Mobility= Freedom of movement /communication= happiness!!
This statement comes from my understanding of reading Hertzberger and De Botton; this means that our society is subconsciously happier due to our freedom of ‘movement’. We are happier in places that have been created to be more welcoming and spacious. Over time we have, as a society, become more virtually, physically and politically mobile which has lead to being more socially mobile.
This means that we would be very different if it were not for our ability to travel. What I discussed on the previous blog was that our mobility as a society has been shaped and designed so that we communicate in a certain way. Our social behaviour is affected by the environment that we are occupying. Think about it- we act and behave differently at home as we do at university. At home we are comfortable and relaxed, whereas as university we are focussed and attentive. As we move around the city, there are roads that lead us in certain way forcing us to travel in that direction (e.g. bus/ train routes/ the pavement we walk on). Spaces are adapted according to population and culture. Our mobility is also determined by the built environment which affects the way in which we behave within that area.
If you think about our city is one complex network of bus/ train/ street routes interconnecting and overlapping, linking us all to each other horizontally (maybe vertically I future?).
The virtual society is much more free as we can communicate with any one at any time, and in any way we like. Google earth provides a prime example where we can travel to anywhere across the world with a click of a button. We can experience the place without even being there.
I thought the film ‘The Matrix’ shows our virtual mobility well, as it shows how the world we know is created virtually. Similarly I believe our society is heading this way, I mean in terms of how everything we do and use will become virtual. Our communication is becoming more virtual and I think that the limits seem endless.
The above video shows how NASA uses physical mobility to translate it into virtual messages sent back to base as photos and data. The video also shows how we have developed, from not understanding our planet to the knowledge we have now.
Sorry for rambling on, look forward to reading your posts...=)
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