The presentation given today on the situationalists opened up new ways to understand movement through a city. Specifically, the map of a woman's normal daily paths through Paris and how we may unconsciously--or maybe consciously--move through the city.
How much do our places influence our movement to new zones within the city?
The picture I have in my mind right now is a city map covered with various places and with each place functioning as a magnet, pulling the individual into its zone of familiarity. In other words, at what level are we pulled towards the familiar in order to ease our passage to the unfamiliar? Thinking about my own excursions into new areas of the city, I find that I want to stay close to areas which I understand.
Building off of this idea, I think an interesting experiment would be to have participants rank various areas of the city based on familiarity and then send them to a random location. Personally, I know I would at least be tempted to take known roads over those that are more unfamiliar, especially if some time limit was thrown in. With that said though...if it was a competition I may be more inclined to take a few risks and head off my usual grid. I guess in that way, movement through a city is also fueled by intention: am I rushed? casual stroll? avoiding someone? am I wanted by the authorities?
What then is the interplay between intention, movement, and the familiar? I think psychogeography would offer a compelling answer if given the chance.
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