What are people doing on Seattle sidewalks? SDOT is on it

When it comes to Seattle sidewalks, you don’t often think too deeply about what you’re doing on them, but fortunately the city is watching — in case you were looking to feel more self-conscious outside.

For their 2018 public study, the city sent teams to observe what exactly people were up to on sidewalks at 108 block faces (a technical way of saying “a block”) across 38 Seattle neighborhoods, during different times of day. If you guessed “walking” and “standing,” you’re way ahead already.

The report reads a bit like what you’d expect if aliens watched and studied human beings. For example, it states that 61 percent of “public space users stood—whether that’s a preference or requirement given the amount of available seating provided, we aren’t sure.”

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What they do know is that 11 percent of those who milled about “opted to either lean on nearby structures or use random objects as chairs for seating.” Jane Goodall would be proud.

Don’t think that people just lean and stand on Seattle sidewalks. We didn’t progress out of the Stone Age as a civilization by simply leaning and standing; we spoke, too. The study also found that 56 percent of those lingering on sidewalks “exhibited extroverted behaviors that included one-on-one and group conversations, as well as active engagement with the social environment, including purchasing items from street vendors or watching street musicians.”

The genesis behind the study was to get a sense of how public spaces are being used so the city can incorporate the data into the design of future public spaces. Like if a particular area needed more seating, or had too much of it. Think of it like SDOT conducting a giant game of musical chairs.

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Some of the categories in the interactive map include people staying, people moving, use of seating, female presence, and time of day trends. And within those broad subsets, you can click on individual neighborhoods to find out the specific activities.

In Capitol Hill, for example, of the people staying still on the sidewalk, 41 percent were waiting for transportation, 38 percent were using electronics, and 15 percent were hanging out. Some were even doing these activities at the same time.

If you want to learn more about what you’re likely up to in public spaces, check out the highly detailed map here.

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