JUXTAPOSITION OF CITY IDENTITIES BY MAPPING TILBURG THROUGH THE PSYCHOGEOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

The city is not simply a physical space but also a cultural and social space that is being constructed and reconstructed by its inhabitants. Unlike a fixed city image, mapping practice represents a temporary city that is open to change from an individual’s perspective. According to ‘International Journal of Social Imaginaries’, people collectively and pre-theoretically make sense of their social and personal existence, to constitute a collective space of meanings or semantic space for co-being (Adams, S., Smith, J., 2022). In that sense, public space is an imaginary space that resists one dominant image of the city where participants produce meaning continually in the urban environment.

I investigate new ways of seeing the city through the social imaginaries of people from different cultures by co-creating with international students. Aiming to understand how they create meaning and how the city of Tilburg is constructed through multiple ways of mapping in three areas, I focus on the performative aspects of mapping and challenge traditional mapping practices through psychogeographical and experimental video mapping. In that way, the project provides alternative ways of engaging with the city to reveal the multiplicity of its identity and represents international students’ social imaginaries.

SPECIAL THANKS

I would like to thank my mom, my dad and my sister for their support and belief in me. I am grateful to my PPS colleagues Irini, Uddipana, Jesse, Petra, Mushtari, Conni, Janne, David, and Kata for sharing their wisdom, embracing attitude, and kindness. I sincerely thank my PPS coaches David Limaverde, Danae Theodoridou, Heleen de Hoon, and the entire PPS team Ulla Havenga, Xenia Tsompanidou, and Liesbeth Kerpel for sharing their expertise and providing support throughout the process. Last but not least, thanks to my friends who participated in the co-creation process of my project.