May 21st, 2023

For this study, I walked and cycled to all sites marked vacant and derelict in Paisley. There were some spaces that made me feel safer than others. Some spaces I had never visited before, and so I was unsure if in the neighbourhoods I visited, my presence was felt more than in others and whether I went through the neighbourhood unnoticed or not. Similarly, there were two spaces where I physically felt uncomfortable, and had someone on standby on the phone just in case. This was partially due to the difficulty in understanding if certain areas were private property or not, but also because some spaces felt desolate and devoid of any people. To give an example, in order to visit the abandoned car park on Harbour Road in Paisley, I had to cycle into a smaller bending lane with bushes on either side – thereby making it unable to see ahead, and estimate whether I would encounter people or objects after the turn.

When I was making the pictures, suddenly a white van appeared from the same way I came down, which gave me quite a fright. It ended up just being a building van, and while the builders in the van looked at me with surprise to find someone on this road with a bicycle, they passed me and drove off. While I was scared in that small moment, I cycled away from the site feeling comfortable in knowing that I put significant safeguarding tools in place before I did my cycling trip. For instance, I consulted Google Maps and satellite imagery to understand the area and potential private property. I equally had an idea of which areas were too unsafe to visit through my scoping chats with community members.

When I went on my fieldwork trip I  shared my research itinerary and expected visit locations with my supervisors. I had my phone with me at all times, and called family directly when cycling to a space where I felt uncomfortable. As such, I could approach my ‘uncomfortableness’ through a realist lens; understanding the reasons behind feeling uncomfortable without actually being in any real danger.