My friend P told me this afternoon about a remarkable experiment being conducted in some cities in Holland. All traffic signs, from stop signs to crosswalks, have been removed - pedestrians, cyclists and motorists have to share the roads without the help even of kerbs! And guess what? They do - accidents are down!
This approach was pioneered by a Hans Monderman (a Ben Hamilton-Baillie gave it the name "Shared Space"), and is apparently being tried in seven countries. An EU project explains that Shared Space is successful because the perception of risk may be a means or even a prerequisite for increasing objective safety. Because when a situation feels unsafe, people are more alert and there are fewer accidents. I'd also want to add that you're less likely to bump into someone when you're aware that s/he is a someone - Shared Space has you looking out for other people, not signs and rights of way.
All this is at once astonishing and unsurprising, and very suggestive. What other forms of spontaneous attunement and coordination are being obscured or even dulled by well-intentioned efforts to maintain order and safety?
