The field excursion is intended to give students an opportunity to carry out an applied geographical research project based on observation, data recording, and analysis.

It is highly recommended that students read Chapter 6 of the course textbook prior to conducting fieldwork.

1. Using a field site of your own choosing, go for a walk and observe the world around you.
   1. Plan to spend at least two hours on the excursion.
   2. The distance covered will differ greatly depending on the complexity of the environment and of the phenomena being observed. For example,
      • a walk in a mixed-use urban neighbourhood might cover a number of city blocks;
      • observation of activity in a public square might involve little walking;
      • observation of activity in a shopping centre might involve considerable walking but little distance covered in overall area.
   3. Dates and times of observations should be recorded clearly
2. For students living in cities or towns, observe the complexity of urban landscapes, recording things like:
   • what the built environment looks like,
   • what people are doing,
   • how people are interacting with each other,
   • how much vehicular traffic is there and of what type, etc.
   • How is space regulated, for example by bylaws, signage, and land use zoning?
   • Is it possible to get clues about the socioeconomic status of the population from the landscape?
   • What about other social categories, such as race, ethnicity, sex, gender, age, and class?
   • What about the 'natural' landscape?
3. For students in rural areas, a walk may result in very different observations than an urban walk.
   • What is going on in the landscape?
   • What can be observed about the political economy by observing the landscape?
   • What other information would be useful to have and how might this information be gathered?
4. Record your observations using a variety of tools: hand-written notes and a notebook, sketches, photography, video cameras, and so on.
   • Please respect local rules and people's privacy with respect to photography and video recording.
5. Write and submit a field excursion report based on your observations
   • Reports should be mainly descriptive and should include at least five photographs and/or sketches and one location map (which appropriate citations if applicable).
   • Photographs, sketches, maps, or any other visual representations should be accompanied by descriptive captions according to APA formatting, including date and author, and should be referred to in the field excursion report.
6. Field excursion reports will be used as the first phase of the research paper to be submitted at the end of the term (1000 words).