Affective Atmospheres, Essence of Architecture, and Spirit of Place

Advances in Civil and Industrial Engineering - Reconstructing Urban Ambiance in Smart Public Places ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-3856-2.ch003 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 41-59

Author(s):

Hisham Abusaada ◽

Abeer Elshater

Keyword(s):

Urban Studies ◽

Crucial Role ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Perceptual Dimension ◽

Fifth Dimension ◽

Spirit Of Place

This chapter reviews the implications of using the words “essences” and “spirit” in urban studies and their link with the concept of affective atmospheres in the realms of architecture. Two assumptions are valid when this matter is addressed. The first is that, despite affective atmospheres being considered as the fifth dimension in architecture, they are not their essence or spirit. The second is that these atmospheres impersonate a crucial role in reconstructing different urban environments, which are based on the perceptual dimension. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an informed view bibliographically and conceptually about distinguishing between essence, spirit, and affective atmospheres. The chapter also provides an analysis of the concept of affective atmospheres to verify the hypothesis. The conclusion is latent in the possibility that the expression “affective atmospheres,” instead of “essence” or “spirit,” can be used for referring to people's emotional impressions in urban environments as a fifth dimension.

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Strengthening the affectivity of atmospheres in urban environments: the toolkit of multi-sensory experience

International Journal of Architectural Research Archnet-IJAR ◽

10.1108/arch-03-2020-0039 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 379-392 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Hisham Abusaada

Keyword(s):

Urban Studies ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Literary Work ◽

Sensory Experience ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Design Stage ◽

Perceptual Dimension ◽

Content Type ◽

Body Theory ◽

Urban Atmospheres

PurposeThe affectivity is conceptualised in the literary work of phenomenological theories as a significant factor in urban environments studies that are related to change people's feelings. This article aims to present toolkits for creating affective urban atmospheres, which is based on communications between people and place.Design/methodology/approachTo better comprehend the links between the felt body theory and reconstructing affective urban atmospheres in urban environments, this article has performed bibliographic investigations on the sensible approaches and presented Toolkit related to the multi-sensory experience.FindingsThis article breaks new ground to discuss the concepts of the felt body, vital drive and daily multi-sensory experience as a contribution to urban studies applications.Research limitations/implicationsThis article clarified the possibility of creating affective urban atmospheres through the concepts of affectivity as a process at a pre-design stage.Originality/valueIn conclusion, it is argued that work on multi-sensory experience in urban environments needs to address the felt body and vital drive to become a set of urban studies tools of perceptual dimension.

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Revisiting Acoustics Education Using Mobile Devices to Learn Urban Acoustic Environments: Recent Issues on Current Devices and Applications

Urban Science ◽

10.3390/urbansci3030073 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 73 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kimihiro Sakagami ◽

Fumiaki Satoh ◽

Akira Omoto

Keyword(s):

Mobile Devices ◽

Urban Studies ◽

Education Program ◽

Sound Pressure ◽

Measurement Accuracy ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Model Case ◽

Acoustic Environment ◽

Acoustic Environments ◽

Noise Map

In this paper, we revisit the acoustics education program using mobile devices to better understand urban environments. We begin with a summary of our past projects to demonstrate a model case of the concept. In these projects, the output was mainly supposed to be a noise map with measured sound pressure levels (SPLs) and sound spectra. This methodology can obviously be applied to larger-scale urban studies. Including measured sound spectra can be another advantage. Next, current problems in measurement accuracy due to recent device developments are explained and the required examinations are stated. Finally, the accuracy of the current versions of the applications as well as recently available devices are discussed. The results of this study provide information regarding the measurement accuracy of mobile devices, and some suggestions for their practical use are given, which are also useful for additional studies pertaining to the urban acoustic environment.

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Negotiating polyvocal strategies: Re-reading de Certeau through the lens of urban planning in South Africa

Urban Studies ◽

10.1177/0042098019875423 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 57 (12) ◽

pp. 2440-2455 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lauren Andres ◽

Phil Jones ◽

Stuart Paul Denoon-Stevens ◽

Melgaço Lorena

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Everyday Life ◽

Urban Studies ◽

Urban Environments ◽

University Of California ◽

Data Set ◽

Practitioner Attitudes ◽

Planning Profession ◽

The Everyday ◽

Canonical Text

The Practice of Everyday Life (de Certeau M (1984) The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press) has become a canonical text in urban studies, with de Certeau’s idea of tactics having been widely deployed to understand and theorise the everyday. Tactics of resistance were contrasted with the strategies of the powerful, but the ways in which these strategies are operationalised were left ambiguous by de Certeau and have remained undertheorised since. We address this lacuna through an examination of the planning profession in South Africa as a lieu propre– a strategic territory with considerable power to shape urban environments. Based on a large interview data set examining practitioner attitudes toward the state of the profession in South Africa, this paper argues that the strategies of the powerful are themselves subject to negotiation. We trace connections with de Certeau’s earlier work to critique the idea that strategies are univocal. We do this by examining how the interests of different powerful actors can come into conflict, using the planning profession as an exemplar of how opposing strategies must be mediated in order to secure changes in society.

