To walk as we listen to the city

Rachel Thomas (1)

1 CRESSON - Centre de recherche sur l'espace sonore et l'environnement urbain

Cities are built around the sense of sight, for those who can see. Since the XIXth century, and still today, this obviousness comes down through many work of literature and urban sociology about the mobility of the pedestrians in town. From Siegfried Kracauer to Georg Simmel, from Walter Benjamin to Lincoln A. Ryave and James N. Schenken, to walk in the city would almost exclusively request the visual attention of the pedestrian. But in all our towns and cities there are men and women, deprived of the sense of sight, going about their daily lives. How do people with impaired sight operate? What can we learn from them about the role of the senses in our cities and the process of getting about?

Mots clés: Walk; Senses; Urban space

Domaines: Architecture, aménagement de l'espace

Rachel Thomas. To walk as we listen to the city. Annual conference Urban Sustainability : rethinking senses of place, Aug 2005, Londres, United Kingdom. 1-7 p. ⟨halshs-00596831⟩