Green-Wood is now a National Historic Landmark and well-known Brooklyn cultural institution. However, the cemetery's familiarity amongst tourists faces competition and modern sensibilities. Cemeteries are no longer thought to be places for Sunday picnics, as was the case in the late 19th Century.
My hypothesis for my field test was to see if an interactive version of the Green-Wood tourists map featuring drone footage of the grounds could encourage tourists and locals to visit the historic grounds. While this field test is a small sampling of what could be done, I am interested to see how people react to seeing drone footage of a spot they may have never considered visiting before. Would a fully interactive map, complete with drone views of a location, help guide a decision to visit?
Please view my map below. There are three map points that indicate where I shot drone footage. By clicking on any of the points, you will be linked directly to a YouTube page to view each of the videos.
Results
After posting my drone footage and the new interactive map, I used Google Surveys to collect data to test my hypothesis. In order to set up a control, I first asked respondents to indicate whether they live in or frequently visit the New York City area and whether they are familiar with the cemetery itself.
Of those who responded, 72% live or frequent New York.
Of those who responded, 72% live or frequent New York.
Next, I asked respondents to indicate whether they would personally be interested in visiting a cemetery, albeit a historical one, as a tourist. The results were interesting.
44% indicated they would “maybe” visit a cemetery as a tourist.
27% of people said “yes” and an equal percentage indicated “no”.
The skepticism regarding a sightseeing visit to a cemetery wasn’t entirely surprising to me, but I was glad to see that my map/drone footage would have an opportunity to change people’s minds.
And I was correct on this. 94% of respondents were more inclined to visit the cemetery after viewing the interactive map and the corresponding drone video. Also, 100% of respondents felt that the drone footage added additional value to the map.
You can download a copy of my final whitepaper here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwX8rF-LURWDQXp0VE1ON3U5YW8/view?usp=sharing
You can download a copy of my final whitepaper here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwX8rF-LURWDQXp0VE1ON3U5YW8/view?usp=sharing
