Mimes Directing Traffic in Bogotá Had Surprisingly Loud Impacts

In 1995, a mayoral candidate in Bogota, Colombia, began his campaign with a slogan: “arm yourself with love.” Past efforts to “mitigate waves of violence with, well, violence, had proven ineffective.” His first effort was to tackle 1,500 annual traffic-related deaths. He hired a few mimes armed with signs that read correcto and incorrecto, who “mocked lawbreakers and applauded polite motorists” with cartwheels and applause. The behavior change was powerful and effective with a 50% reduction in traffic violence. While stationed in only a few select intersections, word-of-mouth spread their praises, and citizens became more self-aware. The mime program ended in the late 1990s, but has since spread to other countries. “The scheme used art and expression to ask the spectator, a passive citizen, to challenge how they lived and behaved in the city.” People still remember them as a symbol of “citizen culture” - a collective responsibility to change.

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