Come a Little Closer

I once had a principal in high school who truly believed he owned the place and everyone in it. He would strut around the hall with his chin up and hands linked behind his back. Not only that, he would be known to come into a classroom at any given time, pull up an empty chair next to a student (or even the teacher), bring one foot up in the chair, lean on his knee, and hover over his subject.  Now you may not have had an experience such as this, but we all have been in a situation where we have become uncomfortable because someone violates our personal space when not invited (like that one person behind you in line). Both of these examples involve '...the study of our use of space and how various differences in that use can make us feel more relaxed or anxious," otherwise known as proxemics (Sheppard, 1996). I will cover personal space and behavior, diversity, and territoriality in relation to proxemics in the following paragraphs.

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Personal space affects our behavior. There are four main areas with personal territory: public (12'-25', social 4'-10', personal 2'-4', and intimate (0'-2') [Sheppard 1996].  Relating back to the person standing behind me in line-- I immediately begin to feel rushed and anxious, even though I have no control over how quickly the cashier rings up my items.  If they had been standing within my social distance range (around four feet away instead of one foot away), I would have felt a lot more relaxed.Where someone is standing in your personal territory can determine emotions and reactions depending on their relationship with you. It is important to factor this into design so that those who require more space can get what they need to feel at ease in a public space. 

Example of Personal Spaces Overlapping
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It was interesting to witness a guy standing in the middle of a walkway on campus with a "Free Hugs" sign. Complete strangers would walk into each other's intimate zones just to receive a hug! I would not personally allow someone enter into my intimate space if I didn't know them well,  especially not a stranger. Clearly, everyone has a different definition as to how large their personal space is. This is why research and knowing the client is necessary in design. Coming from different cultural backgrounds, age, gender, and personality all influence the range of each zone an individual's personal space. 

What some people may see when encountering someone with a "free hugs" sign
Hand-Sketched by Me

 Another aspect of proxemics is territoriality. Instead of someone entering into your invisible personal zone, they invade physical space that you have claimed as yours. This can be as simple as choosing a bench to rest at in a mall and sitting in the center with bags on either sides of you rather than sitting to the side and placing your bags in the floor. However, claiming a place doesn't even require additional objects to stake your claim. At my apartment complex, there is no assigned parking; however, I have fallen into the routine of coming back from classes to one particular spot in the lot. I don't have any ownership of this spot of course, but that doesn't stop me from becoming upset when I get back later than usual to find that someone stole "my" parking spot. A design application of keeping people out of others' territory includes placing partitions between booths at restaurants. This prevents wandering eyes and sound of voices coming into a private party's temporary territory. 

"My" Parking Spot
Photo by Me

Keeping certain people at certain distances determines how comfortable we feel in an occupied space. There are different areas inside your personal territory, yet everyone's personal zones vary based on many factors. Some may prefer to be closer when talking to friends, while others may want to keep back a good, safe distance. We also take ownership of places or areas that we don't necessarily mark or own. These territories are an extension of our "personal bubble," so we naturally get upset when that is violated. Proxemics is a very important aspect in design (especially in public spaces), since it affects how we behave and feel . Next time you are in a line, think about if strangers are or aren't respecting your space and how you feel because of it.

Sources:
Sheppard, M. (1996, July). Proxemics. Retrieved October 26, 2018, from cs.unm: https://www.cs.unm.edu/~sheppard/proxemics.htm