Ağ toplumunda kent gezgini
Urban traveler in the network society
Yazar: AYŞENUR HİLAL IAVARONE
Danışman: DOÇ. DR. PELİN DURSUN ÇEBİ
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü / Mimarlık Ana Bilim Dalı / Mimari Tasarım Bilim Dalı
Derece: Yüksek Lisans, 2019
Konu: Mimarlık = Architecture
Dizin: Kentsel değişim = Urban change ; Mekansal algı = Spatial perception

Özet:
21. yüzyılda iletişim ağları sadece kentleri birbirine bağlamakla kalmaz, aynı zamanda kentte bulunma biçimimizi ve kentteki gündelik yaşantımızı da dönüştürür. Gündelik hayatın mobil cihazlar ve yeni medya kullanımından bağımsız düşünülemediği günümüz toplumunda kent nasıl bir yer olacaktır? Kentli, birey ve kentsel mekanın arasına giren dijital ekranlar kent deneyimini nasıl değiştirir? Bu kentte gezinme eylemi neye dönüşmektedir? Bu tez kapsamında bu sorulardan yola çıkılarak ağ toplumunun ürettiği kent gezgini ve onun kentle kurduğu ilişkiler incelenmektedir.
Sosyal ve medya ağlarından oluşan bir altyapının toplumun her seviyesindeki örgütlenme tarzını belirlediği, ağlar tarafından bağlanmış birey ve kurumların toplumun temel birimi haline geldiği "ağ toplumu" tezin temel çalışma alanını oluşturur. Ağ toplumunun toplumsal özellikleri ve kullandığı teknolojiler göz önüne alınarak, üretmiş olduğu kentsel mekan düşüncesini anlamaya yönelik bir okuma yapılmaktadır. Ağ toplumunda kentlerin fiziksel öğeleri, önceki toplum modellerinin tasarladığı biçimiyle varlıklarını sürdürürken, kentsel deneyimler, kentte bulunma biçimleri, kentte gezinme pratikleri ağa bağlı yaşam biçiminin gerektirdiği biçimde dönüşmektedir. Bu nedenle çalışmada odaklanılan asıl mesele, var olan kentsel mekanda yaşantısını sürdüren yeni toplumsal yapının ürettiği yeni deneyimleme biçimleri olacaktır. 
Ağ toplumunda toplumsal yapı ağlar ile tarif edilmekte; özellikle gündelik hayat ve teknolojinin etkileşimi ön plana çıkmaktadır. Kentliler, coğrafi konumları algılayabilen mobil cihazlarıyla, medya platformlarında sürekli "çevrimiçi" olabilmektedirler. Bu durumun bedensel, sosyolojik ve mekansal sonuçları ortaya çıkmaktadır. Bu nedenlerle çalışma, ağ toplumunun, yaygın bilişim, mobil cihazlar ve konum tabanlı medya kullanımına bağlı olarak dönüşen kentsel mekan deneyimini, kuram ve pratik bağlamında tartışmaya açması bakımından değerli bulunmaktadır. 
Yaygın bilişimin ve yeni medyanın gündelik hayattaki yoğun varlığı, fiziksel mekanın geleneksel anlamdaki organizasyonunu ve yaşanma biçimini değiştirmektedir. Ağ toplumunda bireylerin fiziksel dünya ile dijital dünyayı eş zamanlı deneyimleyebilmesi, kentlerdeki yaşantıyı ve deneyimleme biçimini kalıcı olarak değiştirmektedir. Bu nedenle çalışma kapsamında, fiziksel ve dijital arasında boyut değiştiren mekan deneyiminin kentteki yansımaları ortaya konulabilmesi için, kentte bulunmanın ve kentte gezinmenin yeni biçimleri tartışılmaktadır.
Tez kapsamında, kent gezginleri özelinde bir okuma yapılmaktadır. Kentin algılanması ve deneyimlenmesinde kentte yapılan gezintinin önemli bir yer teşkil ettiği, yapılan literatür incelemesinden anlaşılmaktadır. Kentte gezinme eylemi, özellikle modern kentin sembolü olan Flanör figürü ile özleşmiştir. Kentte aylakça gezinirken, aynı zamanda düşünen, gözlemleyen ve kentle birey arasında ilişkiler kuran Flanör, toplum ve kent ilişkisinin okunabilmesi için önemli bir karakter sunmaktadır. Bu nedenle ağ toplumu ve kentte gezinme eylemini ilişkilendiren çalışma, tartışmayı "Ağ Flanörü" önerisiyle kavramsallaştırmaktadır. Ağ Flanörü'nün deneyimi ve üretimleri, çalışmada ele alınacak başlıca konuları kapsamaktadır. Böylece kentte gezinti, kavramsal bir çerçeveye oturtularak, dijitalleşen dünyada üretilen kent deneyimlerinin anlaşılması ve tartışılması hedeflenmektedir.
