Habituation and Place Management
There’s a throw-away joke in what is arguably the best movie of the 20th century when Jake asks his brother how often the train goes by, and Elwood replies—dry and sardonic, without missing a beat:
“So often you won’t even notice it.”
It’s funny because it’s true—and because it’s a perfect example of habituation.
Habituation is the very human tendency to stop noticing what becomes familiar. Psychologists have studied it for decades: repeated exposure to the same stimulus causes your brain to literally tune it out. Neural activity drops. You stop reacting. It becomes background noise.
That’s useful when filtering distractions—but in place management, it can dull our awareness. When you’re responsible for a district—or even just walking the same streets day after day—you stop seeing them clearly. The graffiti fades into the wall. The banners have faded in the sun. The broken bench becomes part of the scenery. It’s like watching your own kids grow: the changes are slow and subtle, until someone who hasn’t visited in years says, “Wow, when did that happen?”
To fight that, we have to train ourselves to see the familiar with fresh eyes.
Ask yourself:
If I were a visitor to this district for the first time, what would I notice? What feels inviting? What looks neglected? What would stop me in my tracks—for good or bad reasons?
I’m reminded of working in the theater, in those last crunch days before opening night. There’s always a list of things to get done, and it somehow gets longer after every rehearsal. As the minutes tick down before the house opens, you’re laser-focused on checking things off: props are set, walk-in music is cued, the lights are ready. The list is done. The show is ready. Then you look up as the audience is taking their seats, and see the ladder, still sitting upstage center, right where you’ve been walking past it all day. You didn’t even notice it—because you stopped seeing it.
The same thing happens in our districts. In leadership roles, we often focus on operations, budgets, or big-picture planning. But if we don’t deliberately shift perspective, we risk missing the small but powerful details that shape public experience. The cracked light globe, the navigation patterns of pedestrians, the missing wayfinding sign—all of these influence how people feel about being here, and whether they’ll come back.
So often… we don’t even notice it.
Unless we actively choose to.
Chip’s Tips for Place Managers:
Change your entry point. If you always arrive to the office from a particular parking lot, try starting your day on the other end of the district, or taking a bus. A new first impression reveals different priorities.
Borrow someone else’s perspective. Invite a business owner, a senior citizen, a teenager, or a visitor with accessibility needs to give you a tour of your district. Their observations will be different—and often sharper.
Cross-pollinate. Visit a colleague’s district and share (honest) feedback, then invite them to do the same in yours. Outsider eyes spot what insiders miss.
What tricks do you use—for yourself and your teams—to notice what others don’t?