Viewing and Sensing the City: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives, Methods, and Technologies

Abstract

This introductory chapter starts off by discussing the differences and interconnections of visual sociology and urban sociology in their quest to understand human settlements. It then moves to argue for expanding the focus to other disciplines that are equally geared toward researching aspects of the city in visual and multimodal ways, since the urban context cannot be studied comprehensively without engaging a multitude of disciplines and trying to make productive connections between them. The chapter continues with a concise overview and discussion of each of the contributions in this first of two volumes of “Visual and Multimodal Urban Sociology” in the “Research in Urban Sociology” series. These twin volumes explore multiple ways in which the city and city life may be approached, studied, and expressed through visual and multimodal means and methods, thereby as much as possible including sensory experiences other than those related to seeing and hearing. It concludes with drawing some contours and challenges of visual and multimodal urban studies and the critical role of technology in advancing this cross-disciplinary field of inquiry.

Citation

Pauwels, L. (2023), "Viewing and Sensing the City: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives, Methods, and Technologies", Pauwels, L. (Ed.) Visual and Multimodal Urban Sociology, Part A (Research in Urban Sociology, Vol. 18A), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1047-00422023000018A001