Gabrielle Sallé-Osselin

Department: Social Design
Website: http://cargocollective.com/GSO/The-flaneur-an-updated-urban-experience

The Flâneur:

An updated urban experience

Why does the flâneur seem absent from our
streets nowadays? How has he evolved?
Are there any tools encouraging this
practice, and if there are, what are they?

In this thesis, I research the flâneur.
First through art and literature where
the character is very present. I have
been testing some of the scenarios that
I extracted from art works, to be able to use
the analyses for my own experience and
see what the needs might be.

I documented the tools people use
nowadays to have a different experience
of the city: how they appropriate their urban
surroundings.

Our communication era has largely
contributed to the metamorphosis of this
behaviour, and has also contributed to its
survival. Practices are addressing different
levels of involvement: from the playful and
artistic level to the sportive and ideological
level. What could be a practice addressing
the lambda city-dweller in that case?

In regarding the behaviour of the flâneur, the
main feature is the mind-set. The reflection
is then about the tools that could put citydwellers in the right mindset in order for
them to take on the role of the flâneur.

What about a scenario where the city
is edited by its users?