Citation

Evans-Cowley J. J. Plann. Lit. 2010; 25(2): 136-149.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0885412210394100

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The mobile phone has transformed life in the city. Using them, individuals can both receive information about their surroundings through location-based services and contribute to the city as a system. They can participate by sharing location, text, photos, or video about the conditions of the city. This article explores the literature surrounding mobile phone technology in urban planning and city life. Specifically, it explores the potential of mobile phones in sensing, documenting, and exploring the city. This article draws on literature from a wide variety of fields to create a overview of the issues surrounding mobile phones in the city. This article review what we know and what has been speculated about the influence of mobile phones and similar devices on urban life. There is evidence that they alter our sense of individuality, our mobility, our interactions with others, our capacity to participate in and document public life, and our senses of privacy and publicness. The implications and meanings for planning are open, as they were when the mails, the telegraph, and the telephone were first introduced.