Barcelona: a cyber-city in transit

Abstract

The boom of the new technology in the urban context focus our attention in some urban spaces that allow inter connection and people movement in contemporary cyber-cities. The analysis of such spaces is the main object of this paper.Firstly, using a case study we present an urban reality that shows the influence of communication technology on cities and mainly how technology arbitrates the way in how we relate, interact, move, etc. Secondly, we study contemporary cyber-cities analyzing some spaces where the technology is highly present. In the third section we present what we denominate “transitory sociability spaces” as typical places of current cities. Next, we expose three examples of this kind of spaces in Barcelona’s context. Finally, in the last section, we explain our methodology to investigate the cyber cities: urban ethnography. For this purpose, we make an initial definition of a possible place where our ethnographical approach has been used: the Barcelona’s subway. The article finalizes with the initial reading of the daily report, product of the first investigation findings, and remarking some  initial conclusions of this investigation and about the form to conceive the studied city related to the cyber-cities concept.