Page - 124 - in Mobile Culture Studies - The Journal, Volume 3/2017

124 Mobile Culture Studies. The Journal 3 2o17 Patrick Naef | Using mobility and urban planning to implement atmosphere of perception, stressing that they are primary ‘objects’ of perception: ‘What is first and immedi- ately perceived is neither sensations, nor shapes or objects or their constellations.’ (1993, 125). In addition to these elements of definition, atmosphere is considered here as a confluence between senses, emotions and symbolic meaning (Philippopoulos-Miahalopoulos, as cited in Trigg 2016). Moreover, it is also fundamental to mention, as does Adey (2014) relying on Böhme’s theories, that atmospheres are created by things, persons or their constellations. Taking this idea further and considering it as a security mechanism, Adey suggests that atmospheres can be engineered. This reflection will focus precisely on these processes of atmosphere making or engineering. Atmospheres will also generally be considered in plural form; diverse atmospheres can be associated with a place, depending on the contexts and people’s various perceptions. Furthermore, different people, whether stakeholders, inhabitants or users, contribute to ‘model’ different atmospheres, considered by Michels (2015, 259) as the ‘affective capacities of material components’: ‘These processes comprise the professional work of designers and artists as much as everyday practices.’ Jean-Paul Thibaud (2013), using the French word ‘ambiance’, which captures the notion of ‘atmosphere’ (Duarte, 2013), presents it as an increasingly important issue in urban trans- formations. He also acknowledges the importance of the inhabitants and everyday practices in what he qualifies as ‘mise en ambiance’ (literally ‘atmosphere setting’): ‘One should not un- derestimate the continuous and ordinary production of urban atmosphere by city-dwellers. Indeed, one of the lessons that ‘atmosphere’ can teach us, is that a lived-in space is by no means the simple result of the reception of conceived spaces.’ (Thibaud 2013, 15). For Thibaud, the progressive integration of atmospheres in architecture and urban planning goes beyond a mere effect of postmodern sentimentalism; focusing on the processes, conditions and modalities of its production could prefigure a ‘political ecology of atmosphere’, thus deconstructing the role of aesthetics in public spaces. Following this approach, Thomas (2012, 47) proposes a sensitive criticism of urban space that brings into question what she refers to as an ‘ideology of sharing’ institutionalized by what she considers as the ‘pacified city’ or the ‘sanitized city’: ‘well-ordered, monitored, securitized, the pacified city would then insure the tranquillity of city-dwellers and the protection of the common good. More than objectives in terms of “environmental health” or conviviality, it would tend to put “under protection” contemporary urban society.’ Soulier (2012) talks about the ‘sterilization’ of the streets when he reviews the excess of signage and pro- tection in the public space in France. He shares in part Thomas’s vision of urban sanitization, both scholars seeing new forms of hygienism in urban development in recent decades. In this context, an approach that includes atmospheres in the consideration of public space promotes a critical perspective, ‘an apprehension of the urban world as always perfectible, a constant way of questioning “what exists” and “what should happen”’. (Thomas 2012, 50) Therefore, the notion of ‘atmosphere’ used in this analysis enables us to empirically evaluate how urban planners and public authorities may challenge what is conceived of as the ‘sterilizati- on’ or the ‘sanitization’ of public space. Viewing place-making through the lens of ‘atmosphere’ can bring new insights into these dynamics. The process of ‘atmosphere making’ can indeed offer novel perspectives on the use and the appropriation of public space by city dwellers. First, it is important to bear in mind that ‘atmosphere making’ proceeds from the interactions bet- ween users and planners and, secondly, that diverse atmospheres may be uncovered, depending