A History Of Jaywalking

Transcription

1 13/02/2015 1

2 13/02/2015 2

3 A History Of Jaywalking

4 Now: An Infraction 13/02/2015 4

5 The Street as a Public Space Hester Street, Lower East Side, 1914 Many street users Trams Pedestrians Dudes chillin Children Vendors Carts & horses Pleasure cars : playthings for the elite 13/02/2015 5

6 The Birth of the Automobile Promised a revolution in mobility, independence, and speed Quintessentially American Initially restricted to the wealthy Establishment of auto clubs (e.g. AAA) Model T: 1914 and /02/2015 6

7 Automobile Deaths Came at a Cost Year

8 A Struggle Brews 13/02/2015 8

9 Moloch! 13/02/2015 9

10 A Struggle Brews Intruder / bully must go! Progress must prevail! Rationalisation of the space urgently needed Ahistoricism Was car s success a natural progression? 13/02/

11 Stakeholder Priorities in 1920 Pedestrians: established right to street Parents: safety Police: order City planners: efficient flow of traffic Commerce: public s access to business Tram companies: low congestion Motorists: fuckin freedom Car factories: investment in industry Auto dealers: good press Press: sensation Who sides with whom? Allegiances still to play for in 1910s 13/02/

12 Freedoms in the Balance Criticism mounts Move to restrict motorists freedoms Pedestrians, traffic engineers, local business, Judge, 1924: the rights of foot passengers must be reasserted and preserved. [Motorists] should be forced into decent recognition of pedestrians rights. Motor groups organise to protect their interests Tide begins to turn 13/02/2015 Poster, 1923

13 Adjusting the Law Anti-automobile Judge, 1913: The streets of Chicago belong to the city, not to automobilists. City ordinances, : limit speeds to 10-15mph Pro-automobile Cities paint cross-walks and police deter pedestrians Ineffective: pedestrians, many of them women, would demand that the police stand aside [and would] use their parasols on the policemen. A missing ingredient 13/02/

14 Adjusting Perception We have recognised that in controlling traffic we must take into consideration human psychology, rather than approach it as an engineering problem. Lefferts, 1922 Motordom needed an anti-mascot E.g. Otto Nobetter 13/02/

15 Jaywalker Jay : Midwestern derogatory term for a country bumpkin Jaywalkers foolish, don t know how to walk in the city Redraws boundary between use and misuse of street How to make jaywalker stick? 13/02/

16 Jaywalker Jay : Midwestern derogatory term for a country bumpkin Jaywalkers foolish, don t know how to walk in the city Redraws boundary between use and misuse of street How to make jaywalker stick? 13/02/

17 An Education Campaign Posters, public preaching, radio Free service for writing reports of motor accidents Safety education in schools Boy Scouts leaflets /02/

18 A Shaming Campaign The ridicule of fellow citizens is far more effective than any other means which might be adopted. Lefferts, ACSC Detroit school trial, 1925 Police publicly humiliate Avoid precedents from unsuccessful prosecution 18

19 A Ridicule Campaign New York, /02/

20 Success 1924 dictionary: one who crosses the street without observing the traffic regulations for pedestrians 13/02/2015

21 Success 1927: federal traffic ordinance on jaywalking By 1930, pedestrians learn to obey the signals and jaywalkers are arrested Jaywalkers have to admit that they are indeed jaywalking Streets fully transformed into car thoroughfares City planners conform to the needs of the automobile: space for parking, low-density suburbs, traffic signals and extensive road maintenance 13/02/

22 Success 13/02/

23 Was the 20 th century s progression inevitable? Maybe not. Summary Concerted effort to overturn public right to the street Lobbying policymakers / city planners Psychological manipulation tactics The legitimisation of jaywalker as a term consolidated the practice s fall into disrepute In the 1920s, a vocal and relatively wealthy minority established the car as central to the American city 13/02/

24 Part II The Psychology of Persuasion Maybe next time 13/02/