Disrupting Pedestrian Movement through Playful Interventions: What Does Experimental Evidence Suggest?

The authors present the results of a series of experiments designed to disrupt people flow and pedestrian movement in various types of public space. The hypothesis investigated is that playful, non-obstructive interventions foster a positive social experience yet can be used to shape pedestrian movement. Shaping pedestrian movement is desirable for a range of purposes including security, commerce and entertainment. The interventions employ a range of media from floor patterns to large digital screens in indoor and outdoor environments. They aimed to influence pedestrian movement by disrupting the routine use of space or by triggering playful behavior. Observation demonstrated that playful interventions are able to create zones of attraction and exclusion, engage people’s curiosity and elicit playful actions. The influence of increased cognitive load at personal level and goal-directed behavior was also considered. The results suggest that increased understanding between environmenta...