On (Not-Walking) Re-Mapping the Contemporary Urban Street Drama

Abstract

As the fundamental mode of human transportation, walking is pivotal to urban design and governance; it is inherently influenced by socio-political variables that both facilitate and restrict movement. By characterising the walker simultaneously as the mapper and the mapped of the 'walkscape'—exercising agency in civic domain while being situated within larger spatial frameworks—the research enquires into the fundamental definition of walking and its impact on one’s lived experience. Its design-led methodology employs paper folding (among other techniques) as a tool to explore the cognitive and introspective processes associated with documenting the civic experiences of walking (and not-walking). Overall, the experimental characteristics of this practice facilitate interaction with various case studies, producing spatial representations (the map) and critical analyses (mapping) of the mobility and interaction in (and of) the civic realm. It asks how these methodologies can reshape our understanding of urban environments and the role of individual agency within them.

Keywords: cities, mapping, walking