Questions on My Mind about the Psychology of Sidewalks

1. What are the unspoken laws of the sidewalk? Things like what side of the sidewalk people walk on around the world. And walking speed. And smoking. And playing music.
2. What are the psychological effects of continuous sidewalks on drivers and walkers? I wonder if they make walkers feel more at ease.
3. How do people feel walking behind someone at night? It feels weird to be the person walking behind someone on a sidewalk at night and it sometimes feels weird to have someone walking behind us at night.
4. How do most people cope while walking behind a group or a slow walker? Being impeded by a person on a sidewalk is frustrating experience. I wonder what the range of psychological and behavioural reactions looks like.
5. How has sidewalk design evolved through time? What does the future of sidewalk design look like? What does sidewalk innovation look like? What are the different types and features of sidewalks around the world?
6. How are sidewalks designed for pedestrian safety? What design strategies are used to make pedestrians feel safe. Like having led lights on the ground near crossroads to alert people walking while looking on their phones, for example.
7. How does sidewalk design influence pedestrian behaviour? I wonder if people feel more leisurely depending on the width of the sidewalk.
8. What distinguishes a sidewalk from other types of paths and how does each one affect people differently? Sidewalks vs walking trails vs desire paths vs alleys vs boardwalks…
9. What dark design patterns have been used on sidewalks? Hostile architecture, for example.
10. How do sidewalk accessories influence people’s behaviour and psychology? Sidewalks with greenery, benches, lampposts…
11. What are the unspoken expectations about eye contact and hellos with passers-by on sidewalks around the world?
12. What makes mid-sidewalk loiterers oblivious to the people behind them? What goes on in the minds of people who stand in the middle of a sidewalk being used by other people?
13. What happens to people’s psychology and behaviour when sidewalks open up into the streets?
14. What’s the correlation between the nicest neighbourhoods in a city and their sidewalk quality What’s the correlation between sidewalk quality and littering behaviour? What’s the correlation between sidewalk quality and loitering behaviour?
15. How have sidewalks been designed to bring people joy? What are the different types of sidewalk art? How does sidewalk art influence people’s behaviour and psychology?

Oslo has heated sidewalks to melt snow.

The Netherlands have continuous sidewalks to prioritize walkers over drivers.

Singapore revives phone zombies with LED floor lights at crosswalks.

Obsessing over clever sidewalk designs at 12am is what environmental psych has done to me.

https://twitter.com/LamarElimbo/status/1618108841908113408?s=20&t=9bH-QJjgQmNkrGb_dodUyA

Continuous Sidewalks

Apparently there are places that incorporate something called continuous sidewalks into their streets. The sidewalks that I've grown accustomed to tend to end where a road runs through. Continuous sidewalks reverse that, so that roads end where sidewalks are. Instead of a sidewalk lowering to the road's elevation, continuous sidewalks make roads raise to the elevation of the sidewalk and sidewalks maintain their distinct design from the road.

Hearing about this is the first time I internalized the concept of designing cities for people rather than cars.

Adding joy and social interaction to sidewalks

Croswalk pong