Personal Spaces

Personal Spaces

In this next part of the Stonehouse Project the group will need to establish an eye on the reactions to the General Public. This kind of study will mean going back out into the Stonehouse area and search for an area with a busy pedestrian area. Example of this would be Union Street.


The diagram above displays the personal space between myself and the distance which will have people walking by it. The concept of this is like a beacon tower sending radio frequencies, if this were visible to the human eye, then this would be just like it. Different reactions will most likely occur when the people walk close by as they will be trying to divert away from my personal space. Their personal spaces will also be changed when they change direction around my static position. When small paths are concerned, personal space will be breached further when the pedestrian will have to come in close contact within my area.



In this more detailed diagram it displays an example of the distance which maybe measured for the data. 10 meters is a proposed area for the personal space. From the centre outwards it would be 5 meters all around, giving the chance to collect sufficient data. Because most of the paths are less than 5 metres in length, it will be very interesting to see how the pedestrians reactions are when trying to pass whilst trying to avoid walking on the main road.

It will also be interesting to find out how people in this area react in certain areas such as bus stops, shops or simply waiting for someone. This area is fairly dangerous, especially at night due to vandalism and crime. So the local people may look cautious during the day; constantly looking over their shoulders just in case. When I first visited Stonehouse, it was mainly elderly pedestrians and middle aged people walking to work, waiting at bus stops or visiting the local shops and cafe's. It was very busy in Union Street, but Cremyll Street was busy aswell. This is where I encountered most of the elderly population. They seemed to have known the area long enough to know how to react to personal spaces and being safe in this rough part of Plymouth.