Archive for November, 2006
This might be old news for some of you in planning… but it’s interesting to think about it from a people-centered place design perspective. Several European cities are trying a new experiment…
Getting rid of all traffic signs results in… safer streets?
The premise is that by accommodating people’s natural interactions with each other and inherent behaviors (e.g. people’s tendency to be more cautious and courteous when they aren’t being forced to) instead of forcing them into an artificial construct of control, people will behave better naturally.
An interesting example of designing places around people’s natural behaviors, supporting and capitalizing on these behaviors rather than coercing them! And the more interesting part? It seems to work — resulting in less accidents.
“The many rules strip us of the most important thing: the ability to be considerate. We’re losing our capacity for socially responsible behavior,” says Dutch traffic guru Hans Monderman, one of the project’s co-founders. “The greater the number of prescriptions, the more people’s sense of personal responsibility dwindles.”
LINK: http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,448747,00.html
[via http://archinect.com/]
November 30th, 2006
“Humans tend to avert eye gaze if they feel someone is standing too close. They retreat to corners, put distance between themselves and strangers, and sit or stand equidistant from one another like birds on a wire.”
According to new research highlighted in the New York times, the rules of “proxemics” are so strong that people even carry them into virtual words with their avatars in games such as Second Life.
This article discusses the study of these human interactions and highlights their relevance and importance to urban design and space design.
So bus manufacturers and landscape architects beware: don’t force others to violate my space!
LINK: In Certain Circles, Two is a Crowd
November 16th, 2006
The AIGA (professional organization for graphic arts/design) started a project encouraging people to “document democracy” and particularly the “interiors, exteriors and other views that are part of your voting experience.”
The goal of the project is to document the good and bad aspects of the voting experience, to celebrate it and to consider how it could be improved.
I should have posted sooner when you could have submitted something, but here’s a link to check out the submissions. And you’re always welcome to post your thoughts here.
LINK: http://www.pollingplacephotoproject.org/
Food for Thought: What aspects of your voting environment affected your experience? Your sense of privacy? Your confidence that your vote went through?
November 7th, 2006