Lisa Lu

Lisa Lu

Overall, my map based on purely my memory of Harvard's campus depicted the relative locations of the different parts of campus (e.g. the Quad, the Yard, the SEAS area) accurately, but it was clear from the inaccuracies in the scaling, the location of the roads, and how well I could detail each area which places I frequented most often. As an upperclassmen living in the Quad, I was most familiar with the houses in the Quad along with the SOCH, as well as the shuttle route to the Yard. In actuality, the distance between the Quad and the rest of campus should appear to be longer. Compared to a normal map of campus, I was able to include more details on student commute (usually to class from their dorms), shuttle routes, and small details one might spot on the way from the Quad to class (like the cannons and statues in Cambridge Common), since I'm obviously familiar with those from personal experience. In contrast, my map lacked the details of the campus map in the Yard, the River Houses, and HBS Campus/athletic fields, and it contained inaccuracies in the roads, likely because I rarely frequent those areas, and I don't drive or go on the roads other than Oxford St. & Mass Ave. This exercise suggests that how we relate to an area is largely determined by our personal experiences and routines in the area as locals/inhabitants, as it's clear that my being an upperclassmen in the Quad as well as an engineering student dictates how I use the space.