New Yorkers vs. Tourists

Haha, what a great action! The New York-based urban intervention group Improv Everywhere, whose aim is to cause scenes of chaos and joy in public places did another great mission. They created a so called “Tourist Lane” at the corner 5th Avenue and 22nd Street. That “Tourist Lane” separates the sidewalk into two different walking lanes – One for real New Yorkers and one for slower tourists. Amazing!

To make it work as an IE mission, I knew we’d have to add a performance aspect to create more of a scene. We came up with the idea of having agents pose as Department of Transportation employees directing pedestrian traffic to really bring the lanes alive. (improveverywhere.com)

Before enjoying the video, please tell me what do you think about that intervention. Discrimination or useful idea? In my opinion it would be nice in some situations to have such a Tourist Lane…