Urban atmospheres.

This essay explores the concept of urban atmospheres, distinguishing them from other aspects of urban consciousness and experience. It examines the cultural, political, and philosophical implications of atmospheres as a lens for critical reflection on space and subjectivity. The author considers the idea of an 'affective atmosphere' as a shared corporeal mood, engaging with phenomenology, extended agency, and new materialism. Drawing on the changing qualities of air and light, the essay reflects on sensory experience and its cultural and political meanings. The argument highlights tensions and anomalies in contemporary understandings of urban atmospheres, proposing that they offer a valuable focal point for critical inquiry.

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Abstract

What is an urban atmosphere? How can we differentiate an 'atmosphere' from other facets of urban consciousness and experience? This essay explores some of the wider cultural, political, and philosophical connotations of atmospheres as a focal point for critical reflections on space and subjectivity. The idea of an 'affective atmosphere' as a distinctive kind of mood or shared corporeal phenomenon is considered in relation to recent developments in phenomenology, extended conceptions of agency, and new understandings of materialism. The essay draws in particular on the changing characteristics of air and light to reflect on different forms of sensory experience and their wider cultural and political connotations. The argument highlights some of the tensions and anomalies that permeate contemporary understandings of urban atmospheres.