Introduction
Students, faculty, staff, and visitors are all pedestrians on the college
campus. The purpose of this article is to examine the concepts of "pedestrian" and
"informal learning" as they apply to learning cultural messages by campus
pedestrians.
The pedestrian experience is walking and billions of foot miles are logged
each year. These foot miles or walk trips are classified by four basic purposes:
work trips, school trips, personal business trips, and recreational trips. (Smith,
1987). The walking experience associated with these trips is typically viewed
from three perspectives: safety, functional aspects, and pleasurable aspects
(Untermann,1984).
Pedestrian safety is a major issue. Untermann (1984) reports that 350,000
pedestrians are struck by autos each year in the United States and thousands of
deaths and injuries result. Campuses are not immune from these accidents; in
fact, campuses have the additional hazard of the bike-pedestrian accident. There
is also an increasing concern for pedestrian safety from health hazards associated
with vehicle emissions, air pollution, noise, and the ever present risk of on
campus robberies and personal assaults.
The functional aspects of the pedestrian trip encompasses the issue of
designing for pedestrian convenience. Untermann (1984) notes that convenience
depends upon the directness, continuity, and availability of the walk. Pushkarev
and Zupan (1978) address the functional issues of the pedestrian experience in
depth including such issues as pedestrian space requirements, sidewalk widths
and standards, and other important functional design issues. On campus, the
ubiquitous "campus footpath" indicates the most functional route for students!
Pleasure is Untermann's (1984) third category. Within this category, he
includes the factors of protection from the weather, coherence, psychological
security, and interest. Good pedestrian planning includes the enhancement of the
pleasurable aspects of the walking experience. This is often achieved by the
inclusion of design features such as sitting walls, benches, and flower gardens.
The importance of safety, functionality, and pleasure for the campus
pedestrian is without question, but a fourth category, "informal learning," can be
added to the walking experience. Again, the purpose ofthis article is to illustrate
what the campus pedestrian may" informally" learn about the campus culture
from walks on campus. Specifically, the article will illustrate some of the
"teachings" of the campus pedestrian environment and the impact of these
teachings on the physically disabled, women, persons of color, and gay, lesbian
and bisexual students.
The Pedestrian's "Informal Learning"
An analog for the campus pedestrian's learning experience is the museum
visit. Loomis (1987) captures the essence of this experience when he notes that
learning in a museum usually occurs in an open and free setting as compared to
such formal places as classrooms, lecture halls or theaters. He points out there are
no "assigned seats" and visitors are free to roam about. The campus pedestrian
experience is similar. The campus pedestrian moves about on foot from place to
place and has opportunity for learning as he/she engages the non-verbal
communications of the physical environment. Museums most often have a stated
educational mission and intentionally arrange the exhibits, reading material, and
interpretive signs to communicate their message or curriculum. While the campus
pedestrian's learning environment is usually not intentionally "programmed" by
any educational programming board or curriculum group, the informal
curriculum may be the non-intentional non-verbal communication of basic
cultural values.
Support for this connection is provided by the architectural group
MATRIX. They (MATRIX, 1984) suggest that the physical or built environment
is a "man" made world and therefore reflects the values of those in "power. "
Building on this rationale, the nonverbal messages experienced in the campus
pedestrian environment are those that reflect abled bodied, male, white, and
heterosexual values. In addition, thecampus pedestrian environmen talso includes
messages encoded by other pedestrians and users of the campus. Often these
messages take the form of graffiti which express powerful and direct negative
cultural messages for the differently abled, women, persons of color, and gay,
lesbian and bisexual persons.
Photographs: Examples of Cultural Messages
Recent campus planning and design efforts have taken into account the functional issue of access for the physically disabled, but negative symbolic messages (Photograph l.) can still be found. The "make shift"curb cut communicates a lack of concern, not caring enough to do the best, and the effort seems to be an after-thought. Photograph 2. is of the same location, but the curb cut has now been corrected. The messages are now quite positive. Photograph 3. sends a mixed message. While the curb cut looks functional, the placement of the trash receptacle makes the access unusable. Properly designed and located curb-cuts can give positive messages of caring and concern.
Photograph 4. is of a university library. It has a three story male figure on the building. No other sculpture adorns the building. Is the building exclusively for men? The campus sign "MEN WORKING" in Photograph 5. raises the same question of male exclusivity.
Photograph 6. is a photo of street art in an urban pedestrain area of a Midwestern city. the photograph suggsts typical athletic stereotypes regarding Africian-Americans and Anglo-Americans; the former excelling at track and basketball (activities associated with playgrounds) and the latter performing tennis and gymnastics (activities associated with sports clubs, country clubs, and afluent families). Posters containing similar messages can often be found on college campuses as well.
Photograph 7. is of a campus alcohol awareness exhibit which includes a "demolished" vehicle in which a death occurred. Not visible in the photograph is a chalked sentence in front of the car saying "Someone knew the driver of this car was a homosexual." Intolerance is taught by the campus pedestrian environment.
The point of the photographs is to illustrate that there are many negative non-verbal cultural messages that teach campus pedestrains about themselves and others on such topics as self and group-esteem, cultural group stereotypes, and group exploitation and intolerance. How safe, how convenient, how pleasurable can the campus pedestrian environment be with th presence of these negative messages.
Implications for Campus Planning
Smith (1987) in the National Cooperative Research Program Report 294A and 294B makes the following statement:
The pedestrian is often excluded as a design consideration in development projects... and becomes merely an afterthought. p.3
The report goes on to call for the inclusion of pedestrian issues and for
knowledgeable persons and/ or in-house pedestrian advocates in the planning
process. This call should also be extended to campus planning. Historically
underepresented groups must be included in campus planning efforts in order that
traditional planning and design groups are aware of encoded negative messages in
the campus pedestrian environment. A campus pedestrian environment that is
safe, functional, pleasurable, and teaches the celebration of all cultures will be a
campus environment worth planning, building, and using.
Loomis, R. J. (1987). Museum visitor evaluation: New tool for management
Nashville, TN: American Association for State and Local History.
MATRIX, (1984). Making space: Women and the man made environment.
London: Pluto Press
Pushkarev, B. & Zupan, J. (1975 ). Urban space for pedestrians. Cambridge, MA:
The MIT Press.
Smith, S.A. (1987). Planning and implementing pedestrian facilities in suburban
and developing rural areas. National Cooperative Highway Research Program,
Report 294A & 294B. Washington D.C.: Transportation Research Board,
National Research Council.
Untermann, R.K. ( 1984). Accommodating the pedestrian. NewYork: VanNostrand Reinhold Company.
This material resides on an Indiana State University server and is maintained by
Will Barratt.
Please forward any problems and comments to him.