NEW MEDIA AND CITIES: THREE LOGICS OF INVESTIGATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

Abstract

This paper deals with urban new media — computer technologies in forms of applications, programs, and some arrays of scripts, which automatically create actions or provide some complex services for different social groups in a city. It is assumed that processes of development, implementation and investigation of urban new media are in a situation of controversy since nobody knows on what principles they should be based upon and what aims to pursue. In this article we offer three logics (A. Mol), ratios and mutual mechanisms of affinities that are proper to some practices, that we can discern in the current process of development of urban new media. The communal logic aims at association of people and creating a shared platform for communication and knowing some aspects of cities. The critical logic aims to dissociate and sift certain groups of people from population as whole and make profit out of users. Finally, cosmopolitical logic (I. Stengers) is associated with intention to include many heterogeneous actors into process of discussion and making decisions for creating “sense” of some urban space or aspect. In the conclusion, we ponder upon how the aforementioned logics could be implemented practically to spur the communication between the authorities and publics in Russian monotowns.

Keywords:

Urban new media, communal logic, critical logic, applications, cosmopolitical logic