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During a rainy, overcast day in Soho, London, a young man positions himself a few steps after a woman talking noisily into her phone. She violates his “laws” of “sidewalk conduct”, so he raises his phone to start filming. Lost in conversation, the woman doesn’t see him, yet watching him from a distance, it’s fist-in-mouth awkward. What if she turns around? Is this permissible? Is this even OK?

Suddenly, the woman hangs up and hurries across the street, unaware of what has just happened. Footage secured, Roh returns to where I am hiding and gives his assessment, rated on a ten-point scale – where ten means flawless sidewalk behavior. “That’s a two,” he declares. Her offenses? “Using her mobile, sudden stop, right in the middle of the pavement, meaning people have to walk around her. No, no, no.” She was oblivious, yet that makes it more unsettling; I feel as if we stole something from her. He laughs, unfazed. As a self-appointed pavement vigilante, this is his mission.

The Start of a Movement

The first video the young man shared was in July. Within twenty seconds, he follows several pedestrians, calmly analyzing their gait on film before rating them on pace, direction, steps and mobile usage. He later evaluated walkers in New York in more than 30 videos, and recently expanded to other US cities. It's his debut amid the particular disorder of central London. “So far, it appears similar to NYC,” he says. At that moment, a rental bicycle nearly hits us by a movie theater. “Seriously!” he exclaims. “Those city bikes are a recent addition. That’s an automatic zero, pal.”

Nobody yells at others for walking badly, but we all feel it

Roh explains he tries to make sure that nobody is identifiable in his footage and follows strict guidelines regarding those exempt for criticism. Small kids, school groups, the less able, senior citizens – although how he determines if someone is impaired remains vague. On one occasion, we watch a small woman, likely is in her early 60s, maneuvering a folding bicycle, making her path through a school group while using her mobile. He observes her and opts not to record, even though she is breaking nearly all of his rules. “I focus on those who deliberately opt to be inconsiderate,” he states. And it’s not just since they annoy fellow pedestrians, he says. “They also pose safety hazards.” The lady on the bike is “fast, and obviously is in a hurry.”

The Rules of Sidewalk Etiquette

Rather than presume there is a right way for walking, Roh suggests that all people deserve the right to move freely. But whether it's spreading out on transit or queue-jumping, frustration at poor public protocol is not only common, it’s a bedrock of UK comedy. However, though having firm views on how things ought to be done is a very British pastime, getting angry about it in public is not our style. “Rage only ever applies for cars – it's identical in NYC,” Roh remarks. “The thing is, no one screams at anyone over poor walking, but we all feel it.”

Pavement etiquette are declining,” he says, in part due to smartphones. He pauses to point out how many people around us are walking while staring at their screens. “I term these individuals neck breakers,” he comments. “Individuals fixed in a downward tilt on their phones, not with us in reality.”

While evaluating pedestrians, the primary factor Roh looks at is pace. “If your walking is poor – like meandering, or dragging something – but your pace is adequate, then you’re probably not affecting my progress,” he explains. Next is positioning. “If you weave, aimlessly cutting people off, not paying attention to your surroundings, that will cost you some points instantly.” Within these, there are some subcategories that are novel yet recognizable – Lime bikes mounting pavements, phone-gawping, e-scooters on walkways, charity fundraisers, wheelie suitcases that are small enough to be carried, individuals distracted by food on the go to look their direction. Additionally, there are oncoming pedestrians who collide with others, he says, as we step aside to avoid one. “If you’re checking your maps, then simply step aside,” he mutters to some ladies tapping a screen with their hands.

The world is so disconnected. We're absorbed by our devices

A Vocabulary of Infractions

Roh maintains a list of misdemeanours that forms the basis for his system. The woman outside Caffè Nero performed a “sudden stop”, he says, which is when people come to a sudden halt. “Woompf! Hard stop. Right in front of you, no checking the blind spot.”

A particular irritation is people walking side by side: “double wides” or “triple blockers”, and “linked double wides”, meaning two people attached to one another somehow obstructing the flow of traffic,” he says. What's the largest group he’s seen? “Sometimes you get a linked quadruple-wide, at which point …” Sighing deeply, he disapproves.

Naturally, Roh isn't the pioneer to become agitated about this stuff. It’s a genre if not created then popularized by the comic writer a famous essayist, whose cutting maxims about how people should behave have inspired of books and world tours. Roh shrugs at her mention and plans to Google her later.

We walk round some gentlemen huddled in the middle of the pavement. They ought to make room for people like us with destinations,” he murmurs. But it goes deeper than that – one of Roh’s biggest frustrations is that cities seem increasingly designed for vehicles rather than people. Pavements are narrow, and often badly paved compared with the roads beside them. Some walkways even merge into roads and back again, without clear marking. Walking in cities is a leveller, yet it's confusing and sometimes risky, transforming a peaceful walk into a crowded, hurried dash. “These places aren’t for people, even though they are.” In truth, it's about efficient travel – or capitalism. As an author noted in a famous book: “Everyone thinks they are more deserving, everyone thinks their day has been harder than others', and they're all right.”

The Drive Behind the Project

As a member of gen Z, Roh has always “lived and breathed online platforms”. Born and educated in Ohio, he had a preview of his future during school, when he faced “corridor frustration”. People in corridors, lingering crowds … “I’m gonna be late to my destination due to others? No way, that’s gotta stop,” he insists. “I've long been a speedy pedestrian, always directed.”

After moving to New York for better prospects, he was shocked by pedestrian behavior in this tight urban space, so he joined the throngs who have turned TikTok and Instagram as a profitable activity, and began to film them.

Despite Roh's concerns about smartphones, the paradox of his content is created via devices is not lost on him. “Society is fragmented,” he admits. “We're overwhelmed by our phones and our AirPods. You think it’s just younger generations, but it’s everyone now. Age doesn't matter. But my activity, is a form of engagement,