use the title page template attached below.
• Basis of Evaluation Page: You must attach the Basis of Evaluation sheet below.
• KEEP A COMPLETE, COMPREHENSIVE, WORD OR PDF FORMAT SINGLE COPY OF YOUR ESSAY THAT INCLUDES YOUR NARRATIVE, FIGURES, MAPS, TABLES, EVERYTHING USED IN THE ESSAY. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR NOT HAVING A FILE COPY OF YOUR ESSAY.
Use these Research paper headings:
• Introduction: Establish the topic and your research objective(s). There is no need to formulate research hypotheses for this paper.
• Background: Discuss the concepts you will be using and any academic studies other people have done on your topic should there be any. This should not be extensive – just basic background as covered in the lectures. You can use the web but be wary of the biases of non-academic sources and make any bias clear in your write-up.
• Data and Methods: Explain what data you used, where you got it, and what you did with the data to achieve your objectives.
• Results and Discussion: Summarize the results of your analysis using words, tables, graphs, photos and/or maps and discuss your findings based on the concepts and expectations from the lectures.
• Conclusion: End with a brief, final summary that relates what you discussed in your Introduction and Background to what your study found.
• References: All sources that you used for ideas, concepts, data, tables, diagrams, etc. including your own field observations should be referenced within your paper at the appropriate place using footnotes. No further list or style of citations is necessary.
• Length: 1,200 – 1,500 words, not including illustrations, references, appendices.
Late Penalty for the Essay:
The essay should be SUBMITTED TO D2L by midnight on the date specified in the lecture schedule above. There is a late penalty of 2% per calendar day which will be enforced starting at 12:01 a.m. the next day. Because of time constraints, requests for deadline extensions will be considered only under exceptional circumstances and students need to inform the instructor by email, and a new due date agreed upon, prior to the assigned due. If an extension is being requested on medical grounds, students must complete the Ryerson Medical Form which can be accessed at