JEPPESTOWN NEIGHBOURHOOD IMMERSION

AN INTRODUCTION

What it meant for me to immerse into a neighbourhood:

• opening up all of my senses

• allowing the space to speak its own language

• not being afraid to explore

What I found most interesting through observation:

• there is a lot of cool graffiti

• it is very difficult to find an ATM nearby

• the perimeter of the park is used as a running track by a school 

• there are many loud noises made by machinery and trucks

• the people are quite friendly and eager to engage with a new face

• the park is well used despite the benches having had been stolen

WHY I CHOSE POETRY AS A TOOL

The theme of my poem was sound because for me, that was the one thing that stood out as we walked from Maboneng. Being a light industrial area, the sound of the traffic grew heavier with an increase of trucks, even the genre of music blaring from trader's stalls changed. The relationship between architecture and sound is a spatial one, because sound relates to distance and the spirit of place. 

I felt this would best be expressed in a poem as sound cannot be seen but only heard or felt. I used alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia.