Metaphors for Democratic Communication Spaces
How Developers of Local Wireless Networks Frame Technology and Urban Space
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14784366 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alison B Powell (0000-0001-5780-9132, London School of Economics and Political Science, corresponding author), Alison Powell (0000-0003-2524-5357, London School of Economics and Political Science) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 91-114 |
| Publication date | 2011-04-07 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Canadian Journal of Communication (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0705-3657 • E-ISSN: 1499-6642 |
| Publisher | University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.22230/cjc.2011v36n1a2313 |
| OpenAlex | W1516642533 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 34 |
Communications policies, like many other social policies, are founded on an ideal of democracy that connects the development of communication infrastructures with democratic public spheres. This framing is a constructivist endeavour that takes place through language, institution, and infrastructure. Projects that aim to develop these capacities must grapple with the way such new media technologies are integrated into existing contexts or spaces, often using metaphors. This article analyzes how such metaphors are employed in the case of local wireless networking. Referring to empirical research on networks located in Montréal and Fredericton, Canada, the article critiques the narrow approach to democratization of communication spaces inherent in networks of this type. This narrow focus is associated with metaphors used to describe a co-evolution of wireless technology and urban space. The article identifies that the design processes that shape these networks could benefit from a more radical democratization associated with metaphors of recombination of space and technology
Architectural engineering · Democracy · Democratization · Framing (construction · Geography · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Public space · Sociology · Telecommunications · Computer Science · Engineering · ICT in Developing Communities · Innovative Human-Technology Interaction · Social Media and Politics
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The Fall of Public Man
Wifi Publics
The City Park as a Public Good Reference for Internet Policy Making
The Social Life of Wireless Urban Spaces
Autonomous Media
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Human-Machine Reconfigurations
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Mobile Publics
The Political Agnosticism of Free and Open Source Software and the Inadvertent Politics of Contrast
Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2014 - 2021 (8) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |