Walking in the City of Signs: Tracking Pedestrians in Glasgow
Author(s)
Salmiah Abdul Hamid*
Affiliation(s)
Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
ABSTRACT
This paper aims to determine the way in which materialities within the environment influence pedestrians’ movements when searching for signs. The use of mobile methods to observe and track human interactions with the signs in a city contributes to the empirical data collection on everyday life practices of this study. This article presents the findings from non-participatory observations conducted in Glasgow. The observations took place in a selected area to explore the natural behavior of pedestrians in urban spaces when searching for signs. Random pedestrians were “unobtrusively” followed to investigate their natural pattern behavior when choreographing their travel flow. This study helps to determine the advantages and disadvantages of mobile methods for investigating the relationship between pedestrians, materials and the environment. The interdisciplinary approach developed in this article presents new perspectives on the way mobility and geosemiotics could contribute both theoretically and empirically with new knowledge in design practices.
This paper aims to determine the way in which materialities within the environment influence pedestrians’ movements when searching for signs. The use of mobile methods to observe and track human interactions with the signs in a city contributes to the empirical data collection on everyday life practices of this study. This article presents the findings from non-participatory observations conducted in Glasgow. The observations took place in a selected area to explore the natural behavior of pedestrians in urban spaces when searching for signs. Random pedestrians were “unobtrusively” followed to investigate their natural pattern behavior when choreographing their travel flow. This study helps to determine the advantages and disadvantages of mobile methods for investigating the relationship between pedestrians, materials and the environment. The interdisciplinary approach developed in this article presents new perspectives on the way mobility and geosemiotics could contribute both theoretically and empirically with new knowledge in design practices.
Cite this paper
Hamid, S. (2014) Walking in the City of Signs: Tracking Pedestrians in Glasgow. Current Urban Studies, 2, 263-278. doi: 10.4236/cus.2014.23025.
Hamid, S. (2014) Walking in the City of Signs: Tracking Pedestrians in Glasgow. Current Urban Studies, 2, 263-278. doi: 10.4236/cus.2014.23025.
References
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Oxford: Architectural Press. [13] Crundall, D., & Underwood, G. (2001). The Priming Function of Road Signs. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 4, 187-200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1369-8478(01)00023-7 [14] Cullen, G. (1961). Townscape. London: Architectural Press. [15] De Certeau, M. (1984). The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. [16] Duff, C. (2010). On the Role of Affect and Practice in the Production of Place. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 28, 881-895. http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/d16209 [17] Edquist, J. (2008a). The Effects of Visual Clutter on Driving Performance. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Melbourne: Monash University. [18] Factsheets (2012). http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3014 [19] Fauque, R. (1986). A New Semiological Approach to the City. In M. Gottdiener, & A. P. Lagopoulos (Eds.), The City and the Sign: An Introduction to Urban Semiotics (p. 145). 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Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 30, 726-740. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2006.02.008 [32] Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City. Vol. 11, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. [33] Millonig, A., Br?ndle, N., Ray, M., Bauer, D., & van der Spek, S. (2009). Pedestrian Behaviour Monitoring: Methods and Experiences. In B. Gottfried, & H. Aghajan, (Eds.), Behaviour Monitoring and Interpretation BMI: Smart Environments, Volume 3 of Ambient Intelligence and Smart Environments (pp. 11-42). Amsterdam: IOS Press. [34] Pettersson, R., & Zillinger, M. (2011). Time and Space in Event Behaviour: Tracking Visitors by GPS. Tourism Geographies, 13, 1-20. [35] Rapoport, A. (1977). Human Aspects of Urban Form. Oxford: Pergamon. [36] Schwartz, M. S., & Schwartz, C. G. (1955). Problems in Participant Observation. American Journal of Sociology, 60, 343- 354. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/221566 [37] Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. W. (2003). Discourse in Place: Language in the Material World. London: Routledge. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203422724 [38] Sheller, M. (2012). Mobilities. In The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Globalization. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470670590 [39] Sheller, M., & Urry, J. (2006). Mobile Technologies of the City. New York: Routledge. [40] Shoval, N. (2008). Tracking Technologies and Urban Analysis. Cities, 25, 21-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2007.07.005 [41] Simmel, G. (1950). The Metropolis and Mental Life. In K. H. Wolff (Ed.), The Sociology of Georg Simmel (pp. 409-424). New York: The Free Press. [42] Solnit, R. (2001). Wanderlust. A History of Walking. London: Verso. [43] Urry, J. (2007). Mobilities. Cambridge: Polity. [44] Van der Spek, S., Van Schaick, J., De Bois, P., & De Haan, R. (2009). Sensing Human Activity: GPS Tracking. Sensors, 9, 3033-3055. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s90403033 [45] Vannini, P. (2012). Ferry Tales: Mobility, Place, and Time on Canada’s West Coast. New York: Routledge. [46] Vertesi, J. (2008). Mind the Gap: The London Underground Map and User’s Representations of Urban Space. Social Studies of Science, 38, 7-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0306312707084153 [47] Whyte, W. H. (1994). City: Rediscovering the Center. New York: Doubleday.
