The patterns are called tactile paving and they help blind or partially sighted people navigate their way around cities, towns, and villages. There is a 108-page government document online which ...

Tactile paving, a system of textured ground surface indicators that is indispensable to visually impaired pedestrians, is composed of what are called "tenji burokku" (Braille blocks) in Japanese.

The tactile paving was invented in Japan more than 50 years ago to help those with visual impairments move smoothly and safely around urban environments. And they've gone global over the years ...