Paper short abstract:

IC-technology, like mobile phones, molds spatial experiences by creating e.g. new rules for social interaction. We will discuss the ways the designers and developers of new ubiquitous technology intentionally and implicitly aim to change citizens' sense of place in the northern Finnish city of Oulu.

Paper long abstract:

In the northern Finnish city of Oulu, we live in an urban space surrounded by ubiquitous technology, such as wireless networks and computing devices. Thus, mobile phones and laptops with internet connections enable us to act simultaneously in physical and virtual space, which together construct new social spaces with multiple cultural codes and social rules. New communication technologies hence affect peoples' sense of place by molding their understanding of space and time in social interaction. For example, by talking on a mobile phone with someone who is waiting for you, you are already with that person. Technology can create new forms of sociality, but on the other hand, it can also produce new ways of separation and isolation. The designers and developers of the ubiquitous Oulu are aiming to change the city by creating an improved urban environment by offering new services for the citizens (www.ubioulu.fi). In our presentation, we will discuss the meanings of this goal by analysing the in-depth interviews we have made with the people behind the multidisciplinary UBI (UrBan Interactions) Program, that is coordinated by the University of Oulu and the City of Oulu. We will especially consider the spatial changes already evoked by technological innovations implemented within the city as well as the changes the developers and designers are currently aiming for. The analyses will explain not only the way these people talk of their own sense of belonging to the city, but also the ways they hope new technology will change the citizens' sense of an urban northern place called Oulu.