#355 The (re)production of hybrid urban space in the IoT era: The example of scooter sharing system in Taipei, Taiwan
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First name Yi-Fan | Middle name | Last name Liu |
Title PhD | Organization / Institution National Chengchi University | Department n/a |
Address no. 64, sec.2, Zhinan Rd. | Postal / Zip code 116 | Country TW |
E-Mail Hidden | Phone number Hidden | Presenting author Yes |
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Abstract
Abstract title
The (re)production of hybrid urban space in the IoT era: The example of scooter sharing system in Taipei, Taiwan
Abstract text
The moped sharing market has been growing year-on-year since its inception in 2012. In this trend, Taiwan is the third-ranked market by size globally since the first operator was launched in Taiwan in 2016. One distinguishing characteristic of the moped sharing system is that it connects smartphones and electric mopeds and makes them work together; anyone can't access the system without smartphones. It indicates that mobile media devices such as smartphones can be involved in human-machine and machine-machine interactions, making the Internet of Things (IoT) possible. This new communication/mobility style may transform urban space and people's temporal-spatial experiences in an entirely new fashion. Scholars have argued that mobile communication technologies create a new type of spatiality. Along with mobile media's proliferation, a new type of spatiality called "hybrid space" emerged, blurring the dichotomy between cyber and physical spaces. However, this concept concentrates on people's spatial experiences and limits information and communications technology infrastructure as material foundations that make hybrid space possible. This study argues that we should reconsider hybrid space's material aspect, as machine-machine interactions are gradually popular nowadays. In order to develop the concept more grounded in the IoT era, this study takes participant observation and in-depth interviews with moped sharing system operators and collective users in Taiwan to define the moped sharing systems as a part of the material aspect of hybrid urban space, and point out that the (re)definition of the operation zone, the (re)distribution of the moped network, and the whole system operations are all connected by operators and collective users via smartphones and mopeds in a specific social-spatial context. Hence this new mobility system triggers urban space ambiguities and possibilities for both the operator and general users to (re)understand and (re)build the hybrid urban space and the formation of everyday life.
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Abstract Review
This abstract was reviewed on 2021-01-04 13:13h by Christian_R
Reviewer decision
Accepted