Communication Matters

Chapter 7

Materiality and urban communication

The rhetoric of communicative spaces

Victoria J. Gallagher , Kenneth S. Zagacki and Kelly Norris Martin

In recent sessions in both Paris and Washington D.C., scholars interested in issues including media policy, architecture, communication, and urban planning met to discuss the concept and qualities of a “communicative city.” When asked to develop five normative criteria to determine whether a city could be considered especially “communicative,” one of the key themes that emerged from these scholars’ responses was the necessity for such a city to have “places to interact/places of feeling.” When asked what would disqualify a city from being considered “communicative,” a major theme that emerged ...