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During a rainy, grey day in London's Soho district, a young man positions himself a metre behind a woman speaking loudly on her mobile. She violates his rules of “sidewalk conduct”, and he holds up his device and presses record. Lost in conversation, the woman doesn’t see him, yet watching him from a distance, it’s fist-in-mouth awkward. Suppose she notices? Is this allowed? Is this ethical?

Suddenly, she ends her call and dashes across the road, oblivious to what has just happened. Footage secured, Roh returns to where I am hiding and delivers his verdict, rated on a ten-point scale – where ten means flawless pavement etiquette. “That’s a two,” he says. Her crimes? “Using her mobile, halting abruptly, right in the middle of the pavement, forcing others to detour. Absolutely not.” She was oblivious, but that somehow feels worse; It seems like we’ve just pickpocketed her. He laughs, unfazed. As a self-appointed sidewalk enforcer, this is his mission.

The Start of a Movement

The initial clip the young man posted was in July. In about 20 seconds, he trails five different walkers, quietly unpacking their gait on film then scoring them on pace, direction, footwork and mobile usage. He later evaluated pedestrians in NYC in more than 30 videos, and has recently diversified to other US cities. It's his debut amid the particular disorder in London's heart. “So far, it seems comparable to New York,” he notes. At that moment, a Lime bike almost collides with us outside a cinema. “Come on!” he exclaims. “These shared bikes are a new thing. That’s an automatic zero, buddy.”

Nobody yells at others for walking badly, yet everyone senses it

Roh explains he tries to make sure that nobody is identifiable in his videos and he has strict rules about people who are off limits for criticism. Small kids, groups of children, the less able, elderly people – though his method for deciding whether someone is less able is unclear. On one occasion, we observe a small woman, likely is in her early 60s, maneuvering a folding bicycle, making her path past students while on her phone. He observes her and opts not to record, even though she is breaking almost every one of his rules. “I target those who deliberately opt to be inconsiderate,” he says. And it's not only because they bother other pavement users, he says. “They also pose risks to safety.” The lady on the bike is quick, and obviously is in a hurry.”

The Rules of Pavement Conduct

Rather than presume there is a right way for walking, Roh suggests that everyone simply has the right to walk. But whether it's manspreading on buses or queue-jumping, frustration at poor public protocol is widespread, it’s a bedrock of UK comedy. However, though having firm views on proper conduct is a very British pastime, getting angry about it in public is not our style. “Rage only ever applies to traffic – it’s the same in New York,” says Roh. “The reality is, nobody shouts at anyone for walking badly, but we all feel it.”

Pavement etiquette are declining,” he observes, in part due to mobile devices. He stops to indicate how many people around us who walk while gazing at their screens. “I call these people neck strainers,” he comments. “People stuck at a 45 degree angle on their phones, disconnected from the real world.”

While evaluating pedestrians, the primary factor Roh looks at is pace. “If your walking is poor – like meandering, or pulling an object – yet your speed is sufficient, then you’re probably not affecting my journey,” he says. Next is positioning. “If you weave, aimlessly cutting people off, not paying attention to your surroundings, that will cost you some points instantly.” Among these, exist specific types that will feel both new and familiar – shared bikes on sidewalks, screen-staring, e-scooters on walkways, charity fundraisers, rolling luggage that are small enough to be carried, individuals distracted by food while moving to watch where they are going. Then there are oncoming pedestrians who crash into you, he says, as we move away to dodge someone. “If you’re checking your maps, then just pull over,” he mutters to a group of women tapping a screen with their fingers.

Society is increasingly isolated. We're absorbed by our devices

A Glossary of Infractions

Roh maintains a list of misdemeanours that provides the framework for his ratings. The woman outside Caffè Nero performed a “sudden stop”, he explains, which occurs when people come to a sudden halt. “Woompf! Complete halt. Right in front of you, no checking the blind spot.”

A personal bugbear is people walking side by side: “double wides” or “triple blockers”, and “connected pairs”, which is a couple linked together somehow obstructing the flow of traffic,” he remarks. What's the largest group he has encountered? “Occasionally there are a four-person barrier, whereupon …” Sighing deeply, he shakes his head.

Of course, Roh isn't the pioneer to get in a flap over this issue. It's a category if not created then popularized by the humorist Fran Lebowitz, whose cutting maxims about how people should behave have been the basis of books and world tours. Roh is indifferent when I mention her name and plans to Google her later.

We walk round a group of men huddled in the middle on the sidewalk. They ought to make room for those of us who have somewhere to be,” he murmurs. But the issue is broader – one of Roh’s biggest frustrations is urban planning favoring for vehicles rather than people. Pavements are narrow, and often badly paved compared with the roads beside them. Some pavements even slip with traffic lanes, without clear marking. Strolling in urban areas equalizes, but it’s also discombobulating and even dangerous, transforming a peaceful walk into a crowded, hurried dash. “These spaces ignore pedestrians, though they should be.” In truth, it's about efficient travel – or economic pressure. As Colson Whitehead wrote in The Colossus of New York: “Everyone thinks they have greater needs, everyone thinks their day has been harder than everyone else’s, and everyone is correct.”

The Drive For the Mission

As a member of gen Z, Roh has always “lived and breathed online platforms”. Born and educated in Ohio, he got a glimpse of his calling at high school, when he faced “corridor frustration”. People in corridors, lingering crowds … “I'll be delayed to my destination because of you? Unacceptable, it must cease,” he says. “I’ve always been a fast walker, always directed.”

Relocating to NYC for better prospects, he was surprised by pedestrian behavior in dense cities, so he joined the throngs who have turned TikTok and Instagram as a profitable activity, and started recording.

Despite Roh's concerns regarding mobiles, the irony that his entire body of work is filmed and parsed through a screen is not lost on him. “Society is fragmented,” he admits. “We’re just consumed by our phones and our AirPods. It's not only younger generations, but it’s everyone now. Age doesn't matter. But my activity, it’s a way of getting out,