A Visual Approach to Locative Urban Information

Abstract

This paper contributes to the ongoing effort to understand the nature of locative information. Messages such as “Get out at the next stop!” or “Text me when you get there!” (Hemment, 2007), can be interpreted only in the context of a concrete place at a concrete moment in time. In contrast, for example, an abstract scientific formula such as “e=mc2”, is put into context by other formulae and by scientific method which tell you how to use these formulae. These examples illustrate these two opposite poles; messages for which location is needed as context and messages that can be understood with no reference to location. Between these poles there is a range of situation/locationsensitivity of messages, referred to as the level of locativity. Unfortunately, however, we do not yet possess sound instruments for measuring the level of location-sensitivity, therefore we do not know where to place specific types of information or messages in this range. In other words, it ABsTRAcT