There are many studies of pedestrian behaviour which are geared to specific utilitarian purposes. These include the analysis of footfall for the purposes of urban traffic planning, investigating similar phenomena to establish the viability of commercial districts or advertising sites, the positioning of amenities; and – especially in recent years – the investigation of pedestrian behaviour to ensure the safe deployment of driverless vehicles, and of the physical security of pedestrian spaces. A considerable body of scientific literature has thus accumulated on these topics as they relate to the narrow policy implications of pedestrianising public spaces. What is lacking however is studies of pedestrianisation as a means of promoting social and cultural good for its own sake. We argue that the idea of “deep mapping”, as articulated by Bodenhamer et al (2010) can address this lack. To illustrate this, this paper will explore a present-day example of the pedestrianisation of a high-traffic volume area in the context of its deeper spatial history, and argue that a “deep mapping” methodology can promote pedestrianisation as an agent of social and cultural good, as well as economic and functional, benefit. We share the preliminary findings of the Unmapped Strands project, and discuss the potential and projections for future research. Unmapped Strands, which is supported by the Centre for Attention Studies and the Digital Futures Institute at King’s College London, enhances our comprehension of the pedestrian walking experience in a car-free area, and its interrelation with both physical and virtual information. Additionally, it seeks to contribute to the understanding of how geospatial technologies can be utilised in humanities research. Our goal is to demonstrate how deep mapping can be utilised to support spatial analysis by combining digital and ethnographical methods; and to develop a participatory research and design strategy for the Strand.

The Strand/Aldwych area is one of the major thoroughfares in London, connecting the historic political heart of the city at Westminster in the west, and its economic heart in the City in the east. It is thus a deeply symbolic space of connection and communication; yet for much of the twentieth century it was fully dominated by vehicular traffic. In December 2022, its eastern section (the southern part of which is the frontage of KCL’s Strand Building) was fully pedestrianised as a result of a major project overseen by Westminster City Council. This programme has the aim of creating “a wealth of benefits to the local area, including a more people-friendly experience for pedestrians and cyclists and enhanced connections to significant central locations of London (Covent Garden, the City, Holborn and the West End). The collective flow of footfall in the space is now unconstrained by traffic, resulting in far more social and cultural interaction possibilities. As well as the removal of traffic, the pedestrianisation programme has introduced a range of street furniture, art installations, walkways and planted gardens, all of which encourage interaction between people and the environment, as well as social interaction.

The project undertook an experimental research investigation in May and June 2023, interviewing a self-selecting sample of pedestrian users of the space to understand the benefits that its move to pedestrianization, the introduction of the street features, and the emergence of the space to dwell in as well as to traverse, has bought to their daily lives. First, GPS traces were collected from regular users – research participants- of the Strand area to provide a visual snapshot of how walking trajectories now respond to the space. A total of 48 GPS traces were captured from the participants. These were overlaid using Quantum GIS and waypoints extracted at 1-meter intervals. These were collated to identify “hotspots” and popular trajectories.

In the second phase, open-ended interviews were conducted with the same user group to complement the visual snapshot with a more qualitative verbal one, gaining an insight into non-tangible responses to the space. Overall, from the two sets of activities, we are able to discern three high-level categories of factor which impact pedestrian uses of the space: factors which cause people to stop, factors which draw them through the space, and extrinsic sensual stimuli.

As well as outlining the methods used for this initial study and spatial analysis, this paper will outline the potential of our initial small dataset to constitute a “deep map” of this profoundly historic and symbolically important area. How might we articulate the sensory, transitory, ephemeral and emotional traces of the space, now it has become a space for passage of people and not of vehicles? In what ways have these aspects become clearer and more traceable as a result of the pedestrianisation?

These are all questions that we will address with reference to the idea of deep mapping, as articulated by Bodenhamer et al (2010) etc. In the context of the Strand/Aldwych pedestrianisation, we will illustrate how deep mapping can enable a shift beyond the paradigm of understanding pedestrianisation as utilitarian, economic and practical activity, to one in which space becomes “humanised”.