Locative Media & The City

kudos to the murmer project.
It was a compliment to the location-based/place dynamics we've been discussing in class lately.
I was a little surprised at how 'natural' the idea of using cell phones to hear murmers from strangers at certain locations. Perhaps its because it reminds me of other media projects that encourance participation of ordinary people. Habermas, for instance, has been involved in the debate over the democratization of access to information/participation.

I can also see the resemblance oral history project sponsored by the US through the WPA of the 1930's. I agree with Diedie in that I would like to hear more from the participant but I recognize that each technology (and busy people) have limitations. Maybe keeping you wanting more is a good thing!

I found the Davis chapter interesting for a number reasons.
First, it contains a number of examples of both the discipline and the control society.
Numbering housetops to form a grid to allow police helicopters to quickly respond, police substations atop the public library, gated communities and ubiquitous security cameras are examples of the . The control society isn’t so obvious but can be found in databases like used by the police to match criminals. These devices aren’t always obvious because of the level of modulation.

Its worth mentioning that the control society doesn’t necessarily deny the discipline society. Deleuze credits Foucault seminal work on the panopticon for capturing the eighteenth and nineteenth century mechanisms of power. A variety of factors in more contemporary times (computers/internet, military technology, corporations, globalization, to name a few) have shifted the paradigm of the discipline to one of control.

I found that I was able to follow the Lynch’s examples because I am familiar with Boston. Owning a car was impractical so my navigation was based on paths, landmarks and nodes. Consequently, he lost me when couching his elements with street names. On the other hand, I could appreciate his descriptions of districts in Boston whether walking or driving. Subways, boundaries (coastlines, parks) and overhead lanes were very disorienting.

I can’t help but think of Buffalo’s waterfront (what Lynch would call an ‘edge’), cut off by highways, much like Boston Storrow Drive from the Charles River. As you might suspect, Buffalo’s plan was originally oriented to the lakes edge. UB’s Bob Shibley’s Urban Design Project recognizes the importance of this and has collaborated with students on a number of design initiatives http://urbandesignproject.ap.bufalo.edu