People, public space, digital technology and social practice : an ethnographic approach

Abstract

Ethnography matters when to provide sustainable and inclusive urban spaces is an issue. Advancing knowledge on the relationship between social practices and public space is therefore crucial. This paper seeks to contribute to widening the debate about this relationship, added now by the phenomenon of penetration of ICT into public spaces. The main goal is to propose a methodological approach to guide the research in the field of urban ethnography. This approach is based, on the one hand, on long experience in ethnographic studies on public spaces, with the goal of identifying the relationship between social practices and the space in the configuration of representations and creation of socio-spatial images, particularly in urban transformation processes. On the other hand, it is based on a detailed analysis of the CyberParks Project objectives. Both allow us to better define the analysis dimensions and to identify their variables. Such framework could be used to guide future ethnographic research to be undertaken in CyberParks and beyond.