CIRCULATION PATTERNSThe visitor lit

CIRCULATION PATTERNS
The visitor literature reveals a number of circulation patterns that have been observed in more than one
study2
. All of the patterns reviewed below can be thought of as “short-cutting” since they involve
decreasing the cost of circulation by taking the fewest steps.
Turning right at choice points (and walking on the right side of pathways)—While some studies have
reported a strong tendency to turn right at a choice point, others have not. This author reviewed literature
that demonstrated the right-turn principle works only in the absence of other strong directional factors such
as landmark attractors (1995). We now believe that there is a little more to the story. When right turning
occurs, it involves the least amount of movement or effort.
We consider right turning as an example of “economy of movement” (or reducing the cost in terms of
time and effort) because turning right, when it does occur, is motivated by taking the fewest number of
steps. Consider figure 2. When people come to an intersection with the traditional four-path, perpendicular
arrangement, they are generally on the right side of the path. The most economical choice is to turn right
(see figure 1a). On the other hand, if one approaches the intersection on the left-hand side of the path, it
would be more economical to turn left (see figure 1d). Since people tend to walk on the right, most visitors
are on the right when they come to a choice point and consequently turn right. On the other hand, when
people have a destination that requires a left turn, they move to the left of the path before turning—the most
economical way to move. This explanation is simple and appears to account for reports in the literature.
The tendency to walk on the right side of a path has been frequently observed and is closely tied to
the tendency to turn right (when it occurs). The sociologist William Whyte has studied people’s behavior in
city plazas and on city streets (1980; 1988). Whyte, in his chapter on the “skilled pedestrian,” summarized
the pattern of walking on the right:
Pedestrians usually walk on the right. (Deranged people and oddballs are more likely to go left, against
the flow) (1988, 57).
This description of New York City pedestrians, despite his tongue-in-cheek humor, also describes people’s
movement in many public places. People tend to stay to the right as they walk. But, contrary to Whyte’s
implication, those who walk on the left are not necessarily deranged or oddballs—they may have a left-turn
destination!4
If visitors enter a gallery on the right side of the door, then turning right is the most economical
response. However, if visitors enter a gallery along the left-hand wall, then continuing straight is the most
economical response. The following literature appears consistent with this analysis.
Melton reported a preponderance of right-turning behavior in several galleries (1935). From 70 to 80
percent of visitors in these galleries turned right as they entered. It is important to note that the entrance
door was centered so visitors had to turn right or left to view the art works on the wall, and, there were no
objects in the middle of the gallery to pull the visitor toward the middle. Melton’s data does not tell us if
the left turning visitors were on the left side of the path as they entered and the right turning visitors on the
right of the path. Given our proposed view of the economy of movement and effort, it would be instructive
to know.
Yoshioka observed a right turn bias for one exhibition hall (Hall of Man) but not for another (Hall of
Medicine) at the World’s Fair in New York (1942). Each hall had multiple entrances and exits. He reported
different turning percentages for each entrance of these halls, suggesting the differential influence of the
exhibits. Yoshioka attributed the lack of right turning dominance in the Hall of Medicine to attraction of
exhibits near the entrance (salient object attraction). An examination of the floor plan in his publication
suggests that inertia (tendency to continue in a straight path) may also have been a factor, since there was
an opportunity to go straight ahead as well as to the right or left. Hall of Man did not have the four-path
perpendicular intersection (as shown in figure 1) present in the Hall of Medicine. In addition, exhibit
displays were arranged so they attracted visitors and drew them to the right.
Weiss and Boutourline also found a right-turn bias and tendency to circulate in a counterclockwise
direction depending on the design of exhibits and the design of the hall (1963). These researchers
recognized that the design of the space determined whether or not right turning occurred.
Parsons and Loomis found that the right turning principle did not hold in the Pharmacy Exhibition at
the National Museum of History and Technology, probably because of the attraction of “landmark” exhibits
(1973). They reported that 60 percent did not turn right. The exhibition hall was considerably more
complex than those studied by Melton. These researchers also found different traffic patterns when the
museum was crowded (this makes sense if one considers the “cost” of fighting crowds).