Temel olarak bu çalışma, ağ toplumunda çevrimiçi yaşam biçimine sahip olan bireylerin, yaygın bilişim, mobil cihaz ve konum tabanlı medya kullanımıyla dönüşmekte olan kent deneyimleri üzerine yoğunlaşmaktadır. Bu kapsamda, günümüz tartışmalarında sıklıkla yer alan etkileşimli teknolojiler, dijital üretimler, sanal gerçeklik, dijital tasarım gibi tartışmalardan ayrışarak, ortaya çıkan yeni toplum yapısının üretmiş olduğu kente ve bu kentte gezinme eyleminin biçimlerine odaklanmaktadır. Çalışma, mimarlığın mekan kavramını sadece tasarım nesnesi olarak değil, aynı zamanda üzerindeki yaşantıyla birlikte değerlendirdiği göz önüne alınarak, dönüşmekte olan toplumsal yaşantının mekansal izdüşümleri üzerine kurgulanmıştır. Bu nedenle, bu yaşantının, deneyimleme biçimlerinin ve mekansal pratiklerin incelenebileceği bir alan olan kentte gezinme eylemi ve gezgin karakteri odak olarak belirlenmiştir. Çalışmanın amacı, günümüzde yeni bir tartışma alanı açan ağ toplumu ve yeni mekan kavramlarını kentle ilişkilendirerek, gündelik hayatta gerçekleşen dönüşümün mekansal açılımlarını anlamaya çalışmaktır.

Abstract:
The way we communicate, produce, consume and the way we access and gather information changes constantly, depending on the use of digital technologies. This social changes are linked to transformation of everyday life practices as well as the changes in social structure. The phenomenon of space, that becomes meaningful with life on it, cannot be evaluated separately from the transformation in this context. As Lefebvre defines space as a society-related concept, he mentions that the space is formed by the physical and emotional experiences of its inhabitants. Therefore, it cannot be possible to understand and design an architectural space or plan a city without understanding society, culture and everyday life of the era. 
Architecture is not independent of the life and requirements of the period due to the fact that it establishes a bridge between the physical environment and social life in the transformed world. Considering that society is the main producer of the living space, it can be concluded that architecture is obliged to read the society in terms of theory and practice.
From the 1970s onwards, the discussion of static space understanding, left its place to the dynamics of the living space. In this context, especially in the urban scene, which is the scene of daily life, it is the focus of the issue of experienced space since cities are the places where the relations between humans and spaces are visible and where cognitive, operational and social interactions are intense. Therefore, it is necessary to reconsider the city, for today's society.
It was assumed that the break that occurred under the influence of the information age in the 1990s would effectively change the social spaces, the forms of cities and the architecture. Assumptions such as "the offices would disappear with the increase in the number of employees working at home" and the "shopping centers would close with the increase of internet shopping" were the main arguments of the researchers in the 1980s and 1990s. However as Castells criticizes, the change is not that clear. Therefore, this discussion is disconnected from the reality of everyday life. Manuel Castells argues, in the 21st century cities still exist; people still need office spaces; banks still need urban business centers. Therefore, it would be more valuable to discuss the spatial relationship that will arise from society's relationship with technology. In short, it will be more valuable to investigate the real value of the impact of information technologies in everyday life.
In order to conceptualize the new urban life created by information, it is necessary to define the new social structure that organized by information networks. This new social structure, where an infrastructure consisting of social and media networks determines the organizational style at all levels of the society, and the individuals and institutions connected by the networks become the basic unit of the society, is called "network society". 
Within the scope of this thesis study, a reading on urban experience is made by considering the idea of space produced by the network society, its social characteristics and new technologies. Although physical fictions and built environment elements of cities continue to exist in the network society as designed by previous society models, urban experiences, space practices and the act of strolling in the city are transformed as required by the networked lifestyle. Therefore, the main focus of the study will be the new forms of experience produced by the new social structure that lives in the existing urban space.
