Observational Analysis Surveyors observe public life in public space to understand the nuance of how people move and use a space. This ethnographic method records how people ‘vote with their feet’ and uncovers use patterns among different demographics and modes.
Method
Metrics 1 Pedestrian and cyclist volume
Observation
2 Volume and diversity of
Scale Groups
stationary activities 3
Age and gender split
4 Rates of social groups 5 Duration of stay
Method Gehl’s ethnographic and observational analysis methods, developed over 50 years, are used to observe behavior of people spending time in test sites. In the field, volunteers observe people going about their daily routines, count people, and make notes of anything unusual. Counts are made on a weekend and weekday, often for 8-12 hours each day. These methods capture age and gender, stationary activities, and mode-split between pedestrians and cyclists. These tools have been used in cities around the world and provide baseline, comparative data. The toolkit also includes methods to capture groups of people engaging in observable social activity, and duration of stay, which allows researchers to estimate how “sticky” a space is by measuring how much time people spend in a space.
18 - Public Life Metrics