Shettel, in his evaluation of Man in his Environment at the Field Museum of Natural History, provided
a detailed analysis of visitor movements in this circular-shaped Exhibition (1976). He reported that 73
percent of visitors entered on the right side of the Sphere of Life.
Taylor reported predominately right-hand turns and counterclockwise flow at the Steinhart Aquarium
in San Francisco (1986). Analysis of the floor plan of the Aquarium suggested that it was designed in a way
that supported this traffic flow pattern. That is, fewer steps were required in order to turn right if one was
walking on the right side of the path. The first intersection in the Aquarium was a T—with the choice of
turning right or left (there was no option to go straight).
Deans, Martin, Neon, Nusea, and O’Reilly reported a study at the Reid Park Zoo in which visitors
were asked to retrace (on paper) their circulation route through the zoo (1987). The most common
circulation pattern involved turning right and circulating counterclockwise on the periphery of the zoo,
essentially making a circle, but not using paths that connect one part of the outer circle with another. Of the
43 percent who followed the perimeter path, 78 percent of these visitors turned right.
Bitgood, Hines, Hamberger, and Ford did not observe a majority of visitors turning right in a changing
exhibit gallery at the Anniston Museum of Natural History (1992). While the circulation patterns of the
visitor changed from one exhibition to another, there was no strong tendency to turn right or to circulate in
a counterclockwise direction. For two of the exhibitions (Bird Illustrations and Dinosaur), over 70 percent
remained on the left-hand wall after they entered. In the Edgerton exhibition, 60 percent stayed along the
left wall; for the Faces of Destiny exhibition 56 percent stayed along the left wall. In only one exhibition
did less than 50 percent of visitors walk along this wall. In no case did more than 33 percent turn right.
In the above study, the architectural characteristics of the gallery and the layout of exhibit displays
seemed to dictate the direction of traffic flow. The most important architectural characteristic of this gallery
was the fact that visitors entered along the left wall. In addition, it is important to note that there was only
one entrance/exit. Visitors left by the same door as they entered.
Underhill argued that right turning is the major pattern in retail stores. He suggested that this behavior
pattern is important for retail design (1999). However, he did not offer specific, quantitative reports of his
data. And he did not indicate that the pattern might be influenced by the design of the space.
Bitgood and Dukes observed people’s choice-point turning behavior at two small shopping malls
(2006). The intersections studied were of the type shown in figure 1. From a single direction, six possible traffic patterns were examined to account for the combination of right or left side of the path and turning
right/left or straight ahead. Thus, “right-right” (figure 1a) would signify an individual who was walking on
the right side and turned right. A “right-left” (figure 1b) pattern signifies walking on the right side and
turning left. One hundred groups were observed. The economy of movement hypothesis predicts that
turning combinations will include right-right, right-straight, left-left, and/or left-straight. Two of these
patterns are not economical in terms of number of steps: right-left and left-right.
Consistent with the hypothesis, visitors almost always chose a turning combination involving the least
number of steps. The majority turned right from the right side of the path (52 and 58 percent). Continuing
straight from the right side of the path was also common (34 and 27 percent). Obviously, most people
stayed on the right-hand side (88 and 85 percent). Also consistent with the prediction, most of the left
turners did so from the left side of the path. These left turners moved to the left side of the path before they
reached the intersection in order to save steps. Note that only two percent used either of the noneconomical
patterns. When pedestrians were going to make a left-hand turn, they moved to the left lane
before arriving at the intersection (an economical strategy in terms of number of steps).
In summary, right turning seems to occur in some conditions but not others. If the attraction of a
landmark object is not considered, reducing the number of steps seems to be the major motivation for
turning right. We suggest that, in the absence of other motivations (such as a destination to the left, or
following a group of other people) people who are in the right lane of the path will turn right if it i