Walking through the park near my apartment yesterday, I noticed all the benches face the same direction.

3 comments

3 Comments

That's a weird detail to catch. Are they all facing the street for security, or maybe a specific view like a fountain? My local park has benches pointed at the playground so parents can watch their kids. What's in the direction they're all looking at?

coleman.gray22h ago

Yeah, I read something about that once. It said a lot of public benches are placed to face the most "active" area on purpose, like a main walkway or a bus stop. It's supposed to make people feel safer because they can see what's going on around them. If they all faced a blank wall or something, it would feel kind of lonely and weird. So it's probably less about a nice view and more about just watching the flow of people.

hugo_robinson2521h ago

It's funny you mention that. My old town had a weird bench setup where they all faced this one ugly parking lot. I guess it was the "active" area, but it was just people getting in and out of cars. We used to joke that the city planner must have really loved asphalt.