Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Seeking positive outcomes

Re Graham and Marvin, most discourse seems to think in technological terms first, as often we consider the technology, its many applications and evolutions, and then apply it to all the things we think of technology affecting. McLuhan often cited this human weakness (somewhat furthered by Mitchell) to always think of technology in iterative ways, comparing it to recent or past technologies. This weakness seems to be at the core of technological determinism and utopianism-futurism. Urban political economy and social constructivism bring in more of the proximity of places and their connections with technological means to expand and grow. But the social makeup of who gets access and changes in identity and perception of places seem to be similar to the questions we’ve been asking all semester. How can we see urban political economy and social constructivism somehow helped along with natural market forces so that there are more positive outcomes re these issues?

No comments: