Technological developments seem to be making ‘place’ less important. Many visions about future technology suggest that information will be ‘anytime’, any place’ and will make location irrelevant. However the use of mobile devices in specific urban spaces and the heavy use of cybercafes by those who might log on elsewhere suggests that the experience of location is central.

The research is a qualitative study of cultures of new media technology consumption and production in London. It includes an examination of the kinds of spatial and temporal regimes that accompany specific technology deployments. Interest also centers on the relationship between technology and literary cultures. Among the urban sites considered are public transport routes, but also local authorities or boroughs and the city as a conceptual whole. The Research Fellow (in association with the Project Director) conduct ethnographic observation and interviews with various individuals and groups in these spaces. As well as ethnography, the data includes socio-demographic information about these London spaces (e.g. the communities around particular bus or train stops) and indicators of technological infrastructure (e.g. the number of local public access points to the internet).

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