Page - 122 - in Mobile Culture Studies - The Journal, Volume 3/2017

122 Mobile Culture Studies. The Journal 3 2o17 Patrick Naef | Using mobility and urban planning to implement atmosphere The main objective of this article is to determine if a traffic regulation tool can also help create a specific atmosphere in a place. Building on this polysemous notion of ‘atmosphere’, I will observe its professional conception and diffusion in a built environment. Although the concept of ‘atmosphere’ is increasingly present in urban development planner narratives – especially when associated with other notions like ‘quality of place’ or ‘wellbeing’ – its cultural dimension is still largely ignored. The development of ‘encounter zones’ in Switzerland will thus serve as an appropriate case study for analysing the implementation of a model of territorial development whose main aim is to manage traffic, but which also seeks to produce an atmosphere based on conviviality and a lively environment; a setting suitable for ‘encounters’ according to its desi- gnation1. A broader objective is to demonstrate the challenges involved in the planning and ma- nagement of public spaces. If the improvement of security is certainly one of the main goals of planners in this context, there is no consensus on how to achieve it. Between the will on one hand to segregate users of public space (e.g. pedestrians and vehicles) and the desire on the other to promote ‘shared space’ (Baillie-Hamilton 2008); between dynamics associated with the planning of specific street furniture2 and design versus the will to promote ‘naked streets’, the streetscape can contain significant contrasts and can thus have an important influence on the various atmospheres associated with it. In this contribution, it is stated that ‘atmosphere engineering’ (Trigg 2016, Adey 2014, McCormack 2008) implies a reflexive process, allowing corrections, flexibility, modifications, criticisms and participation; a step by step, continuously reinvented development leading to what Trigg (2016, 770) conceives as a ‘perfectly engineered atmosphere, one that appears spontaneous’. Finally, while academia has taken an extensive interest since the seventies in topics related to ‘shared space’ (Baillie-Hamilton 2008, Moody & Melia 2014, Karndacharuk & al. 2014) and ‘traffic calming’ (Pharaoh & Ruseel 1989, 1991, Elvik 2001, Kjemtrup 1992), including specific studies on ‘residential areas’ (Tolley 1990) and ‘woonerfs’3 (Ben-Joseph 2007, Groten- huis 1979), case studies focusing on the development of ‘encounter zones’ are still lacking in the fields of mobility and urban planning research. This analysis aims to fill the gap through an anthropological approach to the practices of stakeholders involved in the planning and ma- nagement of such places in Switzerland. In this context, the notion of ‘atmosphere’ will help to explore the role of affect in the development of sites associated with ideas such as walkability, security and conviviality. Building on the seminal work of Rachel Thomas (2004, 2008, 2012, 2012a) and Jean-Paul Thibaud (1992, 2013) on atmosphere and urban public space, the main question underlining this reflection is to determine how atmospheres can be introduced and diffused in contemporary public spaces and everyday life. This contribution is based on the results of a wider ongoing research project being conduc- ted for the Transport and Environment Association, the chief organisation involved in soft mo- 1 In Switzerland, the label ‘zone de rencontre’ is used in French and ‘Begegnungszone’ in German, both translated here as: ‘encounter zone’. 2 ‘street furniture’ is used here to describe equipment installed along streets and roads, such as benches, bollards, streetlamps, fountains, waste receptacles, flower pots, etc. 3 literally translated as ‘living yard’, a woonerf is an area in the Nederland’s, where motorized traffic is limited to walking pace.