This data provided me with some valuable insights into ways public space can be improved. The cafe ethnography demonstrated that people in Portland do like to sit with friends and chat, read alone, and meet up with family at a coffee shop, in addition to doing work on laptops. The cafe had the atmosphere of what I would love to see in public space, however, the cafe is not a public space because people are obligated to make a purchase in order to spend time there. It made me think about the potential for indoor public space. I thought about how incredible it would be to make such a space as Bard cafe accessible to everyone, not just those who can afford a $5 beverage.

The mental maps highlighted the public spaces participants use. Two of the maps feature park space. One, from a Portland resident, and one from a Yarmouth commuter. The Yarmouth commuter highlighted Deering Oaks Park, where a farmers’ market is held in the warmer months. The Portland resident lives near the West End, but utilizes recreation areas on the eastern promenade and the Back Cove. When we did our transect walk in the West End, we notice how underutilized public space is and how dreary the one park we visited was. It is no wonder this resident ventures across the city to “play”. That same resident recommended that smoking be banned from Congress St. I had not thought about the role in public space in Portland before and must admit that besides outside the hospital, we did not come across any “no smoking” signs during our transect walk. Banning smoking in public spaces, particularly parks or seating areas would definitely help improve the comfort of places and encourage people to use them more.

4:20 pm 10/3/14

•  3 middle-aged people, two women and a man are chatting at a table; the table behind them sits empty but there’s a green water bottle on top of it – where did the people go? Did they forget their bottle? A man with very cool glasses sits in a suit and skinny purple tie, entrenched in his phone. Another man settles into a table and chair by the window looking onto the street, sun streaming in. In the back corner a woman and a man sit doing work on their corporate laptops; they’re sitting on couches that are deep and comfy. Another businessman sits in a wicker chair doing work with his feet up on another chair. Four people, two who know each other, are sitting at the stools by the café bar.
• A man wearing Dr. Marten type shoes with the Union Jack on is standing in a vest at the cash register. Three women, all blonde in their late 20s and early 40s are standing chatting as they wait for their drinks along the wooden countertop. Another man has joined the people on the couch. The man in the vest just left as he took a call. A woman sits at a bench table fiddling with her large purse, sitting sideways draped over the chair as she speaks to a friend on the phone.
• A woman is wearing gloves, why is she wearing gloves? It’s 70 degrees out! Oh she’s taking them off. An older gentleman walked in and ordered a drink and a delicious looking pastry. The three blond women have their drinks and have sat down; they look to be in quite a serious conversation. The woman with the gloves is in her late twenties; she’s sitting across from a man who looks like he could be her dad. The bar stools are empty except for two women at their laptops. They sit alone.
• The man with the cool glasses and purple tie sits, eyes still glued to his iPhone, A mom and two kids just walked in – one boy and one girl. The boy is pouring himself a cup of water and the girl is staring at the pastries through the transparent display case. Mom says she can’t have one – too close to dinner. The girl has taken claim to a stool in the corner; she’s twirling around, mom smiles at her from across the counter. The man sitting in the wicker chair has stood up and put his coat on to leave, grabbing his laptop on the way out.
• A woman with a wrap around her head and a cobalt blue cozy sweater has sat down across from the man with the glasses. The three blond women are departing. A man with sunglasses on his head, in work boots just walked in. He looks as though he just wrapped up the day at a construction site. Two girls in their late teens or early twenties are waiting for the bathroom, the woman on the couch advises them of the café’s policy – they need to ask for a key to get in. The woman with the head wrap is ordering a drink.
• A man with a camera strapped around his neck carries a brownie and hot drink to the bar and sits on a stool; He sits with his giant backpack on his back. Perhaps a tourist? Or maybe media photographer. It’s hard to tell for sure. Man with glasses and cobalt blue pants sat down beside the woman with the head wrap and across form the man with the cool glasses. The man and the woman on the couch sit in silence, clicking away at their keys.
• A mom with two kids, another boy and a girl walking in and are standing in line, except they’re standing in the line to received drinks rather than order. They just realized and moved over to the cash. Lots of people in suits are walking past the café windows outside; it’s the end of the work week. The man on the couch has left, but his bag is still there, maybe he’s in the bathroom.
• The mom with the two kids (with the daughter who sat at the stool) is now joined by their dad in the corner at a square table. A couple with a stroller carrying their young daughter are waiting for their order. The mom pushes the stroller back and forth; the daughter is calm and quiet, sitting peacefully. The man who was on the couch has left.
• The corner by the window sits empty, the families have left. The two baristas are noting to one another that tonight is the art walk. The guy with the cool glasses and the two other people are enjoying lively conversation. While the man with the glasses is no longer staring at his phone, he always needs to have contact with it, playing with it and tapping it against the table. Oh, now he’s looking at it while speaking to them.
• Two women in their middle ages just walked in. An older man just ordered an apple. He asked for a knife too, to cut the apple. One of the women is getting a class of water, now she’s refilling the cup. That same woman is wearing scrubs, it’s hard to tell since she’s wearing a sweater, but the white ties are coming out the bottom. Two men with their bags on chairs sit at the tables by the front windows, one on an ipad, and the other on a laptop.
• The man with the glasses and his two friends are heading out. A woman with curly hair, a green backpack, and glasses is peering at the menu, but she has already ordered. A woman in a pink blazer and black work dress just walked in. She has opened a compact to retrieve a credit card. A man with a ponytail just ordered with a card and signed the ipad that acts as the cash register. He’s sitting at a stool next to a rugged looking friend with a large beard.
• A man with arm tattoos and even tattoos on his sideburns is sitting with the woman with the pink blazer. He has a file folder filled with tons of paperwork. Maybe she is his accountant or doing his taxes? He’s writing down numbers on a sheet of paper on a clipboard. A young couple is standing in line debating what they want to order. A woman sits in the corner, looking out onto the street as she reads her book. An older woman in an orange vest is standing outside the window.
• An older man is standing at a laptop at the counter; he’s staring so closely at the screen. I’m not sure what he’s doing. A man just got the key for the bathroom; it’s on a kitchen whisk haha! A family just walked in. They’re all very funkily dressed. One woman has blue booties on and a bright yellow fall scarf. The woman with the blazer is now speaking to the man with the tattoos, all the papers have been cleared off the table
• A man in work boots just spilled some tea on the ground and his boots; he just went to grab some napkins to mop up the spill. The café is very quiet. The funky family has claimed the couches as their territory. Four people sit at the stools. The woman by the window is still reading her book peacefully and the two men are doing work still at the tables in isolation.
• A man and wife sit across from us at the bench table in silence, the husband is peering over his glasses at a newspaper while the wife stares at her phone He just mumbled something to himself – are they having a conversation with no eye contact? Oh, they just engaged in conversation. The woman reading the book in the corner just stood up and put on a black wool beanie. She’s walking to put away her cup and plate and heading out the exit doors, book in hand. The two rugged looking men are sitting and conversing at the bar still.

Mental Maps:

Age 34, female, graphic designer, lived in Portland for 12 years, lives in Libbytown, would like to see smoking banned from Congress St. Would like more info about study results: [email protected]

Age 37, male, food truck chef, lives in Scarborough, has lived in Maine for 13 years, would like to see improvements in the sanitation department.

Age 50, male, veteran, recovered drug addict, has lived in Portland for 6.5 years, would like to see cops be less corrupt.

Age 26, female, has lived in Yarmouth for three years, admissions representative at MECA, would like to see better street labeling and striping.