BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//pretalx//pretalx.com//spathum24//talk//XGDPC9 BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:CET BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20001029T040000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=-1SU;BYMONTH=10 TZNAME:CET TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20000326T030000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=-1SU;BYMONTH=3 TZNAME:CEST TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:pretalx-spathum24-XGDPC9@pretalx.com DTSTART;TZID=CET:20240926T093000 DTEND;TZID=CET:20240926T100000 DESCRIPTION: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 phenome na to establish the viability of commercial districts or advertising sites \, the positioning of amenities\; and – especially in recent years – t he 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 pedestrianisin g public spaces. What is lacking however is studies of pedestrianisation as a means of promoting social and cultural good for its own sake. We argu e that the idea of “deep mapping”\, as articulated by Bodenhamer et al (2010) can address this lack. To illustrate this\, this paper will explor e 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 “de ep mapping” methodology can promote pedestrianisation as an agent of soc ial and cultural good\, as well as economic and functional\, benefit. We s hare the preliminary findings of the Unmapped Strands project\, and discus s the potential and projections for future research. Unmapped Strands\, wh ich is supported by the Centre for Attention Studies and the Digital Futur es Institute at King’s College London\, enhances our comprehension of th e pedestrian walking experience in a car-free area\, and its interrelation with both physical and virtual information. Additionally\, it seeks to co ntribute to the understanding of how geospatial technologies can be utilis ed in humanities research. Our goal is to demonstrate how deep mapping can be utilised to support spatial analysis by combining digital and ethnogra phical methods\; and to develop a participatory research and design strate gy for the Strand.\n\nThe Strand/Aldwych area is one of the major thorough fares in London\, connecting the historic political heart of the city at W estminster 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 f or much of the twentieth century it was fully dominated by vehicular traff ic. In December 2022\, its eastern section (the southern part of which is the frontage of KCL’s Strand Building) was fully pedestrianised as a res ult of a major project overseen by Westminster City Council. This programm e has the aim of creating “a wealth of benefits to the local area\, incl uding a more people-friendly experience for pedestrians and cyclists and e nhanced connections to significant central locations of London (Covent Gar den\, the City\, Holborn and the West End). The collective flow of footfal l in the space is now unconstrained by traffic\, resulting in far more soc ial and cultural interaction possibilities. As well as the removal of tra ffic\, the pedestrianisation programme has introduced a range of street fu rniture\, art installations\, walkways and planted gardens\, all of which encourage interaction between people and the environment\, as well as soc ial interaction.\n\nThe project undertook an experimental research investi gation in May and June 2023\, interviewing a self-selecting sample of pede strian users of the space to understand the benefits that its move to pede strianization\, the introduction of the street features\, and the emergenc e of the space to dwell in as well as to traverse\, has bought to their da ily lives. First\, GPS traces were collected from regular users – resear ch participants- of the Strand area to provide a visual snapshot of how wa lking trajectories now respond to the space. A total of 48 GPS traces wer e captured from the participants. These were overlaid using Quantum GIS an d waypoints extracted at 1-meter intervals. These were collated to identi fy “hotspots” and popular trajectories.\n\nIn 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 i nto non-tangible responses to the space. Overall\, from the two sets of a ctivities\, we are able to discern three high-level categories of factor w hich impact pedestrian uses of the space: factors which cause people to st op\, factors which draw them through the space\, and extrinsic sensual sti muli.\n\nAs well as outlining the methods used for this initial study and spatial analysis\, this paper will outline the potential of our initial sm all dataset to constitute a “deep map” of this profoundly historic and symbolically important area. How might we articulate the sensory\, transi tory\, ephemeral and emotional traces of the space\, now it has become a s pace for passage of people and not of vehicles? In what ways have these as pects become clearer and more traceable as a result of the pedestrianisati on?\n\nThese are all questions that we will address with reference to the idea of deep mapping\, as articulated by Bodenhamer et al (2010) etc. In t he context of the Strand/Aldwych pedestrianisation\, we will illustrate ho w deep mapping can enable a shift beyond the paradigm of understanding ped estrianisation as utilitarian\, economic and practical activity\, to one i n which space becomes “humanised”. DTSTAMP:20260516T233616Z LOCATION:MG1 00.04 Hörsaal SUMMARY:London's Strand: From Pedestrianisation to Humanisation - Cristina A. G. Kiminami\, Stuart Dunn URL:https://pretalx.com/spathum24/talk/XGDPC9/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR