Cities as a means of communication: examining the digitalisation of societies and urban spaces in the context of psychogeography

Abstract

The Situationist International was established in 1957 with the aim of challenging the emerging globalised and commodified world through psychogeographical methods. Guy Debord and his colleagues utilised cities as canvases to implement their concepts centered on the relationship between the space and the individual. At the beginning of the 21st century, technology's rapid development has come to play a major role in daily life, affecting many sectors and transforming urban spaces which are at the heart of the Situationist International's work. On the one hand, the application of digital technologies in the construction of public spaces makes consumption more attractive, and recent advances in digitalisation have led to a transformation of the concept of space. On the other hand, spaces rebuilt and created by artificial intelligence and virtual reality technologies are going beyond physical boundaries. This dissertation, based on the legacy of the Situationist International, explores the transformation and applicability of psychogeographical methods in urban spaces undergoing technological change.