Mapping Migrant Territories as Topological Deformations of Space

Awan, Nishat and Langley, Phil. 2013. Mapping Migrant Territories as Topological Deformations of Space. Space and Culture, 16(2), pp. 229-245. ISSN 1206-3312 [Article]

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Abstract or Description

Our research uses the concept of “territories” to describe the production of migrant space. The article describes a project based in London where the everyday practice of walking is used to map migrant territories, which are conceptualized as dispersed and overlapping, causing topological deformations to the actual lived space. We interrogate these deformations through focusing on the micro-scale and the everyday, mapping them as “scapes” and “spheres.” Using specific computational techniques, we transform the original walks into an architectural tool for investigating the fluctuations and flows of the contemporary city. In doing so, we approach territories from two distinct angles: from the geopolitical perspective of territories seen as the product of the interplay of politics, power, and space and from the biological perspective of territories seen as the primal need of all animals, including humans, for space and a certain distinction from their environment and from others.

Item Type:

Article

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1177/1206331213475746

Keywords:

territories, topological deformations, spheres, mapping, walking, artificial neural networks

Departments, Centres and Research Units:

Visual Cultures

Dates:

DateEvent
4 April 2013Published Online
1 May 2013Published

Item ID:

23651

Date Deposited:

04 Jul 2018 11:06

Last Modified:

29 Apr 2020 16:47

Peer Reviewed:

Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.

URI:

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/23651

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