Hidden in the most visible place: measuring visual accessibility and social performance of urban kiosks

ABSTRACT

How do street kiosks, a prominent example of ‘human-scale urban form’, generate new public space and encourage social encounters? To answer this question, this study applies an integrative methodology, combining (1) quantitative visibility analysis with (2) qualitative ethnographic fieldwork. Analyzing kiosks’ visibility allows distinguishing between the effect of search in familiar and in novel environments. The modes in which kiosks are used are traced, revealing that both commercial and non-commercial modes are maximized in places with higher visual integration. Further, the study unexpectedly discovers frequent illegitimate uses in places with a higher degree of visibility, despite higher surveillance and supervision.

Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank Dr Michael Natapov for his valuable assistance with statistical analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplemental data

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Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions [MSCA IF 744835] and Israel Science Foundation [59/17].