Shows how digital media connects people to their lived environments
Every day, millions of people turn to small handheld screens to search
for their destinations and to seek recommendations for places to visit.
They may share texts or images of themselves and these places en route
or after their journey is complete. We don't consciously reflect on
these activities and probably don't associate these practices with
constructing a sense of place. Critics have argued that digital media
alienates users from space and place, but this book argues that the
exact opposite is true: that we habitually use digital technologies to
re-embed ourselves within urban environments.
The Digital City advocates for the need to rethink our everyday
interactions with digital infrastructures, navigation technologies, and
social media as we move through the world. Drawing on five case studies
from global and mid-sized cities to illustrate the concept of
"re-placeing," Germaine R. Halegoua shows how different populations
employ urban broadband networks, social and locative media platforms,
digital navigation, smart cities, and creative placemaking initiatives
to turn urban spaces into places with deep meanings and emotional
attachments. Through timely narratives of everyday urban life, Halegoua
argues that people use digital media to create a unique sense of place
within rapidly changing urban environments and that a sense of place is
integral to understanding contemporary relationships with digital media.
