Three waves of extended mind theories and urban planning: the city as a distributed socio-cognitive architecture
Giulia Candeloro, Luciana Mastrolonardo, Massimo Angrilli, Alessandro Crociata, Pier Luigi Sacco
Frontiers in Built Environment October 3, 2024 DOI: 10.3389/fbuil.2024.1446919 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Extended mind theories Urban planning Participatory design Sociocultural practices Place-based affordances Distributed cognition |
| Key points | Argues that the city can be understood as a distributed socio-cognitive architecture, and that urban planning should be reoriented toward participatory design, collaborative placemaking, and place-based affordances, challenging internalist and technocratic assumptions. |
Abstract
This article explores the intersection between cognition theories and urban planning, conceptualizing the city as a distributed socio-cognitive architecture. It traces the evolution of these theories through three waves—functionalism, social externalism, and radical enactivism —. Correspondingly, the article suggests implications for reorienting urban planning approaches, highlighting participatory design, collaborative placemaking, and the nurturing of place-based affordances. Drawing examples from existing planning literature, it demonstrates resonances with Extended Mind-informed orientations. The conclusion synthesizes these insights, proposing a potentially transformative framework by rethinking planning as more participatory, pluralistic, and cognitively integrative, challenging internalist and technocratic assumptions.