Spaces of Transfers and Visual Management of Human Mobility

The articles collected in this volume constitute one of the results of a collaborative research project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme (MSCA-RISE) under the theme of “Technologies of Imaging in Communication, Art, and Social Sciences.” This project included researchers from the following institutions: Academy of Art in Szczecin (Poland - coordinator), The Polish University Abroad in London (UK), Association for Education, Science, and Culture in Szczecin (Poland), Univerzita Jana Evangelisty Purkyně v .st. nad Labem (Czech Republic), University of Macerata (Italy), University of the Witwatersrand (Republic of South Africa - until 01.02.2018), Pwani University College (Kenya - from 01.02.2018). The international research project TICASS focused on the investigation of technologies of imaging in communication, arts, and social science. The broad objective of the TICASS project was the perception of the public space – in different places and cultures – through visual language, visual learning, and visual literacy.

The present volume is the outcome of an international conference, within the TICASS project, held at the Polish University Abroad in London in 2019, on the theme “The Visual Management of Mobility.” The conference focused on how mobility is influenced by visual communication accessed via technology, how different recipient groups understand various kinds of visual communication in cities, and how people’s behavior is influenced by visual communication in defined spaces of interaction.

The contributors to this volume investigated the ways in which people engage with their environment and with each other on the basis of transformations in communication, mobility, and technological ways to access information. Social mobility, whether by foot, car, or public transport, is guided visually through signage, GPS, online maps, route planning, applications for public transport, and so on. Technology – including smartphones, tablets, and laptops – allows people to navigate to and within unfamiliar places. At the same time, these devices may discourage verbal communication with other people as the required information can be easily accessed without human interaction. The book also focuses on geo-cultural ways of interpreting and using signs and forms of visual communication. The challenge for visual communication in the management of a global mobility is to empower people with interdisciplinary tools to appreciate manifold languages as well as to improve social awareness about technological interactions.

The volume is divided into three parts: Part I Ethics of VisualManagement in Cities, Part II Semiology in Spaces of Transfer, Part III Designing and Living in New Realities.