Not another step! Economy of movement and pedestrian choice point behavior in shopping malls

People walk through the built environment in predictable ways. Choice movement of pedestrians at intersections in public places conforms to the principle of economy of movement or effort. To test this principle, pedestrians at two shopping malls were observed at three major intersections. Pedestrians navigated the intersections with the fewest number of steps. Choice point movement almost always avoided the crossover turning patterns that required more steps (i.e., turning left from the right-hand side of the corridor or turning right from the left-hand side). The findings support the argument that economy of movement explains much or most of the patterns of movement including right turning (when it does occur). These findings are consistent with a cost-benefit analysis of behavior: People attempt to reduce the cost (in this case, number of steps taken) to maximize the benefits of their behavior.