TRACK TITLE Space, Conflict and Technologies (Simone Tosoni, Matteo Tarantino, Christine Leuenberger) DESCRIPTION Human geographers

have long stressed the dynamic nature of space. More than a mere container of processes, space is always co-produced by those processes. It is a relational space folded into social relations (Harvey, 1969, 2010). Space possesses a heterogeneous nature, at the same time symbolic (spatial representations), pragmatic (spatial practices) and physical (spatial materiality) (Lefebvre, 1991, Murdoch, 1998, Whatmore, 2002). Whats more, the social production of space is always an open process, only temporarily stabilizable. Sociotechnical objects such as spatial technologies (e.g. maps and GPS) or material arrangements (e.g. urban layouts) play a central role in stabilizing and transforming spatial relations. Social actors mobilize those sociotechnical objects within socio-spatial controversies - that is, conflicts about the legitimate use, representation or materiality of a space. Within those conflicts, competing actors may (and do) attempt to circulate spatial representations, regulate social practices or to modify the physicality of space through sociotechnical objects. This is most evident in urban contexts, where the broad range of users and institutions involved in its continuous production entail a high potential friction. Yet this is also true at other scales, from households to nation-states. In this track we are interested in theoretical, empirical and methodological works about the mobilization of sociotechnical objects in socio-spatial controversies, at all scales. Possible topics include: a) Sur- and sous-veillance technologies (Ganascia, 2010), including sensors and data banks (Mann, Nolan and Wellman, 2002). b) Communication technologies in policing, managing and/or intervening. c) The use of architecture and infrastructures to regulate sociospatial dynamics. d) Space, technologies and inequalities . e) The production and representation of space and spatial hierarchies through maps, GIS and mapping software. All submissions and presentations need to be in English. REFERENCES Jean-Gabriel Ganascia, 2010. "The generalized sousveillance society," Social Science Information, 49, 3:489507. David Harvey, 1969. Explanation in geography. New York: Edward Arnold. David Harvey, 2010. Social justice and the city. University of Georgia Press. Henri Lefebvre, 1991. The production of space. Oxford: Blackwell Steve Mann, Jason Nolan & Barry Wellman, 2002. "Sousveillance: Inventing and using wearable computing devices for data collection in surveillance environments," Surveillance & Society, 1, 3:331-355. Jonathan Murdoch, 1998. "The spaces of actor-network theory," Geoforum, 29, 4:357-374. Sarah Whatmore, 2002. Hybrid geographies: Natures cultures spaces. Sage. CONVENORS Simone Tosoni is an assistant professor that Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan. His research interests focus on media and sociospatial production. He recently co-edited with S. Tosoni and

C. Giaccardi Media and the City: Urbanism, Technologies and Communication for Cambridge Scholar Publishing. Matteo Tarantino is a researcher at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart. His most recent research deals with the use of ICTs in sociospatial controversies. He recently co-edited with S. Tosoni and C. Giaccardi Media and the City: Urbanism, Technologies and Communication for Cambridge Scholar Publishing. Christine Leuenberger is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Science & Technology Studies at Cornell University. She investigated the social impact of the West Bank Barrier and is a current recipient of a National Science Foundation Scholars award to investigate mapping practices in Israel and Palestine.