London's Strand:From Pedestrianisation to Humanisation

When busy urban areas are pedestrianised, the relationship these places have with those using them changes. Most obviousis the topographical increase in theavailabilityof spacefor those traversing it on foot or bicycle. Nevertheless, there are more subtle changes as well. Regular users of pedestrianisedspacesbegin to forge routes, habits and responses, shaping the way the (newly) available space is used in practice. In this paper, we describe a project at King's College London whichsought to explore this in the context of the newly pedestrianised area of the Strand, one of Central London’s main thoroughfares, which abuts KCL’s campus estate. We used methods drawn from deep mapping combined with quanti-tative and qualitative observations of research participants' walking experiences. Through GPS traces of their walking routes and qualitative interviews, we focused on understanding the benefits of pedestria-nisation, the impact of new street furniture on pedestrian habits, and the transformation of the space into an area for both dwelling and traversing. Such spaces give rise to conceptual and intangible "laby-rinths" constructed and mediated through people's individual experiences andthroughdigital locative media. This study demonstratesthe potential of the deep mapping paradigmin enhancingour under-standing of the pedestrian walking experience in newly pedestrianised areas such as the Strand. We showhow deep mapping can support spatial analysis and contribute to developing a comprehensive research and design strategy for urban areas by integrating geospatial technologies and participatory research methods