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Turystyfikacja zasobów mieszkaniowych historycznych dzielnic śródmiejskich. Przykład Krakowa

STUDIA MIEJSKIE ◽

10.25167/sm.1014 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 9-25

Author(s):

Joanna Kowalczyk-Anioł

Keyword(s):

21St Century ◽

Urban Studies ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Context Dependence ◽

City Centre ◽

Contemporary Debate ◽

Spatial Range ◽

Tourism Studies ◽

The Times ◽

Historic Cities

Previously a domain of tourism studies, ‘tourismification’ (or ‘touristification’) has now becomepresent in urban studies. Although diverse empirical descriptions of the phenomenon and processes oftourismification are still dominant, the article presents the stages of the development of the studies in thisarea. The contemporary debate focuses on the consequences and externalities of the development of tourism in cities (new both in terms of the forms and the range). Special attention is given to tourismification of housing resources, which – as demonstrated on the example of Krakow’s city centre district – transforms them both visibly and invisibly. The spatial range of these changes is growing not only horizontally, but also vertically. These changes occur in accordance with various sequences and mechanisms. In spite of the context dependence of tourismification and different susceptibility of urban environments to it, for many, especially historic, cities it has become ‘the sign of the times’ in the second decade of the 21st century. At the same time, tourismification can be seen as a cause, tool or consequence of various interrelated processes observed in contemporary cities.

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Urban Gardens as Sustainable Attractions for Children in Family Tourism

Resources ◽

10.3390/resources10110111 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 111

Author(s):

Francesc Fusté-Forné ◽

Maria Fusté Forné

Keyword(s):

Urban Studies ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Urban Gardens ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Production And Consumption ◽

Tourist Flows ◽

Local Supply ◽

The Relationship ◽

Global Population

Most of the global population live in urban environments and the majority of tourist flows are concentrated in cities. Urban agriculture has recently emerged as an avenue for the protection of sustainable food production and the promotion of sustainable food consumption. Also, the relationships between horticulture and tourism are attracting growing interest in the context of urban studies. Drawing on a qualitative approach based on ten semi-structured interviews, this research analyzes the relationship between urban gardens and family tourism. The paper innovatively contributes to the understanding of gardens as an urban attraction that improves the sustainable production and consumption of food in the context of family tourism experiences. The results show the relevance of urban gardens for the creation of sustainable experiences that engage families with local food, enhance local supply chains, and inform the future of urban environments. Urban gardens are a visitor attraction that may lead to the development of sustainable people, places and products, and they represent the sustainable integration of horticulture in tourism based on participatory experiences, direct contact with the natural environment and the discovery of the origin of food.

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‘We walk, we laugh, we dance’: refugee experiences of older Chin women in Kuala Lumpur

Ageing and Society ◽

10.1017/s0144686x18001502 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 40 (5) ◽

pp. 1021-1038

Author(s):

Nicole Lamb ◽

Gerhard Hoffstaedter

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

Everyday Life ◽

Crucial Role ◽

Older Persons ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Ethnographic Research ◽

Kuala Lumpur ◽

United Nations High Commissioner ◽

High Commissioner ◽

The United Nations

AbstractOlder persons are among the most vulnerable of refugees seeking protection in Malaysia, yet seldom are they the focus of the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, local charities or non-government organisations. In-depth ethnographic research with a group of older Chin women in Kuala Lumpur demonstrates both the vulnerability and resilience of older refugees in urban environments. Older refugees play a crucial role in sustaining families and communities. They provide much-needed support to refugee communities who struggle to meet the needs of everyday life in the absence of protection protocols.

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Cases onto themselves? Theory and research on ex-socialist urban environments

Geografie ◽

10.37040/geografie2014119040299 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 119 (4) ◽

pp. 299-319 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Örjan Sjöberg

Keyword(s):

Urban Studies ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Urban Theory ◽

Great Volume ◽

Post Colonial ◽

Entire Field ◽

General Field ◽

Colonial Theory ◽

Field Of Inquiry

Although the contribution of geographers to post-socialist urban studies has shown considerable vitality and resulted in a great volume of research, its impact on urban studies as a general field of inquiry is neither proportionate to the momentous changes since 1989 nor to the volume of research that has found its way into the literature. The entire field punches below its weight and, despite recent claims to the contrary, the prominence and visibility of this line of research beyond the confines of established communities of scholars working in the field of socialist and post-socialist urban studies remains insubstantial. This has been pointed out by scholars of a post-colonial bent, who argue that in order to move forward both the alleged parochialism and empiricism of much current geographical work on post-socialist cities and the deference to hegemonic strands of Westerns urban theory need to be shed. This paper attempts to put these claims in perspective, suggesting that while some of the problems decidedly issue from the manner in which of urban geographers themselves conduct and report research on post-socialist cities, post-colonial theory might not be an ideal way forward.

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