Socio-technical Systems, Public Space and Urban Fragmentation: The Case of ‘Cybercafés’ in China

Abstract

The geography of Internet access places is constructed by the interaction of the stakeholders, not only by the negotiation of local regulatory policies but also by the uses of these technologies. It differentiates urban space, contributes to urban fragmentation and the fragmentation into archipelagos of social groups, in a relationship which is not one-to-one. The new socio-technical practices of the city in interaction with infrastructures linked to mobility and accessibility produce urban forms which intensify social fragmentation. This work is based on field surveys conducted in China combining face-to-face questionnaires and in-depth interviews with operators (of cybercafés, local managers, etc.) and their users.

Pedestrians Mobility on Public Sidewalks Evaluated by the IAAPE Method

“…If this path continues, it may be heading for a route with no return. According to Puel and Fernandez [2], Polo et al [9], and Kunz et al [17], a better solution for cities may be pedestrian mobility and alternative transportation, such as bicycle use.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12], are expressed in different ways, encouraging reflection on an urban mobility that generates access easiness for the population. In order to provide better access conditions to users, it is necessary to seek greater ease in pedestrian movement, according to Refs.…”

“…In order to provide better access conditions to users, it is necessary to seek greater ease in pedestrian movement, according to Refs. [2,3,13].…”

“…Free movement of pedestrians in the urban space, provided by public sidewalks, is extremely necessary since it encourages on foot displacements [2,9,13,16]. However, according to Ref.…”

“…When the idea that cities were made for people, not for cars is recaptured [2,9,13,24], public entities and responsible organizations are alerted so that practical measures are taken to improve these displacement spaces for users. Evaluating public sidewalks in a technical way and from the users' opinion of the system (adults, elderly, pregnant and wheelchair users), it is possible to diagnose the scenario and thus decide if there is a need for alterations and improvments in public policies.…”