Today, we had a creative discussion around public space and social interaction. We compared three early project ideas: visualising urban social relationships, modelling the effect of pollution on plants, and exploring psychogeography in public space. What these ideas had in common was that they all focused on invisible factors — the social structures, emotions, and unwritten rules that quietly shape how people move, meet, and avoid each other.
We discussed that public space is not neutral. Factors such as where people live, wealth, background, and occupation can influence how safe they feel and what kind of interaction is possible. We not only thought about making visual maps, but also explored multisensory ways to express these forces, such as using sound, light, or touch to turn atmosphere and power dynamics into something people can experience.
One important concept was “body grammar.” Patterns of distance, direction, walking speed, pauses, and gathering can reveal relationship structures in public space. We also discussed different possible methods to build the project, such as sensors, augmented reality, and interactive screens. At the same time, we considered ethical issues, especially around surveillance, so lower-tech methods like guided walks and voice notes may be a better starting point.
After voting, the group decided to prioritise the psychogeography project (5 votes), followed by air pollution (3 votes) and plant growth (1 vote). Next, we plan to choose a location, create a small prototype walking study, and then explore how to translate people’s movement and feelings into a shared public experience.