[1] Anderson, J. (2004). Talking Whilst Walking: A Geographical Archaeology of Knowledge. Area, 36, 254-261. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0004-0894.2004.00222.x [2] Baers, R. L. (1966). A Study of Orientation. Unpublished B. Arch. Thesis, California: Berkeley University of California. [3] Bechtel, R. B., Marans, R. W. and Michelson, W. (1987). Observation: The World under a Glass. In R.B. Marans, & W. Michelson (Eds.), Methods in Environmental and Behavioral Research (pp. 11-40). New York: Van Nostrand. [4] Borowsky, A., Shinar, D., & Parmet, Y. (2008). The Relation between Driving Experience and Recognition of Road Signs Relative to Their Locations. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 50, 173. http://dx.doi.org/10.1518/001872008X288330 [5] Büscher, M. (2006). Vision in Motion. Environment and Planning A, 38, 281-299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/a37277 [6] Büscher, M., & Urry, J. (2009). Mobile Methods and the Empirical. European Journal of Social Theory, 12, 99-116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1368431008099642 [7] Büscher, M., Urry, J., & Witchger, K. (2011). Mobile Methods. Oxon, UK: Routledge. [8] Carmona, M., Heath, T., Oc, T., & Tiesdell, S. (2010). Public Places-Urban Spaces: The Dimensions of Urban Design. Burlington: Architectural Press, Elsevier. [9] Carpiano, R. M. (2009). Come Take a Walk with Me: The “Go-Along” Interview as a Novel Method for Studying the Implications of Place for Health and Well-Being. Health & Place, 15, 263-272. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2008.05.003 [10] Casey, E. S. (2001). Body, Self and Landscape. In P. C. Adams, S. Hielscher, & K. E. Till (Eds.), Textures of Place: Exploring Humanist Geographies (pp. 403-425). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Pres. [11] Cresswell, T. (2010) Mobilities I: Catching up. Progress in Human Geography, 35, 550-558. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0309132510383348 [12] Cullen, G. (1996). The Concise Townscape. Oxford: Architectural Press. [13] Crundall, D., & Underwood, G. (2001). The Priming Function of Road Signs. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 4, 187-200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1369-8478(01)00023-7 [14] Cullen, G. (1961). Townscape. London: Architectural Press. [15] De Certeau, M. (1984). The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. [16] Duff, C. (2010). On the Role of Affect and Practice in the Production of Place. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 28, 881-895. http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/d16209 [17] Edquist, J. (2008a). The Effects of Visual Clutter on Driving Performance. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Melbourne: Monash University. [18] Factsheets (2012). http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3014 [19] Fauque, R. (1986). A New Semiological Approach to the City. In M. Gottdiener, & A. P. Lagopoulos (Eds.), The City and the Sign: An Introduction to Urban Semiotics (p. 145). New York: Columbia University Press. [20] Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (1991). Social Cognition. New York: McGraw-Hill. [21] Golledge, R. G., & Stimson, R. J. (1997). Spatial Behavior: A Geographic Perspective. New York: The Guilford Press. [22] Halprin, L. (1963) Cities. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation. [23] Hamid, S. A., Jensen, O. B., & Andrade, V. (2012). Signs in Place: Choreographing Travel Flow in Urban Spaces. Spaces and Flows: An International Journal of Urban and ExtraUrban Studies, 2, 115-128. [24] Hill, M. R. (1984). Stalking the Urban Pedestrian a Comparison of Questionnaire and Tracking Methodologies for Behavioral Mapping in Large-Scale Environments. Environment and Behavior, 16, 539-550. [25] Jensen, O. B. (2013). Staging Mobilities. International Library of Sociology. London: Routledge. [26] Jensen, O. B. (2010a). Negotiation in Motion: Unpacking a Geography of Mobility. Space and Culture, 13, 389-402. