Experiment Title:

The Invisible Host: Exploring Stewardship and Pro-Social Behavior in Unmanned Spaces

Hypothesis

Spaces that are unmanned but thoughtfully designed—with embedded signals of care, narrative, and cultural cues—can foster trust, respectful behavior, and collective stewardship without requiring surveillance or authority.

With the right environmental scaffolding (artistic design, poetic signage, subtle accountability mechanisms), people will:

• Clean up after themselves
• Protect the space
• Contribute value (gifts, repairs, creativity)
• Feel a deeper sense of shared responsibility

Design Overview

Create one or more unmanned spaces on the Akiya property—open to residents, locals, and/or visitors. The spaces will be publicly accessible, but:

• Unlocked
• Unattended
• Trust-based (no cameras, no direct supervision)

Embed 2–3 trust catalysts in the design:

• Artistic inspiration (e.g., installations, handwritten notes, symbolic gestures)
• Narrative framing (e.g., “This space belongs to all of us” or “Leave it better than you found it”)
• Light-touch accountability (e.g., rotating stewards’ names, a visible logbook, or time-stamped photos from guests)