Tailing untethered mobile users: Studying urban mobilities and communication practices

Urban dynamics are accelerated by new techniques for storing goods and information, and for transporting them and human beings. With humans, these changes raise the question of the forms of mobility and encounter that are made relevant by the ways territories are equipped for different types of flow. Theoretical concerns and technological developments share a growing focus on questions of territories and mobilities, coordination, and communication. The chapter shows how it is possible to systematically analyze mobilities and communication practices on the basis of location-specific data. The methodology on which the experimental protocol is based consists of three parts. First, an empirical apparatus for collecting and aggregating data concerning the locations of users and their communication practices. Second, two series of interviews over ten days, in which they were shown these objective data and questioned about their interpretation. The third is, use of the previous interviews to qualify the data gathered over six months.