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1206331210374149 [27] Jensen, O. B. (2010b). Embodied Cultures of Mobilities. The 6th International Cosmobilities Conference “Cultures of Mobilities: Everyday Life, Communication, and Politics”, Aalborg, 27-29 October 2010, 1-26 [28] Knox, P. L., & Pinch, S. (2006). Urban Social Geography: An Introduction. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. [29] Kusenbach, M. (2003). Street Phenomenology: The Go-Along as Ethnographic Research Tool. Ethnography, 4, 455-485. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/146613810343007 [30] Lee, J., & Ingold, T. (2006). Fieldwork on Foot: Perceiving, Routing, Socializing. In S. Coleman, & P. Collins (Eds.), Locating the Field: Space, Place and Context in Anthropology (pp. 67-86). Palo Alto, CA: Ebrary. [31] Li, C. (2006). User Preferences, Information Transactions and Location-Based Services: A Study of Urban Pedestrian Wayfinding. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 30, 726-740. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2006.02.008 [32] Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City. Vol. 11, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. [33] Millonig, A., Br?ndle, N., Ray, M., Bauer, D., & van der Spek, S. (2009). Pedestrian Behaviour Monitoring: Methods and Experiences. In B. Gottfried, & H. Aghajan, (Eds.), Behaviour Monitoring and Interpretation BMI: Smart Environments, Volume 3 of Ambient Intelligence and Smart Environments (pp. 11-42). Amsterdam: IOS Press. [34] Pettersson, R., & Zillinger, M. (2011). Time and Space in Event Behaviour: Tracking Visitors by GPS. Tourism Geographies, 13, 1-20. [35] Rapoport, A. (1977). Human Aspects of Urban Form. Oxford: Pergamon. [36] Schwartz, M. S., & Schwartz, C. G. (1955). Problems in Participant Observation. American Journal of Sociology, 60, 343- 354. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/221566 [37] Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. W. (2003). Discourse in Place: Language in the Material World. London: Routledge. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203422724 [38] Sheller, M. (2012). Mobilities. In The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Globalization. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470670590 [39] Sheller, M., & Urry, J. (2006). Mobile Technologies of the City. New York: Routledge. [40] Shoval, N. (2008). Tracking Technologies and Urban Analysis. Cities, 25, 21-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2007.07.005 [41] Simmel, G. (1950). The Metropolis and Mental Life. In K. H. Wolff (Ed.), The Sociology of Georg Simmel (pp. 409-424). New York: The Free Press. [42] Solnit, R. (2001). Wanderlust. A History of Walking. London: Verso. [43] Urry, J. (2007). Mobilities. Cambridge: Polity. [44] Van der Spek, S., Van Schaick, J., De Bois, P., & De Haan, R. (2009). Sensing Human Activity: GPS Tracking. Sensors, 9, 3033-3055. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s90403033 [45] Vannini, P. (2012). Ferry Tales: Mobility, Place, and Time on Canada’s West Coast. New York: Routledge. [46] Vertesi, J. (2008). Mind the Gap: The London Underground Map and User’s Representations of Urban Space. Social Studies of Science, 38, 7-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0306312707084153 [47] Whyte, W. H. (1994). City: Rediscovering the Center. New York: Doubleday.