ABSTRACT
Through examples of “location-based social networks” such as Foursquare, this chapter examines how location-aware mobile devices enable new ways for individuals to reshape how they interact with and understand locations. The chapter begins by discussing how adding location-based digital information to physical spaces can impact what we call the presentation of location. After detailing the presentation of location, we then move on to how location-aware mobile devices allow people to “read” and “write” space in new ways, linking digital narratives to how people relate to locations. We examine how the location-based information present in location-based services and art works like Textopia allow people to follow others’ trajectories through space and examine the stories they tell about places through location-based tips and reviews. With services like Foursquare and projects like Textopia, people not only “read” space, but they also “write” space and contribute to spatial narratives through the paths they take through the city.
