Here's a ridiculously complete summary of the research Eric Paulos and I did on strangers, play, and public places during this summer (and part of fall) at Intel Research Berkeley.
And while I'm on the subject of anxiety and comfort in public places (not to mention inflatables), how about Karen Lancel's Agora Phobia (digitalis), which was apparently at Eyebeam this September? The artist describes it as an "Isolation Pillar / Free Zone" and invites participants (who sit inside an inflatable structure only large enough for one person and a computer) to have an online dialogue with:
someone living in prison,
someone who lives in a cloister,
a digipersona, a pilgrim,
a 'prisoner of war' (POW),
somebody dealing with agora phobia.
In reference to the discussions about vulnerability and intimacy at Ubicomp, it's interesting to see Lancel ask questions like, "What is it about a space that makes you feel vulnerable?"
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