Urban Nudges: Veering Human Behaviour for Optimized Cities

• by Mehar
• June 4, 2021

The core assumption of classical economics is that humans make decisions based on logic. However, this notion was challenged and proved wrong by the pioneering works of social scientists – Kahneman and Traversky in the 1970s which established, through extensive research, that humans are in fact highly irrational decision-makers.  

They developed the “Prospect Theory” which states that we are full of cognitive biases. Under circumstances of fatigue, pressure, or uncertainty, people tend to behave in a rather irrational manner.

Based on this awareness of humans’ limitations with respect to decision making, Richard Thaler (a behavioral economist) and Cass Sunstein (a legal scholar) coined the “nudge theory”.

What is Nudge Theory?

The nudge theory surfaced in a 2008 seminal book titled “Nudge – Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness”, authored by Thaler and Sunstein; along with another term called “choice architecture”.

The book defines “nudge” as

“any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives”

whereas “choice architecture” refers to influencing choices to encourage certain actions by

“organizing the context in which people make decisions”

Moreover, to qualify as a nudge the intervention should be easy and cheap to avoid. For instance – enabling healthy eating habits by placing fruits and vegetables at eye level instead of completely banning junk food.

The research shows that the environment can be altered in a subtle way to bring about favorable outcomes by the application of behavioral science and psychology.

Although the concept of nudging and its impacts had been scrutinized in the domain of behavioral economics and marketing, it has the potential to be applied in the design of the built environment as well.

Nudging in Urban Design Context

Enunciating nudges in urban design is about understanding that the design of the built environment perpetually influences human behavior, and using that comprehension to create better cities.

The world needs numerous changes that inevitably depend on shifts in human behaviors. The decisions (often irrational as aforementioned) made by individual humans collectively affect the shape, form, and functioning of our cities.

Many of our daily life choices such as – opting for the car instead of walking, littering on road as opposed to using garbage bin, not turning off the lights while leaving a room; though they may seem insignificant at the face of it when made en bloc are consequential in the larger scheme of making our cities happier, healthier and livable.

Hence, it can be deduced that to incur the changes we envision for our cities, certain design solutions that enable specific changes in human behavior can prove to be vital.

As architects, designers and planners, we can use the concept of nudging to reconfigure the settings of space in a subtle way that urges people to make more positive and ideal decisions. Nudging facilitates change by operating around human behavioral tendencies such as laziness and pack mentality. Behavioral design experts have understood this and now put efforts into integrating nudge as tools in the design of urban spaces.

Urban Nudges in Practice: Triumphant Experiments from Worldwide

Where nudging strategies have established their worth and efficiency in fields like marketing and economics, their exploration in the fabric of the built environment has also taken off in some countries.

Enlisted below are some of the nudging interventions that have garnered success in bringing about positive changes by tweaking peoples’ choices in different types of urban spaces.

#01 Piano Stairs in Stockholm

A popular urban nudge, the Piano stairs was installed in Openland, Stockholm by a behavioral initiative called “The Fun Theory” powered by Volkswagen. This low-cost intervention nudges people to opt for stairs without limiting their choice (they can still use the escalator).

The experiment result of this nudge showed that 66% more people went for stairs instead of the escalator. Drawing on its fame and success, replicas of the Piano staircase have popped up in metropolises like Istanbul, Auckland, Milan, Melbourne, Colombia, and Toronto.

#02 Paint for Amicable Streets in New York

The design of the built environment determines the nature and frequency of social interactions, a crucial aspect for ameliorating safety and happiness in the cities.

The former transportation commissioner of New York- Janette Sadik-Khan realizes the importance of the design of streets and their vital role in fostering public values.  Along with her team, she took up the agenda of improving the quality of urban spaces and mobility around them through an action plan with strategic goals.

Streets of buzzing junctions such as Times Square, Madison Square, and many more were uplifted through the employment of paints and temporary materials in the under-utilized parking lots. Lounging chairs and vibrant planted barrels were also brought into the play.

This effort of carving out “people-places” from the overcrowded area attracted a significant amount of pedestrians, breathing a new sort of social life into the spaces. Janette observed that people didn’t have to be told what to do, they simply responded to the character of the place.

#03 Footprints as Cognitive Stimulants in Copenhagen

The city of Copenhagen which has been incessantly accredited as the most livable city in the world (for all the right reasons) conducted a litter-prevention program called “Pure Love” which won the city yet another title of “cleanest city in Europe”. Imbued with the clever concept of nudging, the program encouraged the city inhabitants to keep the cleanliness of the environment in check.

The garbage bins were strategically placed where littering was most expected. However, the highlight of this drive was the bright green footsteps that exhorted people to take those extra steps towards the green bins for waste disposal.

An effective visible reminder, the nudge paid off and was certified as being highly impactful resulting in increased tidiness and a sense of pride amongst the people.

#04 Levitating Crosswalks for Pedestrian Safety

A team of mother and daughter, the two artists painted a 3D crosswalk on a highway in Ahmedabad. This road art acts as a virtual speed breaker by giving the optical illusion to oncoming motorists of being a blockade, thus slowing them down without charging penalties.

Inspired by this scheme that was also adopted in Delhi, Ralf Trylla, the environment commissioner of Iceland headed a similar project in Ísafjörður (a fishing town in Iceland). The transpiring results showed more careful driving at such intersections, thereby curbing accidents and elevating the safety of pedestrians.

The idea has been well received and mirrored in cities of countries China, USA, Canada and UK as well.  

#05 Bottomless Bin for Sustainable Waste Management

In order to effectuate waste disposal, the Fun Theory conceptualized another innovative experimental set-up called The Bottomless Bin in Germany. The trash can was installed with a sound system that made the discarded trash generate an animated sound effect of a lengthy fall. The results showed an increment of 41% in garbage collection.

The Way Forward

By inducing a layer of behavioral sciences in addition to those of utility and convenience under the umbrella of design, the experiential quality of the urban spaces can be significantly upgraded while incorporating appropriate nudging techniques.

A multitude of behavioral insight teams has been established across the world with the intent of enhancing the governments’ design and development policies to foster people’s decisions that promote healthy and sustainable cities.

The upcoming systems of smart cities that currently accentuate data collection and surveillance can also embrace the nudging concept by utilizing public choices as instruments to cultivate effective solutions for urban challenges.

However, if not done correctly, the nudging mechanism can totally backfire. Lessons from past examples, such as the 1950s Pruitt-Igoe housing project in Missouri which foundered due to many reasons, teach us to tread carefully.

While the design of urban nudges should be aligned with human behavior as well as civic goals, it is pertinent to understand that the former variable is complex and unpredictable.  Hence, it is imperative to be vigilant throughout the process of carrying out a nudging project, and when things don’t work out as planned, fast measures should be taken to adapt and accommodate relevant tools to give a path to favorable results.

The core assumption of classical economics is that humans make decisions based on logic. However, this notion was challenged and proved wrong by the pioneering works of social scientists – Kahneman and Traversky in the 1970s which established, through extensive research, that humans are in fact highly irrational decision-makers…