In contemporary research about the context of the relationship between society and technology, the issues such as the use of mobile devices, the increasing importance of new media, and the relationship established with virtual reality create an interdisciplinary field of discussion. In architecture and urban theory, this interaction is mainly focused on interactive technologies, digital productions, virtual reality, digital design, computer, and architectural representation. However, the problem cannot be limited to these issues from the perspective of architecture. As mentioned above, architecture, which considers the space together with life on it and treats the issue of space and the city as a social phenomenon as well as a physical concept. Therefore, the relationship between network society and the city is directly related to architecture.
In everyday urban life of the network community, the interaction with digital technologies comes to the forefront. One of the main reasons for this situation is the mobile devices and the use of location-based media (LBM), which can detect location, in the daily life. In the network community, individuals can be constantly online on media platforms with their mobile devices that can detect geographic locations. As a result, physical, social and spatial consequences emerge. For this reason, this study is valuable in terms of opening up the urban experience, which has evolved as a result of the use of widespread informatics, mobile devices and location-based media, in the context of theory and practice.
Within the scope of the thesis, this discussion is examined in the context of the act of urban strolling and the urban strollers, which provide a method for reading the everyday life in the city. In the perception and experience of the city, the trip in the city constitutes an important place since it allows establishing personal relations and dialogues with the urban space. The act of strolling in the city is mentioned in the literature with the symbol of the modern city, Flaneur. Baudelaire's Flaneur, who observes and experiences Paris in the 19th century, appears also in Benjamin's "Passages" work, as a concept of urban traveler. Flaneur, who wanders around the city, thinks, observes and establishes relations between the city and the individual, offers a method of reading the relationship between society and the city.
In this thesis, the traces of social transformation on urban space are questioned with the method presented by Flaneur figure. In the network society, which is defined as the breaking point of social transformation, the transformative movement of the city is read through the space practices and experience forms of the urban traveler character. The discussion between these two main axes addresses the urban space experience, which is defined as the Network City. It is conceptualized with the definition of Network Flaneur by navigating the city produced by the network society. The differences of the Network Flaneur from the traditional city tour and its contribution to the urban experience are discussed with examples. Thus, it is aimed to examine the changing urban life and urban practices that it produced, from the conceptual framework of the urban traveler. The aim of the discussion is to present new expansions in architecture, city, technology and individual interaction.
As mentioned above, the thesis focuses on the urban experience of the urban traveler figure in the network community in order to examine the relationship between the network community and the city. In the context of Flaneur's transformation, new forms of actions in urban space are discussed and examined through specific examples. In this context, the main terminology is emphasized in order to comprehend the subject from a holistic perspective. 
In the second part, the rise of networks and the consequences in terms of social meanings is explained. Furthermore, the concept of network society is defined according to this social structure base. The main element of network society and its transformation of space is discussed through literature review. The following chapters cover the common concepts of informatics, mobile devices and location-based media, which constitutes to the technical infrastructure of the network society, in order to link to the experience of urban space. Consequently, the new spatial approaches and the opinions of the theoreticians examining the relationship between city and technology are evaluated. It is proposed that an examination as a city of network society as a hybrid space.
The third section focuses on the action of strolling in the city, which determines the focus of the study. Attention is drawn to the meaning of strolling experience in the city. In this context, the subject of Flaneur figure, which is the symbol of the modern city-individual relationship, strolls in the urban space is discussed. In order to make sense of the new forms of city navigation in network society, a reading is made for the urban experience of the digitized world, with reference to Flaneur's experience. In this context, city traveler figures produced and entered into the literature are examined. The way digital interfaces transform the state of mobility in the city, as well as the way of perception and experiencing are opened to discussion by being associated with the characteristics of the travelers. As a result, it is concluded that the reading method presented by Flaneur figure provides an intermediate section to evaluate the relationship that other society models have with cities.
In the fourth chapter, the focus is the reflection of Flaneur's physical experience in the modern city in terms of networked urban life. Based on Flaneur's urban reading, the concept of Network Flaneur is proposed as a method for reading the network city. It is discussed with examples of what the Network Flaneur experiences and produces differently since the act of strolling is changed by widespread use of informatics. These examples of the action of strolling around the city focus on the traveler's personal experience, gains and losses. Finally, the act of urban strolling of Flaneur and Network Flaneur are compared and the impressions about the urban life observed in the network city are revealed. 
In the conclusion and discussion section, it is opened to the discussion on how the act of urban strolling with networked technologies, which are becoming part of the body, differs the dialog between individuals and the urban space, from Benjamin's Flaneur experience. The losses and the opportunities offered by the hybrid city were evaluated from a critical perspective. By discussing the integration of digital tools and their spatial expansions and the potentials of these experiences of space and city is being considered for the future.