Ambient Scenting, Architecture, and the City
Chapter 14 argues that the ethos of the modern city in the developed world is marked by a conflict between an established tendency toward “deodorizing” and a minority of scent advocates who seek greater olfactory diversity. The chapter begins by discussing smellwalking, smell mapping, and related artworks, then moves on to the place of odors in urban design, noting that most city officials think of odors only as something to be controlled or eliminated. After a discussion of the role of smell in architecture, the chapter closes by considering the ethical issues surrounding ambient scenting in both the workplace and the marketplace, as well as the clash between claims made for aromatherapy and the demand for fragrance bans made by sufferers from multiple chemical sensitivity.