Flâneurs Savants

is a
-multimedia
-handheld
-interactive
-educational
-fun
walking tour.
by Andrea McCarty and Rekha Murthy
Masters of Science, Comparative Media Studies, 2005
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

We know that, in the course of flānerie, far-off times and places interpenetrate the landscape and the present moment.
--Walter Benjamin, The Arcades Project
Concept
Paris is a city made for flâneurs, or urban wanderers, and the Marais neighborhood is a favorite. Flâneurs Savants is a walking tour of the Marais for handheld devices. It currently exists as a design document and as a testable prototype. The concept, however, is independent of any one specific technology platform.

The Marais is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Paris, and like many corners of urbanity, it is constantly in flux. Since arising from the marshlands during the Middle Ages, the Marais has been home to many groups: religious communities, notably the Jewish community; kings, most notably Henry IV; artists, merchants, nobility, paupers, traditionalists, and hipsters. It has hosted wealth and poverty. Now, the quarter is known for its Jewish and gay communities as well as its vibrant cultural and commercial life, from religious schools to old-world delis to chic shops amid architecture that looks like it might last forever.
The act of walking is to the urban system what the speech act is to language or to the statements uttered... [The user of a city] condemns certain places to inertia or disappearance and composes with others spatial 'turns of phrase' that are 'rare,' 'accidental' or illegitimate.
--Michel de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life
One man's city is the sum of all the routes he takes through it, a spoor as unique as a fingerprint.
--Jonathan Raban, Soft City
is a walking tour. Michel de Certeau compared walking through a city to the stringing together of a narrative, an apt analogy for this project. Street corners, public art, museums, markets, cafes, shops, homes, galleries, and local personalities are brought together to give users the stories of the Marais. The narrative of geographical progression through city streets at times gives way to the narrative of a particular location's past, present, or future. Users view the neighborhood through multiple lenses: architecture, history, culture, commerce, and daily rhythm. The aim is to enhance the wandering experience by illuminating the streetscape with the society it backdrops.

Who We Are
Andrea McCarty is a film and video archivist, and her work includes Internet-based archival projects. Rekha Murthy is a public radio producer, a Web site producer and information designer. Both of us are recent graduates of MIT's Comparative Media Studies program. Our Flâneurs Savants project stems from a shared interest in cities, culture, people, France, and using new media to situate ourselves in geographic and historical spaces. We are idea people first, developers second. We look forward to using our tour as a springboard to exciting collaborations!

To learn more and view the prototype, contact:
Andrea McCarty
Rekha Murthy