Abstract
This is the first experimental study testing the effect of street performance (aka busking) on the subjective environmental perception of public space. It is generally believed that street performance can enhance people’s experience of public space, but studies advocating such a view have not used a control group to explicitly verify the effect of street performance. In response to this methodological limitation, we conducted two studies using experimental design. Study 1 (N = 748) was an online computer-based study where research participants evaluated the extent to which the presence vs. absence of street performance could change their perception of public space. Study 2 (N = 162) was a between-group quasi-experiment in an actual public space where people physically present in the space evaluated the perception of the space with vs. without street performance. Overall, we found converging results that street performance could make public space more visitable, more restorative, and more preferable. The current findings not only fill in a gap in the literature on street performance, but they also inform the policy making and regulations of street performance.
Highlights
We found that street performance improved the visitability, restorativeness, and preference of public spaces in general
We found that public space was perceived as more restorative with street performance than without street performance
In the broader research context, our findings confirm the effect of music on our behavior in everyday situation – music can impact how we perceive and interact with our immediate environment
Summary
Busking, refers to the act of performing or entertaining in a public space with the intention of seeking voluntary donations from passersby. Buskers, are people who conduct such an act. Street performance has a long history; wandering minstrels, troubadours, mountebanks, comedians, and showmen in street fairs performed on the street to earn a living (Boyle, 1978; Cohen and Greenwood, 1981). This tradition extends into the modern day. Today it is still common to encounter street performance in public spaces where we commute and conduct our everyday activities. Street performance can be considered as a public good that is open
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