This interactive session led Guggenheim Lab participants out into the streets of Berlin to examine how people interact in public space. Every hour, participants undertook “missions” to affect the activity in a public square through temporary tactical urbanism installations—for instance, rearranging street furniture to encourage pedestrians to gather at the center of the square.

As the participants worked, cameras were monitoring the public space and using tracking software and analyzed whether there were changes in people’s behaviors—were people stopping, or changing their paths? Together with an analysis of social media and environmental sensors, the team and participants used technology to understand the dynamism of public spaces.

For more information, visit the project page or a recap from the BMW Guggenheim Lab.

as part of the BMW Guggenheim Lab Berlin
MIT Senseable City Lab
Summer, 2012

On-site photo credit:
Luke Abiol (Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation)