Shared spaces patterns
Move through lifts, escalators and other shared spaces smoothly and considerately.
Public spaces work best when everyone follows the same unwritten rules. Those rules are rarely taught, so the patterns in this area write them down: where to stand, when to move, and how to make room for others.
Patterns in this area
- Riding an elevatoretiquette
Elevators are small, shared boxes, and getting in, out and between floors becomes slow and awkward when people crowd the door or block each other.
Applies when
- you share an elevator with strangers or colleagues
- the building is busy, such as an office, hotel, hospital or station
- people with prams, wheelchairs, trolleys or luggage also need the lift
- Standing and walking on escalatorsetiquette
Escalators in busy stations and shopping centres jam up when standers and walkers get in each other's way, and small slips on moving steps can cause falls.
Applies when
- you use escalators in a station, airport or shopping centre
- the escalator is wide enough for two people side by side
- some people want to stand while others want to walk